Republic of Mining

Zimbabwe Wants Impala Platinum Land as $6.7 Billion Plan Stalls – by Godfrey Marawanyika and Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg News – July 14, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Zimbabwe has applied for a court order to force an Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. unit to sell almost 28,000 hectares (69,000 acres) of its mining lease to the state, land the government says will benefit the economy.

The land, held under a lease by Zimplats Holdings Ltd. but owned by the state, hasn’t been developed as the company planned and as such is “excess” to requirements, the government argued in affidavits filed to the country’s administrative court.

“Compulsory acquisition of the land is necessary for economic growth,” Zimbabwean Mines Minister Walter Chidakwa said in the affidavit.

The End of Coal – by R.F. Hemphill (Huffington Post – July 13, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

R.F. Hemphill is a Global Executive; Solar Power Expert; World Traveler and Author.

Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton is not an energy expert. She probably has some such person on her campaign staff, but she didn’t need them when she told the unfortunate truth to a West Virginia audience. She said, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.“

This occurred at a round table forum in March in Kentucky, hosted by CNN. The statement was made in the context of proposing to replace these jobs with renewable energy jobs, and was not made as a policy prescription, more as a statement of fact.

Was she right? What is the future of coal in the US, and more broadly in the world?

It is not easy to make a case for the coal mining (and burning) industry.

Clinic studying link between McIntyre Powder and workplace disease – by Lindsay Kelly(Northern Ontario Business – July 13, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Can a link be made between aluminum powder administered to miners over more than three decades and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?

Advocates are hoping a growing body of anecdotal research will demonstrate a link between aluminum and occupational disease and force more scientific study on the subject.

In May, Timmins played host to an intake clinic designed to catalogue the experiences, job histories and illnesses of miners who have worked in Northern Ontario mines and were mandated to inhale a finely ground aluminum dust called McIntyre Powder as part of their employment.

Prof, grad win award for paper on Copper Cliff’s geology – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – July 5, 2016)

July 14, 2016

https://www.sudbury.com/

Study commissioned by Vale makes several new findings

A Laurentian University professor and a master’s student who worked alongside him have won an award from the Mineralogical Association of Canada for a paper published in the journal “The Canadian Mineralogist.”

Andy McDonald and Sarah Gordon picked up the Hawley Medal at the joint annual Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada meeting in Whitehorse, Yukon in early June.

The Hawley Medal is awarded to the authors of the best paper to appear in the “The Canadian Mineralogist” in a given year.

Peru’s Kuczynski wants to relax air standards to spur refining – by Marco Aquino (Reuters U.S. – July 14, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

LIMA – Peru’s President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski called Peru’s air quality standards “unrealistic” on Wednesday and proposed lowering them to spur investments in smelters that would boost the country’s key mineral exports.

Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former investment banker who will take office on July 28, said the value of Peru’s mining exports could rise 25 percent solely through greater smelting and refining capacity.

In a speech to farmers in the town of Ica, he said “unrealistic” environmental rules were blocking needed investments.

Century-Old Bond for Aluminum Smelters and Utilities Falls Apart – by Harry Weber and Sonja Elmquist (Bloomberg News – July 14, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The business of making aluminum in the U.S. is collapsing — and no other industry has watched the demise as closely as the one that supplies the power used to create molten metal in giant pots.

For more than a century, America’s aluminum processors and the electricity generators grew together. Utilities sought out smelters that, in some cases, became their largest consumers. And the metal makers counted on utilities to supply an energy source that accounts for as much as a third of their costs.

Their fates were so linked that, “if the smelters were not built, then the power plants wouldn’t have gotten built,” said Lloyd O’Carroll, a Richmond, Virginia-based commodities analyst with CRU Group.

Iron ore price defies gravity – by Barry Fitzgerald (The Australian – July 14, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Australia’s biggest export earner, iron ore, continues to defy the weight of opinion that its price should buckle in the face of rising supply and slowing Chinese steel production.

Instead of prices retreating to the call of the pundits for $US45 a tonne, iron ore has steadily risen to 10-week highs of $US58.80, with trade in Asia yesterday suggesting prices of $US60 a tonne-plus could be on the cards.

The rally has pulled the share prices of diversified producers Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to 10-week highs, and the price of the pure-iron ore play Fortescue to a near two-year high, the latter helped by its 2016 financial-year output being close to 5 million tonnes more than its guidance.

Workers ‘blindsided’ by layoffs at Mosaic’s Colonsay potash mine – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – July 13, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://thestarphoenix.com/

Workers at Mosaic Co.’s Colonsay potash mine were “totally blindsided” as they arrived for a shift change and were escorted to boardrooms by private security to be told they were out of a job, a staff representative says.

About 330 workers at the mine 60 kilometres east of Saskatoon received layoff notices on Wednesday. They’ve been told they’re out of a job until Jan. 3, said Mike Pulak, staff representative for United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7656.

“One of our members asked a question, what was the reason, and the reason given was that they have no sales, no international sales, which in our opinion is false,” Pulak said. “Mosaic is part of the Canpotex (international marketing) group with Agrium and (Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan), and if there was no sales, that would mean everybody would be shut down.”

Poland to spend on boosting its image, defending coal industry (Reuters U.S. – July 13, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Poland’s state-controlled firms will pay $25 million per year to finance a foundation aimed at bolstering its reputation abroad, Treasury Minister Dawid Jackiewicz said on Wednesday.

He said one of the foundation’s tasks will be to defend Poland’s coal industry from European Union plans to curb carbon emissions.

Since winning the first outright parliamentary majority since Poland’s 1989 transition from communism, the Law and Justice (PiS) party has overhauled the rules governing the constitutional court, prompting the EU executive to launch an unprecedented inquiry in January into whether the party has weakened the rule of law — a notion PiS mostly rejects.

Arizona appeals panel upholds Rosemont Mine air permit – by Tony Davis (Arizona Daily Star – July 13, 2016)

July 14, 2016

http://tucson.com/

The proposed Rosemont Mine won a big legal victory Tuesday when an Arizona Court of Appeals panel overturned a lower court ruling blocking the mine’s air-quality permit.

The three-judge panel ruled that a Maricopa County Superior Court judge erroneously ruled in March 2015 that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s approval of the air permit was “arbitrary and capricious” and “an abuse of discretion.”

The appeals panel concluded that, contrary to arguments made by the mine’s opponents and the lower court judge, that “substantial evidence supported the department’s determination that the proposed Rosemont Mine will not exceed air quality standards.”

The Ocean Could Be the New Gold Rush – by Brian Clark Howard (National Geographic – July 13, 2016)

July 13, 2016

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

As the future of seafloor mining is debated this week, here are five things you need to know about the risks and rewards of extracting precious metals and minerals from the ocean.

The bottom of the world’s ocean contains vast supplies of precious metals and other resources, including gold, diamonds, and cobalt. Now, as the first deep-sea mining project ramps up, nations are trying to hammer out guidelines to ensure this new “gold rush” doesn’t wreck the oceans.

People have dreamed of harvesting riches from the seafloor for decades. A project off Papua New Guinea could begin as early as 2018, serving as a test case for an industry that could be highly lucrative. If it proves successful, it could kick off a boom of deep-sea mining around the world.

In response, representatives of many nations, the mining industry, and environmental groups are meeting this week in Kingston, Jamaica, at an annual session of the International Seabed Authority.

Cliffs CEO paints upbeat picture of potential for disputed Essar Steel site – by Mike Hughlett (Minneapolis StarTribune – July 12, 2016)

July 13, 2016

http://www.startribune.com/

CEO says firm would build “direct- reduced iron” plant; Essar has vowed to fight its ouster in court.

The CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. says that if his mining company gets control of the newly bankrupt Essar Steel site in Nashwauk, Minn., it would build the first of what could be several “direct-reduced iron” plants — an advancement for Minnesota’s iron ore industry.

Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of Cleveland-based Cliffs, made the remarks Tuesday at a public meeting at the Nashwauk Township Community Center along with Gov. Mark Dayton. Cliffs has talked before about building a direct-reduced iron plant in Minnesota, but Tuesday marked the company’s most detailed comments.

Last week, Dayton terminated Essar Steel Minnesota’s mineral leases after the steelmaker failed to pay $66 million due the state for the company’s long-stalled $1.9 billion taconite mine in Nashwauk. That prompted Essar, an arm of India-based conglomerate Essar Global, to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware.

U.S. Steel: Essar inks deal with union to buy Algoma – by Steve Arnold (Hamilton Spectator – July 12, 2016)

July 13, 2016

http://www.thespec.com/

The Indian conglomerate planning to merge Stelco and Algoma into a new Canadian steel company is refusing to surrender its dream despite being defeated in bids for both companies.

Essar Global announced this week it has signed a deal with the United Steelworkers in Sault Ste. Marie to negotiate a framework deal to acquire Algoma through a subsidiary called Ontario Steel Investment Limited.

Gaining support of the union is a requirement for a successful bid for both struggling steelmakers. Essar is the union’s preferred bidder because it has promised to maintain jobs, pay up pension deficits and restore retiree health benefits. A competing bid by a New York-based hedge fund, however, is said to have rejected paying off pension shortfalls in favour of higher returns for debt holders.

Honda Co-Developed a New Hybrid Car Motor in Order to Avoid Procuring Rare Earth Metals From China – by Katherine Tweed (Greentechmedia.com – July 12, 2016)

July 13, 2016

http://www.greentechmedia.com/

Japanese automaker Honda has co-produced the world’s first magnet for hybrid and electric cars that requires no heavy rare-earth metals.

The quest to find an alternative to heavy rare-earth elements in magnet manufacturing came after a 2010 dispute, during which China temporarily banned exports of rare-earth minerals. Even before that, however, Honda had been working to reduce the use of the materials in its manufacturing, as China began cutting back export quotas starting in 2006.

The motor is not completely without rare-earth elements. It still uses the light rare-earth element neodymium. But neodymium can be sourced from countries other than just China. Carmakers use neodymium magnets because they have the highest magnetic force of any magnet. Demand for these magnets is expected to soar in coming years as more consumers buy all-electric and hybrid vehicles.

Deadline looms for multimodal transportation input – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – July 7, 2016)

July 13, 2016

http://www.saultstar.com/

Northern Ontario residents are being encouraged to shout out the need for more than just roads to be included in a multimodal transportation study currently underway by the province.

The Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines are developing the strategy for Northern Ontario to develop a blueprint that will set a course for transportation initiatives over the next 25 years.

The initiative is designed to examine improvements for the movement of people and goods throughout the Canadian Shield. The study, led by consultants IBI Group, have already developed a number of draft reports examining transportation requirements or economic development, a geographic and policy context working paper, the effects of transportation on climate change, a socio-economic report and a survey of the needs for commercial vehicles and passengers.