Republic of Mining

State of mine: trainers help Inuit get jobs at Nunavik’s Raglan mine – by Sarah Rogers (Nunatsiaq News – December 17, 2015)

December 17, 2015

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

RAGLAN MINE — The December sun has yet to peak over the tundra when three young men, bundled in orange one-piece suits and safety gear, are ushered into the room.

Each from a different Nunavik community, these are Raglan mine’s newest recruits: apprentice miners, looking nervous and keen. Samwillie Grey-Scott welcomes them, switching between Inuktitut and English. Grey-Scott, an apprentice trainer at Raglan, is preparing them for their first trip underground.

That first trip will determine a lot: if the new apprentices can stomach the feeling of being 1,300 metres down, and if they can adapt to a dark environment and commit to working long hours in those underground tunnels.

U of T advised to sell coal, oil assets in its funds – by Tyler Hamilton (Toronto Star – December 17, 2015)

December 17, 2015

http://www.thestar.com/

An advisory committee created last year by University of Toronto president Meric Gertler is recommending that the institution start divesting coal and oil assets from its massive $5.9 billion (U.S.) endowment and pension fund.

The 10-member committee, made up mostly of representatives from several university faculties, singled out fossil fuel companies that “blatantly disregard” the 1.5-degree C global warming threshold recognized in the Paris climate agreement and which engage in “socially injurious behaviour.”

“The university should, in a targeted and principled manner, divest from its direct holdings in such firms,” the committee recommended. Gertler received the report late Tuesday and called it a “timely” document he hopes will spark broader debate within the university community.

China economist warns major miners may collapse in 2016 – by Sue Lannin (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – December 17, 2015)

December 17, 2015

http://www.abc.net.au/news

A prominent China economist has predicted more mining companies could go bankrupt globally in the new year, including major second tier firms, as China’s economy slows down and commodity prices keep falling.

China based economist Andy Xie used to run Morgan Stanley’s economics team in Asia.

He has forecast that iron ore prices will trade between $US30-40 a tonne in 2016, and that means more iron ore miners could go under including in China.

“So what I see is that next year Chinese demand is likely to go down a lot more, like 20 million tonnes,” Mr Xie told the ABC in an interview.

Why Jim Carr will be the loneliest cabinet minister – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – December 17, 2015)

December 17, 2015

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The minister of the environment used to be the loneliest person in the federal cabinet. He or she held a portfolio that had no natural allies and many natural enemies among the departments in Liberal, Progressive Conservative and Conservative cabinets.

Today, in the Justin Trudeau cabinet, the Environment Minister is surrounded by allies, and is charged by the Prime Minister with co-operating with them, whereas the Natural Resources Minister is the loneliest minister. The change from the past could not be more complete.

In the past, Environment was considered by definition to be a big-spending department. It was therefore checked, and sometimes checkmated, by spending watchdogs in the Finance Department and Treasury Board.

Fed rate hike a positive sign for Canadian economy – by Brian Milner (Globe and Mail – December 17, 2015)

December 17, 2015

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The U.S. Federal Reserve signalled its confidence in a resurgent U.S. economy with a historic hike in interest rates – the first since the world plunged into the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The world’s most powerful central bank raised its key rate Wednesday by a slim quarter of a percentage point to a range of 0.25 per cent to 0.50 per cent, and promises that it will proceed cautiously as it embarks on a transition from massive monetary stimulus toward more normal policies.

The Fed had kept its benchmark target rate at a record low near zero since late 2008, as it battled to revive the battered U.S. economy and stabilize the country’s tattered financial system.

Gold Slips as First Fed Rate Increase Since ’06 Bolsters Dollar – by Eddie Van Der Walt and Ranjeetha Pakiam (Bloomberg News – December 17, 2015)

December 17, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold dropped after the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase in almost a decade strengthened the dollar, curbing the appeal of owning precious metals.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday unanimously voted to raise borrowing costs by a quarter of a percentage point. Higher rates reduce the attractiveness of holding bullion, which doesn’t pay interest or give returns like assets such as bonds or equities.

Gold slumped to a five-year low earlier this month as traders bet that policy makers would raise rates at the latest meeting. Yesterday’s decision was the culmination of a year-long effort to prepare investors and consumers for the end of an unprecedented era of ultra-easy money. Fed Chair Janet Yellen emphasized further tightening would be slow.

Mass Layoffs in China’s Coal Country Threaten Unrest – by Jane Perlez and Yufan Huang (New York Times – December 16, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/

HEGANG, China — In the dank shower room where the miners soak, the coal dust from their bodies staining the water chocolate, a lone worker sat smoking a cigarette, staring at the floor.

He lingered, he explained, because since his pay had been cut in half, he had been eating dinner at his parents’ apartment, and he dreaded the humiliation of going there again.

“If any of the leaders would do their job properly, the situation would not be like this,” said the worker, Mr. Guo, 39. “If they want to sack me, they should just do it. Can it get any worse?” It probably will.

Queensland court agrees Adani overstated benefits of Carmichael coal mine -by Lisa Cox (Brisbane Times – December 16, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

A Queensland court has found Indian mining company Adani exaggerated the economic benefits of its proposed Carmichael coal mine, including the amount of jobs and royalties the $16.5 billion project would generate.

In a judgment on Tuesday, the Queensland Land Court recommended the Queensland government grant mining leases and environmental approvals for the controversial project, which would become Australia’s largest coal mine.

But the approvals should only be given with additional environmental conditions, including regular monitoring of water bodies near the mine site in central Queensland and a more thorough assessment of the presence of threatened bird species, the black throated finch.

Fed raises interest rates, cites ongoing U.S. economic recovery – by Howard Schneider and Jason Lange (Reuters U.S. – December 16, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday, signaling faith that the U.S. economy had largely overcome the wounds of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The U.S. central bank’s policy-setting committee raised the range of its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent, ending a lengthy debate about whether the economy was strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.

“The Committee judges that there has been considerable improvement in labor market conditions this year, and it is reasonably confident that inflation will rise over the medium term to its 2 percent objective,” the Fed said in its policy statement, which was adopted unanimously.

UBS Analyst Who Called Mining Stock Slump Says Rout Not Over – by Adam Haigh (Bloomberg News – December 15, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

David Cassidy, who correctly told investors to shun Australian mining stocks in 2015, says the worst is yet to come for the industry as China’s economy decelerates.

Investors should hold fewer commodity producers than are represented in the S&P/ASX 200 Index because shares are yet to bottom, says Cassidy, UBS Group AG’s head of equity strategy for Australia.

Instead of speculating on some of the stock market’s worst performers, he’s telling investors to buy firms with profits that are closely tied to an upswing in the economy, such as developer LendLease Group and retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd.

“We’re closer to the bottom but not yet willing to call the bottom here,” Cassidy said in a phone interview from Sydney on Dec. 14.

Gold investors sold the rumor of higher U.S. rates – will they buy the fact? – by Jan Harvey (Reuters U.S. – December 15, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – Gold bulls hoping an anticipated rise in U.S. interest rates will paradoxically boost the metal’s price might just be disappointed, as the wider environment offers little to justify a rebound.

Gold has fallen 10 percent so far in 2015, hitting its lowest in nearly six years largely on speculation that monetary policy will tighten. In theory, higher interest rates weigh on bullion by lifting the opportunity cost of holding such a non-yielding asset.

While expectations of a rate rise have driven selling, some bulls say it is so well priced into gold that the reality of any slow and gradual rise from record lows after this week’s forecast increase could reinvigorate investment.

Although gold has managed to rise in the face of rising rates before, there is not enough support from other factors to push prices up this time around, analysts said.

Bloom Lake ‘bargain’ a long term investment, says iron ore expert (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – December 16, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

The new owners of the Bloom Lake iron ore mining project in northeastern Quebec got a bargain, but a mining analyst says don’t expect production any time soon.

“We think it’s a great deal,” said Garrett Nelson Tuesday in an interview with CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning.

“We think this asset will have significant value, longer term.” Quebec Iron Ore Inc., a subsidiary of Champion Iron Ltd., said Friday it had agreed to pay $10.5 million for the mine, railway and mineral claims just across the border from Labrador.

It will also assume responsibility for nearly $42 million in environmental liabilities.

OPINION: Mine uranium, stop climate change – by Stephen Antony (Boston Globe – December 15, 2015)

December 16, 2015

https://www.bostonglobe.com/

Stephen Antony is the president and CEO of Energy Fuels.

Fresh off the successful negotiations in Paris, there is an unprecedented international coalition now focused on the important issues of climate change and clean energy.

Nuclear energy has rightfully been one of the major topics of discussion because no other power source — not wind or solar — has the scalability or reliability of nuclear energy to significantly reduce air and carbon emissions. If we are even remotely serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear power must be part of our energy future.

That’s why I’ve chosen this moment to respond to two misleading HuffPost and New York Times columns, both written by Mark Udall, former US senator from my home state of Colorado.

Here’s why Australia’s budget is still so dependent on iron ore – by Jonathan Barrett (Australian Financial Review – December 16, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.afr.com/

This week, the federal government disclosed it would receive $7 billion less than anticipated over the budget years as a result of updated – and lower – iron ore price forecasts.

But how exactly does the iron ore price affect federal coffers? And how will it impact the states?

Most of the country’s iron ore deposits are in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, and, unlike gas reserves located in federal waters, the key steel-making commodity is owned by the state.

As the federal government doesn’t actually own the commodity, the obvious connection between the federal budget and iron ore price is the profitability of mining companies.

[Ontario] Province backs mining blueprint with cash- by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – December 15, 2015)

December 16, 2015

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/

After being harshly criticized for doing little to advance Ontario’s mining sector, the province’s mines minister tried to give assurances Monday that his ministry hasn’t been sitting on its hands.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said his department has earmarked $5 million so that junior companies can make headway on exploration projects. The money is part of a “renewed” provincial mineral development strategy that first surfaced in 2006.

Gravelle touted the renewed 10-point strategy as “a blueprint for how we will help the sector address the challenges of today and position it to grow and attract investment in the future.”