Republic of Mining

Silver Wheaton pays Glencore for silver rights at Peru mine – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – November 3, 2015)

November 4, 2015

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Silver Wheaton Corp. of Vancouver is paying $900-million (U.S.) to embattled Glencore PLC in exchange for rights to some of the future silver production from a Peruvian mine.

The deal highlights the increasing willingness of major miners to swap tomorrow’s production in exchange for cash today.

Companies like Silver Wheaton provide upfront payments to miners in return for the rights to buy “streams” of their future output at below-market prices. Streaming companies have found ample opportunities in recent years as metals prices have slumped and commodity producers have encountered problems in raising money from traditional sources.

The deal will come as welcome news to Glencore investors, who have seen shares of the commodity trader lose more than half their value this year.

Groups call for ‘clear, enforceable’ mine waste-dam laws – by Gordon Hoekstra (Vancouver Sun – November 3, 2015)

November 4, 2015

http://www.vancouversun.com/

Environmental coalition calls on B.C. government to phase out industry self-regulation

The B.C. government should phase out industry self-regulation to ensure dams that hold back waste and water at mines are safe and sustainable, says a joint submission by environmental groups.

The Fair Mining Collaborative, Mining Watch Canada and Northern Confluence (an arm of the International Boreal Conservation Campaign) are also calling for the province’s review of mining rules to be broadened by examining all laws that regulate mining, including the Mines Act, Environmental Management Act and Water Act, not just the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines.

Their submission is the first look at the type of changes that are being called for by outside groups as the B.C. government responds to Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley catastrophic tailings dam collapse last year and recommendations from an expert geotechnical engineering panel it commissioned.

America has built the equivalent of 10 Keystone pipelines since 2010 — and nobody said anything – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – November 4, 2015)

November 4, 2015

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

While TransCanada Corp. has been cooling its heels on its Keystone XL proposal for the past six years, the oil pipeline business has been booming in the United States.

Crude oil pipeline mileage rose 9.1 per cent last year alone to reach 66,649 miles, according to data from the Washington, D.C.-based Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) set to be released soon.

Between 2009 and 2013, more than 8,000 miles of oil transmission pipelines have been built in the past five years in the U.S., AOPL spokesperson John Stoody said, compared to the 875 miles TransCanada wants to lay in the states of Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska for its 830,000-bpd project. By last year, the U.S. had built 12,000 miles of pipe since 2010.

“That’s the point we make,” Stoody said. “While people have been debating Keystone in the U.S. we have actually built the equivalent of 10 Keystones. And no one’s complained or said anything.”

Iron miner eyes North American steel producers – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 3, 2015)

November 4, 2015

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Sioux Lookout could get a huge economic jumpstart if a proposed $3.77-billion open-pit iron mine and mill operation in northwestern Ontario comes to fruition.

While North American steel demand has been sluggish and iron ore prices have reached historic lows, Armando Plastino, CEO of Rockex Mining, insists his company is better able to ride the troughs of the cyclical steel industry with its hot briquetted iron (HBI) operation.

“Every iron ore product is tied to steel pricing. We think HBI will be a lot more insulated and we’ll be able to market it to electric steelmakers. They do better through the cycle than the integrated producers.”

Thunder Bay-based Rockex recently updated its plans for a proposed $3.77-billion mine and mill project, centred on its Lake St. Joseph project and the Eagle Island iron deposit, located 100 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout.

NEWS RELEASE: Underground Activities Temporarily Suspended at the Phoenix Gold Project; Rubicon to Enhance Its Geological Model and Develop an Implementation Plan

November 4, 2015

Rubicon Minerals First Gold Pour: June 2015 from Rubicon Minerals on Vimeo.

http://www.rubiconminerals.com/

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Nov. 3, 2015) – Rubicon Minerals Corporation (TSX:RMX)(NYSE MKT:RBY) (“Rubicon” or the “Company”) today announced it is moving to suspend underground activities at the Phoenix Gold Project (the “Project”) while it enhances its geological model of the F2 Gold Deposit and develops a project implementation plan.

“We believe in the potential of the Phoenix Gold Project,” said Michael Winship, interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Rubicon. “We have high-grade gold mineralization with extensive infrastructure, in one of the top producing gold camps in the world. Similar to other high-grade, narrow-vein, underground gold deposits, the geology can be quite challenging and requires additional analysis to be fully understood. During the trial stoping period, we have discovered that the F2 Gold Deposit is much more geologically complex compared to our understanding of it from historical drilling.”

Top ‘Ring of Fire’ miner threatens to halt project unless Ontario, First Nations make progress – by Peter Koven (National Post – November 4, 2015)

November 4, 2015

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

TORONTO — The dominant company in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral belt is threatening to suspend its work, sources say, putting a big question mark over future development plans in the region.

Noront Resources Ltd. has warned both the Ontario government and First Nations communities in recent days that it will stop working unless it can demonstrate some tangible progress to investors, according to sources.

The company and its key lender, Resource Capital Funds, are increasingly frustrated with a lack of movement on government infrastructure commitments, First Nations agreements and other matters. The longer these issues drag on, the harder it will be for Noront to raise new capital.

The company is expected to halt spending on its Eagle’s Nest project in the Ring of Fire by the end of the year if it does not see any progress. In that scenario, Toronto-based Noront would lay off most of its workers and go down to a skeleton staff.

Lonmin faces collapse if shareholders reject $400 million cash call – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.K. – November 4, 2015)

November 4, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG – Lonmin, world’s No.3 platinum miner, urged shareholders to approve a $400 million equity cash call at a meeting next week, saying in a document posted on its website the injection was crucial to its survival.

Lonmin’s shares in London fell 6.8 percent to 23.93 pence by 1223 GMT. The Johannesburg-listed stock was down by 8 percent at 5.00 rand.

Battered by strikes, rising costs and weak platinum prices, Lonmin said last month it planned to raise the money and another $370 million in bank loans to refinance debt due in May 2016.

The firm, founded in 1909 as the London and Rhodesian Mining and Land Company, said that if shareholders do not approve the rights issue at a meeting on Nov. 19, lenders would not provide the loans to push back the maturity of the 2016 debt to 2020.

Rubicon Minerals shares plunge on Phoenix gold project suspension – by Peter Koven (National Post – November 4, 2015)

November 4, 2015

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

The meltdown at Rubicon Minerals Corp. highlights the risk of building a gold mine without getting to know the deposit as well as possible.

The Toronto-based miner’s shares plunged as much as 68 per cent on Tuesday after it halted underground development of the Phoenix gold project. Rubicon said it needs to do further work to understand the deposit in order to mine it most effectively.

“We believe there is considerable room for improvement in the development of the Phoenix gold project,” interim chief executive Michael Winship said on a conference call. He added that it is a complex, narrow-vein deposit that is more difficult to mine than surface drilling suggested. The company is now studying a mix of possible mining methods.

The stock closed down 55 per cent at 26 cents Tuesday. The problem, experts said, is that Rubicon may have identified these problems much sooner if it hadn’t moved so quickly.

Mining Alaska Part I: Inside Alaska’s busiest mines – by Mallory Peebles (KTUU.com – November 2, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://www.ktuu.com/

Alaska has been a prospector’s dream for more than a century. From the gold rush of the late 1800s to the 21st century, billions of dollars have been invested in the exploration and extraction of minerals.

According to the Alaska Miners Association, about 4,400 jobs come directly from mining with the number nearly doubling to 8,700 with indirect jobs included. Indirect jobs include contract work like food service and maintenance that takes place at many of the mines’ on-site housing areas.

“We have a saying that we just don’t get to pick where we discover these mineral deposits,” says Deantha Crocket with the Alaska Miners Association.

COLUMN-China commodity outlook brightens, but beware caveats – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – November 3, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

Nov 3 (Reuters) – – Lost amid the headlines about China’s decision to end its one-child policy was news that points to a brighter medium-term outlook for commodity demand in the world’s biggest consumer of natural resources.

While all the nitty-gritty details of the ruling Communist Party’s fifth plenary have yet to be published, the world of commodities should note the commitment to double gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income by 2020 from 2010 levels.

This should go some way towards alleviating fears that China’s economy is in structural decline, as achieving those goals will require ongoing urbanisation to boost earnings to a level where China could be considered a middle income country.

While it’s no secret that Chinese leaders want to see an economy led by more sustainable consumer spending, in order to get there the country needs consumers with higher disposable incomes, and this means city-based jobs, whether these be in services such as finance or in manufacturing.

Japan Gambles on Rare Earth Elements in Kazakhstan – by John C. K. Daly (Silk Road Reporters – November 3, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://www.silkroadreporters.com/

In the past year, China, India, Japan, and the U.S. have all “rediscovered” Central Asia. While U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lectures the five “Stans” on human rights and democracy, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe all focused on the more prosaic issues of increasing bilateral trade and seeking investment opportunities.

In Kazakhstan, Abe, accompanied by 50 high-level company executives, scored a deal that will benefit Japan’s high technology sector as well as lessen its dependency on China, with whom relations have been fraying. Japan is the world’s largest importer of rare earth elements (REEs).

Minister of Investment and Development Asset Issekeshev met Nipponese Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) executives during Abe’s visit. The Ministry subsequently issued a statement noting, “JOGMEC and Kazgeologiia National Geological Exploration Company are expecting to start exploration works in spring 2016, primarily in territories rich in yttrium in Karaganda and Kostanai regions.”

Chile’s Codelco lays off over 4,000 workers – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 3, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://www.mining.com/

Codelco’s chief executive Nelson Pizarro is following through with his promise of cutting costs “to the bone” as the Chile-owned miner announced it has cut almost 3,900 jobs, including contractors, in response to low prices and weak demand.

Until now, the world’s top copper producer had only disclosed the layoff of about 400 employees, mostly staff members in top positions.

The fresh and massive cuts bring the number of layoffs to over 4,000, making of Codelco the mining company that has let go the highest amount of workers in Chile since metal prices began their decline over a year ago.

According to Pizarro, the “painful, but necessary” move has not affected production, local newspaper El Mercurio reports (in Spanish). “What’s more, the company’s output has grown 5.5% during the last year, and costs have dropped by about 11%,” he told the paper.

UPDATE 1-Alcoa idling 3 U.S. aluminum smelters as prices bite (Reuters U.S. – November 2, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

Nov 2 (Reuters) – Alcoa Inc said on Monday it will idle three of its four active U.S. aluminum smelters, slashing annual capacity by 500,000 tonnes, in the steepest cuts yet by an aluminum producer to battle oversupply and sinking metal prices.

The company said in a statement it will suspend its Intalco and Wenatchee smelters in Washington state and the Massena West smelter in New York state. It will also permanently close Massena East, also in New York, which was shuttered in 2014.

The move will reduce Alcoa’s smelting capacity by a further 503,000 tonnes annually, leaving the Evansville, Indiana, smelter as its sole U.S. primary plant. It produces 269,000 tonnes per year.

Vale runoff saturated school board property for years – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – November 02, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The Sudbury Catholic District School board property where toxic runoff from Vale’s slag piles allegedly seeped for decades, was often over-saturated, says a former manager who worked at the property.

Denis Faucher retired in 2013, but in October 2012, when a nearby resident reported seeing lime-green-coloured runoff in Nolin Creek, he was the manager of facility services for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

The facility services building, and surrounding property, is located at 199 Travers Street, near Vale’s large slag piles that line Big Nickel Road.

Faucher started to work at the facility in the late 1980s, and said even then he noticed coloured runoff coming down from the nearby slag piles.

“Especially in the early years, we always thought it was iron in the water coming through the rock,” he said. “It never dawned on us that it could have been something else.”

Other zinc miners fail to follow Glencore output cuts; price slides – by Eric Onstad (Reuters U.K. – November 3, 2015)

November 3, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Prices of zinc and lead have given up nearly all their gains since Glencore shocked the market with output cuts, as investors realised other producers were happy to fill the supply gap.

That means the market is unlikely to see shortages of zinc and the price rally next year that many bulls had hoped for.

The latest set-back in zinc prices follows disappointment this year as the well-flagged closures of big mines that had run out of ore failed to create shortages as expected amid large inventories.

The benchmark zinc price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) surged 13 percent over two days in the aftermath of Glencore’s announcements on slashing output.

Commodity trader and producer Glencore, the world’s largest miner of zinc ore, said on Oct. 9 it would cut 500,000 tonnes of its zinc production or 4 percent of global supply to help support prices.