Republic of Mining

COMMENT: One in 10 gold mines losing money – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – July 23, 2015)

July 24, 2015

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

That’s a headline guaranteed to make any gold bug sit up and take notice. What individuals think this means remains ripe for discussion.

It’s no secret that the price of gold is dropping. It closed at $1,088.60 on July 22, the second lowest level since January 2010. (In February 2010 the price bottomed out at $1,058.50.) [All figures in US dollars.]

Why so low? Ideas differ. There is discussion about the United States raising interest rates in the short term. The stronger US dollar is gaining favour by individuals and institutions. China is reportedly selling its gold reserves. Gold demand in India is not enough to pick up the slack.

Worse yet, some analysts are predicting a further fall to $1,000 per oz.

Gold producers are swaying under a mountain of debt, estimated to be more than $30 billion, a monumental rise from less than $5 billion in 2007.

The UN Shames Canada — Again — About the Same Human Rights Issues – by Rachel Browne (Vice.com – July 24, 2015)

July 24, 2015

https://news.vice.com/

The UN Human Rights Committee is shaming Canada for its human rights record, which hasn’t improved much in the last decade.

On Thursday, the committee released its first review of Canada in 10 years — and the first ever under Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The findings claim that the government has failed on a host of issues ranging from missing and murdered Aboriginal women, its treatment of refugees, to its overly broad anti-terror legislation, Bill C-51.

The seven-page report comes after more than 26 human rights organizations submitted their concerns about Canada and provided testimony in front of the 18-person committee in Geneva earlier this month. The committee calls on the federal government to launch a national inquiry into the missing and murdered women, while making note of “persisting inequalities between men and women” in Canada, and asking the government to consider overturning Bill C-51.

The report is quick to point out that Canada has failed to create a way for its recommendations to be carried out at all. “The Committee regrets the lack of an appropriate mechanism in the State party to implement views of the committee,” it says.

Vale’s Nickel IPO Chances Wane as Fires, Shutdowns Hurt Output – by Juan Pablo Spinetto(Bloomberg News – July 23, 2015)

July 24, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

A fire in Canada, disruptions in Indonesia and shutdowns in Brazil and New Caledonia: it was tough getting nickel out of the ground last quarter for Vale SA.

Output of the metal at Vale, the world’s largest producer, missed estimates for a second consecutive quarter. The lower-than-expected production comes as a plunge in metal prices makes the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s plan to sell as much as 30 percent of the unit in an initial public offering less likely.

Vale said in its second-quarter output report Thursday that nickel production rose less than 9 percent to 67,100 metric tons, missing a 73,900-ton average forecast by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The result, called “poor” by BMO Capital Markets in a research note, puts production for the first half at 136,000 tons, or less than 45 percent of the company’s annual target of 303,000 tons.

Operations in the quarter were affected by a fire at its operations in Sudbury, Ontario, which reduced nickel and copper production by 5,000 tons each, furnace maintenance in Indonesia and a “brief shutdown” for plant improvement at the Onca Puma project in Brazil, Vale said. The miner is planning to close facilities at Sudbury and Thompson in August for maintenance, it said.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation insists on separate talks with Ontario on energy issues (CBC News Thunder Bay – July 23, 2015)

July 24, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay

Not everyone is happy about a recently announced pan-Canadian task force on diesel fuels in remote communities.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation says it’s been trying to deal with electricity issues in its communities for years, and wants separate negotiations with the Ontario government.

In a statement, NAN said some of its member First Nations want to accelerate their energy developments and can’t wait for the new process to get going. “It is NAN’s position … that the unique nature of our territory, demography and remoteness justify a separate negotiations table within the Ontario round-table or [pan-Canadian] task force as NAN First Nations,” the statement said.

“[The First Nations’] energy groups’ progress cannot be impeded by an all-Ontario or [pan-Canadian] approach.”

Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories and Yukon established the task force, which will prepare a report that examines efforts that have been, or are currently, underway to reduce diesel use in remote communities, among other things.

Margaret’s Museum (British/Canadian Coal Mining Movie – 1995) – Review by Janet Maslin (New York Times – February 7, 1997)

July 24, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/

Finding Signs of Hardy Life in Tough Surroundings

With a strong and colorful sense of its Nova Scotia setting, ”Margaret’s Museum” describes life in a remote coal mining community. It’s an existence that the film’s reckless, earthy heroine knows all too well. Rough-hewn Margaret MacNeil, played spiritedly by Helena Bonham Carter, has lost a father and brother to ”the pit,” as the miners call it.

And she works as a scrubwoman in the village hospital. Periodically throughout the film, which is set in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, alarm bells sound as the hospital staff braces for new accident victims from underground.

NEWS RELEASE: VALE, THE UNITED STEELWORKERS AND CROSH KICK-OFF GROUNDBREAKING NEW STUDY ON MINING AND MENTAL HEALTH

July 23, 2015

(L to R) France Gélinas, MPP Nickel Belt; Jody Kuzenko, Director of Vale’s Ontario Production Services; Leo Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers; Dr. Michel Larivière, clinical psychologist and Associate Director at CROSH; Hon Kevin Daniel Flynn, Ontario Minister of Labour; Dr. Tammy Eger, Research Chair in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Associate Professor in Laurentian’s School of Human Kinetics

SUDBURY, ON (July 23, 2015) – Today Vale and the United Steelworkers, in partnership with the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH) at Laurentian University, announced a groundbreaking new research project on the topic of mental health in the mining industry.

The aim of the 3-year study, called ‘Mining Mental Health’, is to gain vital information in order to develop key strategies that promote the best possible mental health for workers at Vale’s Ontario Operations. In addition, this study will contribute substantially to the body of research to help others in the mining industry and similar sectors to develop evidence-based practices that effectively promote positive mental health.

COLUMN-China’s rising commodity exports changing nature of trade – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 23 (Reuters) – The world is used to seeing China as an importer of raw materials and an exporter of manufactured goods, but a change is occurring that has global implications for commodities.

While China is still the world’s biggest importer of commodities, the nature of its exports are changing.

The big growth in exports this year has been in semi-finished products, most of which fit into the broad definition of commodities. While not raw materials, these include steel, aluminium products and refined fuels.

What is happening in China is that as the country has overbuilt capacity in heavy industries, it is now being forced by economics to seek export markets for intermediate commodities that had previously been consumed at home.

The old dynamic, where Chinese demand for raw materials forced up commodity prices while Chinese exports led to lower prices for manufactured goods, is breaking down.

Mining and construction driving Nunavut’s economy: economic report – by David Murphy and Lisa Gregoire (Nunatsiaq News – July 22, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Premier supports resource development for job creation

The Conference Board of Canada says Nunavut’s economy is in decent shape this year, and you can thank mining development and construction for that. The not-for-profit board projects Nunavut’s gross domestic product will grow 3.8 per cent in 2015.

That’s the highest rate of GDP growth amongst all territories and provinces, the Conference Board’s Summer 2015 Territorial Outlook said.

In comparison, the Northwest Territories GDP for 2015 is expected to decline by two per cent, and the Yukon’s GDP is expected to decline by 3.4 per cent.

“Led by the construction industry, Nunavut’s outlook is decidedly more promising this year than that of its two territorial counterparts,” the report said.

The independent board, which conducts evidence-based research on behalf of governments and the private sector, twice annually examines the economic and fiscal outlook for the three Canadian territories.

Our Demand For Renewable Energy Comes With Canada’s Dirty Little Secret – by Blair King (Huffington Post – July 22, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/british-columbia/

There is something very important that most people don’t know about renewable energy technologies. While many of these technologies have existed since humanity started to harness the power of the wind and the sun to help us do work, they all owe their current capabilities to the existence of rare earth elements.

Neodymium, dysprosium, lanthanum, cerium sound like the names of some magical characters in Peter Jackson’s latest Tolkien adaptation but they’re actually the names of rare earth elements. Rare earth elements and a handful of other elements (like lithium and platinum) are the “magic” ingredients that make our modern renewable energy technologies possible.

Neodymium is secret sauce that makes high-power permanent magnets a reality. Those magnets are what allow a wind turbine to convert the power of the wind into electricity.
Dysprosium allows these permanent magnets to operate at the high temperatures critical for the operation of large wind turbines and electric vehicles.
Lanthanum and Cerium are what make catalytic converters work.

[Rare Earth Metals] The dystopian lake filled by the world’s tech lust – by Tim Maughan (BBC.com – April 2, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.bbc.com/

Hidden in an unknown corner of Inner Mongolia is a toxic, nightmarish lake created by our thirst for smartphones, consumer gadgets and green tech, discovers Tim Maughan.

From where I’m standing, the city-sized Baogang Steel and Rare Earth complex dominates the horizon, its endless cooling towers and chimneys reaching up into grey, washed-out sky. Between it and me, stretching into the distance, lies an artificial lake filled with a black, barely-liquid, toxic sludge.

Dozens of pipes line the shore, churning out a torrent of thick, black, chemical waste from the refineries that surround the lake. The smell of sulphur and the roar of the pipes invades my senses. It feels like hell on Earth.

Welcome to Baotou, the largest industrial city in Inner Mongolia. I’m here with a group of architects and designers called the Unknown Fields Division, and this is the final stop on a three-week-long journey up the global supply chain, tracing back the route consumer goods take from China to our shops and homes, via container ships and factories.

Vedanta’s innovation task force at work on next big idea – by Megha Mandavia (The Economic Times [India] – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

MUMBAI: Senior managers at Vedanta have been meeting every quarter over the past one year to discuss new ideas and exchange notes with chief executive Tom Albanese on the next possible big innovation at the natural resources conglomerate. The executives are members of the ‘innovation task force’ which has a clear brief to increase the number of patent filings and bring down the cost of production by using disruptive technology.

The task force, chaired by Albanese and comprising of five other senior officials, is supported by a dedicated team working at each location to promote creative and innovative culture across the group, the company said.

“Anil Agarwal is very focused on the importance of exciting young engineers thinking outside the box and be seen to be using disruptive technology,” Albanese told ET. “I ask people to think about what they can do differently to change process and how they can use their technical knowledge to redesign the process. I want senior leadership to be propagating that to the engineers and want the ideas to come up from the businesses.”

The company is already in the process of filing nearly 20 patents and working on many more, executives said. Its inhouse technological innovations are in the field of exploration, processing, waste disposal and new product development. Among the innovations that it is working include the use of nanotechnology for various processes.

[Vale] World’s Top Iron-Ore Miner Presses on Output as Price Slide – by Juan Pablo Spinetto (Bloomberg News – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Vale SA boosted iron-ore production last quarter to the second-highest ever for the company, exceeding analyst estimates and worsening a supply glut that saw prices of the steelmaking ingredient collapse.

Iron-ore output rose 7.4 percent to 85.3 million metric tons in the quarter through June 30, compared with 79.4 million tons a year ago, the company said in a statement Thursday. The result, which excludes third-party purchases and operations at a venture with BHP Billiton Plc, topped the 82.5 million-ton average of eight analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company, the world’s top iron-ore producer, is expanding supply to a record 340 million tons this year while seeking to replace low-quality ore with premium products to improve profits. The expansion by Vale and its main rivals BHP and Rio Tinto Group coincides with an unexpected decline in demand from China, the biggest iron-ore buyer, prompting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to forecast weaker prices in incoming quarters.

The increase in Vale’s three main production systems was driven by better-than-expected weather and expanded operations at the N4WS mine and Plant 2 unit in the Carajas complex, Vale said in the statement. Output for the first-half reached a record 159.8 million tons, 6.2 percent more than last year.

PRECIOUS-Gold bounces back above $1,100/oz from 5-year low – by Jan Harvey (Reuters U.S. – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) – Gold bounced back above $1,100 an ounce on Thursday from the previous session’s five-year low, as a retreat in the dollar prompted some investors to take advantage of the price drop to buy back into the market.

Many remained wary towards the precious metal, however, after it posted its deepest one-day loss in nearly two years on Monday, pushing prices through key chart levels and setting it up for further weakness.

Gold has been undermined this year by expectations that the Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, boosting the cost of holding non-yielding bullion and lifting the dollar.

Spot gold was up 0.8 percent at $1,101.25 an ounce at 1152 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were up $9.10 an ounce at $1,100.60.

“Gold is falling out of favour as the Fed is preparing to increase borrowing costs,” AvaTrade’s chief market analyst Naeem Aslam said.

Gemfields’ ray of sunshine in depressed resource sector – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – July 23, 2015)

July 23, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

Miner’s ruby deposit in Mozambique described as ‘potentially one of the most exciting discoveries in Africa in decades’.

LONDON – In the current resource investment climate it is reassuring to see an announcement from a gemstones miner, which would seem to offer great growth potential and whose stock price performance is bucking the general resource stocks trend. Indeed it might even be doing rather better if the sentiment for resource stocks in general wasn’t quite so depressed.

The miner is London AIM-listed Gemfields (GEM), effectively controlled by Brian Gilbertson’s Pallinghurst Resources Fund (named after a road in exclusive Johannesburg suburb Westcliff close to where Gilbertson used to have his home).

Gemfields’ assets include the 75%-owned Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and the Fabergé brand name, as well as a similar sized interest in the Montepuez ruby deposit located in the Montepuez district of Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique. The company has just announced what looks to be a highly positive resource and economic assessment of the latter.

Commodity rout shows no signs of slowing as loonie hits decade-low – by Carrie Tait (Globe and Mail -July 23, 2015)

July 23, 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.

CALGARY — The rout in commodities ranging from gold to oil is showing no sign of letup, taking the Canadian dollar down to its lowest level in more than a decade.

The widespread slide is tied to factors that include speculation interest rates are about to rise in the United States, and concerns that strong oil and iron ore companies will continue to increase production in hopes of squeezing their less-efficient counterparts out of the market.

This comes as the prospect for global economic growth remains weak and as the World Bank on Wednesday released ugly predictions for commodity prices.

Gold fell for its 10th consecutive day – its longest slip since 1996. The commodity hit a five-year low on Monday. The loonie was down 0.50 of a cent (U.S.) at 76.71 cents. That’s the lowest level since September, 2004, and oil prices retreated below $50. The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 69 points on Wednesday, bringing the loss to 2.3 per cent so far this week.