Republic of Mining

Fickle nickel stocks poised for a comeback – by Trevor Hoey (Australian Financial Review – July 1, 2015)

June 30, 2015

http://www.afr.com/

Nickel takes the prize for being the most volatile of the base metals and while it is hovering around the low point of where it has traded since 2004 it seems to have finally found a base.

Nickel takes the prize for being the most volatile base metal, and while it is hovering around the low point of where it has traded since 2004, when the mining boom started to gain traction, it does seem to have found a base in the vicinity of $US5.70 a pound.

Analysts at UBS noted last week London Metals Exchange’s (LME) nickel inventory stood at about 460,000 tonnes and that over the past two weeks stocks had eased a total of 12,000 tonnes in 11 straight days of declines.

The broker also said cancelled warrants could potentially be a lead indicator of physical metal demand. A substantial increase in April imports from China strengthens nickel’s macroeconomic case.

UBS is forecasting a significant increase in price in 2016 and sees the current sub-$US6 a pound price as representing good value.

S.Africa’s mine massacre town sees little change three years on – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.K. – June 26, 2015)

June 30, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

MARIKANA, South Africa, June 26 (Reuters) – Almost three years after South African police shot 34 striking miners dead outside platinum producer Lonmin’s Marikana mine, little has changed in this hardscrabble town that has become a symbol of post-apartheid hardship and inequities.

Cows and pigs root through litter-strewn dirt roads that snake past corrugated iron shacks – a picture of grinding poverty atop one of the world’s wealthiest mineral deposits.

A long-awaited probe into the slayings, unveiled on Thursday by President Jacob Zuma, found Lonmin “did not respond appropriately” to the escalating violence during a wildcat strike in August of 2012.

Though the report slammed Lonmin for failing to comply with its social and housing obligations, few in Marikana felt it would make much difference.

Labour tensions in South Africa’s mines continue, stemming in part from squalid living conditions that have persisted two decades after the end of apartheid.

Marikana Miners’ Working Conditions Need Fresh Probe, Vavi Says – by Amogelang Mbatha (Bloomberg News – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The former general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions said a fresh inquiry into the circumstances of miners in Marikana area, where at least 44 people died in violence in 2012, is needed to prevent a repeat of the killings.

“A new commission must be established to look at living and working conditions of miners to prevent a Marikana massacre from happening again,” Zwelinzima Vavi said during a debate about the findings by a commission investigating the event in Johannesburg on Monday. Vavi, an outspoken critic of the ruling African National Congress’s economic policies and alleged corruption under President Jacob Zuma, was expelled from the labor federation in March for gross misconduct.

Zuma on June 25 released a report that recommended Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega’s competence to hold office be investigated after 34 miners were gunned down by police near Lonmin Plc’s Marikana platinum mines on Aug. 16, 2012.

The workers had been camping out on a rocky outcrop close to the operations demanding that the company increase their pay to 12,500 rand ($1,020) monthly in a country where about one of every four people is unemployed.

Corners Tower construction delayed over fears of abandoned coal mine (CBC News Edmonton – June 28, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton

At least 153 mines once cut through underground Edmonton, historian says

A nearly forgotten part of Edmonton’s history has delayed a condo project in the city’s core. The lot on the corner of 95th Street and Jasper Avenue is scheduled to be the site of Corners Tower, a 28-storey development by Edmonton-based BCM Homes.

Right now, it’s little more than a hole in the ground. The project has been delayed due to fears that there might be one — perhaps two — abandoned coal mines under the site.

Construction is on hold while geological testing is done to check for mines. BCM did not respond to calls for comment. One local historian said old mines are something every developer working near the river valley should be aware of.

“This has been a chronic problem for a better part of a century,” said author Ken Tingley, the city’s former historian laureate.

Coal mining used to be a major industry in Edmonton. Between 1880 and 1970, Tingley said, at least 153 mines were dug, creating countless tunnels that spider-web under the city.

Miners create community with food – by Maureen Arges Nadin (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

‘Food is one of the only comforts that people have when they are away from home,” says Allan Bedard, manager of Windigo Ventures and Catering.

And he is someone who knows, as his company supplies, plans and prepares nutritious and tasty food to feed and comfort FIFO (fly in fly out) workers at mining camps like Goldcorp’s camp at Musselwhite.

FIFO lifestyle is an occupational reality for many workers in the mining industry who are flown in on a rotational basis from various parts of Northwestern Ontario and other parts of Canada.

And attracting and retaining workers who are facing being away from their families for two weeks at a time can be a challenge. Many FIFO workers will say that when they are away, their co-workers and the people who provide support services at the mine, become their second family. And families generally eat together. This is a dynamic that Bedard understands well.

“It fosters a sense of community when we live with people and share food,” he says.

NEWS RELEASE: KWG Acquires 100% of Chromium Intellectual Property

June 29, 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – June 29, 2015) – KWG Resources Inc. (CSE:KWG)(FRANKFURT:KWG6) (“KWG”) has now acquired one hundred percent of the ownership rights in two United States provisional patent applications relating to the production of chromium iron alloys directly from chromite ore, and the production of low carbon chromium iron alloys directly from chromite concentrates (the “Chromium IP”) announced on April 21, 2014.

The vendor assigned its remaining fifty-percent interest in the Chromium IP in exchange for 25 million units of KWG (each, a “Unit”), with each Unit comprising one common share of KWG and one common share purchase warrant of KWG exercisable at a price of $0.10 for 5 years from closing. The Chromium IP includes the right to use these provisional patent applications as the basis for filing additional patent applications in the United States, Canada and elsewhere worldwide.

“With the support recently demonstrated by Minister Rickford and the scientists of Natural Resources Canada it became clear that owning all of this intellectual property now would put us into a better situation for further investment into testing and commercialization,” said KWG President Frank Smeenk. “It was very encouraging to learn that our national government was so well-informed on the economic potential of the Ring of Fire chromite resources and the reduction technology that we are developing, in workshops held in Ottawa last week.”

Australia’s coal miners struggle to tell a good story amid falling public opinion and prices – by Clint Jasper (Australian Broadcasting Corporation Rural – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

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

Australia’s coal miners feel like they are being hit from all sides, as public opinion about their industry and the price of their ore both continue downwards.

The fall in overall public opinion for the mining industry in general, and ways to address it, have been a topic of discussion for speakers and on the sidelines of two major mining conferences.

At the recent Association of Mining and Exploration Companies convention in Perth, Queensland-based U&M Mining’s Darren Walker admitted the shift in public opinion about coal mining had made operating in today’s environment much more difficult when compared to the good days of the mining boom.

He said groups and activists with an anti-coal agenda had made significant strides in recent years. “That is in part due to the different views and opinions about coal, its uses and its effect on the environment,” he said.

“I think the way that it has changed is that now our company has found we certainly need to sell the story and listen to the community more.”

Environmental groups pressure Dayton to wade into debate on copper, nickel mine in Minnesota (Associated Press/Minneapolis Star Tribune – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://www.startribune.com/

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Environmental advocates trying to stop a proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota launched an ad campaign on Monday aimed not at the company behind the project but at Gov. Mark Dayton, hoping to persuade the Democrat to require stronger environmental protections.

The latest environmental review of PolyMet Mining Corp’s open-pit mine, released by the Department of Natural Resources last week, did little to assuage concerns of a coalition of environmental groups called Mining Truth, despite finding that the mine likely wouldn’t significantly impact water quality. In a statewide ad expected to begin airing this week, the group shows video of a massive spill of mining waste in Canada and calls on Dayton to reject the mine’s waste storage system they say could result in a similar accident in Minnesota.

“Future generations will be cleaning up the mess left behind,” said Aaron Klemz, a spokesman for the group, referring to the site of the 2014 spill in Canada.

Last week’s report was the latest in a decade-long review for PolyMet’s project, which would be Minnesota’s first copper and nickel mine and could add hundreds of jobs in a region wracked by recent layoffs at iron ore mining operations.

COLUMN-Greece a sideshow to China’s main game for commodities – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, June 29 (Reuters) – With the focus on whether Greece will or won’t default on its debts or even stay within the euro zone, the important news of China easing its monetary policy again has been largely sidelined.

As fascinating as the Greek machinations are, ultimately they will have little impact on commodity markets, other than the potential to boost some safe-haven demand for gold and possibly other commodities, such as agriculture, which have little correlation to equities and bonds.

The real news is that the world’s largest commodity producer, consumer and importer appears to be taking more determined steps to boost its flagging growth rate.

China’s central bank cut lending rates for the fourth time since November, while also trimming the amount of cash that certain banks have to hold as reserves.

In a possible sign as to how serious the authorities are in getting money to flow faster through the economy, this was the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008 that both interest rates and the reserve ratio were cut at the same time.

Potash Corp tussle could be win for BHP – by Amanda Saunders (Australian Financial Review – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://www.afr.com/

A takeover tussle between two of the world’s biggest potash players could have an unlikely winner: BHP Billiton.

Analysts say a deal between Canada’s Potash Corp and Germany’s K+S will mean the remaining players in the market have increased pricing power over the next decade.

BHP has its foot on a potash megaproject called Jansen in Canada, which CEO Andrew Mackenzie has said is the best potash asset in the world.

But BHP is yet to decide whether to develop it could hinge the success of exploration and acquisitions in its other two key growth commodities: oil and copper.

Mr Mackenzie told The Australian Financial Review this month that BHP may have to choose between copper, potash and conventional oil in about five years, and could take on partners or exit one of the plays to protect its progressive dividend.

Deutsche mining analyst Paul Young said a Potash Corp deal with K+S would probably be positive for BHP.

Uncertainties in Canada’s resource sector – by Janet Guttsman (Canadian Lawyer Magazine – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/

Existing and future land claims and doubts on environmental rules have added a layer of uncertainty to an already difficult environment in the Canadian mining and resource sector, as companies struggle for development cash in a nervous and unsettled market.

With oil prices sagging, and global capital markets looking askance at mining and resources, lawyers say both the Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia aboriginal land rights case, and the new recommendations and likely regulations after the Mount Polley tailings dam disaster are adding to the gloom.

“These developments, Tsilhqot’in and Mount Polley, have added to the considerations that investors consider when they are looking at investing in Canada,” says Paul Cassidy, a partner in the business law group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Vancouver. “Are they using these two factors as the tipping point to make or not make an investment decision? I think that’s too hard to say. The investors we deal with are much too sophisticated to rely on one mine incident or one court decision as a tipping point.”

The 2014 Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia case was the Supreme Court’s first declaration of aboriginal title, a ruling that the band holds title to land in the interior of British Columbia that it has used over generations.

Govt set to mine mineral resources off Okinawa (Japan News – June 28, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://the-japan-news.com/

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Natural Resources and Energy Agency intends to conduct deep-sea test mining of minerals found on the seabed off Okinawa Island, in fiscal 2017.

The government aims to mine as much as 1,000 tons of zinc, silver and other mineral resources at a depth of about 1,600 meters in the sea off the island.

It is a world first to conduct such large-scale mining of minerals that lie under the seabed, according to the agency. A large number of mineral deposits have lately been found one after another in waters near Japan.

Currently, the Hishikari gold mine in Kagoshima Prefecture is the only domestic commercial mine in the country, the agency said.

Japan is 100 percent dependent on imports for minerals such as iron, copper and zinc, which are indispensable for the production of cars and home electrical appliances.

Arizona Strip region has yielded uranium ore for decades – by William Ascarza (Arizona Daily Star – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015

http://tucson.com/news/

One of the more remote historical uranium mining localities in Arizona is Hack Canyon, 37 miles southwest of Fredonia in Mohave County.

Sitting in the Arizona Strip — which is the area of the state that lies north of the Colorado River — the area covers roughly 1,000 square miles in the northwest portion of the state, and is the last hard-rock uranium producer in the U.S.

The canyon was reportedly named after Haskell Jolly, who was known to locals as “Hack,” and owned a nearby spring and ranch. Active copper mining at the site occurred during World War I, and included the use of a tramway for ore transport down the canyon wall.

By 1948, the Hack Canyon Uranium Mine consisted of 14 unpatented claims owned by G.C. Harwood from Phoenix and three partners, including A.E. “Blondie” Jenson and Clair Pearson of Fredonia and Ray Pointer of Safford, who comprised the Canyon Copper Co.

Having sent several shipments of copper ore to smelters toward the end of World War II, commercial uranium potential was soon afterward discovered through use of fluorescent lamps revealing fluorescence of radioactive minerals, including uraninite and zippeite found in sandstone and shale.

AUDIO: Mining exploration causing permanent damage in Ring of Fire, Wildlands League says – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – June 29, 2015)

June 29, 2015June 29, 2015

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

Environmental group takes photos to show landscape is ‘disturbed and disrupted’

Photos released Monday by the Wildlands League are proof that mining activity is causing permanent damage in a fragile ecosystem in northern Ontario, according to the environmental group.

The pictures of a snowy boreal forest patterned with grid lines and pockmarked by drill rig indentations were taken during a March flight across the mineral-rich area, known as the Ring of Fire, in the James Bay lowlands.

The images challenge the idea that early mining exploration is benign, said Wildlands League director of conservation planning, Anna Baggio.

“I don’t think people fully grasp how much activity has happened just at the exploration stage and what is being done to the land here,” Baggio said. “If all the claims were to be developed at a similar level of intensity, it would modify the entire landscape.”

Nearly two dozen companies hold claims, spending more than $278 million on exploration in an area that has yielded “significant discoveries” of chromite, nickel and copper-zinc, according to the province’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

[Sudbury, Ontario] Global Lessons from a Hard-Rock Mining Town: Dr. John Gunn at TEDxLaurentianU

June 27, 2015

Published on 28 Feb 2014 Dr. Gunn presents an inspiring talk on our northern mining town Sudbury. He educates us on our history of pollution, and it’s decline and the impact Sudbury’s smoke stack plays. He illustrates the link between clean air and clean water and further explains the impact and global lessons from …