Republic of Mining

Franco-Nevada chairman rips ‘ridiculous’ pay packages at underperforming gold companies – Business Network News’ Andrew Bell interviews Pierre Lassonde (March 7, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://www.bnn.ca/

Mining magnate Pierre Lassonde told us on Thursday’s Commodities show that big pay packages for gold mining executives whose stocks have tanked are “obscene.”

“That is ridiculous,” the Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO 0.84%) chair said. Compensation committees, he added, “should have been far more forceful and said ‘guys, our shareholders are suffering. You’ve got to take the pain as well.’”

John Thornton, the famously well-rewarded chairman of Barrick Gold, told shareholders last week that “we have heard you loud and clear” after they voted against the company’s pay policy. But he didn’t actually promise to refund any of his 2014 compensation, valued at US$12.9-million.

Essar ramps up construction [Iron Range] – by Beth Bily (Business North.com – May 8, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://www.businessnorth.com/news.asp

The business news source for Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin.

While recent news about price, demand and employment hasn’t been favorable for Iron Range mining operations, the largest mining construction project here during this century is nonetheless moving ahead, executives say.

Essar Steel Minnesota, a $1.9 billion project located north of Nashwauk on the former Butler mining site, is ramping up for a summer of large-scale activity with the goal of completing construction on the taconite mine by the end of this year. It’s permitted to produce 7 million tons of taconite pellets annually and is expected to operate for approximately 80 years.

Reestablishing mining operations here has been decades in the making. Butler ceased production at the site in the mid-1980s. Later, various would-be developers announced plans to reopen the site to mining. But for years, the plans never made it off the drawing board. That changed in 2007, when India-based Essar purchased what was formerly known as Minnesota Steel Industries.

At a ground breaking for Essar Steel Minnesota in 2008, executives then promised a mining operation that would be up and running within 27 months.

Glencore blames rivals for creating metals glut – by Silvia Antonioli (Reuters U.K. – May 7, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON – The head of global mining and trading company Glencore (GLEN.L) said rivals were to blame for an oversupply of metals which depressed its share price.

Despite a partial recovery in the last few months, Glencore’s shares are down about 6 percent from a year ago, under pressure from a rout in prices for most of the commodities it produces and trades.

“Unfortunately our competitors in the world have produced more supply than demand and commodity prices are down for that reason,” Glasenberg said at the company’s annual meeting.

“I am doing my level best to convince my competitors we should understand the words demand and supply,” he added in response to a question from an investor about the share price.

Glasenberg has criticised rivals such as Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and BHP Billiton (BLT.L) (BHP.AX) at various times, blaming them for oversupplying the market, particularly in iron ore, a commodity Glencore has little exposure to.

Ontario Northland president: “We want to move away from entitlement” (CBC News Sudbury – May 8, 2015)

May 8, 2015

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

“We want to move away from the fact that, you know, we deserve things because we’re Ontario Northland.” Corina Moore says the company is bleeding.

The interim president of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission gave a stark warning to municipal leaders gathered in Sudbury this week for the Northern Ontario Federation of Municipalities conference.

“That highlights crisis situation for the agency,” said Moore. She said it has reached a pivotal point where Ontario Northland can’t continue to lose money if it expects to exist in the future.

Moore admitted the future will be challenging because the company hasn’t seen much change in 113 years.

“We want to move away from entitlement. We want to move away from the fact that we deserve things because we’re Ontario Northland. We are here to say that, starting now, we are focused on performance-based thinking and the way we do things. It’s a culture shift and it’s a tough one.”

Shanghai Exchange Seeks Foreign Nickel to Help Ease Shortage (Bloomberg News – May 8, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The Shanghai Futures Exchange plans to allow delivery of foreign-made nickel into its futures contracts as it seeks relief from a shortage of domestic supply to the bourse.

Russia’s OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer, is among suppliers the exchange plans to authorize, SHFE said Friday in an e-mailed response to questions. Six brands made by six domestic companies are currently deliverable into the SHFE futures, which started trading in March. That compares with 59 brands for its copper contract and 23 for the London Metal Exchange.

“Shanghai Futures Exchange has been actively seeking to proceed with registration of foreign nickel supply,” the exchange said. Prices below the cost of production for some companies are “the reason they are reluctant to sell, therefore reducing market supply.”

Rules limiting the origin of nickel allowed for delivery in China’s new futures prompted speculation prices may extend gains as sellers seek sufficient supplies to meet the requirements. The metal on the SHFE is up 11 percent since trading started March 27, outpacing the 7.5 percent advance on the LME.

Kevin O’Leary on NDP’s stunning win in Alberta: ‘It’s a horror movie unfolding’ – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – May 8, 2015)

May 8, 2015

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

Influential Canadian investor Kevin O’Leary has some blunt advice for international institutions in the wake of the Alberta election: Pull out.

“It’s a horror movie unfolding,” O’Leary said in an interview from New York where he is meeting investors, referring to the election of the New Democratic Party under Rachel Notley. “Until we understand what the [oil and gas] royalties and taxes are there won’t be any material fund flows – it’s a disaster.”

The benchmark Canadian energy index retreated again Thursday, falling 1.56%, after the NDP won a majority in Alberta on Tuesday on pledges to raise corporate taxes and to set up a commission to review the royalty regime. Notley expects to make a decision on the commission’s findings within the first year of her rule.

International investors should “wait and see what happen with [oil] prices undoubtedly going lower,” O’Leary said. “You never, ever tinker with royalty rates when you are at the low. You don’t do that. “Not only are taxes going up, why would you take a whole year to guarantee that no capital flows into the province — that is beyond irresponsible,” O’Leary said. “That is un-Canadian — that’s what that is.”

Peru may declare state of emergency in province hit by anti-mining protests (Fox News Latino – May 7, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://latino.foxnews.com/index.html

Peru’s government is studying the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in the southern province of Islay, where protests against Southern Copper’s Tia Maria project have left two dead and nearly 200 injured in recent weeks.

President Ollanta Humala’s administration is considering adopting a different strategy in response to the clashes in Islay, a province in the Arequipa region where local farmers launched an “indefinite strike” 45 days ago, Energy and Mines Minister Rosa Maria Ortiz told Radio Programas del Peru on Thursday.

“(Declaring a state of emergency) is one of the possibilities being considered. We haven’t decided yet. We’re going to continue discussing this matter at the Cabinet level and with the president,” Ortiz said.

She lamented that negotiations between the government and opponents of the copper project broke down once again on Thursday, when local authorities and grassroots leaders in Islay abandoned the talks without reaching an agreement.

The minister blamed the mine opponents for the failure of the talks, saying they had demanded cancelation of the project as a pre-condition.

Kincardine nuclear waste site gets federal seal of approval – by John Spears and Lauren Pelley (Toronto Star – May 7, 2015)

May 8, 2015

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Deep Geologic Repository proposed by Ontario Power Generation at its Bruce site is “not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects,” report concludes.

A federal panel has given an overall seal of approval to the controversial nuclear waste disposal site proposed for a subterranean crypt below the Bruce nuclear station near Kincardine, Ont.

“The Panel concludes that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” given the measures contemplated to curb them, says the report by the Joint Review Panel.

The panel’s favourable view of the project, proposed by Ontario Power Generation, overcomes a major regulatory hurdle in the construction of the Deep Geologic Repository, or DGR in industry jargon, which would see nuclear waste buried hundreds of metres underground near the shore of Lake Huron.

Press Release: Antwerp Strengthens Ties With Canadian Miners (May 8, 2015)

May 8, 2015

https://www.awdc.be/en/homepage

Press Release: Canada is the third-largest diamond producer in the world and one of the most important suppliers of rough diamonds to Antwerp. Last week, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), spearheaded by governor Cathy Berx, traveled to Montreal, Toronto and Yellowknife. The meetings with mining company Stornoway Diamond Corp. provided strong indications the company is considering to commercialize its entire production from the Renard mine in Quebec through Antwerp.

Stornoway is the first producer to exploit a mining area in the Canadian province of Quebec. The Renard mine is expected to yield 1.6 million carats of diamonds annually, with a value of $304 million and production estimated to hit the market as of the second half of 2017. If the Renard production is marketed in Antwerp, the share of rough diamonds from Canada on the Antwerp market could increase by 64 percent.

As trade center and diamond producer, Antwerp and Canada have always maintained a close relationship because of the quality demands that both implement with regard to transparency, ethical values and observance of national and international standards.

In recent years, Canada has undergone significant changes with regard to diamond mining. Ari Epstein, the CEO of the AWDC, said, “A number of legislative changes have ensured that the regional and local authorities, such as the Northwest Territories, have obtained wider competencies as concerns the mining industry.

Important to get Ring of Fire ‘right’: Gravelle – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – May 08, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Mines minister addresses Chamber of Commerce

Despite some frustration the Ring of Fire development has been at a standstill for years, Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle said it’s important to “get it right” before moving ahead with any infrastructure investments.

Gravelle was in Sudbury Thursday, where he addressed the city’s Chamber of Commerce with an update on Ontario’s mining sector.

While the province has committed to invest $1 billion to build infrastructure to connect the remote Ring of Fire mineral deposit by road, it has not yet provided any details as to when that work will begin.

“Timelines can and may be altered depending on moving forward with the work we’re doing with the Ring of Fire Development Corporation,” Gravelle said after his speech.

Gravelle said the companies involved in the Ring of Fire understand moving their deposits into production will take time. “(Noront Resources president and CEO Alan Coutts) wants to see the project move as quickly as possible, but he’s cautious, as we are, that we make sure the First Nations that are directly impacted by any mine development, that we make sure they can see real benefits from the project,” Gravelle said.

First Nations firmly rooted on both sides of the resource development debate – by Trevor McLeod and Roger Gibbins (Troy Media – May 6, 2015)

May 8, 2015

http://www.troymedia.com/

Trevor McLeod is the Director of the Centre for Natural Resources Policy at the Canada West Foundation and Roger Gibbins is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation. www.cwf.ca

CALGARY, AB – Potential resource developments too often face an unbridgeable abyss, with project proponents perched on one side and First Nations and environmentalists on the other. Unfortunately, the historic bridge-builders are absent.

Governments have abandoned the space and are assumed to favour project proponents. Regulators, like the National Energy Board, are able to answer “how” a resource might be developed but do not always have the scope to answer the “should” question.

And so we have a stalemate, which is a win for those opposed to development – and a signal to the business community to take its money elsewhere.

If we rethink our initial assumptions, however, we may realize it is a mistake to place First Nations on either side of the abyss. In fact, they are firmly rooted on both sides.

Will Notley refine Alberta’s oil royalty regime or her election promises? – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – May 8, 2015)

May 8, 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.

A few weeks ago, Rachel Notley stood in front of an oil upgrader in Edmonton and accused the governing Progressive Conservatives of squandering Alberta’s wealth “with a fire sale of our resources.” The PCs, she said, were more interested in creating jobs in Texas than at home.

Ms. Notley, leader of Alberta New Democrats and now premier-designate, promised that the NDP would introduce a new royalty regime that would “reward value-added processing” of Alberta’s oil within the province, producing thousands of new jobs and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes.

What seemed then like boilerplate NDP talk denouncing the “rip and ship” mentality of Alberta’s oil industry has taken on real currency with Ms. Notley’s stunning electoral victory. The vow to create a new Resource Owners’ Rights Commission to review Alberta’s royalty structure, with an emphasis on adding value, is sending shudders down the spines of oil executives but has Alberta’s top union exec “walking on air.”

No free rides for women in mining – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – May 7, 2015)

May 8, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – A woman with extensive mining engineering experience told an audience of Timmins business women on Thursday there are opportunities for more females in the mining industry. She said it is now up to women to seek out mining employment and go for it.

Sophie Bergeron, the underground manager at Hoyle Pond for Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines, has worked in mining in both Canada and South America. She was the keynote speaker at the Women in Business luncheon hosted by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

Bergeron’s education as a mining engineer set her off on a journey to Xstrata’s Raglan mine in far Northern Quebec, where she took on a number of jobs because she said she asked for them.

Women are still in a minority in mining and while Bergeron said the numbers are gradually improving, she urged women to seek out the jobs they want and to aggressively ask for those roles. Bergeron said many of the jobs she has worked at came about because she specifically asked to do those jobs.

She explained that in all experience, she was never offered a job in mine production department.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. History (1912 – 2004)

May 8, 2015

For a large selection of corporate histories click: International Directory of Company Histories

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. is engaged in exploring, mining, producing, processing, and marketing metals. It is one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost producers of copper, and it controls the single largest gold reserve in the world. Its principal asset is its Grasberg mine, in Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), the western half of the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia. This huge mine has proven copper and gold reserves expected to last for some 30 years. The mine is partially owned by Freeport’s principal subsidiary, FT Freeport Indonesia.

Roots in the Early 20th Century

Freeport McMoRan began in 1912 under the name of Freeport Sulphur Company. It pioneered the use of the Frasch invention in the United States as an engineering method to mine sulfur. Prior to the Frasch invention, Italy monopolized the sulfur market because of its cheap labor. Herman Frasch’s invention, which utilized machinery rather than manual labor, allowed U.S. companies to produce the element at competitive world prices. The process involved flushing large quantities of hot water into pipelines sunk inward toward the sulfur find.

As the ore melted, it was pumped to the surface in liquid form. The process initially had been engineered on a find near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1894.

South African Empowerment Rule Change May Hurt Top Companies – by Franz Wild and Christopher Spillane (Bloomberg News – May 6, 2015)

May 7, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Some of the biggest companies in South Africa could fall foul of regulations and lose business after the government changed how it will evaluate their compliance with rules to award shares to black people.

Black empowerment programs benefiting community and special interest trusts and employees will carry less weight when setting a company’s compliance rating than previously, the Department of Trade and Industry said in a notice on Tuesday. The rating is needed to secure business from government and some other companies.

“It’s a really big issue,” Verushca Pillay, a director at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s corporate and commercial practice in Johannesburg, said by phone on Wednesday. The black empowerment “compliance level is relevant to them winning business from other companies and from government,” she said.

South Africa’s empowerment regulations are designed to boost participation in the economy by black citizens and other groups who were disadvantaged during apartheid, which ended with all-race elections in 1994. The rules had given companies benefit for training black managers, promoting women and helping develop communities, as well as handing over ownership.