Republic of Mining

Moon 44 (American Themed Mining Movie – 1990)

April 26, 2015

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Moon 44 is a 1990 science fiction action film from Centropolis Film Productions, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Michael Paré and Lisa Eichhorn and co-starring Brian Thompson.

Plot[edit]

By the year 2038 all of Earth’s natural resources have been depleted. Multinational corporations have taken control of the galaxy and rival companies battle each other for access to mining planets. A major battle is for Moon 44, a fuel mining operation in the Outer Zone. It is the only installation still controlled by the Galactic Mining corporation. Moons 46, 47 and 51 have recently been overtaken by the Pyrite Defense Company’s battle robots.

Galactic Mining had its own defence system, helicopters capable of operating in the violent atmospheres of the moons, but it was cancelled as too many pilots died while in training. The company sends new navigators to Moon 44 to assist the pilots. However, there is still a shortage of pilots, so the company is forced to use prisoners. Galactic Mining regards its fleet of mining shuttles as even more important, so if the base is attacked, the shuttles are ordered to leave the crews behind.

White Fang (American Disney Themed Mining Movie – 1991)

April 26, 2015

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

White Fang is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser, starring Ethan Hawke, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Seymour Cassel. Based on Jack London’s novel White Fang, it tells the story of the friendship between a Yukon gold hunter and a wolfdog.

Plot[edit]

In the late 19th Century, a young explorer named Jack Conroy arrives in Alaska from San Francisco and meets a musher named Skunker and his late father’s buddy Alex Larson, a rugged guide who reluctantly agrees to take Jack to his father’s claim. While on their journey, they are stalked by a large pack of wolves. while resting at a campfire at nightfall, a female wolf manages to lure one of the sled dogs (Digger) away from the group, another wolf appears and chases the dog into the woods, Skunker uses his ammunition to wound one wolf and gives chase to save his dog, but is killed and devoured by the rest of the pack.

Later that night the wolves return but are scared off by Jack and Alex using burning branches. The following morning the wolves attack the two men, but they are saved when another sled team arrives with one of the men fatally shooting a female wolf, her pup (which is half dog) is left to fend for itself.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (American Mining Themed Movie – 1937)

May 22, 2015April 26, 2015

Diamond Mining Seven Dwarfs Scene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length cel animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. The story was adapted by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith. David Hand was the supervising director, while William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen directed the film’s individual sequences.

Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937, followed by a nationwide release on February 4, 1938, and with international earnings of $8 million during its initial release briefly assumed the record of highest grossing sound film at the time. The popularity of the film has led to it being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top ten performers at the North American box office.

Cornish Mining World Heritage: Our Mining Culture Shaped Your World! (Mining Tourism)

April 26, 2015

http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/

http://www.erih.net/welcome.html

The Cornish Route of Industrial Heritage

The Cornish Route of Industrial Heritage features one of the earliest industrial areas in Europe and one of the most influential in terms of developing industrial expertise and mining technology. The area is also a noteworthy example of the growth of industrial society.

Cornwalis a peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, located at the extreme south west of the UK and Europe. The area has a very individual geology in which the resources of tin, copper and china clay are to be found. These rich and abundant natural resources were the reason for rapid industrial development during the Industrial Revolution.

Tin (British Mining Movie – 2015)

April 26, 2015

http://www.tinmovie.com/

SYNOPSIS

In the winter of 1890 a windswept troupe of actors arrives in a small town, perched on cliffs above the Atlantic. Dragging with them a cartload of scenery and an emaciated pianist, they have come to give a performance of Beethoven’s opera “Fidelio”.

The inhospitable, granite-grey town is in crisis: its once-glorious tin mine, upon which everyone’s livelihood has depended for generations, is on its last legs.

As these different worlds collide, the actors find melodrama spilling over into everyday life and discover that they are not the only ones who survive by appearing to be something they are not.

The actor-manager’s business acumen proves no match for local cunning and she is misled into investing in the mine. When it unexpectedly yields up new treasures, any notion of fair play is abandoned.

Fox News uses input from New York Times reporter (!) for ‘Clinton Cash’ piece – by Erik Wemple (Washington Post – April 23, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.foxnews.com/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Earlier this week, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow devoted considerable time to examining the agreements of major media outlets with Peter Schweizer, the author of “Clinton Cash,” a soon-to-be-released book highlighting overlaps between the work of the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

No surprise, said Maddow, that Fox News would be partnering with such an author, who advised Sarah Palin and assisted the George W. Bush White House with speechwriting. Some surprise, said Maddow, that a news org like the New York Times would strike an exclusive agreement with Schweizer.

Now for an even bigger surprise: Not only did the New York Times work with Schweizer; it also worked directly with Fox News! See the segment below, in which New York Times investigative reporter Jo Becker provides input for the report of Fox News host Bret Baier on a “bombshell rocking the Clinton campaign.”

UPDATE 3-Barrick will not suspend copper mine as Zambia backs down on royalties – by Chris Mfula (Reuters U.S. – April 23, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

LUSAKA, April 23 (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp, the world’s biggest gold producer, said on Thursday it will not suspend operations at its Lumwana open-pit copper mine in Zambia now that the country’s government has reduced mining royalties.

Zambia’s cabinet set the royalty tax rate for open-pit and underground mining at 9 percent on Monday. The corporate income tax rate will be 30 percent and the mineral processing tax rate will be 35 percent when the law takes effect on July 1.

“We appreciate the leadership and engagement of President (Edgar) Lungu and the government of Zambia on this matter,” Barrick Co-President Kelvin Dushinsky in a statement. “While Lumwana still faces challenges, in light of the government’s recent announcement we intend to continue operations at this time” The changes are yet to be approved by the parliament in Africa’s second-largest copper producer, but are expected to receive support from the assembly.

Zambia decided in January to increase royalties for open pit mines to 20 percent from 6 percent and raise rates for underground mines to 8 percent from 6 percent. The move rattled unions and mining companies and forced the government to review the plan.

How Putin’s Russia Gained Control of a U.S. Uranium Mine – by William Kennedy and Andy Hoffman(Bloomberg News – April 23, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Since 2013, the nuclear energy arm of the Russian state has controlled 20 percent of America’s uranium production capacity.

Rosatom’s acquisition of Toronto-based miner Uranium One Inc. made the Russian agency, which also builds nuclear weapons, one the world’s top five producers of the radioactive metal and gave it ownership of a mine in Wyoming.

The deal, approved by a committee that included then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also followed donations from Uranium One’s Canadian chairman to the Clinton Global Foundation, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Ian Telfer, the former Uranium One chairman and current chairman of Goldcorp Inc., said he pledged a donation of $3 million to the Clinton charity in March 2008, “when it was never contemplated that at some point in the future the Russian government would become a major shareholder of Uranium One.”

Why did the Russian government want Uranium One? Russia is only the world’s sixth-largest uranium miner, but has a huge nuclear fuel industry. Rosatom had built that business partly by processing uranium from Soviet warheads decommissioned under the so-called megatons-to-megawatts agreement signed with the U.S. in 1993.

Local mining magnates drawn into American political arena – by Nelson Bennett (Business Vancouver – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.biv.com/

Vancouver mining magnates Frank Giustra and Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) chairman Ian Telfer made generous donations to former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s charitable organization at a time when the company they built was acquiring assets in Russia and the U.S., according to the New York Times.

The story suggests the donations may have helped Giustra and Telfer conclude deals that eventually resulted in the Canadian mining company, Uranium One, being acquired by the Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp. It suggests former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton might have had a hand in approving the deal.

Several major U.S. media outlets have weighed in, saying there appears to be little, if any, evidence that Hillary Clinton would even have had knowledge of the deal.

Neither Telfer nor Giustra deny making donations to the Clinton Foundation, but insist there was no lobbying on their behalf from either Bill or Hillary Clinton as a result of the donations.

Telfer told Business in Vancouver that the timelines don’t line up to support the suggestion that Hillary Clinton – former U.S. Secretary of State – would have even been in a position to help his company. Telfer is the former chairman of Uranium One.

Up to $1 trillion in gold is held by temples in India. Now Modi wants them to monetize this vast hidden wealth – by Rama Lakshmi (Washington Post/National Post – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

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

MUMBAI — Workers for the centuries-old Shree Siddhivinayak Temple here spent hours unpacking gold coins, heavy wedding necklaces and lustrous pendants from a closely guarded “strong room.” By the time gold-buyers began mingling with worshippers at the sweltering sanctuary on Tuesday, the jewelry auctioneers were ready.

“This is not a regular gold coin that you would buy from a gold shop — it contains the Lord’s blessing,” a temple board member said, holding up a tiny coin, probably left by a devotee years ago. It eventually sold for four times its face value.

Wealthy Hindu temples such as this one are repositories for much of the $1 trillion US worth of privately held gold in India — about 22,000 tons, according to an estimate from the World Gold Council. In 2011, one temple in south India was found to have more than $22 billion in gold hidden away in locked rooms rumoured to be filled with snakes. Another has enough gold to rival the riches stashed at the Vatican, experts said.

But little of it is contributing to the Indian economy, and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is looking to monetize India’s vast hidden wealth. In coming weeks, the government plans to begin a program that will allow temples to deposit their gold into banks to earn interest and circulate in the economy, rather than sit idle in musty vaults. The gold, officials said, would be melted down and sold to jewellers.

NEWS RELEASE: Cree Nation congratulates the International Uranium Film Festival for a successful inaugural event in Quebec

April 24, 2015

QUEBEC CITY, April 24, 2015 /CNW/ – As the 2015 International Uranium Film Festival draws to a close today, the Cree Nation extends its congratulations and appreciation for a successful inaugural event in Quebec. Over 50 films from around the world were screened in Quebec City and Montreal over the 10 days of the festival, each telling a different story about the impact of uranium mining and the risks of the nuclear age. The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) was the major partner for this year’s festival, which drew some serious star power, with Quebec superstar Karine Vanasse and Hollywood actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. in attendance for the opening gala on April 15, 2015.

“From the very beginning of the Cree Nation’s fight against uranium development on our land, we have maintained that once Quebecers learned the true facts about uranium, they would stand with us,” said Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. “We have seen that the more people learn about uranium and the nuclear chain, and the more we listen to the stories of those who have been affected by this industry, the more we are convinced that the risks brought by uranium are simply unacceptable, both today and for future generations. We have been honoured to host the International Uranium Film Festival in Quebec.”

The Cree Nation’s stand against uranium development began in 2008 when junior mining company Strateco Resources applied to the Quebec Government to pursue the Matoush advanced uranium exploration project, located on the family hunting grounds of the Cree Nation of Mistissini. The Government of Quebec has since denied the required permit for the Matoush project, due largely to its lack of social acceptability amongst the Cree Nation.

Snow Lake return to mining would surprise resident – by Jonathon Naylor (Flin Flon Reminder – April 23, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.thereminder.ca/

Hudbay has additional processing in mind, not mining, with its planned purchase of the long-idle New Britannia gold mine in Snow Lake.

The deal, worth as much as US$17.3 million, is expected to close next week, giving Hudbay a mill, a former mine and dozens of unsurveyed mineral claims.

Rob Winton, vice-president, Manitoba Business Unit for Hudbay, said the transaction adds potential flexibility to processing options at its Lalor mine near Snow Lake.

“The timing of this acquisition works well as the current Lalor mine plans [have] us accessing gold ore in future years,” he said. “Having the capability to maximize gold recovery of these ores is the opportunity this purchase presents.”

The purchase, announced late last week, will give Hudbay two Snow Lake area mills capable of serving Lalor: the Stall Lake concentrator and the New Britannia mill. That raises questions around the company’s previously announced plan to build a new state-of-the-art mill at Lalor.

Clinton, Giustra push back against New York Times’ Uranium One story – by Michael Allan McCrae (Mining.com – April 23, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.mining.com/

Hillary Clinton and Frank Giustra both released statements claiming that the New York Times failed to prove any connections between the Clinton Foundation and the purchase of Russian assets.

Today the New York Times profiled Uranium One and gifts to the Clinton Foundation. Spokesman for Hillary Clinton, Brian Fallon, called the story wrong.

“Relying largely on research from the conservative author of Clinton Cash, today’s New York Times alleges that donations to the Clinton Foundation coincided with the U.S. government’s 2010 approval of the sale of a company known as Uranium One to the Russian government. Without presenting any direct evidence in support of the claim, the Times story — like the book on which it is based — wrongly suggests that Hillary Clinton’s State Department pushed for the sale’s approval to reward donors who had a financial interest in the deal. Ironically, buried within the story is original reporting that debunks the allegation that then-Secretary Clinton played any role in the review of the sale.

The Times’ own public editor has taken issue with the paper’s arrangement with the author of Clinton Cash, saying, “The Times should have been much more clear with readers about the nature of this arrangement” and “I still don’t like the way it looked.” It certainly doesn’t look any better that the lead Times reporter appeared in a taped interview for a Fox News documentary attacking the Clintons on this matter prior to receiving our responses to her questions.”

[Mining death inquiry] Muck shocked Sudbury mining veteran – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Mark Bardswich has worked for Vale for 20 years, but had never been to Stobie Mine until late the night of June 8, 2011.

The operations control centre supervisor at Vale’s Totten Mine, he’s a long-time member of Ontario Mine Rescue, an organization that trains and equips volunteers to respond to mine accidents and disasters.

Bardswich was awakened about 10:45 p.m. June 8, and called to an incident at Stobie Mine. He got there by 11:30 p.m. and met with other mine rescuers.

He was told three people were missing and unaccounted for. Bardswich was assigned captain of a second rescue team, and by the time it got to the 3,000-foot level, he knew two men were involved and the body of one had been recovered. Bardswich moved along the level toward the No. 7 ore pass, through sticky mud.

“Looking around, I couldn’t believe it,” Bardswich testified at the fourth day of the inquest into the deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram. The men were killed by a run of muck at the 3,000 level of Stobie Mine near the No. 7 ore pass about 9:45 p.m.

Jim Doak, Canadian mining executive, found dead in Mongolia (CBC News Business – April 24, 2015)

April 24, 2015

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business

Chairman of Khan Resources was well-known Bay Street personality and frequent BNN commentator

The Canadian Press – A published report says Jim Doak, a well-known Bay Street personality who regularly appeared as a commentator on business channel BNN, has died while on business in Mongolia.

The Globe and Mail, citing sources, said Doak, 59, who was chairman of uranium exploration and development company Khan Resources, was found dead Thursday morning in a hotel room.

The public relations officer for the Police Authority of Mongolia confirms the death of an unidentified Canadian man on the 16th floor of the Blue Sky hotel in Ulan Bator. The officer said a preliminary autopsy found there was no foul play but added that a final autopsy report would be available in four days.

The federal government confirmed that a Canadian has died in Mongolia, but would not provide details. A Foreign Affairs spokesman said consular officials were in contact with authorities to gather more information.