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Mining for tourists? A dubious economic savior in Appalachia – (Chattanooga Times Free Press – March 29, 2015)

http://www.timesfreepress.com/

Associated Press – SECO, Ky. (AP) – Mines built this company town. Could vines – the wine grapes growing on a former strip mine in the hills above – help to draw visitors here?

Jack and Sandra Looney sure hope so. Their Highland Winery – housed in the lovingly restored, mustard-yellow “company store” – pays tribute to coal-mining’s history here, as do their signature wines: Blood, Sweat and Tears.

“The Coal Miner’s Blood sells more than any of them,” Jack Looney says of the sweet red. He and his wife have converted the store’s second and third floors into a bed and breakfast. They’ve also bought and restored a couple dozen of the old coal company houses as rentals, and rooms fill up during their annual spring Miner’s Memorial Festival.

Seco, like so many Central Appalachian communities, owes its existence to coal – its very name an acronym for South East Coal Company. But as mining wanes, officials across the region are looking for something to replace the traditional jobs and revenues.

In some of the poorest, most remote counties, about the only alternative people can come up with is tourism – eco-, adventure, or, as with the Looneys, historical and cultural.

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Accent: Nuke waste plans stir Northern angst – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – March 28, 2015)

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

Nuclear is in the news, making some residents of Northern Ontario nervous. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is scouting for a permanent storage solution for the waste produced by Ontario Power Generation Inc., Hydro-Quebec and the New Brunswick Power Corporation reactors.

Blind River and Elliot Lake are in the running to host a deep geologic repository (DGR), a storage facility that plunges more than 500 metres underground, in which nuclear waste will be buried. White River, Ignace, Hornepayne and Manitouwadge are also under consideration.

Robert Beaudoin sees red flags. A regular contributor to the Facebook group, Citizens Concerned about Nuclear Waste in Elliot Lake, which currently has 274 members, he believes there is “a lot of business potential” in the city and the presence of a DGR would be a deterrent.

“This is just going to put the big red letter on us,” he says. “Who’s going to want to live here? I can’t. I’ll take a loss on my house just to get away. I don’t want to raise my son around this.” He says he would rather lose his house and declare bankruptcy than jeopardize the safety of his seven-year-old. If the DGR is built in Elliot Lake, Beaudoin plans to relocate his family to the East Coast.

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Barrick Gold hires John Baird, Newt Gingrich – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – March 27, 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.

Barrick Gold Corp. has tapped former foreign affairs minister John Baird and former top U.S. lawmaker Newt Gingrich to serve on its advisory board, the company said in regulatory filings.

Mr. Baird and Mr. Gingrich, a former Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will join other political heavyweights including former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on the miner’s international advisory board.

The board meets once a year and gives advice to the world’s biggest gold producer, which has operations in the Americas, Africa and Australia.

“The role of the board is to provide advice on geopolitical and other strategic issues that affect our business,” a company spokesman said. “Both Mr. Baird and Mr. Gingrich bring with them excellent credentials and experience in this regard,” he said. Mr. Mulroney chairs the board, which also includes former U.S. and German defense officials and a former prime minister of Spain.

No compensation details for Mr. Baird and Mr. Gingrich were disclosed in the filings.

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My turn: Mine development in British Columbia raises concerns – by Abe Tanha (The Juneau Empire – March 29, 2015)

http://juneauempire.com/

Abe Tanha is owner and operator of Hooked On Juneau, a locally operated fishing tour company.

As owner of a sportfishing business based in Juneau, I join a large group of Alaskans including Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, Rep. Don Young, 11 municipalities including CBJ and the Southeast Conference of Mayors, tribes, fishermen and tourism operators who are deeply concerned with the scale and speed of mine development in British Columbia. Thank you, Juneau Empire, for a thorough job documenting this issue for your readers.

Last week the Empire responded to a litany of outrageous claims from B.C.’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Bill Bennett, about the Mount Polley mine tailings dam failure and development in the transboundary region. Bennett’s remarks are a total mischaracterization of Alaskans’ concerns and the widespread call from Alaskans for International Joint Commission involvement.

As unprecedented as the Mount Polley catastrophe may have been, the tailings dam failed because of regulatory oversight. Bennett claimed government inspectors could not have detected the glacial silt layer; however, they did identify a plethora of issues related to poor design and maintenance of the dam. These went unaddressed by Imperial Metals.

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A Word From The Editor-in-Chief, March 27, 2015 – by Michael Stutchbury (Australian Financial Review – March 28, 2015)

http://www.afr.com/

Andrew Forrest’s eye-popping call for the world’s big iron ore producers to drive the iron ore price back up by capping their production shows what crazy things the desperate can do. Twiggy even made his “national interest” call in Shanghai, among Chinese buyers of the iron ore dug up by his own Fortescue, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Brazil’s Vale and just as he was about to meet Xi Jinping.

The Fortescue founder is a man of bold ambition and enthusiasm: creating the third force in Australian iron ore, enlisting the Pope to help end modern slavery, and pushing Tony Abbott to narrow indigenous disadvantage. He won’t end up behind bars for his latest big idea, but he is calling for what both Joe Hockey and ACCC chairman Rod Sims suggested would be an illegal producer cartel. As our Matthew Stevens asked: What was Forrest thinking?

Twiggy’s call is a spectacular sign of Australia’s big iron ore price squeeze. Forrest became a billionaire in the 2000s by creating Fortescue on the back of the China boom that drove the iron ore price from US$20 or so a tonne to $US180 a tonne. Now supply has belatedly responded to the increased demand, the price has hurtled back into the US$50s. That’s crunching Fortescue’s margins and forced it to keep producing more to keep its head above water.

In fact, in the past four years, Fortescue has boosted output more than Rio or BHP. But that’s just kept driving down the price towards Fortescue’s cost of production.

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Copper price falls as Chile brings 1.6mt back on line – bt Frik Els (Mining.com – March 27, 2015)

http://www.mining.com/

Some 1.6 million tonnes of copper capacity is being restarted in Chile following torrential rains in the north of country which halted production at a number of the country’s largest operations.

The price of copper in New York fell on the news with May futures trading on the Comex market giving up 1.8% to $2.756 a pound. Copper is down 7.6% compared to a year ago, but up sharply from five-and-half-year lows struck in January.

Chile is responsible for a third of the world’s mined output of copper with many of the largest mines located in the Atacama desert. Before the unusual weather this week, a drought was reducing production as a result of water restrictions imposed by the authorities. In April 2014 a major earthquake also temporarily halted output at a number of large mines.

State-owned giant Codelco confirmed it had restarted mining operations at its Chuquicamata, Ministro Hales, Radomiro Tomic, Gabriela Mistral, and Salvador mines after a three-day hiatus due to the state of access roads, power problems and safety concerns following the downpours.

Codelco was forecast to produce 1.6 million tonnes of copper this year – already down 5% from 2014 – and the affected mines represented some 60% of the Santiago-based company’s production capacity.

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Noront CEO says new acquisition changes how industry, First Nations and goverment work together – by Matt Vis (tbnewswatch.com – March 27, 2015)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/default.aspx

THUNDER BAY – The president and CEO of Noront Natural Resources acknowledges the acquisition of the claims formerly held by Cliffs Natural Resources is a game changer for the Ring of Fire.

Alan Coutts was in Thunder Bay on Friday in hopes of meeting with Matawa chiefs regarding the announcement earlier this week of Noront now holding nearly 65 per cent of the Ring of Fire.

While he did not get to meet with the chiefs, he said the consultation process needs to be completely re-evaluated. “I think we’ll probably have to take a couple of steps backwards to change the relationship and dialogue but ultimately it will allow us to go forward a lot further,” Coutts said at the company’s Thunder Bay office.

“We’re potentially redefining the landscape of how industry, First Nations and government work together for the entire nation.”

Matawa chiefs expressed concern about the sale, accusing the company of working outside of the framework agreement that had been signed last year and objecting to First Nations not having any input in the transaction.

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Posco Said to Be Backing Away From $12 Billion India Project – by Abhishek Shanker (Bloomberg News – March 27, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) — Posco is backing away from a planned $12 billion steel complex in India, which has been stalled by local disputes and lease issues since it was proposed a decade ago, people familiar with the development said.

South Korea’s biggest steelmaker has tried to get back the money it gave to government agencies in the eastern state of Odisha to secure some of the land, and for railway connections, according to three people and company letters seen by Bloomberg. Six of 13 employees at Posco’s Indian unit overseeing the project have also “voluntarily” resigned, spokesman I.G. Lee said in a text message.

“Still, we are on and waiting for further progress,” Lee said about the proposed steel complex. He isn’t aware of any letter from Posco seeking a refund, Lee said.

Posco’s Odisha project, the nation’s biggest foreign investment, has failed to take off since 2005 because of opposition from local farmers and the failure to secure iron ore mining leases. The steelmaker was able to overcome local resistance and get the state to acquire about 2,700 acres (1,093 hectares) of land for the first phase.

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Deadline looms for passenger rail service in Algoma – Linda Savory-Gordon Interview by Jason Turnbull (CBC News Sudbury – March 25, 2015)

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

 ‘There are resorts who are all booked up for this summer and they are frantic’

Advocates for rail service in the Algoma region say passenger trains will come to a halt at the end of the month without a deal with the federal government.

In February of 2014, CN Rail announced it was ending passenger service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst because the federal government was no longer willing to subsidize the route.

The federal government stepped in at the last minute to extend funding for an additional year to keep the trains rolling and allow time to make a business case for the service.

That one-year reprieve is almost over and there’s been no word from Transport Canada about what comes next for the rail line, which is the only way to access remote lodges between the Sault and Hearst.

“There are resorts who are all booked up for this summer and they are frantic and wondering if they are going to have to contact their clientele and tell them that there is no way they can come in,” said Linda Savory-Gordon with a group called the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains.

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Mineral sector must go deep, says head of school (CBC News Sudbury – March 26, 2015)

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

Bruce Jago says province should look to deep mining as it updates plans for mineral sector

The province needs to invest in deep mining research and techniques as it looks to update its plans for the mineral sector, according to the head of the Goodman School of Mines in Sudbury.

Bruce Jago says deep mining is the future of the industry, and the best place to find concentrated mineral deposits. “I’m really on the exploration side of things, and I believe in it. I think it’s an amazing industry and one where a lot of good things can happen,” Jago said.

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has been asking for input as it prepares to renew its Mineral Development Strategy, which was first introduced in 2006.

Jago says the government also needs to develop an overall infrastructure plan to connect mining exploration sites, and bring modern living to isolated areas so they can share in economic growth.

“If they start working on a grand policy for it, they’ll get there. There certainly is a need for it. And I think if they consult with both First Nation communities and industry, they’ll get pointed in the right direction pretty quickly,” he said. Comments on the mineral sector can be submitted until May 8 through the province’s environmental registry.

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[Matawa] Chiefs rain on Ring parade – Editorial (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – March 27, 2015)

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

What is the basis for this allegation? Because, “the chiefs were informed of the deal at the same time as the public . . . .” Perhaps the chiefs would prefer to have been jointly accused with Noront of insider trading by insisting on advance knowledge of a purchase plan by publicly traded companies. … Matawa needs to re-think its hasty and inappropriate response to the first good news about the Ring of Fire in a while. (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial)

WHILE many people viewed Noront Resources’ plan this week to acquire the vast chromite properties of Cliffs Natural Resources as a welcome shot in the arm of the stalled Ring of Fire mining project, Matawa First Nation Chiefs are grumpy.

When Cliffs pulled out of the project, a sense of gloom settled over this region. With the biggest player gone, so too seemed the hopes of communities across the region for the new mining boom the Ring had promised.

Noront has always been a smaller player, with nickel interests. By planning to pick up Cliffs’ properties, Noront signalled renewed industry faith in the project said to be the North’s economic salvation. Billions of dollars are on the line.

Raining on this parade are the Matawa chiefs who have been enjoying new respect and attention from all players, including government, who unanimously agree that First Nations must be primary participants and beneficiaries in the Ring of Fire.

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Digging up a culture clash [B.C. Jade Mining] – by Alan Campbell (Richmond News – March 27, 2015)

 

http://www.richmond-news.com/

Richmond man finds himself between a jade rock and a hard place as the bridge between a rough and ready Canadian mining family and billionaire Chinese investors on a new TV show

Nowhere in the Lower Mainland has the coming together of two worlds — East and West — stirred emotions over the last few years than Richmond.

Throw in a hard-bitten, beer-drinking all-Canadian family, jade-mining in harsh conditions, with Chinese billionaire investors breathing over their shoulder, and you have a culture clash ready to ignite at any given second.

The poor guy caught slap, bang in the middle is Richmond family man Alan Qiao, who is one of the stars of a new Discovery Channel show called Jade Fever, which debuts March 31.

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[Barrick Gold] Unprecedented sage grouse protection deal signed in Nevada – by Scott Sonner (Washington Times – March 26, 2015)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/

Associated Press – RENO, Nev. – An unprecedented attempt to protect sage grouse habitat across parts of more than 900 square miles of privately owned land in Nevada will begin under a deal Thursday involving the federal government, an environmental group and the world’s largest gold mining company.

The agreement comes as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approaches a fall deadline for a decision on whether to protect the greater sage grouse, a bird roughly the size of a chicken that ranges across the West, under the Endangered Species Act.

Commercial operations, including mining companies and oil and gas producers, are entering into such deals in an effort to keep the bird off the threatened or endangered list because the classification would place new restrictions on their work.

The deal involves Barrick Gold Corp., The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service. It establishes a “conservation bank,” providing the mining firm credit for enhancing critical habitat, in exchange for flexibility in future operations. It aims to preserve and restore more habitat than is lost through development while at the same time providing Barrick with more certainty as it maps out new mining plans.

“This is the kind of creative, voluntary partnership that we need to help conserve the greater sage grouse, while sustaining important economic activities on western rangelands,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said.

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COLUMN-Forrest’s iron ore cap “harebrained” or clever tactics? – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – March 27, 2015)

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, March 27 (Reuters) – What’s the real thinking behind Andrew Forrest’s remarkable call for iron ore miners to cap production in order to boost prices?

It’s easy to dismiss the comment by the Fortescue Metals Group founder and chairman as “harebrained,” as did Sam Walsh, the chief executive of Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest iron ore miner.

It’s possible that when Forrest told an audience on Tuesday in Shanghai that he was happy for iron ore miners to “cap our production right here and start acting like grown-ups”, he was merely having a thought-bubble moment.

But while Forrest, whose company ranks fourth in the world in iron ore output, has a reputation as a charming straight-shooter, it’s hard to imagine that he would be so careless as to float an idea that in all likelihood is illegal and would also bring scorn from his bigger rivals.

There is no doubt that debt-laden Fortescue has been hit harder than Rio Tinto or No.3 producer BHP Billiton by the collapse of iron ore prices, with the Asian spot price .IO62-CNI=SI marking a record low of $54.20 a tonne on Monday, before recovering slightly to $55.50 on Thursday.

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