Republic of Mining

NEWS RELEASE: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. Announces Decision on Bloom Lake Mine

January 28, 2015

Commences Formal Canadian Restructuring Proceedings

CLEVELAND, Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) announced today that Bloom Lake General Partner Limited and certain of its affiliates, including Cliffs Quebec Iron Mining ULC (collectively, “Bloom Lake Group”) commenced restructuring proceedings in Montreal, Quebec, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (“CCAA”). The Bloom Lake Group had recently suspended operations and for several months has been exploring options to sell certain of its Canadian assets, among other initiatives.

The decision to seek protection under the CCAA was based on a thorough legal and financial analysis of the options available to the Bloom Lake Group. The Bloom Lake Group is no longer generating any revenues and is not able to meet its obligations as they come due. The Initial CCAA Order will address the Bloom Lake Group’s immediate liquidity issues and permit the Bloom Lake Group to preserve and protect its assets for the benefit of all stakeholders while restructuring and sale options are explored.

As part of the CCAA process, the Court has appointed FTI Consulting Canada Inc. as the Monitor. The Monitor’s role in the CCAA process is to monitor the activities of the Bloom Lake Group and provide assistance to the Bloom Lake Group and its stakeholders in respect of the CCAA process.

Lourenco Goncalves , Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said, “For several months, we have been seeking equity investors and exploring sale options for Bloom Lake including working collaboratively with Investissement Québec. We support the decision by the directors of the Bloom Lake Group to conduct a restructuring process under the supervision of the Court.”

RoF access route land squabble headed to Court of Appeal – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – January 28, 2015)

January 28, 2015

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Prospective Ring of Fire (RoF) miners KWG Resources and Cliffs Natural Resources have been given the green light to take their quarrel over the right of way over an isthmus, narrow strip of land, connecting the remote Northern Ontario mining camp with the outside world to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

KWG reported on Tuesday that its subsidiary Canada Chrome Corporation (CCC) had received an order of the Court of Appeal granting leave to appeal the decision of the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released July 30 last year, which ruled that CCC’s consent should be waived in an application for an easement to build a road over its mining claims.

KWG, through CCC, controls the key transportation route on land, which it acquired through claim staking in 2009. KWG had proposed a rail route connecting to the Canadian National transcontinental rail line at the Exton rail siding to transport ore to consumers, competing with its US-based joint venture partner Cliffs, which had proposed an all-weather road south connecting to the same rail line west of Exton.

Cliffs’ plan was to transport chromite concentrate by rail to Capreol, in the Sudbury area, where it planned to build a ferrochrome production facility.

KWG explained that CCC was now expected to file its notice of appeal by January 30, after which it would have a further 30-day opportunity to perfect its appeal.

NEWS RELEASE: KWG Subsidiary Canada Chrome Corporation Wins Leave to Appeal Decision That Consent Not Required for Use of the Claims Accessing Its Ring of Fire Deposits

January 27, 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Jan. 27, 2015) – KWG Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KWG)(FRANKFURT:KW6) subsidiary Canada Chrome Corporation has received an Order of the Court of Appeal of Ontario granting leave to appeal the decision of the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released July 30, 2014. As reported on August 1, 2014, the Divisional Court decision ruled that CCC’s consent should be waived in an application for an easement to build a road over its mining claims.

Canada Chrome Corporation may now file its Notice of Appeal on or before January 30, 2015 and perfect its appeal thirty days thereafter, on or before March 2, 2015. The respondent, a Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. subsidiary, may then file its responding factum and compendium sixty days thereafter. A date for the hearing of the Appeal, by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, will then be assigned. The hearing date is expected to be fixed for early summer.

“We are very gratified that this issue will be revisited by the Ontario Court of Appeal”, said KWG President Frank Smeenk. “Many of our exploration industry professionals were left wondering how to protect their investors’ interests if claim-staking was no longer to be available for the exclusive exploitation of a discovery. We look forward to the Court of Appeal clarifying this issue, which goes to the root of Canada’s world-renowned mining laws and exploration industry leadership.”

About KWG: KWG has a 30% interest in the Big Daddy chromite deposit and the right to earn 80% of the Black Horse chromite where resources are being defined. KWG has also acquired patent interests, including a method for the direct reduction of chromite to metalized iron and chrome using natural gas.

Franco’s Harquail at Roundup 2015: ‘My belief in exploration has been shaken’ (Northern Miner – January 26, 2015)

January 27, 2015

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

VANCOUVER — It’s hard to find a better value-builder over the past decade than Franco-Nevada (TSX: FNV; NYSE: FNV), which essentially pioneered the royalty-stream finance model and has seen its share price rocket 362% over the past seven years to trade at one of the premier multiples in the gold space.

Since an initial public offering (IPO) in December 2007 — which valued the company at around $15 per share — Franco-Nevada has outperformed both gold and other gold equities, and closed near a 52-week high of $69.71 at the time of writing.

President and CEO David Harquail’s keynote speech at the Association for Mineral Exploration BC’s (AMEBC) annual Round-Up conference reflected on his career and the current state of mine finance, gold prices and exploration prospects.

Harquail began with a retrospective on his thirty odd years in the business, including an anecdote about growing up when his father worked with renowned mine-finder Thayer Lindsley at the Ventures group. Harquail would cut his teeth in a similar project evaluation role with the prolific Pierre Lassonde and Seymour Schulich, and make his way through a number of iterations of Franco before finding himself at the helm of the company.

“What strikes me is that going back to that time in the 1980s, I don’t think a lot has changed in the business. The distribution of mining outcomes is about the same as it has always been,” Harquail commented.

Ring of Fire high on new deputy minister’s agenda – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 27, 2015)

January 27, 2015

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Dive into David de Launay’s bio and it’s easy to decipher how two decades of provincial policy and special project work have prepared him for the job as Ontario’s new deputy minister for Northern Development and Mines.

Not surprisingly, finding a way to jumpstart the stalled Ring of Fire project is top of mind for de Launey who slid into the chair in early January after his predecessor George Ross left last summer to take a similar posting with the Government of the Yukon.

De Launey is not a new player being introduced into the fray. He shifts over from Aboriginal Affairs where he was deputy minister. Prior to that he was assistant deputy minister with the Ring of Fire Secretariat, handling relations with First Nation communities impacted by the potential mine development, and served stints with Cabinet Office and Natural Resources.

He’s crossed paths with many of the chiefs and Ring of Fire mining executives, and recruited former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to serve as Ontario’s negotiator for the regional framework agreement.

NEWS RELEASE: Excellon Announces Management Changes

January 27, 2015

TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – January 27, 2015) – Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX: EXN) (OTC: EXLLF) (“Excellon” or the “Company”), Mexico’s highest grade silver producer, is pleased to announce key additions to its management and technical advisory team. In an ongoing effort to continually improve operations and realize further efficiencies at the Platosa mine, the Company has engaged a team of water management consultants, including Multiurethanes Ltd., Hydro-Ressources Inc., and Technosub Inc.

Multiurethanes Ltd. is a technical services company specializing in support services for grouting operations in heavy civil construction, utility and mining industries. The company is led by Peter White, a Mining Engineer and renowned grouting specialist with over 30 years of experience in international mining projects in Canada, United States, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia.

He is an expert in controlling major water inflows and troubleshooting difficult grouting projects. Mr. White has supervised and designed grouting programs for several well-known companies including, Vale, Goldcorp, KGHM, De Beers, Nyrstar, Pan American Silver and Agnico Eagle Mines.

Hydro-Ressources Inc. is led by Michael Verreault, a hydro-geologist and expert in optimizing water management and mine dewatering. He has worked on several projects using groundwater recharge, numerical simulation, tracer test and hydro-geological studies in groundwater and surface water. Mr. Verreault has worked on several notable projects for Goldcorp, Osisko and Iamgold and on Cameco’s Cigar Lake deposit.

Clark promises more funding for B.C. mine approvals – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – January 26, 2015)

January 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.

VANCOUVER — In an effort to speed up the approval process for mines in British Columbia, Premier Christy Clark has nearly doubled the budget for the department responsible for permitting new mine projects.

Annual base funding for the mines and mineral resources division will jump to $20.1-million from $11.1-million and the government is establishing a major mines permitting office to ensure “improved turnaround times for notice of work permits,” Ms. Clark said on Monday.

“Up to 10 new mines are expected to proceed in the next few years, and this new funding will make sure we are ready to support these projects,” she said in a statement. The changes come as her government struggles to deliver on a liquefied natural gas boom that has not developed as predicted.

Ms. Clark is clearly hoping to promote mining in B.C., which last year suffered a blow to its image when a massive tailings pond collapsed at Mount Polley, spilling 25 million cubic metres of pollutants into Quesnel Lake.

She said she remains encouraged that mining exploration is continuing in the province despite a drop in commodity prices over the past several months.

Canada gets soft on bribery – by Becky Rynor (MACLEAN’S Magazine – January 27, 2015)

January 27, 2015

http://www.macleans.ca/

Why rules aimed at cracking down on corruption by mining firms miss the mark

When International Trade Minister Ed Fast announced the Tories’ enhanced corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy last year, he sternly warned that Canadian mining companies involved in corrupt practices in other countries would be punished.

Most notably they would lose the diplomatic support of the Canadian government. If Doing Business the Canadian Way: A Strategy to Advance CSR in Canada’s Extractive Sector Abroad is Fast talking tough about corruption, it has some industry experts underwhelmed.

John Boscariol, a legal specialist in anti-corruption laws and policies, suspects the measures are an attempt by Canada to catch up to other countries that have long been cracking down on these illegal practices. “This is something [the Conservative government] can no longer pretend it is not seeing,” he says of corrupt practices by Canadian companies in other countries.

“If you look to the U.S., they have a much stronger record of enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act where penalties sometimes in the hundreds of millions of dollars have been handed out for violations,” he says. “Canada is catching up to that under pressure from the U.S., the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Transparency International (TI) and others.”

The petro plunge will be painful, but we will adapt – by Stephen Gordon (National Post – January 27, 2015)

January 27, 2015

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

Oil prices have fallen, and our economy will have to adjust. This prospect may alarm many, but Canada has had to adjust to similar shocks throughout its history. The Canadian economy altered its structure in order to take advantage of higher resource prices, and part of that shift will now have to be undone.

There’s no point in pretending that this is anything but a negative shock, but it is possible to overstate the bad news. Firstly, the change in the Canadian economy over the past decade has often been overstated, and sometimes wildly exaggerated. Secondly, the ability of the Canadian economy to adjust is not well-enough appreciated.

No one will be surprised to learn that higher oil prices spurred more oil production, but the increase was surprisingly modest: The average growth rate of after the 2002 was 3.6%, compared to 2.6% during the preceding 12 years. But since other sectors have been growing even faster, the oil and gas sector’s share of GDP declined from 6.4% in 2002 to 6% in 2014.

Its share of employment has increased, but is still only 1.7% of the total. Claims to the effect that Canada has become a “petro state” or that its economy is largely dependent on oil simply do not mesh with the facts. As far as output and employment are concerned, the Canadian economy of 2015 is surprisingly similar to what it looked like in 2002.

Pacific Future Energy Corp eyes ‘money left on the table’ for $11-billion refinery project in B.C. – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – January 27, 2015)

January 27, 2015

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

TORONTO – The company proposing a $11-billion heavy oil refinery in British Columbia is pushing ahead with the project despite market volatility and is seeking $25-million in financing, according to its chairman, Samer Salameh.

“We are raising $25 million and that would take us to the permitting process, which would take two to three years,” Mr. Salameh, chairman of Pacific Future Energy Corp., said in an interview Monday on the sidelines of a speech to a business audience in Toronto. “We are down to finalizing two sites on the B.C. Coast, and we will be filing for an environmental assessment by the end of this year.”

Mr. Salameh previously managed the U.S. business interests of Mexico’s Carlos Slim, the second-wealthiest investor in the world, according to Forbes magazine. The management team includes Stockwell Day, a former federal minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, a former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Mark Marissen, a political strategist and former-husband of B.C. Premier Christy Clark, is also part of the team.

The company has ambitious plans to build the world’s “near net-zero carbon emission facility and the cleanest refinery in the world,” powering it with natural gas and renewable to reduce emissions by 40%. Carbon-capture technology will further reduce emissions by 52%, the company claims. Mr. Salameh said the technology is “proven,” but admits that it will be the first greenfield refinery of its kind in the world.

Company shuts Ross River area mine, lays off workers – by Chuck Tobin (Whitehorse Daily Star – January 26, 2015)

January 27, 2015

http://www.whitehorsestar.com/

The Yukon Zinc Corp. has shut down its Wolverine Mine southeast of Ross River, resulting in layoff notices for most of its workforce.

The Yukon Zinc Corp. has shut down its Wolverine Mine southeast of Ross River, resulting in layoff notices for most of its workforce. Company spokesman Alex Wu told the Star today operations were terminated last Thursday because of instability in the mineral markets, particularly the price of silver.

Wu could not confirm the exact number of employees affected but expected Yukon Zinc would have an official statement in the next couple of days. The Chinese-owned company is calling it a temporary, three-month shutdown at this point, he said.

“We will see what the situation is in the next couple of months and make a decision to see if there is an opportunity to start up or keep it closed for a bit longer,” Wu said. “We were trying to keep it going longer, but it is down to the point where it is pretty difficult to keep things going.”

Wu said the company has been in contact with its suppliers and is working on new plans to raise the financing to address outstanding debt.

A crew has been kept on to look after care and maintenance of the mine site and mill during the shutdown, he said. Watson Lake Mayor Richard Durocher said this morning he’s already seeing the trickle-down effect in the Yukon’s third-largest community of approximately 1,500.

Sherritt CEO Says Cuba Holds Promise for the Patient – by Liezel Hill (Bloomberg News – January 27, 2015)

January 27, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The head of Sherritt International Corp. (S), the biggest foreign investor in Cuba, said industries from mining to infrastructure are ripe for development as the island nation moves tentatively to open up trade with the U.S.

The Toronto-based company, which has been mining nickel in Cuba for two decades and generates about 75 percent of its revenue there, has talked to the government about possible new investments in Cuba over the longer term, Chief Executive Officer David Pathe said.

“There’s huge opportunities for infrastructure in Cuba,” Pathe said in an interview in Bloomberg’s Toronto office. “There’s still a big power-generating deficit in Cuba, and there are other resource opportunities.”

U.S. and Cuban diplomats concluded what both sides called encouraging talks last week on restoring ties after the two countries unexpectedly said last month they would begin steps to normalize relations after a half century of U.S. trade and travel restrictions.

There are other ore bodies and “quite vast” nickel reserves on the eastern end of the island where Sherritt has been operating, and the Cuban government has indicated it’s interested in foreign investment in mining, Pathe said.

“We’ve talked to them about things that we might be able to do there over the longer term,” he said. “There could be more interest from international companies.”

Gold turbulent on Greek aftermath – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – January 26, 2015)

January 26, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

The Greek election result fallout will likely create significant waves in the gold market looking ahead – while there’s always the Ukraine to spice things up…

Perhaps predictably, gold initially jumped up to the $1,300 level in Asian trading as the Greek election results became apparent. But as the news, which had been largely anticipated, began to be assessed the gold price fell back fairly sharply in London trading.

Analysts at Commerzbank put this down to ‘buy the rumour and sell the fact’ profit taking, but with the aftermath of the election result still to really impact, one suspects that the likely forthcoming very difficult negotiations between the new Syriza government in Greece and the EU/ECB and the IMF over renegotiation of Greek debt will create some significant waves in the gold market ahead.

Initial indications are that the IMF, and probably the Eurozone nations led by Germany, will strongly resist any Greek attempts to renegotiate and write-off much of its debt. IMF MD Christine Lagarde, for example, seems to be taking a hardline approach. “A debt is a debt,” she is reported as saying. But how much this is setting out an initial negotiating position ahead of the inevitable horse trading remains to be seen.

If all this results in deadlock then there is a strong likelihood that Greece will default on its debt as soon as this summer with the possibility it will be ejected from the Eurozone by the other members who may have had enough of the already huge costs of trying, unsuccessfully, to support the Greek economy and bring it back on track.

NEWS ANALYSIS: Falling copper price sounds the alarm for base metals miners – by Mark Allix (Business Day Live – January 26, 2015)

January 26, 2015

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

MOODY’s has changed its outlook for the global base-metals industry to negative from stable, saying this is driven by global economic weakness and falling copper prices.

Copper is an economic bellwether given its use in power supply, plumbing and communications. The low demand and therefore low price of copper indicates the poor health of the global building and construction sectors.

“Slowing growth in China’s GDP (gross domestic product), continued weakness in Europe and falling copper prices have all contributed to our revised outlook,” says Carol Cowan, a Moody’s senior vice-president.

But the international ratings agency says the slowing rate of economic growth in China, especially, does “not bode well” for base metals as China consumes more than 40% of the world’s production. This immediately puts up red flags for SA’s base metals miners, and also for general metals manufacturers in the country. The latter have already endured a long, slow period of decline since 2000.

Broker Imara SP Reid says in its latest report on BHP Billiton that global steel prices are trending downwards. This comes despite the global miner’s guidance for overall mining production growth of 16% over two years to the end of June this year.

NEWS RELEASE: Premier announces new funding to support mining in B.C.

January 26, 2015

VANCOUVER – Funding in Budget 2015 will establish a Major Mines Permitting Office to improve the co-ordination of major mine permits across government, add staff to conduct more inspections and permit reviews, and maintain improved turnaround times for notice of work permits, Premier Christy Clark announced today.

“Up to 10 new mines are expected to proceed in the next few years and this new funding will make sure we are ready to support these projects and ensure the safety of this important industry as it continues to grow,” said Premier Christy Clark. “B.C.’s mineral exploration and mining industry is a great comeback story and today we have a significant opportunity to create thousands of jobs by opening new mines and expanding existing ones.”

Government has used contingency funding since 2011 to significantly increase geotechnical staff and inspections and improve permit turnaround times. The funding announced today will make these improvements permanent and create additional capacity to support the major mines permitting process.

The base budget of the ministry will be increased by about $6 million, a portion of which will go towards making current contingency funding permanent. Also, new permit fees for mines in B.C. are expected to raise an additional $3 million per year. The new fees will not be charged to exploration companies.

“Since 2011, we’ve made significant improvements to increase geotechnical inspections, hire additional staff and reduce the turnaround time for notice of work permits,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines.