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Glencore, Jinchuan frontrunners to buy BHP’s Nickel West – by Sivia Antonioli and Polly Yam (Reuters U.S. – August 27, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON/HONG KONG – (Reuters) – Commodities trader and miner Glencore (GLEN.L) and Chinese nickel producer Jinchuan Group are the frontrunners to buy BHP Billiton’s (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) Australian Nickel West division, two sources close to the situation said.

BHP, the world’s largest mining company, announced plans last week to spin off businesses worth an estimated $16 billion but said that Nickel West in western Australia would not be part of the demerged group.

Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie has said the company was in talks with potential buyers for all or part of Nickel West.

Estimates of the value of Nickel West vary greatly, with some analysts and industry sources putting it at anything up to $1 billion and others tagging negative figures to an asset they say is burning cash. “It’s a race between Glencore and Jinchuan now,” the first source said.

Jinchuan is “very interested” in Nickel West and plans to ship about 30,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate to China if it takes over the business, said the China-based second industry source, who had been briefed about the plan but declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter.

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News Release: Ontario Establishes Ring Of Fire Infrastructure Development Corporation Province Supporting Growth in the North

August 28, 2014 11:10 A.M.

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

Ontario has taken another step to drive progress in the Ring of Fire region, delivering on its July 3, 2014 commitment to establish a development corporation within 60 days.

With headquarters to be located in Thunder Bay, the ROF Infrastructure Development Corporation will work to bring First Nations and the public and private sectors together to create partnerships and facilitate investment decisions in strategic transportation infrastructure.

The not-for-profit corporation has an interim board of four Ontario public servants. The board will put the necessary structures in place in order to allow for partners to determine their participation in the corporation. This includes working with key partners including First Nations, industry, communities, and the federal government, to formalize partnerships through the corporation, and overseeing an economic and technical baseline feasibility report on transportation infrastructure.

As participation in the corporation evolves, the Board of Directors will be broadened to include membership from First Nations and industry partners. In its mature state, the corporation will be in a position to advise on crucial infrastructure investment decisions, including how to best utilize Ontario’s $1 billion dollar commitment to Ring of Fire infrastructure.

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Mandatory-reporting plan for energy and mining companies welcomed by provinces – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – August 27, 2014)

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.

OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford vowed to introduce legislation requiring energy and mining companies to report all revenue paid to foreign and domestic governments, but said its impact on corporate payments made to First Nations will be delayed for two years while Ottawa consults aboriginal leaders.

At a meeting in Sudbury, provincial and territorial resource ministers endorsed Ottawa’s plan to impose new mandatory reporting of resource payments. But most provinces appear willing to let Ottawa take the lead on the measure, which includes controversial new accountability rules for First Nations.

“Canada is recognized around the world as a leader in promoting transparency and accountability in the extractive sector as a whole, here at home and around the world,” Mr. Rickford said on Tuesday after the ministerial meeting. “We have a responsibility to ensure that here at home and abroad, our corporations – in their relationships that they build in the effort to develop resources responsibility – that they are transparent and accountable.”

Mr. Rickford said the proposed legislation would allow each province or territory to implement its own mandatory reporting regime that could supersede the federal rule, and Quebec has indicated it intends to do so.

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ANALYSIS-India’s coal crunch – a chance to revamp, reallocate and revive – by Krishna N Das and Abhishek Vishnoi (Reuters India – August 27, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) – A court ruling this week that India’s decades-old method of granting coal mining concessions is illegal could herald much-needed reforms in a sector long dogged by the inability of state-run Coal India to raise output fast enough.

In declaring scores of coal block allocations made since 1993 unlawful and arbitrary, the Supreme Court has put investments worth billions of dollars at risk.

If it goes the next step and cancels the concessions after a further hearing due to start on Monday, India may have to import vast amounts of coal to keep the lights on.

In the long run, however, the decision could bring clearer rules to a sector that has failed to provide India with enough power because it has been so hamstrung by confusion and scandals over concessions allegedly handed to government cronies.

Coal India has a monopoly over coal that is mined for sale. The scandal, dubbed “Coalgate” by the media, concerns concessions sold to steel, cement and power firms to dig up coal for their own use.

The furore erupted after a federal auditor’s report in 2012 found that underpriced sales had cost the exchequer as much as $33 billion.

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COLUMN-China may lose pole position as copper price driver – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – August 27, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 27 (Reuters) – China has in recent years been viewed as the main driver of the global copper market, and while its influence remains strong, it’s possible that the rest of the world will take over in the short term.

Copper is currently one of the more divisive commodities among analysts, with opinions split over whether the industrial metal will continue its recent rally or lose ground over the rest of 2014.

The point is that considerable uncertainty exists over copper’s direction and much of that comes down to whatever view is held about the economic outlook for China, which consumes roughly 45 percent of the world’s copper.

While this is obviously a huge chunk of the market, it still means that the other 55 percent could exert a bigger influence, especially if its demand trend is changing.

London copper prices gained 3.4 percent between Aug. 14 and Tuesday’s close of $7,054 a tonne, although they are still down 4.2 percent since the start of the year.

The recent gains have largely been attributed to an improving outlook for growth in the United States and hopes that Europe may take steps to stimulate its struggling economies.

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Imperial Metals agrees to First Nation tailings review – by James Keller (Canadian Manufacturing.com – August 27, 2014)

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/

The company behind the Mount Polley tailings dam breach will pay for an independent engineer to review the tailings facility at its Red Chris mine

VANCOUVER— The Canadian Press – A  British Columbia company behind a mine tailings spill has signed an agreement with a First Nation that will see an independent engineering firm review a tailings facility at a separate project.

The agreement between Imperial Metals Corp. and the Tahltan Central Council ends a blockade of the company’s Red Chris gold and copper mine, where workers had been prevented from entering by a group of Tahltan elders for more than two weeks.

The tailings dam at Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine in central B.C. failed earlier this month, releasing millions of cubic metres of waste water and silt into several lakes and rivers. The spill raised concerns about the potential impact on humans and the environment, placing the company and the entire mining industry under increased scrutiny.

Several days later, a group of Tahltan elders known as the Klabona Keepers established a blockade of the Red Chris site, which is located in northwestern B.C. and expected to open by the end of the year.

Imperial Metals issued a news released announcing that it would pay for an independent engineer, selected by the Tahltan Central Council, to review the tailings facility for the Red Chris mine and report back by Sept. 24.

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A Wake-up Call for Canada’s Mining Industry – by David Suzuki (Huffington Post – August 27, 2014)

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/british-columbia/

David Suzuki is a co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation

When a tailings pond broke at the Mount Polley gold and copper mine in south-central B.C., spilling millions of cubic metres of waste into a salmon-bearing stream, B.C. Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett called it an “extremely rare” occurrence, the first in 40 years for mines operating here.

He failed to mention the 46 “dangerous or unusual occurrences” that B.C’s chief inspector of mines reported at tailings ponds in the province between 2000 and 2012, as well as breaches at non-operating mine sites.

This spill was predictable. Concerns were raised about Mount Polley before the breach. CBC reported that B.C.’s Environment Ministry issued several warnings about the amount of water in the pond to mine owner Imperial Metals.

With 50 mines operating in B.C. — and many others across Canada — we can expect more incidents, unless we reconsider how we’re extracting resources.

Sudden and severe failure is a risk for all large tailings dams — Mount Polley’s waste pond covered about four square kilometres, roughly the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. As higher-grade deposits become increasingly scarce, mining companies are opting for lower-grade alternatives that create more tailings.

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UPDATE 1-Barrick scraps corporate development team, further cuts coming -sources – by Euan Rocha and Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – August 27, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

Aug 26 (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp is eliminating its entire corporate development team and more cuts are in the works as the world’s top gold miner looks to trim costs, three sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

The sources, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Rick McCreary, the development team’s head, is leaving the company this week, with some others on the team set to depart next month.

The corporate development team’s main role was to identify and evaluate assets worth buying. McCreary, a former investment banker with CIBC, has led the team within Barrick since 2011.

A spokesman for Barrick declined to comment on whether the company was doing a wider round of cuts, which the sources said would be announced in the coming weeks. He confirmed, however, that the corporate development team was being restructured with some staff moving into other groups.

“The change reflects our focus on achieving operational excellence across the company, with an emphasis on optimizing our existing portfolio and further improving efficiency across our operations,” said Andy Lloyd, a spokesman for Barrick Gold.

Some staff from the corporate development team will stay on as part of a newly minted business development unit, while most others depart the company.

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Clock ticking on Liberals to meet [Ring of Fire] promise – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – August 27, 2014)

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

Federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford is among those waiting to see how the province’s Ring of Fire development corporation will unfold in the next week — if the Ontario Liberals are to keep one of their election promises.

Rickford said Tuesday he and his government, as well as mining sector representatives and first nations, would like to know more about the development corporation Gravelle announced 10 months ago — then reannounced in the spring.

Gravelle announced last November the “devco” would be established to design, engineer, construct and maintain infrastructure to bring mines into operation in the Ring of Fire, 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

Gravelle and Rickford spoke at a news conference Tuesday at College Boreal, wrapping up the two-day Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference. Both stayed on message about the Ring of Fire, repeating what they had told provincial and territorial ministers and reporters earlier.

Gravelle said repeatedly that Ontario, which has pledged $1 billion to build infrastructure in the Ring, is looking for the federal government to become a full partner in developing the area.

Rickford said his government has money available through the Build Canada Fund for specific projects if and when the province makes decisions on key issues such as revenue sharing with first nations and the direction of a transportation corridor.

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U.S. needs more domestic mining – by Courtney Young (Montana Standard – August 27, 2014)

http://mtstandard.com/

Courtney Young is the department head and Lewis S. Prater professor of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering at Montana Tech.

To get an idea of how dependent America is on imported minerals and metals for modern technology, I pointed out nearly a year ago how important rare-earth elements were to our country and noted that we were 100 percent dependent on imports with China controlling 96 percent of the world market. Now, let’s consider nickel and copper.

Only one U.S. mine produces nickel, a metal that is needed, for example, in the manufacture of stainless steel and batteries. One should not take for granted that the stainless steel is used for pipelines, surgical instruments, and food containers, and batteries are used to power many of our common items. We depend on imports from Russia and, as for good news, friendly countries like Canada and Australia.

To address this domestic supply issue, two companies (Polymet Mining and Twin Metals) are seeking to permit mines in northeast Minnesota where one of the world’s largest deposits exists. Their ores also contain platinum and palladium, two metals that are used to keep our air and land clean. If all goes according to plan, not only will our domestic supply of nickel increase, but so will these “green” precious metals. Their permit applications are moving through the regulatory process, and it’s expected one will begin operating next year. When that happens, U.S. manufacturers will become less vulnerable to supply disruptions and sudden jumps costs.

That will be a relief, because the United States is heavily dependent on foreign sources for many minerals used in defense production and consumer goods like computers, cell phones, and flat-screen TVs.

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NEWS RELEASE: Mining industry commends Mines Ministers for supporting transparency of mining payments

SUDBURY, August 26, 2014 /CNW/ – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) applaud the joint announcement made today by Canada’s Mines Ministers lending their support to enhance the transparency of mining sector payments to governments. The statement was issued on the last day of the 2014 Energy and Mines Ministers Conference, held in Sudbury, Ontario.

“We welcome the broad support that federal and provincial Mines Ministers have given to improving the transparency of mining revenues paid to governments at home and abroad, and we look forward to working with all levels of government on this important initiative,” said Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, MAC. “We are also encouraged to learn that some provinces are considering implementing transparency through their securities regulators, which would bring Canada in line with how similar standards in the United States and European Union are structured.”

MAC and the PDAC have been actively promoting the need for Canada to adopt such a standard since late 2012 when the two associations joined two NGOs—Publish What You Pay-Canada and the Natural Resources Governance Institute (formerly the Revenue Watch Institute)—in what’s known as the Resource Revenue Transparency Working Group (RRTWG).

“The Canadian mineral industry generates significant economic opportunities for communities at home and abroad, ranging from jobs and training to royalty and tax revenues,” noted Rod Thomas, PDAC President.

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Ontario talks hydro trade with Quebec and Manitoba – by John Spears (Toronto Star – August 27, 2014)

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.

Ontario’s energy minister Bob Chiarelli has talked to Quebec and Manitoba about increased hydro power imports

Ontario’s energy minister says he has held direct talks with his counterparts from Quebec and Manitoba about importing more electricity into Ontario.

But Bob Chiarelli cautioned that making deals is “not a slam dunk in any way.” Chiarelli made the comments at the annual meeting of federal and provincial energy and mines ministers, which wrapped up Tuesday in Sudbury.

He said the one-on-one meetings with Quebec and Manitoba officials during the federal-provincial conference were useful.

“We discussed specifically and in detail the opportunities and the challenges that exist for us to have more energy contracts to supply Ontario,” he said at a news conference following the meeting.

Ontario is mulling huge new investments in nuclear power, and has established programs for renewable power developments. But Premier Kathleen Wynne has spoken publicly about buying more electricity from Quebec as well.

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Gogebic’s formal request for iron ore mine to be delayed – by Lee Bergquist (Milwaukee – Wisconsin Journal Sentinel – August 26, 2014)

http://www.jsonline.com/

Company won’t finish all environmental fieldwork this year

Gogebic Taconite’s plans to submit an application to develop a $1.5 billion iron ore mine will be pushed back from the spring of 2015 until at least the fall of next year, the company says.

The company won’t finish all fieldwork this year and will be forced to conduct additional environmental work next year, according to Bob Seitz, a spokesman for the company.

The delay comes after the company and supporters said state regulators needed to be more time-conscious of big capital-intensive projects, and they pushed lawmakers to make changes in state law to speed up the review for the massive mine.

“We were kind of hellbent for leather to get past the research phase this year, but we realize that we are not going to be able get that done,” Seitz said.

Southern Wisconsin may still be in the grips of summer, but leaves are beginning to change in the far north. That’s prompting Gogebic to wrap up some fieldwork already.

On a hillside along Highway 77, the company wants to transform forestland into a mine and processing plant that would produce taconite to make steel. Preliminary core samples show significant deposits of iron ore.

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Mount Polley fallout puts damper on Canadian mining – by Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – August 27, 2014)

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Signs continue to mount that the modest rebound that Canada’s mining sector had been experiencing has been knocked off the rails by the blowout of the tailings dam at Imperial Metals’s Mount Polley Mine and the Supreme Court of Canada’s Tsilhqot’in decision on land title.

Shares of Canadian mining companies had been doing well in the weeks before the court decision on July 29, and then the mine disaster on Aug. 4, as investors anticipated better demand for metals for a booming global auto sector. But declines have been steady in recent days.

“People are being discouraged about investing in mining in general,” said Raymond Goldie, a senior mining analyst with the brokerage firm Salman Partners, referring to the recent developments.

He added that Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett’s establishing an independent review panel to investigate the Mount Polley dam failure, and then ordering the operators of all 98 tailings ponds licensed under his ministry to conduct independent safety inspections, is the latest fallout from Mount Polley that is clouding investor sentiments.

“That is going to dissuade companies from investing in British Columbia,” Goldie said. “(And) along with the Tsilhqot’in decision of last month, it increases the uncertainty about investing in (the province).”

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Deadly clashes continue at African Barrick gold mine – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – August 27, 2014)

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.

JOHANNESBURG — Police have killed more villagers in clashes at a controversial Tanzanian gold mine owned by a Barrick Gold Corp. subsidiary, despite the company’s pledges to reduce the violence, researchers say.

The researchers, including a law firm and two civil society groups, say they’ve received reports that as many as 10 people have been killed this year as a result of “excessive force” by police and security guards at the North Mara mine, owned by African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Barrick.

A spokesman for African Barrick confirmed to The Globe and Mail that “fatalities” have occurred in clashes at the mine site this year, but declined to estimate how many. It is up to the Tanzanian police to release the information, he said.

Tanzanian police have repeatedly refused to give any details on fatalities at the site. Dozens of villagers have been killed by police at the mine in the past several years, according to frequent reports from civil society groups. The company occasionally confirms some of the deaths, including a clash in which police killed five people in 2011.

The deadly clashes occur when villagers walk into the mine site in search of waste rock, from which small bits of gold can be extracted. Hundreds or even thousands of “intruders,” as they are known locally, can be involved.

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