Republic of Mining

Glencore, Rio Tinto could save $500m by merging coal operations – by Sarah-Jane Tasker (The Australian – October 1, 2014)

September 30, 2014

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business

DIVERSIFIED miners Rio Tinto and Glencore could target $500 million in annual savings if they merge their NSW coal operations, analysts on a site tour of the Swiss giant’s assets have flagged.

Glencore, rumoured to be eyeing acquisitions, highlighted the significant synergy potential with Rio Tinto in the Hunter Valley region given the two miners had many adjacent assets.

“These have not been quantified but could total close to $500m per annum pretax, and relate to overhead reduction, mining efficiencies, logistics and blending,” Credit Suisse analyst Liam Fitzpatrick said. “Despite this, there appears to have been very limited progress between the two companies.”

Recent media reports have suggested Glencore chief Ivan Glasenberg has Rio on his acquisition wish list, but neither company has weighed in on market speculation.

Glencore kicked off a sell-side analysts tour of its Australian ¬assets this week with a visit to its coal operations, and the head of coal assets, Peter Freyberg, told those on the trip the company had a “synergistic and targeted acquisition strategy”.

New Caledonian, Chinese companies plan Vanuatu nickel partnership – by James Regan and Cecile Lefort (Reuters India – September 30, 2014)

September 30, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

SYDNEY, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The South Pacific islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu are studying a plan to jointly mine and process nickel ores into refined metal to help produce stainless steel in China.

The acting prime minister of Vanuatu, Ham Lini, has expressed interest in the proposal and has asked the partners to lodge a formal application to construct the smelter in his country.

The move comes as Chinese steel mills scour the Asia-Pacific region for alternative supplies of nickel after top supplier Indonesia imposed a ban on such exports in January.

Under the proposed partnership, New Caledonian company MKM Group and China’s Jin Pei Century Investment (Group) Co Ltd plan to mine low-purity nickel ore in the French Pacific territory and ship it to Santo in northern Vanuatu for smelting.

Media reports in New Caledonia said the project would be owned 51 percent by MKM and 49 percent by Jin Pei. The head of MKM, Wilfried Mai, told New Caledonian television he had advised the Chinese investors to build the plant in Vanuatu.

In risk-averse mining sector, innovation begins with taking the guesswork out of sorting rock – by Peter Koven (National Post – September 30, 2014)

September 30, 2014

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

The mining industry is not always synonymous with innovation. Extraction methods have been entrenched for decades, and many companies are happy to stick with the same mining and milling processes that are standard across the sector.

“There’s a monolithic barrier to anybody trying to do anything new, because everybody’s the same and everybody thinks the same,” says Andrew Bamber, chief executive of MineSense Technologies Ltd.

Mr. Bamber, 43, believes there is an untapped billion-dollar market for innovation and new technologies within the broader industry. With Vancouver-based MineSense’s latest invention, a unique ore-handling technology for optimizing metal recovery, Mr. Bambler hopes to help prove his case.

The technology has nothing to do with finding new mines. It is about identifying valuable ore in existing mines that he believes companies are foolishly throwing away. Conversely, it is about making sure companies do not waste time and money processing low-quality ore.

When mining firms design their mine plans, they spend hours poring over the drill holes on a property and carefully assigning value to blocks of material in the ground. Rock that gets assigned a high value goes to the mill for processing, and low-value material gets shipped to the waste pile.

COMMENT: Tackling the confusion between reserves, resources – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – September 29, 2014)

September 30, 2014

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

I had my knuckles rapped last week for sloppy reporting. Okay, I deserved it. I failed to read a news release closely enough and confused “reserves” and “resources” as the company reported. I find it confusing that sometimes resource numbers include reserves and sometimes they don’t. So I asked a knowledgeable reader to clarify the NI 43-101 requirement on this issue.

He responded: The NI 43-101 requirement is to state which way the company is doing it (reserves within resources, or disclosed separately). I find most of the big producers quote reserves and resources separately, while juniors tend to go the other way. That might be because juniors are often looking at development projects rather than producing mines, and so the question they’re answering to themselves is ‘how much of this resource is mineable?’

But it also seems that there are a lot of companies out there that simply assume they’re doing it right because they’ve always done it that way.

CIM definition and best practice standards leave it up to the qualified person to decide whether to report reserves and resources together or separately, but best practices recommends reporting them separately. CIM reiterates the requirement for a clear statement about which practice is being followed.

Ethical jewelry shop provides alternative to conflict minerals – by Marco Chown Oved (Toronto Star – September 29, 2014)

September 30, 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.

Pioneers have shop in Cabbagetown that sources fair-trade gold from Latin America and custom makes engagement rings.

Peek into the window of the Fair Trade Jewellery Company on Parliament St. and you’ll see display cases filled with gleaming engagement rings.

It’s a view not unlike one you’d find at other jewelry shops in town, but the gold and diamonds here have an invisible but ethical difference — they’re traced all the way from mine to finger.

“We’re purpose-built to eliminate all the worst abuses that occur in mining, from gold that fuels conflicts to the mines that use child labour,” said the shop’s co-founder and lead designer Ryan Taylor. “We work directly with mining communities to improve their practices. We want to lead by example in this industry.”

Not everyone is preoccupied by the origins of their engagement rings, but as awareness of the dangerous conditions and toxic chemicals in mining grows, ethical jewelry is emerging as an alternative.

“We knew a bit about mining,” said Carleen McGuinty, who went to the Fair Trade Jewellery Company with her husband Eric for their wedding bands.

NEWS RELEASE: Barrick Named the Exclusive Provider of Gold, Silver and Bronze for the Medals at Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Games

September 30, 2014

TORONTO, September 29, 2014 – Barrick Gold Corporation is joining the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games as its Official Metal Supplier. Toronto-based Barrick (NYSE:ABX) (TSX:ABX) will supply all the raw materials used to make the more than 4,000 gold, silver and bronze medals awarded at the Games.

Just like the athletes coming to the Games, the metal for their medals will come from the Pan American region. The metals will be sourced from Barrick mines throughout the Americas.

“Barrick is a proud Canadian company with operations around the globe, including six Pan American countries,” said Barrick Co-President Kelvin Dushnisky. “With the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Games being held in our hometown of Toronto, we saw a rare opportunity to do something that symbolizes our pride in our heritage and our commitment to our host countries. We look forward to welcoming the athletes and government representatives to Toronto next summer.”

“Barrick and all of its people are excited to supply the metals that will become the treasured symbols of the dedication, teamwork and excellence that will be on display in Toronto at the Games,” said Barrick Co-President Jim Gowans. “These are values we share at Barrick and try to live every day. Next summer’s Games will be a great opportunity to bring the Americas together, celebrate our shared values and learn from our differences, all while enjoying more than three weeks of athletic excellence.”

The Games are a high-profile event that will attract interest from around the world, including up to 380 million viewers across the Americas alone.

Mining News: Incentives spur exploration projects – by Rose Ragsdale (Mining News – Week of September 28, 2014)

September 30, 2014

http://www.petroleumnews.com/miningnewsnorth/index.shtml

Inaugural program aims to encourage existing, would-be mineral explorers to chase diamonds, gold and other metals in the North

The Government of Northwest Territories has implemented a new Mining Incentive Program that was oversubscribed by midyear, with strong interest shown by companies and prospectors in the Northwest Territories and across Canada.

“The Mining Incentive Program helps our government support those with the energy, expertise and perseverance that this industry relies on to conduct mineral exploration in an environmentally sustainable way,” said GNWT Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ramsay.

“I especially look forward to using this program to contribute to the success of northern and Aboriginal-owned businesses pursuing mining projects, so more northerners can enjoy the benefits of economic development and a healthy mining sector,” Ramsay said in a statement.

“It’s very positive to get that much interest,” said Pam Strand, director of Mineral Resources for the Government of Northwest Territories. “But it’s not surprising when compared with other jurisdictions such as Yukon Territory and Manitoba. Their programs have grown year by year.”

Yukon Territory, for example, awarded C$1.4 million this year to 44 companies and prospectors, up about C$630,000 from comparable funding in 2013.

BC Cities Demand Review of Thermal Coal Exports – by David P. Ball (The Tyee.ca – September 26, 2014)

September 29, 2014

http://thetyee.ca/

Confab of municipalities passes resolution in favour of greater oversight.

The province’s 190 local governments and 26 districts are calling for more government oversight over thermal coal exports in British Columbia, which are set to increase after a recent federal decision.

Delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities’ annual meeting in Whistler voted in favour of an assessment of the health and environmental risks of coal carried by train from the U.S. through White Rock and Surrey, and by barge to B.C.’s Texada Island — a corridor beyond the scope of Port Metro Vancouver’s own required reviews.

The UBCM resolution states that “there is currently no mechanism that provides oversight or ensures the implementation of mitigation measures to minimize environmental and health impacts of thermal coal transport over coastal waters and by rail.”

It calls for “a comprehensive environmental and health impact assessment for the shipment of thermal coal over coastal waters and by rail,” and that a provincial or federal agency be chosen to monitor it.

Though non-binding on the provincial or federal governments, the vote came five weeks after a federal port authority approved Fraser Surrey Docks’ application to build a transfer facility for four million tonnes of thermal coal a year.

U.S. Ramping Up Major Renewal in Nuclear Arms – by WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER (New York Times – September 21, 2014)

September 29, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A sprawling new plant here in a former soybean field makes the mechanical guts of America’s atomic warheads. Bigger than the Pentagon, full of futuristic gear and thousands of workers, the plant, dedicated last month, modernizes the aging weapons that the United States can fire from missiles, bombers and submarines.

It is part of a nationwide wave of atomic revitalization that includes plans for a new generation of weapon carriers. A recent federal study put the collective price tag, over the next three decades, at up to a trillion dollars.

This expansion comes under a president who campaigned for “a nuclear-free world” and made disarmament a main goal of American defense policy. The original idea was that modest rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling nuclear complex would speed arms refurbishment, raising confidence in the arsenal’s reliability and paving the way for new treaties that would significantly cut the number of warheads.
Instead, because of political deals and geopolitical crises, the Obama administration is engaging in extensive atomic rebuilding while getting only modest arms reductions in return.

Supporters of arms control, as well as some of President Obama’s closest advisers, say their hopes for the president’s vision have turned to baffled disappointment as the modernization of nuclear capabilities has become an end unto itself.

North Bay residents up in arms over TransCanada plan to switch crude oil for gas in local pipeline – by Raveen Aulakh (Toronto Star – September 28, 2014)

September 29, 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.

TransCanada Corp. plans to repurpose a pipeline running through North Bay, Ont., from carrying natural gas to crude oil. Locals worry about potential environmental damage.

NORTH BAY, ONT.—From his many-windowed fifth-floor office at city hall, Mayor Al McDonald points to the Laurentian escarpment to the north, then to the shimmering blue waters of Trout Lake to the east. Vast Lake Nipissing is visible to the west, though you have to crane your neck to see it. Below are the Victorian buildings and tree-lined streets of the downtown.

McDonald clearly loves showing off the view. But it also pitches him into anxiety. “If something happens to Energy East here, if there is a spill, we’ll be ruined,” he says. “Who would want to come here then?”

Somewhere near the escarpment and Trout Lake, there is a natural gas pipeline. It has been there for four decades, but has become a source of concern in this northeastern Ontario city.

TransCanada Corp., the Alberta-based oil giant, wants to repurpose the pipeline, now carrying natural gas, to transport crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to New Brunswick. Dubbed Energy East, the project is TransCanada’s $12-billion oil dream.

Brazilian giant Vale joins Fraser Range nickel rush – by Peter Ker (Sydney Morning Herald – September 30, 2014)

September 29, 2014

http://www.smh.com.au/

It’s the hottest exploration province in Australia, and now Brazilian mining giant Vale wants a piece of it. Vale’s Perth-based exploration unit is understood to have joined a long list of explorers in the Fraser Range region of Western Australia, in the hope of making a new major nickel discovery.

The region came to prominence after Sirius Resources hit the jackpot with the Nova nickel and copper discovery two years ago, and has since become one of the most active exploration regions in the nation. Most of the companies drilling in the region are tiny ASX-listed hopefuls, making the $US55 billion Brazilian quite the exception.

Vale is the world’s second biggest producer of nickel, behind only Norilsk Nickel of Russia, which decided to quit operating in Australia about 12 months ago.

Vale’s Australian office declined to comment on the strategy behind the move into the Fraser Range, but it is understood the claim area was acquired within the past month, and is located slightly off the main mineralisation trend, on the eastern edge of the range.

The company’s move into the Fraser Range is ironic, given Sirius’ first big nickel discovery in the region in 2012 was notable for the fact that it revealed a type of nickel mineralisation not previously seen in Australia.

India’s mass cancellation of mining licenses spurs debate – by Shivom Seth (Mineweb.com – September 29, 2014)

September 29, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Will a recent government decision erode investor confidence or help reshape an industry with lacklustre performance record?

MUMBAI (MINEWEB) – The mass cancellation of coal licences has sparked off an uproar in India Inc. Many captains of industry have said it could cause serious supply disruptions and exacerbate India’s on-going power crisis. Worse, the economy would have to pay a heavy price for the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel coal blocks and get them auctioned by the government.

“The authority of the government is at stake here. The damage is unlikely to be confined to only coal blocks. Any administrative decision taken in the future in the mining sector would be fraught with uncertainity, and would fail to inspire confidence and carry credibility,” said a senior corporate official.

The Supreme Court, India’s highest court, recently ruled that allocations of 218 coal blocks for mining were all illegal except for four, and cancelled the whole lot. The total investment at stake: $32.55 billion (Rs 2,000 billion). Coal producers could also face penalties of upto $3 billion.

Amar Ambani at broking firm IIFL said the focus would now shift to investor uncertainty about investing in the Indian mining industry. The impact of the verdict would be highest on JSPL and Hindalco in the metals space, he added.

The Operational History of Mines in the Northwest Territories, Canada (2009) – by Ryan Silke

September 29, 2014

http://www.nwtminingheritage.com./

Ryan Silke is a writer, musician, and historian who offers historical research services and tours. ryansilke@gmail.com

An Historical Research Project

The Canadian north was settled because of its mineral resources. When the Canadian Dominion Government first purchased the arctic from the British Crown in 1870, the Northwest Territories was seen as a vast stretch of cold and inhospitable land and was practically ignored by the authorities at the time. First minerals were reported in the 16thcentury by British explorer Martin Frobisher, but his gold ores turned out to be types of pyrite, or better known as ‘fool’s gold’.

The original inhabitants of the north, the natives, once mined copper ores along the Arctic Coast for use as tools, implements of war, and objects of trade. This copper was the target of fur trader and explorer Samuel Hearne, who in the 18th century sought out the legendary mountains of the mineral along the Coppermine River. Those copper deposits proved vastly exaggerated and to this day no mine has entered production in this area despite periodic copper strikes and aerial staking rushes.

The Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898 was the turning point in mineral exploration in the north. While no major gold strikes were made in the boundaries of the modern day N.W.T., some of the Yukon stampeders did make their journey through the subarctic, including the prospectors who first reported gold at Yellowknife River and lead and zinc ores at Pine Point on the shores of Great Slave Lake. In 1900, exploration of the N.W.T. was underway by students of the Geological Survey of Canada and the first mapping was done at Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lakes. As Canada entered the 20th century, it was abundantly clear that the Barrenlands North of 60 held immense potential for mineral resources.

Mine of the Future™ – people and technology working together – by Rio Tinto (September 28, 2014)

September 29, 2014

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

Technology & Innovation

Technology is an increasingly important success factor in the mining and minerals industry. Improvements in technology can change the way that we look at mineral deposits, make our operations safer, help us manage costs and respond to environmental imperatives.

Rio Tinto’s Technology & Innovation (T&I) group focuses on creating sustainable value and competitive advantage by making improvements to the way we operate. T&I partners with the business and external partners to provide technical insights into how we run our operations and deliver our projects.

T&I employs approximately 700 people. To help us achieve our goals, we’re also working with some of the best minds in the world of academia, through partnerships with leading institutions such as the University of Sydney and Imperial College London.

‘Nothing done’ on Ring of Fire: Horwath – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – September 29, 2014)

September 29, 2014

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

The Ontario Liberals may have won a majority in the June 12 election, but they don’t have a monopoly, says Andrea Horwath.

Ontario Liberals have failed Northern Ontarians time and time again — especially in their slowness to develop the Ring of Fire — and the Ontario New Democrats can capitalize on that, said the NDP leader.

Horwath spoke Sunday morning at NDP Northern Council 2014, a gathering of 60 or more MPPs, NDP candidates and party faithful.

New Democrats, herself included, made mistakes in the last election, but have four years to make up for them, especially if they focus on the values for which the party stands.

Ontario saw the “sad result” of Liberal inaction recently when Cliffs Natural Resources indicated it was looking to sell its assets in the Ring of Fire, Horwath told delegates.

“Instead of pulling out all the stops to build infrastructure, instead of getting revenue sharing agreements on track, instead of working with northerners, First Nations and industry partners to develop resources in the Ring of Fire, Premier Wynne’s government has taken a wait-and-see approach.”