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Alcoa pledges finished products push as results beat Wall Street – by Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – July 8, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Alcoa Inc’s (AA.N) chief executive officer said on Tuesday the aluminum company would push deeper into the market for more profitable finished products like truck wheels and aircraft fuselages as it reported quarterly results that beat analysts’ expectations.

At the same time, CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said Alcoa was focused on cutting costs and improving the performance of its traditional commodity business, which has been hit by weaker aluminum prices.

Alcoa’s shares rose as much as 2 percent in after-hours trading. The company’s stock price is up nearly 40 percent this year.

“The transformation of Alcoa truly is in high gear and the results show this. Our strategy is working,” Kleinfeld said on a conference call.

Alcoa’s strategy to boost value-added fabricated product output and broaden its footprint in other light-weight materials like nickel, titanium and lithium has partially offset the pain of prolonged weak underlying primary aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange CMAL3, which have been close to or below breakeven for many smelters over the past year.

Alcoa has idled or permanently closed loss-making smelting capacity as it ramps up its smelter complex in Saudi Arabia, which will be the world’s lowest-cost.

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Lac Seul stakes its development claim – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 9, 2014)

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.

A 2012 Friendship Accord struck between Lac Seul First Nation and Sioux Lookout is already paying huge dividends if you judge the brisk foot and vehicle traffic through the local Tim Hortons.

Instead of residents driving an hour south to Dryden along moose-infested Highway 72 to Dryden to get a double-double fix, it’s now available in their own backyard.

The northwestern Ontario First Nation community of 1,000 is the proud owner of the franchise on the south side of Sioux Lookout, which opened last summer to great fanfare and a continuous outpouring of patronage.

Chris Angeconeb, Lac Seul’s economic development general manager, said it’s not uncommon for folks visiting from the remote fly-in communities to make a special detour from their in-town appointments to almost clean the place out of coffee and doughnuts.

“We have a tough time keeping the shelves stocked.” But ownership of a fast food outlet is really only the window dressing of the steady progress Lac Seul has made on a number of fronts through partnerships and agreements in the energy, mining and mineral exploration, forestry and training fields.

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The Ring of Fire’s slow burn (Global Business Reports – July 2014)

Global Business Reports is an international provider of industry specific reports to the global trade and investment community. This article is from a profile about Ontario mining for Engineering & Mining Journal.

http://gbreports.com/industry.php?i=2

Making progress in the mineral-rich region despite setbacks

Development of the Ring of Fire has experienced its share of setbacks recently. In November 2013, Cliffs Natural Resources decided to halt its Big Daddy chromite project, citing risks associated with developing infrastructure in the frontier area of northern Ontario. Companies in the mineral-rich area are dependent upon getting federal and provincial support to fund badly needed infrastructure to the region.

“Obviously, having an industry participant leave the region is never a positive development but we are hoping that there is a
silver lining and this event will underline the need for more timely- decision making regarding key issues such as environmental permitting and infrastructure,” said Alan Coutts, president and CEO of Noront Resources Ltd., whose Eagle’s Nest project is the most advanced in the Ring of Fire.

A number of developments in early 2014 may be the starting point to solving the dilemmas that caused Cliffs to suspend its operations. First, the province of Ontario announced the formation of the Ring of Fire Development Corp. to assess various possibilities to fund infrastructure development and engage with First Nations communities affected by development in the region. The Liberal government went even further, announcing a C$1 billion investment to fund a transportation solution.

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Aboriginal group on Vancouver Island signs deal for LNG project – by Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – July 9, 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.

VANCOUVER — A self-governing aboriginal group on Vancouver Island has signed a deal with a fledgling liquefied natural gas company in hopes of developing a massive project to export LNG to Asia.

Members of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations say they are eager to work with project leader Steelhead LNG Corp. to build an export terminal near Bamfield on the southwest side of Vancouver Island.

Huu-ay-aht First Nations chief councillor Jeff Cook said his group is in a strong position to help nurture a major venture in the resource sector. He noted that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled last month that the consent of aboriginals is required for how their ancestral lands are used.

The Huu-ay-aht are part of the 2011 Maa-nulth First Nations Final Agreement, one of only a handful of treaty and land claim pacts in British Columbia. “We’re open for business.

For too long, we’ve been left behind in the resource industry and basically consulted after the fact. We want to be part of this LNG project,” Mr. Cook said in an interview.

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BHP nickel sale hits hurdle – by Nick Evan (The West Australian – July 9, 2014)

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/

A native title ruling could throw a shadow over BHP Billiton’s attempts to sell its Nickel West assets, after the Federal Court ruling last week paved the way for native title claims over BHP’s Kambalda nickel concentrator and Gold Fields’ St Ives mine.

In a decision released last week, the Federal Court ruled that the transfer of mining tenements from State Agreements between 2004 and 2007 should have triggered negotiations for a land use agreement with the Ngadju people, who claim native title over the region around Norseman and Kambalda.

The ruling covers more than 200 mining leases transferred from State agreements originally held by Western Mining Corporation.

They include leases over BHP’s Kambalda nickel concentrator and Gold Fields’ 400,000 ounce-a-year St Ives mine, the fourth largest gold producer in Australia last year.

Gold Fields said in January the action could force the closure of St Ives if the native title claimants sought an injunction to do so.

But the company softened its rhetoric this week, saying in a statement the decision “does not affect the grant of mining tenure to St Ives”. It added operations would continue as usual pending the outcome of the process.

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Ontario miners, loggers await Supreme Court of Canada decision on treaty rights – by Drew Hasselback (National Post – July 9, 2014)

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

Get ready for another big aboriginal rights decision from the Supreme Court of Canada.

On Friday, the Supreme Court will release a crucial decision on the wording of a 1873 treaty between the crown and the Ojibway Nation. The agreement, called Treaty 3, covers about 142,000 square kilometres in what is now a large part of northwestern Ontario and a small part of eastern Manitoba.

The legal rights of aboriginals have soared in public attention after the Supreme Court released its game-changing June decision that recognized the Tsilhqot’in Nation’s claim to aboriginal title in a case called Tsilhqot’in Nation (Roger William) v. British Columbia.

Much of the discussion about the Roger William case focuses on its implications for British Columbia. Most aboriginal groups in the other provinces have ceded their land to the crown by treaty. B.C. is unique because First Nations claim title to most of the provincial land mass. This raises questions about the certainty of tenure for resource projects located in B.C., and it leads to the suggestion that projects located in the treaty provinces might be more secure because they won’t be affected by aboriginal title claims.

Yet the existence of a treaty alone may not provide absolute certainty of tenure. It all comes down to how the courts interpret the wording used in those treaties.

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India needs to restructure Coal India to raise output -govt report – by Krishna N Das (Reuters India – July 9, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – India needs to restructure state behemoth Coal India Ltd quickly to raise output to feed fuel-starved power plants, the finance ministry said in a report, as the country grapples with rising imports amid a push for electricity to all.

Coal India (CIL), the world’s largest coal miner, accounts for about 80 percent of India’s production of the black rock but has failed to meet its output targets for years due to delays in obtaining environmental approvals to expand mines and what critics say are inefficiencies owing to its size.

Millions go without power in India and blackouts are common. “The process of restructuring CIL needs to be pushed through swiftly to boost coal production,” said the finance ministry in the Economic Survey report presented to parliament on Wednesday.

The report – submitted a day before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley delivers his maiden budget – did not say what kind of restructuring it was recommending for CIL.

Reuters reported in May that newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi could explore breaking up some of CIL’s eight local units and making state governments equity holders to help speed land acquisition and other such processes.

The government should also allow commercial mining by private companies, said the ministry’s report.

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New Potash Corp. CEO Jochen Tilk stresses continuity despite differences from Bill Doyle – by Peter Koven (National Post – July 9, 2014)

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

Investors who tired of Bill Doyle’s bombast will probably appreciate Jochen Tilk.

The new chief executive of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. could not be more different from his predecessor. While Mr. Doyle was the ultimate stock promoter, Mr. Tilk is a quiet and conservative mine operator. While Mr. Doyle rarely got through an interview or conference call without saying something outrageous, Mr. Tilk has dodged the limelight his entire career.

What Mr. Tilk does know how to do is operate mines as efficiently as possible. That is what Potash Corp. needs at this stage of the cycle, experts said, and that is one of the things he stressed on Tuesday.

“I believe, as most operators believe, there’s always an opportunity to get better,” the 50-year-old said in an interview from Saskatoon.

Mr. Tilk, who took over last week upon Mr. Doyle’s retirement, is only the third CEO in Potash Corp.’s history. He acknowledged that he has very big shoes to fill after Mr. Doyle’s wildly successful 15-year run, and he stressed continuity of his predecessor’s longstanding strategies — including the famous price-over-volume strategy — rather than any serious overhaul.

“When you look at the evolution of Potash Corp. from its origins to where it is today, you have to give [Mr. Doyle] credit for that. I certainly do,” said Mr. Tilk, who was formerly CEO of copper miner Inmet Mining Corp.

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[Ontario Northland] ONTC workers still wondering about their future – by Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles (North Bay Nugget – July 8, 2014)

http://www.nugget.ca/

While Ontera comes to grips with the news Tuesday that they will lose half of their workforce once the sale is completed with Bell Aliant, Ontario Northland Transportation Commission employees are left wondering about their fate.

Brian Kelly, spokesman for the General Chairperson’s Association, said the government hasn’t been clear about the future of the ONTC.

“Are we going to form a strategic alliance with Metrolinx? Are we going to be part of the Ring of Fire development? There’s just a lot of uncertainty right now,” he said. Kelly said the future of the ONTC remains up in the air.

“The government has given us no indication what the plan is,” he said. “The work in the shops is slowly drying up. The contracts should be completed by the end of the year and then there will be very little work in refurbishment,” he said.

“It’s nice the government is not selling the ONTC, but employees want to know ‘what’s the rest of the story?’” The Liberal government announced in 2012 the divestment of the ONTC, however they have since changed their position and decided to leave the majority of the corporation in public hands.

ONTC’s telecommunications division, Ontera, is scheduled to be sold to Bell Aliant by the end of the summer. The transition will mean the loss of about 66 jobs.

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Joe Oliver to announce more provinces to join national securities regulator – by Gordon Isfeld (National Post – July 9, 2014)

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

OTTAWA — Saskatchewan, and perhaps one or more Atlantic provinces, will join Ontario and British Columbia in Ottawa’s proposed national securities watchdog, sources say.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Joe Oliver will announce that Saskatchewan will sign onto the fledgling Co-operative Capital Markets Regulator (CCMR), according to sources.

Possibly one or more of the Atlantic provinces will come on board, as well. If so, there is speculation that New Brunswick will be the front-runner to join the CCMR. Officials in provincial Finance Minister Blaine Higgs’ office did not respond to a request for confirmation.

However, even with just one province agreeing to participate, the federal government will have the “critical mass” of regional support to go ahead with the CCMR, said Ian Russell, president and CEO of the Investment Industry Association of Canada.

“You need at least three provinces to give you the critical mass that you need. And that would give you virtually 50% of the capital markets,” Mr. Russell said.

“There have been rumours for some time that at least one or two Atlantic Canada provinces have been leaning towards joining the cooperative regulator,” he added.

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A model for First Nations relations – by David Zimmer (National Post – July 9, 2014)

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

David Zimmer is the Ontario Liberal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in the Tsilhqot’in Nation case arising out of British Columbia will inform the way business is conducted across Canada. Here in Ontario, I believe the ruling is consistent with the progress our government has been making in the area of aboriginal consultation and resolving land claims for many years — an approach that has created a province well-prepared for sustainable development benefitting aboriginal people, industry and all Ontarians.

The Tsilhqot’in Nation decision builds on earlier decisions of the Supreme Court, including the Delgamuukw, Haida and Mikisew cases, that have given meaning to the constitutional protection of aboriginal and treaty rights and established principles that guide governments in their relationships with aboriginal communities. Consistent with the spirit of these decisions, Ontario launched the New Relationship Fund in 2008.

The Fund has so far helped almost 200 First Nations and Métis communities and organizations engage in consultations with governments and industry on resource-based economic development activities. And the principles underlying the decisions are the same as those that led the province to modernize the Mining Act in 2009, creating the first legislation in Ontario that embeds consultation principles related to established or asserted treaty and aboriginal rights.

It’s also in the spirit of these earlier rulings that, this year, the government signed a historic regional framework agreement with the nine Matawa member First Nations for negotiations on sustainably developing the Ring of Fire.

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Zinc Scales The $1 A Pound Barrier And Keeps Going – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – July 8, 2014)

http://www.forbes.com/

Last week a 5% rise in the price of zinc over the previous two weeks was considered sufficiently newsworthy to earn a report into what seemed to be the start of a revival in a sector of the mining market known as base metals, which makes it hard to ignore the fact that zinc has just gone up by another 5%.

The latest rise takes zinc, which is largely used to galvanize (rust-proof) steel, over the $1 per pound mark to $1.03, its highest in three years.

Other base metals, including nickel and copper, are also performing strongly as global industrial production continues its slow recovery and mine development continues to suffer from a capital drought.

But, while many investors favor stories from the technology sector early-bird speculators playing the small end of the mining market are making a killing.

Thanks in part to heavy selling over the past three years which has trashed their share prices mineral exploration stocks have been consigned to the bargain basement, though it is getting hard to ignore stocks which double in a matter of days.

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Gold Shines Again as Hedge Funds Boost Wagers on Advance – by Marvin G. Perez (Bloomberg News – July 8, 2014)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold is precious again. After investors sent bullion tumbling in 2013 by the most in three decades and kept dumping the metal earlier this year, demand is now up and prices are defying bearish forecasts. Money managers increased net-long positions for a fourth straight week through July 1 and holdings in exchange-traded products are climbing at the fastest pace since 2012.

“Gold’s performance has proven the bears wrong so far this year,” John Kinsey, who helps manage about C$1 billion ($935 million) at Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “We look for further strength through the balance of the year.”

While the latest government data point to an improved U.S. economy and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA predict prices will retreat by year-end, inflation concerns and pockets of unrest are sending investors into gold as a haven. Prices extended gains after the Federal Reserve signaled earlier this month that it will keep interest rates near record lows and violence spread in Iraq and Ukraine.

The bulls are being rewarded. The value of the gold funds rose by $4.6 billion this year as prices rallied 9.5 percent. The metal has rebounded from last year’s 28 percent plunge that was triggered by muted inflation and as investors shunned the metal in favor of equities.

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SAMSSA: Sudbury lagging in business development – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – July 05, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Sudbury is lagging behind other Northeastern Ontario cities when it comes to attracting new business in the mining supply and services sector, said the executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association.

Dick DeStefano said North Bay, in particular, has done more to attract small and medium sized mining businesses through tax incentives and new municipal industrial parks.

In a recent column, he challenged Sudbury’s municipal politicians – both current and upcoming – to develop a strategy to open the city for business. “What’s the political strategy to attract new business?” he asked.

North Bay, he said, reduced its industrial taxes by 66 per cent a few years ago, and eliminated its industrial development charges.

“I think it’s one of the tools we keep in our toolbox in terms of remaining competitive,” said Erin Richmond, North Bay’s manager of economic development. “We have to always think about different ways we can incent development.”

Last year, the City of North Bay took an extra step to encourage business development, and opened its new 600-acre Airport Industrial Business Park.

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Copper miners’ paths diverge over Indonesia export tax – by Michael Taylor and Allison Martell (Reuters India – July 8, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

JAKARTA/TORONTO – (Reuters) – Six months into a dispute with Indonesia’s government that has halted copper exports, two U.S. mining giants are using very different tactics in a bid to resume shipments – behind the scenes talks or raising the stakes with an arbitration claim.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc and Newmont Mining Corp account for 97 percent of Indonesia’s copper production, exporting tens of thousands of tonnes of concentrate a month before a row over a new export tax halted shipments.

As the latest bid to broker a deal runs up against Indonesia’s presidential election, Freeport is pushing on with government-led talks, with chief executive Richard Adkerson in Jakarta again last week.

Newmont, however, has filed for international arbitration, pushing to uphold the letter of the law on its contract but drawing a rebuke from the government which has questioned its “good will” in talks.

“Freeport is using the carrot and I guess Newmont is using the stick,” said Chris Mancini, analyst at Gabelli Gold Fund. Gabelli Funds holds stakes in both companies.

In an effort to push miners to build domestic smelters and processing plants, Indonesia introduced new mining export rules in January.

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