Republic of Mining

Glencore seeks exception to air standards – Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – May 21, 2014)

May 21, 2014

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

Mining giant Glencore is requesting an exception for the Sudbury smelter’s nickel emissions.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment is introducing new air quality standards come July 2016. Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, a Glencore company, is applying for a Site-Specific Air Standard. Basically, it’s a temporary standard that – with approval from the ministry – gives the company more time to meet the new standards, and includes an action plan explaining how the company will get up to speed with those regulations.

“The new standard will be based on an annual averaging period, as opposed to the current standard that is based on a 24-hour averaging period,” Kate Jordan, a Ministry of the Environment spokesperson, said in an email. “For this reason it’s difficult to compare the two standards, but the current is 2 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air) and the new is 0.04 ug/m3.”

A notice was sent to neighbours, informing of the application and a public meeting being held next month. Notices will also be printed in local newspapers. “The company is applying for a site-specific standard to allow us to research and implement the best technologies and processes in order to be in compliance with the new standard in the future,” it says.

LNG projects could generate $200 billion in investment in B.C., EY estimates – by Nelson Bennett (Business in Vancouver – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.biv.com/

U.S. and Australia have a head-start in the global race to dominate market, LNG conference speakers warn

By 2020, the British Columbia government hopes to see three major liquefied natural gas plants on the West coast of B.C. – something professional services firm EY estimates would generate more than $200 billion in investment. That’s when many 20-year LNG contracts with large customers in Asia – primarily electrical utilities – are up for renewal.

But it will take four or five years to build the pipelines and LNG plants, and to date, none of the pipelines that will be needed to supply the LNG plants are under construction.

No offtake agreements with Asian customers have been signed yet, no final investment decisions have been made, and the industry is still waiting for details on the implementation of a new two-tiered LNG tax.

Meanwhile, Australia has three LNG plants already in operation, seven under construction, and a new Exxon Mobil LNG plant in Papua New Guinea loaded its first tanker – destined for Japan – just last week.

Cameco delays Millenium Mine – by Jason Warick (Regina Leader-Post – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

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

Cameco Corp.’s decision to delay construction of its Millennium uranium mine is one more reminder of Saskatchewan’s vulnerability to the whims of commodities markets, experts say.

However, the province’s economy should be strong enough to weather the recent troubles in the uranium and potash industries, they add. Robust oil prices, a record grain harvest and other factors provide reasons for optimism. “Saskatchewan has got everything the world wants,” said Colin Boyd, professor of management in the University of Saskatchewan’s Edwards School of Business.

Boyd said reliance on any single commodity “can be a roller-coaster ride,” but Saskatchewan is diversifying. “I think we’ll be absolutely fine,” he said.

Fellow Edwards School professor Brooke Dobni said there may not be record economic growth every year, but the long-term outlook is good. “We’re not at the peak, and there are so many variables we don’t control, but we’re still doing OK, Dobni, the school’s chair for Saskatchewan enterprise, said.

Cameco’s Millennium uranium mine project is 36 kilometres from the company’s Key Lake operation in the Athabasca Basin. Cameco owns 69.9 per cent of the project and serves as the operator, with Japan’s JCU Exploration Co. owning the remainder.

INTERVIEW: Balmoral CEO on high-grade nickel hit – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – May 21, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Balmoral Resources CEO Darin Wagner describes plans to explore a newly discovered semi-massive sulphide zone on its Grasset project in Quebec.

HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) – Much remains to be seen about the potential of Balmoral Resources’ Grasset nickel-copper-PGE project in Quebec on the Detour gold trend. But its latest intercept certainly catches the eye with 45 metres @ 1.79 percent nickel, plus some copper and platinum group elements, in a new zone of mineralization that is little tested.

The question now becomes if there’s more of that to be had in the new zone. To get a sense of the project and its prospects we spoke with Darin Wagner, Balmoral Resources President and CEO, a few hours after it released the latest Grasset assays.

KIP KEEN: Tell me about the intercept and its implications.

DARIN WAGNER: In the intercept this morning basically there’s 77 metres of mineralization there. But the core of it is 45 metres at 1.79% nickel long with copper and PGE credits. That is contained in a specific horizon, which we’re referring to as Horizon 3, and it’s actually net-textured. So semi-massive sulphides that are well disseminated through the core and have a beautiful internal consistency to it.

Anti-pipeline groups want to slay golden goose – by Lorne Gunter (Toronto Sun – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.torontosun.com/home

On Tuesday, a coalition of First Nations, environmentalists and lefty think-tanks vowed to fight the $12 billion Energy East pipeline to take oilsands oil from Alberta to refineries and ports in eastern Canada.

Although not formally aligned yet (they have held a closed-door strategy meeting in Winnipeg, but have not forged a single front organization), the groups pledged to oppose Energy East with as much ferocity as opponents of the Keystone XL project have used in the United States.

Many of these same groups and others also vehemently oppose Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan in B.C. Not all, but most of them are, indeed, opposed to oilsands development altogether.

But just so I’m clear, here, you groups all still want even more billions from Ottawa and the provinces for development on reserves and in other First Nations communities, right?

Just where do you imagine that money is going to come from? If you block the largest economic development projects in the country, from whom will the federal and provincial governments collect the taxes to pay for the social spending you dream of?

Liberals are idiots on green energy – Editorial (Toronto Sun – May 20, 2014)

May 21, 2014

http://www.torontosun.com/home

Liberal MPP and former energy minister Brad Duguid says Tory Leader Tim Hudak is “completely irresponsible and out of his mind” for trying to extricate taxpayers and hydro consumers from the Liberals’ green energy disaster.

In fact, the only people who were completely out of their minds on the green energy file were Dalton McGuinty, Kathleen Wynne, Duguid and the entire Liberal cabinet and caucus.

First, their criticism of Hudak is a straw man. They charge Hudak would be irresponsible to tear up absurdly generous, 20-year contracts the Liberals signed with wind and solar power developers for expensive and unreliable electricity.

Except Hudak didn’t say that. He said he won’t cancel approved projects that are already supplying power to the electricity grid because it would cost even more to walk away from them.

He did say he won’t approve new contracts and will review on a case by case basis contracts awaiting final approval from the energy minister.

Clement says Wynne’s Ring of Fire letter shows election desperation – by Jessica Hume (Toronto Sun – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/home.html

OTTAWA – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s criticism of the feds’ contribution to developing northern Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire shows she’s become a “desperate” campaigner, Treasury Board President Tony Clement says.
She recently called for more cash for the project.

On Tuesday, Clement called Wynne’s letter “political positioning in the middle of an election.” “We’ve seen desperation in the campaign of Kathleen Wynne in the last few days and this is just another example of that,” he said.

The funding issue has caused tensions over the development of this vast territory, about 535 km north of Thunder Bay, Ont.

The minerals are worth billions, but before any mining can begin, plenty of infrastructure needs to be built. No roads connect the Ring of Fire to the rest of the province. Wynne says $2 billion is needed to build enough infrastructure to begin any work.

In her own recently announced budget, Wynne allocated $1 billion for Ring of Fire infrastructure in the hopes of inspiring other levels of government and the private sector to ante up.

Iron ore prices teeter – by Matt Chambers (The Australian – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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

IRON ore prices last night fell below $US100 a tonne for the first time in nearly two years, hit by uncertainty around China’s steel output and stronger than expected Australian supply that earlier sent mining stocks sliding.

The only other time iron ore prices have previously slipped below $US100 this decade, briefly in 2012, spot-market buying of the nation’s biggest export dried up to the extent that prices rapidly fell another 13 per cent.

Benchmark Chinese iron ore prices fell $US2.20 to $US98.50 late last night, their lowest since September 2012 and in line with indications of weak buying demand shown in Chinese and Singaporean futures yesterday.

Benchmark prices had slipped 2 per cent to $US100.70 in China on Friday night. The fall follows Treasury forecasts in last week’s federal budget showing the price would fall below $US90 a tonne within two years.

This is in line with downgraded forecasts as Australian miners unexpectedly ramp up boom-time expansion projects on or ahead of time, and as the outlook for Chinese demand growth looks less certain.

Modi needs to reform electricity to power India recovery – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – May 19, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON Australia – (Reuters) – Narendra Modi’s crushing election win has given rise to hopes for an economic revival in India, but much will depend on whether he can replicate the electricity success of his home state.

India’s financial markets have been buoyed by Modi’s victory, betting that the Hindu nationalist politician can work the same economic wonders for the whole country that he did while running the western state of Gujarat for 13 years.

The alliance led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 336 of the 543 seats in India’s lower house of parliament when election results were announced last week, giving India a majority government for the first time in a quarter of a century.

While Modi’s authority will be bolstered by the massive win and his legislative programme will be easier to implement given he doesn’t need to negotiate with coalition partners, the scale of the challenge facing him is enormous.

India is structurally short of electricity, and it’s hard to see how the economy can be ramped up significantly, especially in power-hungry sectors such as manufacturing, without the provision of reliable power at prices high enough to ensure sustainable supply, but not so high as to choke growth.

UPDATE 2-Platinum firm Lonmin says “bleeding” from S.Africa strike – by Ed Stoddard and Silvia Antonioli (Reuters India – May 19, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) – South African platinum miner Lonmin has lost a third of its annual production due to an industry strike over wages which its chief executive described as a “bleeding” that might lead to the company’s death if not stopped in time.

South Africa’s longest and costliest mining strike turned violent this month, with four miners killed as more employees tried to report for work at the world’s top platinum producers.

Lonmin had anticipated a mass return of its employees to work last week, but striking members of the main Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) prevented many other workers from going back to the mines.

The strike has also hit the South African operations of Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum, taking out 40 percent of global production of the precious metal used for emissions-capping catalytic converters in automobiles.

“The strike has now entered its 17th week and we have now lost a third of our production for the whole year,” Lonmin chief executive Ben Magara said on Monday during a briefing with journalists in Johannesburg.

Northern Policy Institute talks Ring of Fire infrastructure (CBC News Thunder Bay – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/ The fledgling Northern Policy Institute [NPI] will soon release research on the Ring of Fire that deals with issues such as road access versus rail access to the mining region. The think-tank was established to do independent studies on big issues affecting northern Ontario. “I’ve had opportunity … to hear [Matawa First Nations negotiator] Bob …

UPDATE 4-Turkey keeps three suspects in custody in mine disaster probe – by Humeyra Pamuk (Reuters India – May 19, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

SOMA, Turkey, May 18 (Reuters) – A Turkish court ordered three suspects to be kept in custody on Sunday on a provisional charge of “causing multiple deaths” in last week’s mine disaster, as the last of the 301 victims were buried.

Of the remaining 22 people detained earlier, six suspects have been released but could face prosecution later. Questioning of the other 16 people was continuing. The detentions came five days after a fire sent deadly carbon monoxide coursing through the mine in the western Turkish town of Soma, causing the county’s worst ever industrial accident.

The disaster has sparked protests across Turkey, directed at mine owners accused of ignoring safety for profit, and at Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government, seen as too close to industry bosses and insensitive in its response.

An initial report on the possible causes of the accident indicated the fire may have been triggered by coal heating up after it came into contact with the air, Prosecutor Bekir Sahiner told reporters outside the Soma courthouse, rejecting initial reports that a transformer explosion was responsible.

Turkey’s Preventable Tragedy – by Ozgur Ozelmay (New York Times – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/

Ozgur Ozel is a Republican People’s Party deputy representing the Soma-Manisa district in Turkey’s Parliament. This essay was translated by Zeynep Tufekci from the Turkish.

MANISA, Turkey — On the morning of May 13, Turkey finally woke up from its deep slumber on workplace safety — but at the cost of 301 lives. The subterranean fire last week at the Soma coal mine in western Turkey was the worst mining disaster in the country’s history. Hundreds of hardworking men in the district I represent are dead. And sadly, their deaths could have been prevented.

As early as last September, I had petitioned the Turkish Parliament to create a commission of inquiry, which is one way that the legislature can use its powers to oversee industry in Turkey. Ever since the Soma mine was privatized in 2005, the price of extracting coal has gone down dramatically — and so have safety conditions for workers.

My proposal merely called for research on previous mining accidents in Soma, inspections of the mine, and finding solutions. Along with other members of Parliament, I also urged Turkey to ratify the International Labor Organization’s convention on mine safety; if Turkey had signed the I.L.O. convention, there would have been mandatory alternative exits from the mine that could have saved lives.

Barrick Gold seeks to restart suspended Pascua-Lama project after meeting with top Chilean officials – by Alexandra Ulmer and Fabian Cambero (National Post – May 20, 2014)

May 20, 2014

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

Reuters – SANTIAGO — Barrick Gold Corp, the world’s No. 1 gold miner, has met with Chilean officials and is keen to move forward with its suspended Pascua-Lama gold and copper project, in which it has already invested more than US$5 billion, Chile’s new mining minister told Reuters.

Aurora Williams, who became minister in March after President Michele Bachelet assumed power, said in an interview on Friday the Toronto-based company wanted to resolve outstanding problems so it could continue with Pascua-Lama, which straddles the Chilean and Argentine border.

Barrick surprised financial markets in October, when it shelved the massive mine over problems, including political opposition, environmental permitting, labor unrest, cost overruns and a sharp drop in bullion prices.

“We received Barrick a few days ago,” Williams said in her first interview with a foreign news organization. “They’ve showed us their interest in solving (Pascua-Lama’s) problems and doing community work, which to us appears correct … What I understand is that there’s interest that the project continue.”

Ontario premier talks ‘nonsense,’ say feds [about Ring of Fire] – by Daniel Proussalidis (Toronto Sun – May 18, 2014)

May 20, 2014

http://www.torontosun.com/home

OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford dismisses Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s recent trash-talking over a lack of federal funding for northern development as “nonsense.”

Earlier this month, Wynne accused the federal government of funding hydro development in Atlantic Canada and pipeline projects in the West, but neglecting infrastructure to develop the Ring of Fire – several promising mineral projects in Northern Ontario.

Wynne’s comments came in the context of a provincial election campaign, but Rickford rejected the criticism Sunday nonetheless. “That’s nonsense,” Rickford told CTV’s Question Period. “I wish that this had not been politicized the way that it has.”

He also says the province hasn’t yet mapped out how development should proceed “in any way shape or form,” leaving the investment climate unclear for private companies.