Republic of Mining

Grassy Narrows takes logging fight to Supreme Court – by Jody Porter (CBC News Thunder Bay – May 15, 2014)

May 15, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

A case before the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday could determine the future of resource extraction in much of the country. Grassy Narrows First Nation, in northwestern Ontario, is challenging Ontario’s right to issue logging or mining permits on their treaty lands.

Councillor Rudy Turtle said the clear cutting of trees near his home has ruined trap lines and scared away the moose in the area.

“If someone can’t get a moose, they have to rely on store-bought food, which is unhealthy and very expensive,” Turtle said.”Whenever someone kills a moose, it’s their supply of meat for their whole family for the winter.”

The First Nation argued successfully in an Ontario court that their treaty rights to hunt, trap and fish are “subject only to limits placed by the federal government,” as laid out in Treaty 3. Ontario appealed that decision all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The lawyer for Grassy Narrows said the case will lay out the responsibility of the federal government “to try to help sort things out between the non-Aboriginal people who want to use resources and the Aboriginal people who are also using those resources.”

Rising nickel prices good for Sudbury – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

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

World events including an export ban on nickel ore in Indonesia and uncertainty over the political situation in eastern Europe have helped drive up nickel prices, analysts say. Nickel high a two-year high this week, peaking at more than $9.50 per pound on Tuesday.

That’s more than $2 higher than two months ago and about $3.50 higher than six months ago. Terry Ortslan, nickel analyst at TSO and Associates, based in Montreal, said the primary cause of the increase has been changes to mining laws in Indonesia, which previously supplied China with much of its nickel ore to be processed into pig iron, for use in stainless steel.

“China produces more nickel than Canada and (the former Soviet Union) combined,” Ortslan said. The Chinese have relied on deposits in Indonesia, as well as New Caledonia and the Philippines, before the Indonesians announced a ban on nickel ore exports, in an effort to extract more value from its mineral resources, in 2009.

That ban went into effect in mid-January and though there are presidential elections in Indonesia this summer, it’s not expected the next government will change course.

Duluth sees nickel upside at Twin Metals (Northern Miner – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

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 been a long road for junior Duluth Metals (TSX: DM, US-OTC: DULMF) on the northern edge of Minnesota’s prolific Iron Range, but it looks like the development potential of the company’s Twin Metals joint venture with major Antofagasta (LON: ANTO, US-OTC: ANFGY) is set to come into focus in the next few months.

The companies are set to release a prefeasibility study (PFS) based on a large-scale copper-nickel-platinum-palladium-gold resource in July — the first updated study since a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in 2008 — which will outline a 50,000-tonnes-per-day underground mine.

Duluth has also undergone a management change as it moves towards a potential development scenario, with former-COO Kelly Osborne — who worked as a senior vice-president of underground operations for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) — stepping in as the company’s president and CEO on May 12.

Outgoing president Vern Baker took some time to sit down with The Northern Miner to discuss his four-year tenure with the company, and shed some light on the current state of the Twin Metals project. Baker will continue to serve on the Twin Metals technical committee moving forward.

Mining the green gold of Ethiopia’s Danakil – by Elissa Jobson in Addis Ababa (The Africa Report – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

http://www.theafricareport.com/

As companies rush to secure their claim on Ethiopia’s mineral riches, the government is keen to show it supports international transparency measures. Ethiopia is in the midst of a gold, oil, mineral and gemstone rush. More than 250 companies are currently scouring the territory hoping to strike it rich.

here is a diversity of geology,” says Tolesa Shagi, the minister of mines. “There is huge potential for different minerals – that is what we understood after we invited foreign mining companies.”

Just over half of the country has been surveyed so far and it already appears that there are significant reserves of gold, oil and potash as well as valuable deposits of coal, tantalum, copper, platinum, opals, rubies and other gemstones.

The mining sector currently accounts for around 1% of the Ethiopian economy, but the government expects that in 10 years’ time it will represent 10% of GDP. Potash is likely to be one of the first commodities to contribute to this growth.

In the remote and arid Danakil Depression, in northeast Ethiopia, lies the world’s largest potash deposit.

‘This is your pipeline’: Eagle Spirit plan is in Canada’s best interests, aboriginal leader says – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – May 15, 2014)

May 15, 2014

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

CALGARY – Dave Tuccaro is not your stereotypical aboriginal leader impacted by the oil sands: He loves the industry, has become very wealthy because of it and is on a mission to ensure there is a pipeline to link the Alberta deposits to markets in Asia.

The founder, president and CEO of Tuccaro Inc., a treaty Indian from Fort Chipewyan and likely Canada’s most successful aboriginal entrepreneur, is a leading backer of the Eagle Spirit pipeline-and-upgrader proposal from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.

The project is orchestrating a big push to win B.C. and Alberta First Nations’ support just as Ottawa prepares to hand down a ruling on the rival Northern Gateway project, which is struggling with aboriginal opposition.

“What we want to do is to tell the [aboriginal] community: ‘This is your pipeline,’” the usually-private leader said in an interview on the sidelines of an awards ceremony organized by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

“If we find out six months from now that they don’t want it, we will back off. But we know for sure, they know as well, that a pipeline is going to be built, from here to the West Coast. It’s in Canada’s best interest to sell our oil to somebody other than the United States.

Engineers hurl scandalous accusations after Turkish mine fire kills hundreds – by Ben Brumfield, Gul Tuysuz and Diana Magnay (CNN.com – May 15, 2014)

May 15, 2014

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/

Soma, Turkey (CNN) — Turkey’s President spoke words of comfort to loved-ones of the nearly 300 miners who have died in a mine fire, a day after the Prime Minister was blasted over comments seen as insensitive.

The deadly mine fire in Turkey is a “sorrow for the whole Turkish nation,” President Abdullah Gul told reporters Thursday. He offered his condolences to the victims’ families.

Onlookers listened silently until a man interrupted Gul with shouts: “Please, president! Help us, please!” An investigation into the deadly Turkey mine disaster has begun, Gul said. “I’m sure this will shed light” on what regulations are needed. “Whatever is necessary will be done,” he said.

He commended mining as a precious profession. “There’s no doubt that mining and working … to earn your bread underground perhaps is the most sacred” of undertakings, he told reporters. Gul had entered the mine site with an entourage of many dozens of people — mostly men in dark suits — walking through a crowd of rescue workers who were standing behind loosely assembled police barricades.

Silver Institute: Physical Silver Demand Rises 13% In 2013 To Record High – by Allen Sykora (Kitco News – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

http://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Global physical demand for silver rose by 13% in 2013 to an all-time high of 1.081 billion ounces, according to the World Silver Survey 2014 released Wednesday by the Silver Institute.

The rise was driven by a 76% increase in retail investment in bars and coins coupled with a recovery in jewelry and silverware fabrication, the report said. Data for the World Silver Survey was compiled independently by Thomson Reuters GFMS. The Silver Institute has published the annual report since 1990.

Andrew Leyland, manager for precious-metals demand for the GFMS team at Thomson Reuters, identified three major trends in the silver market during 2013 that were attributed largely to a 24% decline in the average price.

“The first was the reaction from the price-elastic markets, in particularly jewelry and silverware,” he said, pointing out that jewelry fabrication was up nearly 10% and silverware was up 12%. “They were very much price-sensitive moves, with people feeling they could put more silver content into silverware and move away from plated (silver) products into more sterling silverware products.”

Vale could keep smelter and refinery open until 2019 – John Barker (Thompson Citizen – May 14, 2014)

May 15, 2014

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000. editor@thompsoncitizen.net

‘Vale will continue to invest in Thompson without a strategic partner,’ spokesman says

Vale Canada Limited’s Manitoba Operations has a green light from federal environmental officials on keeping its Thompson smelter and refinery open until the end of 2015.

Pending new federal sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission standards, pursuant to The Canada-Wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000, set to come into effect in 2015, could have required a reduction in airborne emissions of approximately 88 per cent from current levels at the Thompson operation.

The Canada-Wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000 was agreed to in 1998 by federal, provincial and territorial ministers of energy and environment to fulfill an earlier commitment in their 1994 “Statement of Intent on Long-Term Acid Rain Management in Canada,” which in turn built on the 1985 Eastern Canada Acid Rain Program.

Cleaning Up Coal in India (New York Times Editorial – May 12, 2014)

May 15, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/

India’s Enforcement Directorate has filed charges of money laundering against a former minister of state for coal, Dasari Narayana Rao, and Naveen Jindal, a member of Parliament who also happens to be chairman of Jindal Steel and Power. This is the latest turn in a major corruption scandal in India, known as Coalgate, in which the coal ministry awarded a handful of companies lucrative mining rights on a noncompetitive basis. The charges are a hopeful sign that India is ready to clean up its coal industry. But much more needs to be done.

Coal mining has long enjoyed sweetheart status in India, whatever the social and environmental costs. An 1894 land acquisition law that became an instrument of abuse, eventually fueling a Maoist insurgency, was finally replaced this year by a statute promising transparency and fair compensation.

Even so, activists are regularly harassed and even assassinated by thugs paid by powerful business interests to force people from their land. Ramesh Agrawal, who used India’s Right to Information Act to expose an illegal coal-mining venture by Jindal Steel and Power in Chhattisgarh, was shot and left for dead after he refused to back off. He accuses Mr. Jindal of ordering the attack. Mr. Agrawal was honored with a 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize for his fight for the communities threatened by the venture.

Hopes fade for survivors after Turkish mine fire kills At least 245 – by Ece Toksabay (Reuters U.K. – May 14, 2014)

May 14, 2014

http://uk.reuters.com/

SOMA, Turkey – (Reuters) – Hopes faded of finding more survivors in a coal mine in western Turkey on Wednesday, where 245 workers were confirmed killed and around 120 still feared to be trapped in what is likely to prove the nation’s worst ever industrial disaster.

Anger over the deadly fire at the mine about 480 km (300 miles) southwest of Istanbul echoed across a country that has seen a decade of rapid economic growth but still suffers from one of the world’s worst workplace safety records. Opponents blamed Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government for privatising the country’s mines and ignoring repeated warnings about their safety.

“We as a nation of 77 million are experiencing a very great pain,” Erdogan told a news conference after visiting the site. But he appeared to turn defensive when asked whether sufficient precautions had been in place at the mine. “Explosions like this in these mines happen all the time. It’s not like these don’t happen elsewhere in the world,” he said, reeling off a list of global mining accidents since 1862.

Fire knocked out power and shut down ventilation shafts and elevators shortly after 3 pm (1 p.m.BST) on Tuesday. Emergency workers pumped oxygen into the mine to try to keep those trapped alive during a rescue effort that lasted through the night.

UPDATE 4-S.African police vow to crack down on strike intimidation [South African platinum belt] – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – May 14, 2014)

May 14, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

MARIKANA, South Africa, May 14 (Reuters) – South Africa’s police minister vowed to crack down on violence against platinum miners who were trying to return to work and arrest “within hours” strikers he said were behind a campaign of intimidation. South Africa’s longest and costliest strike ever, has taken a violent turn in recent days, with four miners killed as more employees try to report for work at the world’s top platinum producers.

Earlier on Wednesday, striking members of the main Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) prevented other workers from returning to platinum producer Lonmin’s shafts, thwarting the company’s efforts to end the 16-week strike.

“In South Africa, the rule of law reigns … Anarchy is not what is going to be accepted,” minister Nathi Mthethwa told a news conference later. Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum have also been hit by the strike, which has brought to a halt 40 percent of global production of the precious metal used for catalytic-converters in automobiles.

Lonmin had been aiming on Wednesday for a “mass return” of workers but a spokesman said “a very low number” had showed up. The producers have said many of the strikers have signalled a willingness to accept the latest pay.

Mining: Geologist takes mineral hunt to his hometown – by James Kwantes (Vancouver Sun – May 13, 2014)

May 14, 2014

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

Rob McLeod returns to Stewart to explore for gold at Red Mountain, site of his first job after graduation

When exploration geologist Rob McLeod graduated from the University of B.C. in 1993, his first job was drilling for gold at an underground project at Red Mountain near his hometown of Stewart.

It was a “dream job” for McLeod, who grew up fishing, hiking and exploring abandoned mine shafts in the area. During the winter drill program, he would pack ski equipment on the Snowcat they used to travel up the mountain and ski down at the end of the day.

The skiing was good, and so were the drill hits. “I’ve had my eyes on it ever since,” McLeod said of the property at the southern edge of B.C.’s “golden triangle,” a mineral-rich area beside the Alaska panhandle that hosts high-grade gold and stores of copper and silver.

McLeod now has his hands on Red Mountain as well, after an option agreement with current owner Seabridge Gold. The deal gives McLeod’s Revolution Resources 100-per-cent ownership of the project in exchange for a total of $3.5 million in cash and the expenditure of $7.5 million in exploration and development expenses over the next three years.

COLUMN-China the hidden culprit behind Australia’s tough budget – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – May 14, 2014)

May 14, 2014

http://uk.reuters.com/

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

May 14 (Reuters) – Many Australians will castigate the country’s new conservative government for a tough first budget that saw cuts to welfare and hikes to taxes, but some of the blame lies with China.

Just as China’s rapid growth of the past decade fuelled a commodity boom in Australia, the slowing of the Chinese economy and its uncomfortable transition to a more consumer-led model means the end of the resource bonanza down under.

While the headlines from the Liberal/National coalition’s federal budget on Tuesday focused on Treasurer Joe Hockey’s cuts to family payments and health, and tax increases for the wealthy, much of the underlying story was contained in the economic forecasts.

Australia’s two biggest export earners are iron ore and coal, and they will be joined by liquefied natural gas (LNG) once the seven projects currently under construction are operating. The last is slated to come onstream by 2018.

China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, accounting for about 36.7 percent of exports. The government’s budget papers paint a picture of muted prices for these commodities, which will impact on the collection of royalties and taxes.

NEWS RELEASE: BC mining industry financial results dip in 2013

May 14, 2014

http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/index.jhtml

Some industry insiders believe the worst may be over

Click here for the report: http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/mining/publications/pwc-mining-industry-british-columbia-2014-05-en.pdf

VANCOUVER, May 14, 2014 — British Columbia’s mining industry faced significant headwinds in 2013 continuing the slide from a peak in 2011. While total shipments were higher in 2013 than 2012, revenues and earnings were down, according to the PwC BC Mining Industry Survey for 2013.

“In 2013 we saw investment in B.C.’s mining industry remain depressed as prices for its key commodities such as coal, copper, zinc and moly remained soft,” said Mark Platt, survey co-author and leader of PwC’s BC mining practice. “Producers hunkered down to minimize costs as they were hit with increased electricity rates, commodity market volatility, a skilled labour shortage and the additional costs of B.C.’s return to a PST and GST system last year.”

El Nino a looming wild card for commodities – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – May 14, 2014)

May 14, 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.

Commodity traders are placing their bets on El Nino. The periodic weather phenomenon leads to torrential rain in South America and droughts in Asia and Africa, and may provide a needed boost for commodities after last year’s slump in prices.

Weather forecasters around the world are predicting that a shift in climate patterns could occur this summer, with some warning of the strongest El Nino in more than a decade.

“One should prepare portfolios to actively trade that event,” Société Générale SA said in a research note released on Tuesday. “We see support for base metals, especially nickel and zinc, as well as more volatility for sugar, cotton, coffee and cocoa.”

The severe weather event, which happens when temperatures warm in the Pacific Ocean, could cause flooding in copper and zinc mines in South America.

It could also cause droughts in resource-rich regions, threatening sugar crops in Thailand and India and drying up waterways needed to transport ore in Indonesia, the bank said.