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Nickel prices continue huge rally on supply concerns – by Peter Koven (National Post – May 13, 2014)

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

The jaw-dropping rally in nickel prices shows no signs of slowing. At least not yet.

When the Indonesian government introduced an export ban in January that severely curbed nickel supply, industry insiders predicted it would have a profound effect on the market. But they were largely ignored by the investment community, which had little interest in nickel after nearly three years of dismal performance by the metal.

In retrospect, the insiders were right. Nickel prices have soared more than 50% since the export ban came into effect. Prices rose more than 5% at one stage on Monday, climbing above US$9.50 a pound. That is the best level since early 2012.

“We’re cheerleading this morning,” said Rick Mark, chairman and chief executive of North American Nickel Inc. “I was amazed to see it up another 30 cents. It’s remarkable that we’ve had two 30-cent days in the space of three or four days.”

Indonesia is responsible for roughly 28% of global nickel mine production. The export ban on unprocessed ore is part of an effort to encourage more value-added processing within the country.

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Oil pipeline consultation with aboriginals doesn’t equate to veto, report argues – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – May 13, 2014)

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

During the past decade, Canada’s aboriginals have turned natural resource projects such as the Northern Gateway pipeline into a lever to assert their interests, regardless of whether they clashed with those of the country as a whole.

Based on the belief that the law is on their side, they have threatened to go to court if Prime Minister Stephen Harper approves the Alberta-to-West Coast pipeline next month, and if he does, to sabotage it if proponent Enbridge Inc. dares to build it.

Cheered on by anti-oil advocates, some aboriginals say ‘social licence’ has moved ahead of all criteria to determine whether a natural resource project can go ahead. The United Nations’ top advocate for the rights of indigenous people fanned the flames Monday by suggesting Ottawa should “probably” consider blocking Northern Gateway.

It’s a speeding train that needs a course correction before a ruling on the Northern Gateway becomes another reason for aboriginals to feel shortchanged.

Dwight Newman, the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Rights in Constitutional and International Law at the University of Saskatchewan, provides impetus for that in a new paper for the Macdonald Laurier Institute.

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Opinion: Change is challenge for mining – by Phil Hopwood (Vancouver Sun – May 12, 2014)

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

Phil Hopwood is the Canadian mining sector leader at Deloitte.

Canada’s mining companies must embrace innovation and improve productivity to ensure their future success

As we enter BC Mining Week, it is an appropriate time to take an honest look at the state of the industry in the province. Mining is one of British Columbia’s vital resource industries. It contributed $9.2 billion to the provincial economy in 2012 and it is very much an industry in flux.

Historically, mining companies have waited out the storm as markets have swung, but this time it is different. We are seeing it is imperative for these companies to adjust their way of doing business if they want to survive and thrive. Mining firms continue to be confronted with the compounding challenges of cost inflation, falling commodity prices, supply-demand imbalances and decreased productivity levels.

As skilled workers retire from the workforce, and we continue to see the number of graduates in degrees such as mining engineering decline, mining companies, especially in B.C., need to embrace innovation and revise their core systems and processes while applying new approaches to financial, safety and talent management programs as well as external relations with communities, governments, shareholders and regulators.

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Can fracking bring freedom to Ukraine? – by Ezra Levant (Toronto Sun – May 12, 2014)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

Vladimir Putin’s greatest weapon isn’t his special forces invading Ukraine in slow motion. It’s the fact that Russia sells Europe 30% of its natural gas. Gazprom, the $95 billion natural gas colossus, is controlled by the Kremlin.

What’s Europe going to do to punish Putin – cut off their own heat and power? In fact, the risk is that Putin will cut off the west. He’s done it before. Twice Putin cut off gas to Ukraine, both times in the dead of winter.

Gazprom doesn’t even pretend to be an independent company. It’s an arm of Russian foreign policy, designated a “strategic company,” akin to a jet fighter manufacturer. Every foreign contract must be approved by the Kremlin; prices are set by the Kremlin. It’s about as “independent” as those masked gunmen running around Crimea.

Putin uses natural gas to get what he wants. Six months ago, when Ukraine was considering an economic treaty with the European Union – pulling it away from Russia’s orbit – Putin bribed Ukraine with $20 billion worth of freebies, including a 30% cut in gas prices if it rejected the west.

But after Ukrainians deposed Viktor Yanukovych, Putin’s ally in Kiev, Gazprom jacked gas prices right back up, from $7.65 to $11.33 per thousand cubic feet. Just for comparison, the average price of natural gas in North America is about $4.50.

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Lots of fat to cut in Ontario’s civil service – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – May 12, 2014)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

Tim Hudak promises to cut broader civil service jobs by 100,000 positions. Is that all? It’s interesting to note that these are positions — not jobs. There may not actually be people in those positions. This, he says, will simply take the size of the civil service back to 2009 levels.

You only have to look at the size of the Sunshine list — the annual salary disclosure document that lists all public sector workers making more than $100,000 — to see some fat-trimming is long overdue.

Hudak says the public sector has grown by 300,000 over the past decade — just as the manufacturing sector has shrunk by that amount. Where to start? The bloated energy sector is a good place. Remember the old Ontario Hydro? In 1995, it operated power plants, transmission lines — and operated the system.

That was broken down into Hydro One, which operates the wires and Ontario Power Generation — the entity charged with looking after generating plants. The Independent Electricity System Operator runs the system.

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NEWS RELEASE: Zeldes Haeggquist & Eck LLP Announces Investigation of Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc.

May 12, 2014 09:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Zeldes Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, a shareholder and consumer rights litigation firm has commenced an investigation into Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc. (“Cliffs” or the “Company”) (NYSE: CLV) for securities law violations in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”).

“deeply concerned by the destruction of shareholder value suffered by shareholders.”

Cliffs is an ire ore mining company incorporated and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, which had been developing three large iron ore and chromite mines in Canada. On February 15, 2013, Cliffs conducted an IPO in which it sold $675 million of stock to investors. Since the IPO, the stock has fallen nearly $6 per share, or 25%, to approximately $19 per share, wiping out over $162 million in shareholder value.

Our investigation focuses on whether Cliffs failed to disclose material information to investors regarding problems or delays with its Canadian mines. Specifically, we are investigating whether Cliffs made false statements or material omissions in its Registration Statement and Prospectus regarding development delays and operating and infrastructure problems at several of Cliffs’ iron ore and chromite mines in Canada.

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Goro suspension pushes nickel price to two-year high (Northern Miner – May 9, 2014)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

VANCOUVER – With nickel prices already up almost 40% in 2014, a suspension at Vale’s (NYSE: VALE) Goro mine in New Caledonia has pushed the price of the steelmaking component to a two-year high.

The Goro mine has limited impact on global nickel supplies whether it is running or not, so a stable metal market would react little to the suspension. However, the nickel market is far from stable and so the Goro news acted as fuel on the fire that has been heating up nickel for months.

Indonesia started that fire in January when it banned exports of nickel ore. For years China and Japan have imported raw nickel laterite ore from Indonesia and turned it into nickel pig iron (NPI), a cheaper alternative for steelmakers to pure nickel. The trade amounts to 450,000 tonnes a year, or almost a quarter of the 2-million-tonne global annual nickel market.

The export ban is intended to spur local processing and thereby capture more of the metal’s value domestically, but it will be years until Indonesia develops significant NPI production capacity.

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Aluminium’s day dawns as iron ore dims – by Matt Chambers (The Australian – May 12, 2014)

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

Tinto’s much-maligned aluminium business could be a surprise saving grace for the miner as iron ore prices soften, with the company’s cost-cutting drive set to produce strong cashflows and boost the chance of big returns to shareholders.

The turnaround in aluminium, which Deutsche Bank is forecasting will contribute $US2 billion ($2.1bn) of annual free cashflow to Rio by 2017, comes as chief executive Sam Walsh predicts an end to the Chinese overcapacity that has hobbled the industry in recent years.

While there is no hope of recovering the $US25bn of value wiped from the aluminium unit’s book value since Rio paid $US40bn in cash for Alcan just before the global financial crisis, some investors are positioning themselves for a rebound.

“We have shareholders on our portfolio because they ­believe our aluminium business is going to be very prospective,” Mr Walsh told the company’s annual meeting in Melbourne last week. “That’s their call, but it is an indication that people ­expect there will be improvement in the business.”

Deutsche Bank analysts also sense a change.

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Nine Nickel Smelters Seen in Indonesia This Yr After Ban – by Yoga Rusmana and Eko Listiyorini (Bloomberg News – May 12, 2014)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Indonesia forecasts that nine nickel-processing plants may be completed this year after the largest mined producer banned raw ore exports in January, spurring a rally in refined prices to the highest level since 2012.

The plants comprise two ferronickel and seven nickel-pig-iron smelters, according to data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. One chemical-grade alumina plant is also scheduled to be completed this year, the data showed.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is seeking to force a move toward processed commodities, betting that repercussions from the ban such as job losses will be offset by investment in new plants and output of higher-value products. The metal used in stainless steel is the biggest gainer this year among the six main metals traded on the London Metal Exchange amid concern that the ban will raise costs and spur a global deficit.

“Greenfield smelters are horribly expensive and drag down the profitability of even the best ore-mining operations,” said Xavier Jean, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s in Singapore. The prospects for completions this year are unrealistic, Jean said in an interview.

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Block B.C. coast pipelines to improve relations with Canada’s aboriginals, UN urges Harper – by Peter O’Neil (Vancouver Sun – May 12, 2014)

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

Report by James Anaya, the UN’s special rapporteur, says there’s a ‘crisis’ in Canada

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper could narrow the gulf of mistrust with aboriginal peoples by blocking major resource projects including two proposed pipeline megaprojects to the B.C. coast — unless First Nations consent to construction, the United Nations said Monday.

A report by James Anaya, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said there is a “crisis” in Canada and that the level of mistrust has perhaps worsened in the past decade.

Anaya put the two oilsands pipeline megaprojects Enbridge’s to Kitimat and Kinder Morgan Canada’s to Burnaby at the top of a long list of economic proposals that have drawn bitter complaints from aboriginal leaders Anaya met during a fact-finding mission last year.

Anaya, an American indigenous rights scholar and nominee for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, said the government doesn’t have a coherent plan to meet its Supreme Court of Canada-mandated obligations to consult and accommodate First Nations before major projects proceed.

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Manitoba tries to blast zebra mussels in unique experiment – by Chinta Puxley (Globe and Mail – May 12, 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.

WINNIPEG — The Canadian Press – They are small clam-like creatures that seem to spread in the blink of an eye and squeeze the life out of the rivers and lakes they inhabit. This summer, those who grapple with zebra mussels will be watching Manitoba, where officials are trying to stop an invasion with a unique experiment.

Once the winter ice recedes on Lake Winnipeg, a silk curtain will be lowered to the lake floor to seal off four infested harbours. Liquid potash will then be pumped into the water until it reaches a lethal concentration for the mussels and clogs their gills.

The technique has been tried in a closed quarry, but this is believed to be the first time liquid potash has been used in open water. Scientists who study the mussels say Manitoba presents a “golden opportunity” to find a way to prevent their proliferation in waterways around the world.

The postash plan will cost $500,000, but many say it could save millions down the road if it works. “There is only one guarantee and that is, if nothing is done, then the situation will certainly get worse,” said Manitoba Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh. “The impact of zebra mussels in areas where they have infested waterways is quite profound.”

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What Sudbury can teach China about air pollution – by Kate Allen (Toronto Star – May 10, 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.

Air pollution was once so bad in Sudbury it literally blackened the earth. Now countries such as China can turn to cleaned-up Canadian city for hope. In so many stock images of Beijing, someone is wearing a face mask. Air pollution has become a feature of the urban Chinese landscape.

There was another city where debilitating air pollution once seemed permanent. In this other city in the 1960s, housewives reportedly planted their tomatoes in wagons: when a plume of bad air descended, the tomatoes could be wheeled out of the toxic cloud.

As for sulphur, “you could taste it when you were outdoors,” says Bill Keller. Keller is the director of the Climate Change and Multiple Stressor Aquatic Research program at Laurentian University, and a resident of Sudbury for the past 40 years.

In Sudbury, he remembers, air pollution was so bad it literally blackened the earth: acid rain, along with mining operations, stripped the land of vegetation, leaving 100,000 hectares of barren or semi-barren moonscape.

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Sudbury’s history part of new book, The Raids – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – May 10, 2014)

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

To order The Raids, click here: http://www.barakabooks.com/catalogue/the-raids/

Sudbury author Mick Lowe has undertaken a herculean task, one far more challenging than writing a trilogy of novels after suffering a debilitating stroke six years ago.

The well-known journalist and non-fiction author is out to elevate the people of Sudbury and our history to the “mythos” of Canadian legend. “I want to create legend as well as history and fact because we’re worth it,” Lowe says quite simply.

Lowe, 67, will launch the first book in the series, “The Raids,” on Sunday, May 25 at the Steelworkers Union Hall and Conference Centre.

The setting for the launch party is ironic given the book is a fictionalized account of the bitter, decade-long battle by United Steelworkers to pull members from the then powerful Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Union Local 598.

The book is set in the spring of 1963, when 19-year-old Jake McCool works his first shift at Stobie Mine. The young miner becomes a participant in what Lowe describes as a war between the two unions. Lowe, who has lived at Pioneer Manor since his left side was paralysed from the stroke, says employees in their 20s there have shown great interest in what he’s been working on.

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Sudbury company aims high with leak prevention technology – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – May 10, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

A spin off from a Sudbury-based company plans to take expertise in rubber-lined pipping systems for the mining sector, and expand it to a leak prevention technology for other sectors, such as oil and gas.

Jeff Fuller, the president of Fuller Industrial, teamed up with industrial designer Dan Chamberland in 2010 to develop a special paint coating for pipelines, and other structures, that could detect the smallest pin holes and prevent leaks before they happen.
Two years later they founded Leak Preventions Ltd. to push the technology forward and market it to the oil and gas sector.
Fuller is chair of the company’s board of directors, and Chamberland is its president and CEO.

The technology works a lot like the classic board game Operation, but at an industrial scale.

When the special paint they have developed is chipped, it completes an electrical current that sends a signal to the pipeline’s operator. That operator can then take corrective action to prevent a potential leak before it happens. Fuller said Leak Prevention’s patent-pending technology is the only way to prevent a pipeline leak before it occurs.

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The slaves of Eritrea – by Matthew McClearn (Canadian Business Magazine – May 9, 2014)

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

Canadian mining company Nevsun has been accused of using forced labour to build a mine in Eritrea. How could something like that happen in the modern business world?

The news was grim, but not surprising. Yannick Lamonde, an official within Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), received word in January last year of an impending report by a prominent non-governmental organization. Its contents were explosive: Human Rights Watch claimed a Canadian-owned mine in Eritrea had been built partly by de facto slaves.

Department officials were already well-acquainted with the mine’s majority owner, Vancouver-based Nevsun Resources, and certainly its mine, Bisha, located in the dusty interior of the North African nation. They had even heard similar rumours at least a year earlier. But with those unproven allegations now receiving widespread publicity, remaining silent was no longer an option.

The first order of business was to prepare for the inevitable questions from reporters. According to documents obtained by Canadian Business under the federal Access to Information Act, the DFAIT’s media relations team was given a series of stock responses to deliver.

Corporate Canada “leads the world in responsible mining practices,” the officers told reporters from the CBC, La Presse and elsewhere when they called.

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