Republic of Mining

UPDATE 2-New Caledonia says to take legal action over Vale nickel spill – by Cecile Lefort and Melanie Burton (Reuters India – May 9, 2014)

May 9, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

(Recasts with statement from New Caledonian provincial government)

May 9 (Reuters) – New Caledonia’s southern provincial government said on Friday it was starting legal proceedings against Vale over environmental damaged caused by an effluent spill at the miner’s nickel operations.

Vale said in an earlier statement that the spill contained some acid, but that subsequent test results carried out on a nearby river and the sea showed conditions appeared to have returned to normal.

The mining giant said it had suspended 80 percent of its nickel production in New Caledonia and planned a complete shutdown later on Friday, helping to send nickel prices up nearly 6 percent. A spokesman for Vale could not immediately be reached for further comment.

The southern province of New Caledonia was starting legal proceedings under its environmental code after the spill had killed about 1,000 fish, and swimming and fishing had been suspended in the area, it said in a statement. The local government did not say when it might allow Vale to resume operations, but said pollution had been contained to a river.

Updated: Lockerby miners being recalled – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – May 9, 2014)

May 9, 2014

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

First Nickel Inc. was to begin a staged recall of its workforce Thursday after the Ministry of Labour lifted the suspension of its underground operations in all areas of Lockerby Mine, except the area where two men were killed early Tuesday.

Drillers Norm Bisaillon, 49, and Marc Methe, 34, employees of Taurus Drilling Services, were killed by a fall of material, believed to have been preceded by seismic activity.

The area where the men were killed from 3 to 3:30 a.m., at the 6,500-foot level, remains under restricted access while the ministry investigates. The ministry is being assisted in that investigation by the company and by Mine Mill Local 598/Unifor, which represents production and maintenance workers at Lockerby Mine, although Methe and Bisaillon did not belong to the union.

Before First Nickel began recalling its 120 production and maintenance workers, employees were reintegrated into the worksite through a series of sessions designed to provide a safety reorientation. The company said the reorientation would reconfirm First Nickel’s commitment to providing a safe working environment for employees and contractors.

Mine committee presses on, mindful of Sudbury deaths – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – May 9, 2014)

May 9, 2014

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

The deaths of two more men in a Sudbury-area mine can’t halt the work of those involved in Ontario’s Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review, says its chair.

What it can and will do is strengthen the resolve of those conducting it to continue and produce what George Gritziotis calls “deliverables” so the review can have an impact on the mining industry as soon as possible.

Gritziotis, who is Ontario’s chief prevention officer, was saddened, as so many Sudburians were this week, by news that two men were killed at First Nickel’s Lockerby Mine.

Marc Methe, 34, and Norm Bisaillon, 49, died early Monday morning after being struck by a fall of material, preceded by a seismic event, believed to have been a factor in the accident.

The men were experienced drillers with Taurus Drilling Services. Tragedies such as this one, and the death exactly one month earlier of millwright Paul Rochette, 36, and critical injury of a 28-year-old millwright at Vale’s Copper Cliff Smelter Complex, hit the community hard, said Gritziotis.

100 years of Alberta oil: How an industry was born – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – May 9, 2014)

May 9, 2014

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

When Canadians from Eastern Canada move to Western Canada these days to seek better prospects they are merely following in the footsteps of William Stewart Herron, who packed up his bags in Ontario’s Haliburton county and ended up in Okotoks south of Calgary.

Except that Herron’s migration spawned an industry that transformed Alberta’s fortunes. Herron has been credited for discovering and laying the ground for the development of Alberta’s first well that gushed oil nearly a 100 years ago on May 14, 1914. Herron didn’t accomplish his feat alone, of course. There were other major actors including a future prime minister, a senator and one Archibald Dingman.

Born in Peterborough, Ont., Herron began modestly as a cook’s helper, but soon honed his entrepreneurial skills building a logging and road-building business in Northern Ontario. As work waned in the region, he caught the oil bug after visiting an oilfield in Pennsylvania while on holiday, and in the hope of deploying his equipment in the south.

“While Herron did not find work south of the border, the trip did establish what would become a consuming interest in petroleum geology,” wrote R.C. Macleod in his 1984 book ‘William Stewart Herron, Father of the Petroleum Industry in Alberta.’

The British may be coming: As U.S. shuns Canadian energy, UK seeks stronger ties – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – May 9, 2014)

May 9, 2014

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

With Canada’s long-standing energy partnership with the United States at a low point over disagreements on pipelines, climate change and oil sands development, the British are as eager as ever to step in and strengthen ties.

Michael Fallon, energy minister in David Cameron’s conservative government, was in Calgary Thursday to promote U.K./Canada energy cooperation — including learning from Canada’s “leadership” in carbon capture and storage, promoting more mutual investment and encouraging Canadian oil and gas exports to boost British and European energy security.

“Canada is a very important and a very welcome investor in our energy mix,” Mr. Fallon said in an interview during a day long-visit that included meetings with British companies active in Canada such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Centrica PLC, and Canadian companies active in the U.K. including Talisman Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

“There is huge potential [for Canadian companies] in the development of shale, in Canada there is a lot of gas that could contribute to a more stable international market in gas and Canada is at the top of everybody’s list of being a reliable supplier,” he said.

Michael Gravel, meet the Wizard of Dev – by David Robinson (Northern Ontario Business – May 2014)

May 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. Dave Robinson is an economist with the Institute for Northern Ontario Research and Development at Laurentian University. drobinson@laurentian.ca

Let’s imagine that our beloved minister of Northern development and mines, Michael Gravelle, decides to consult one of the world’s leading experts on development for areas like Northern Ontario. Rick van der Ploeg is the research director at Oxford’s Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies. Between 1998 and 2002 he was state secretary for culture and media in the Netherlands, so he also knows a bit about politics.

Earlier this year van der Ploeg—let’s call him Rick—released a paper called Guidelines for Exploiting Natural Resource Wealth. Here is a quick summary of what Rick would tell Michael.

According to Rick, one of the key challenges for a resource-rich region is to convert the natural resource in the ground into long-lasting assets above ground. Chromium deposits in the Ring of Fire have to be turned into infrastructure, human skills, and financial assets held abroad.

Statues spruced up for Schumacher Homecoming – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – May 8, 2014)

May 9, 2014

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The timing is perfect, with the Schumacher Homecoming reunion just around the corner. The refurbished statues of community founder Fred Schumacher and legendary prospector Sandy McIntyre were unveiled in the Schumacher parkette Thursday.

The Sandy McIntyre statue had been damaged and required a new hand. The Fred Schumacher statue had some holes and the brim of his hat was broken. Both are made of copper and received some shining up from the green oxidization that had built up.

There was also graffiti removed from the headframe-shaped monument at the entrance of the park and its plaque was cleaned up so the lettering is now more legible.

“Any time you are able to reintroduce pieces that speak to your culture and heritage, it is significant. This is who we are and what we’re all about,” said Guy Lamarche, manager of tourism, events and communications for the City of Timmins.

“There is a reunion underway here (scheduled during the May Run long weekend), so timing being what it is, it could not have been any better. I’m happy we were able to pull this off for those who are coming back home and for those who live here.”

Lamarche said organizers of the Homecoming are anticipating about 200 people.

Mine Rescue district competitions on in Timmins – by Len Gillis (Timmins Times – May 7, 2014)

May 9, 2014

http://www.timminstimes.com/

The 2014 District Mine Rescue competitions are now on at the McIntyre Community Building in Timmins so that mine rescue teams from across Timmins and Kirkland Lake can hone their skills and win bragging rights.

For the Timmins District, the event will see teams from Lake Shore Gold, Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mine, Glencore Kidd Mine and Dumas Mining contractors competing against each other for the various trophies and awards for things such as best technician, best first aid, best performance on exams and best overall in responding to the mock disaster scenario.

Incidentally, the 2013 team from Kidd Mine is not only the local champion, but also has the provincial bragging rights, having won the All-Ontario mine rescue event held last June in Windsor, Ontario.

Kirkland Lake will also be represented at the event with teams representing SAS St. Andrew’s Goldfields, AuRico Gold (Young Davidson), Kirkland Lake Gold and Primero Mining Group (Brigus Gold).

It is expected that the disaster scenario exercise will be wrapped up early Friday afternoon, to give judges time to make their final assessments.

First Nation construction company takes to the road – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 7, 2014)

May 8, 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.

Wally Bannon has an interesting dilemma on his hands. The economic director for Fort William First Nation said there’s no shortage of contracting jobs in the pipeline for the band’s contracting company, Fort William Construction, but he’s facing a critical shortage of skilled manpower.

Two years after the creation of the firm, Bannon said the “opportunities just keep knocking at the door.” The community of 930, situated across the Kam River from Thunder Bay, owns about $2.5 million worth of heavy equipment used in road building, including a rock crushing unit.

The band developed an aggregate pit and crushing operation on reserve land, and with the help of Sean Main, local contracting consultant, a home-grown workforce has been steadily rebuilding the community’s road network. But other jobs have since sprung up.

This past spring, the company was handling a $900,000 rock crushing contract for the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) south of Thunder Bay, and he expects more work coming their way.

Bill passed to provide $270m for SE Alaska mines – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – May 6, 2014)

May 8, 2014

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Alaska State Legislature has unanimously passed Senate Bill 99 (SB 99), which includes provisions authorising the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) to make up to $270-million available for infrastructure and construction costs at two south-east Alaska mining projects.

The passing of the Bill provides TSX-V-listed Prince of Wales Island project developers Ucore Rare Metals and Heatherdale Resources with the state-backed financial boost needed to develop the deposits into mines amid an otherwise tight financial market.

Introduced by Senator Lesil McGuire in 2013, SB 99 also aims to clarify ambiguous language associated with the Sustainable Energy Transmission and Supply Development Fund within the AIDEA. The AIDEA is a public corporation created by Alaska lawmakers to promote economic development across the state, and has been active in the financing of multiple capital project initiatives in the Alaska mining sector since 1985.

The Delong Mountain Transportation System, a road and port facility connecting the isolated Red Dog mine to world markets, and the Skagway Ore Terminal, a south-east Alaska facility that ships about 37-million pounds of copper concentrates from Capstone Mining’s Minto mine, in Canada’s Yukon Territory, are examples of mining-related projects the authority has funded.

Patchy Power Challenges Indonesia Minerals Goal: Southeast Asia – by Fitri Wulandari and Eko Listiyorini (Bloomberg News – May 07, 2014)

May 8, 2014

http://www.businessweek.com/

The challenge of supplying power across an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is complicating Indonesia’s goal of getting more out of its scattered mineral resources.

While almost 80 percent of Indonesia’s electricity capacity is in the islands of Java and Bali, the majority of its most abundant minerals such as bauxite and nickel are found in provinces including Sulawesi, Halmahera and Kalimantan. That’s testing PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the state utility, which received requests from 25 companies to supply new mineral-processing plants with power as of last month.

“The problem is smelters are often located in remote areas where power stations and infrastructure are lacking,” Jarman, the director general of electricity at the energy and mineral ministry, said in an interview in Jakarta.

Indonesia, the biggest producer of mined nickel, banned mineral ore exports in January to boost investment in the smelters and refineries needed to process raw materials locally into higher-value commodities. By 2030, the plants needed to turn the nation’s ore into metals will require additional power equivalent to 13 percent of current capacity, putting a strain on the electricity network in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

COLUMN-China’s robust commodity imports boosted by stockpiling, financing – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – May 8, 2014)

May 8, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 8 (Reuters) – How long can strength in China’s commodity imports co-exist with weakness in other key indicators, such as manufacturing?

If you accept the argument that China can’t continue to import record, or near-record, levels of major commodities while experiencing slowing growth, then one of two outcomes becomes inevitable.

Either commodity imports start to moderate to align more closely with other economic data, such as the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index, which fell for a fourth straight month in April, or China’s growth shows evidence of re-accelerating.

So far this year, strength in commodity imports has tended be put down to either one-off factors, or demand unrelated to actual consumption, for example, buying iron ore in order to secure financing to use in unrelated investments.

If these factors are the reason behind the seeming disconnect between natural resource imports and the overall economy, then the most likely outcome will be for imports of crude oil, iron ore, copper, soybeans and other commodities to ease in coming months.

Indonesia’s gamble on ore export ban starts to hit home – by Ben Bland (Financial Times – May 7, 2014)

May 8, 2014

http://www.ft.com/home/us

Ketapang, West Kalimantan – Two hundred huge hauling trucks used to hurtle down the 34km dirt road from Harita’s Air Upas mine to its river port every day, shipping bauxite for China’s resource-hungry aluminium industry.

But work at the sprawling site in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, and dozens like it across Indonesia ground to a halt in January after the government defied lobbying from this powerful industry by implementing a long-planned ban on the export of unprocessed

The move is designed to promote investment in costly domestic processing facilities, but critics, such as the World Bank, say it has damaged investor confidence and is threatening the state finances.

Economic growth fell to its slowest pace in five years in the first quarter as tens of thousands of workers were made redundant and mineral exports, which reached $11bn last year, were halted.

Harita, a family-owned conglomerate, and its contractors laid off nearly 5,000 workers in this poor, remote region where mining has been a key driver of employment since much of the remaining rainforest was obliterated by illegal logging a decade ago.

Nickel at Two-Year High as Vale Ordered to Suspend Plant – by Agnieszka Troszkiewicz (Bloomberg News – May 8, 2014)

May 8, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Nickel reached a two-year high in London after Vale SA suspended activity in New Caledonia, stoking concern supply might fall short of reviving demand.

The suspension at the plant was ordered after a spill, according to the island archipelago’s Southern Province government. Nickel surged 41 percent in London trading this year after leading global miner Indonesia barred exports of raw ores in January. The potential for sanctions against Russia also aided prices, according to Societe Generale SA.

“Clearly with the nickel market already tightening on Indonesia and possible sanctions against Russia, this is adding to the general sense that the market is facing a supply shortage over the coming months, if not years,” Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale in London, said by phone today.

Nickel for delivery in three months gained 4.5 percent to $19,487 a metric ton by 1:48 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange after touching $19,786, the highest level since March 2, 2012.

The spill was yesterday and operations were suspended, Cory McPhee, a Vale spokesman in Toronto, said by e-mail today.

Don’t put too much stock in Putin’s so-called soft talk – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – May 8, 2014)

May 8, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Is President Putin just buying time over Ukraine to protect Russia against strong sanctions should he send in the military? What does the current ebb and flow in rhetoric and action mean for gold?

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Russia’s President Putin appears to have pulled back from the brink over intervention in Eastern Ukraine – but has he really? Could he just be biding his time and taking advance measures to best protect Russia from an inevitable increase in Western sanctions – which might even have some bite next time – before making a military move. Whether Russia has troops on the Ukraine border or not is, in reality, pretty irrelevant.

If they are moved away they can just as easily be moved back again, and then across the border to ‘protect’ what Putin sees as Russia’s strategic interests. But some de-escalation just buys time in helping Russia set up bilateral trade agreements, which exclude the dollar, for key imports and exports should Russia suffer the ultimate financial sanction of exclusion from the SWIFT payments system.

This may be unlikely, but has to be in the Russian President’s thinking as a worst case scenario given the other ‘worst case’ of a military conflict between NATO and Russia has effectively been ruled out by the West.