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Europe softens stance on Canada’s oil sands as relations with Russia sour – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – May 7, 2014)

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

As Europe reels from Moscow’s belligerence and utter dependence on its oil and gas supplies, the Harper government is positioning itself as a reliable partner ready to offer energy security to the continent.

In his first international assignment, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford was out in full force advertising the country’s formidable crude oil and natural gas resources to energy ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, U.K. and U.S. in Rome on Tuesday.

“In a time where many countries are faced with the dual challenges of increasing demands for energy and an unstable energy supply, Canada is a reliable, secure and responsible source of energy,” Mr. Rickford told reporters after a special meeting with the Group of Seven ministers.

As the only major oil and gas exporter in the group, Canada is leveraging its oil and gas reserves to position itself as a reliable supplier of energy and an alternative source to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

“Our government is committed to expanding markets for our energy products to Asia and Europe, creating jobs and prosperity for Canadians.

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Matt Gurney: Wynne does her best to out gas plants McGuinty – by Matt Gurney (National Post – May 7, 2014)

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

There’s an election underway in Ontario, with the Liberals, led by Kathleen Wynne, trying to hold onto power against the Tim Hudak-led Progressive Conservatives and Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats.

Ms. Wynne is in a tricky position. Though long a senior Liberal, she only took over as leader of the party — and by extension, Ontario premier — 15 months ago, after the former premier, Dalton McGuinty, resigned. Mr. McGuinty took his ball and went home in the face of mounting evidence that the Liberals had blown a billion dollars of borrowed money to cancel two controversial gas-fired power plants, long championed by his government, in order to shore up his party’s prospects in several hotly contested ridings.

It worked. The Liberals held the seats. But the crass opportunism of the move, combined with the eye-popping price tag and efforts to whitewash the entire affair, destroyed Mr. McGuinty’s credibility. So he left. That’s where Ms. Wynne came in, and she’s been been trying to disassociate herself from Mr. McGuinty and the gas plants ever since.

In theory, at any rate. She apologized for the scandal. She insists she’s running as her own woman, on her record, not that of Mr. McGuinty — though her government has seemed a bit unclear on that, claiming the victories while denying the failures.

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Yukon Party won’t cancel mineral claims in the Peel – by CBC News North (May 06, 2014)

http://www.cbc.ca/north/

Reversing Peel claims ‘would send shockwaves through the investment community:’ Mines Minister

The Yukon government says it won’t be cancelling mineral claims in protected areas of the Peel Watershed. Scott Kent, Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, says cancelling claims would create a series of lawsuits and demands.

“It’s something that we think would send shockwaves through the investment community if we were to expropriate or compensate.” The debate took place yesterday in the legislature, as protesters gathered to protest the Peel Watershed land use plan.

Many were disappointed when the Yukon government released its land use plan for the area that feeds the Peel River in January. The government’s plan protects 29 per cent of the region from development, rather than the 80 per cent called for by the Peel River planning commission.

It also says existing mineral claims in protected areas are still valid and can be developed, such as those held by Tarsis Resources in the southeast part of the region. Yesterday, the opposition said the Yukon government could cancel or expropriate existing claims in the Peel without paying companies.

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Reality series to follow gold exploration exploits – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – May 6, 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.

When it comes to reality TV series, the fishing show Deadliest Catch has orange gold, forestry’s Ax Men has green gold, and the oil industry is encapsulated in the show Black Gold. Now, hard-rock gold mining has its own version.

Fool’s Gold, which will premiere on May 13 on the Discovery Channel, follows Todd Ryznar and seven friends as they try their hand at grassroots gold exploration at the former Straw Lake Beach Mine, located about a 90-minute drive from Fort Francis in northwestern Ontario.

“This is hard-rock mining; all the other shows on TV are about placer gold, and that’s something totally different from what we’re dealing with,” said Ryznar, founder of Shotgun Exploration. “It’s something you’ve never seen on TV before, so it’ll be very interesting.”

A former lakefront property realtor, Ryznar purchased the Straw Lake Beach Mine property in 2005, and, five years later, with inspiration from reality television shows like Deadliest Catch, started filming work being done on the property.

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Pierre Lebel powers Red Chris mine toward production – by James Kwantes (Vancouver Sun – May 6, 2014)

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

‘Finding a way’ to build B.C.’s next mine included a foray into power line construction for Imperial Metals

VANCOUVER — Imperial Metals chairman Pierre Lebel is on the cusp of opening a copper-gold mine, Red Chris, that the company won in a bidding war, financed and developed from an exploration project.

Once it goes into full production in the fall, B.C.’s next mine will employ about 270 people in an area with high unemployment and produce 88 million pounds of copper and 52,700 ounces of gold annually. Not bad for an “accidental” mining executive.

Lebel grew up in the mining hotbed of Sudbury, Ont., but his passion was law. After earning his MBA and a law degree, however, a call from a friend led to Calgary and a job with a small uranium prospect generator called E & B Explorations. That was in 1978.

“Before you know it, you’re doing less and less law and more and more business, and learning as you go along,” Lebel said during a recent interview in Imperial’s Vancouver offices.

E & B became Imperial Metals, and the young lawyer’s temporary gig led to a mine-building career at the helm of a public company that — once Red Chris is up and running — will employ about 900 B.C. residents at three mines.

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Glencore Xstrata plumbs new depths at nickel mine – by Neil Hume and James Wilson (Financial Times – May 6, 2014)

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

Glencore Xstrata has revealed further problems with one of the “greenfield” projects it inherited through its takeover of rival mining group Xstrata, underlining the difficulties of developing large mines from scratch in far-flung locations.

Koniambo, a nickel mine on the Pacific island of New Caledonia, has been dogged by cost overruns and delays since it was approved by Xstrata seven years ago.

The budget has risen from $3.8bn to more than $6bn, and production forecasts have been revised several times.
Glencore had expected output to reach 26,000 tonnes of nickel this year, rising to 55,000 tonnes in 2015.

But in a trading statement released on Tuesday, the Swiss-based company said Koniambo had produced just 1,000 tonnes of nickel in the first quarter of 2014 because of problems with power supplies and maintenance. “Forecast full-year production levels are being reviewed in light of the quarterly operational performance and the start-up experiences to date,” Glencore said in a statement.

Koniambo is one of several instances where Glencore has had to revise the engineering plans left by the previous Xstrata management team.

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New documentary explores South Africa mine shootings – by Nomatter Ndebele (Reuters India – May 6, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, May 6 (Reuters) – It was like a scene from the darkest days of apartheid: South African police opening fire with live ammunition, killing 34 striking black miners demanding a “living wage” from an international firm rich in capital.

But the killings outside of the Marikana mine of platinum company Lonmin happened on August 16, 2012, almost two decades after Nelson Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation” exchanged white-minority rule for multi-racial democracy.

A new documentary “Miners Shot Down”, by South African filmmaker Rehad Desai, explores the events leading up to what has been dubbed “the Marikana Massacre”.

The film has a special resonance at the moment because most of the country’s platinum miners have been on strike for a “living wage” of 12,500 rand ($1,200) a month for the past 15 weeks and a general election will be held on Wednesday.

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Poison pills a little more potent after B.C. ruling – by Boyd Erman (Globe and Mail – May 6, 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.

Making a hostile bid for a Canadian company just got a little bit harder.

Canada’s securities regulators are steadily giving corporate boards more room to breathe in hostile takeover situations, an evolution that will please critics who have long said that it’s too easy to put Canada’s companies in play with unsolicited bids. And it’s happening in the absence of national reform on the issue, which has stalled because of a standoff between Quebec and the rest of Canada on the amount of power that companies should have to shun hostile bids.

Unlike the United States, where boards of directors can simply say no thank you to a hostile bid, in Canada a bid has more often than not led to a sale just a few months later. That’s because the anti-takeover defences erected in the form of shareholder rights plans (better known as poison pills) have historically been viewed very skeptically by regulators. Pills can be complicated affairs, but the upshot is that they make it very difficult for a hostile bid to succeed so long as they are in place.

However, they aren’t in place very long. Provincial securities watchdogs have generally tossed out the defences six to nine weeks after a hostile bid is made. The mantra has been to let shareholders decide whether they want to sell.

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Fortescue Metals to diversify beyond China – by Jamie Smyth (Financial Times – May 6, 2014)

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

Fortescue Metals Group, one of the “big three” Australian iron ore miners, is expanding its customer base beyond China as global investors fret over how a slowdown in Chinese economic growth will affect steel demand.

Nev Power, Fortescue’s chief executive, said the company was supplying some customers in South Korea, and wanted to trial iron ore sales to Japan and across Asia.

“We will keep an open mind as other economies such as India develop. The Taiwanese are developing a steel mill in Vietnam so there is starting to be diversification. I think there are opportunities for us,” he said.

The price of iron ore – used in steelmaking – suffered one of its biggest one-day falls in March over fears that a cooling Chinese economy would damp demand for the raw material at a time when production reached record highs.

Iron ore prices fell again last week following a warning by Vale, the Brazilian miner, that supply had outstripped demand for the first time in a decade due to softening China demand. Mr Power said price volatility was being driven by the rundown of high stock levels at Chinese ports, and Beijing’s recent crackdown on iron ore import loans.

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Why Ukraine Crisis Could Drive Nickel To $25,000/Tonne – by (Forbes Magazine – May 5, 2014)

http://www.forbes.com/

Nickel has enjoyed a solid price spurt in recent months, fuelled by fears over heavy supply disruptions after Indonesia — home to around a fifth of total nickel production — placed an export ban on nickel ore back in January.

The move was prompted by a 2009 law calling for more domestic refined output, a situation which is significantly hampering Chinese production of nickel pig iron (NPI) as ore shipments dry up. As Indonesian refining capacity could be described as inadequate at best, nickel prices have shot 35% higher since the turn of the year, striking 14-month peaks above $18,700 per tonne in the process and looking poised for another move skywards.

Meanwhile, the evolving political situation in Ukraine is also adding pressure to the nickel market, and analysts reckon that a backdrop of escalating trade restrictions on Moscow from the West could add fresh ammunition for the metal to surge still higher.

Indeed, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upped its price forecasts in recent weeks in anticipation of lingering output issues worldwide, and fully expects the metal to strike $25,000 within the next 12 months.

The institution reckons that issues in Indonesia are set to push the nickel market into deficit next year, while the possibility of curbs on Russian shipments could drive stocks to critically low levels in coming months.

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Ground fall caused death of 2 contractors [Sudbury Lockerby mine] – by Star staff (Sudbury Star – May 6, 2014)

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

The Greater Sudbury Police Service’s forensic unit is onsite at First Nickel Inc.’s Lockerby Mine following the death of two contractors due to a ground collapse early this morning. The Ontario Ministry of Labour and First Nickel have confirmed there was a double fatality at the site.

According to an FNI release, the workers were drillers from Taurus Drilling Service and “a fall of ground, preceded by (seismic) activity is believed to have been a factor in the accident.”

All underground activities, except emergency requirements, were suspended following the incident, which is being investigated by FNI officials and the ministry.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident that resulted in the deaths of two men and we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families, friends and colleagues,” Thomas M. Boehlert, FNI’s President and CEO, said in the release. “Safety is the top priority for the Company and we will ensure this accident is fully investigated.”  The company was planning a press conference for this afternoon.

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Banks Sued on Claims of Fixing Price of Gold – by Alan Feuer (New York Times – May 5, 2014)

http://www.nytimes.com/

Frustrated traders and offbeat activists have complained for years in whispers and in online screeds that the price of gold has been subject to collusion. On Monday, these accusations of manipulation found a more august arena for expression: the federal courts.

At a 40-minute hearing, lawyers for more than 20 plaintiffs gathered in Federal District Court in Manhattan to coordinate their linked lawsuits against the five banks that make up what is known as the London gold fix. The suits, filed by hedge funds, private citizens and public investors like the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, contend that the banks have used their privileged positions as market makers to rig the price of gold to their benefit.

The lawsuits — the first of which was filed in March — question the integrity of the gold fix, which dates to 1919, when a handful of bankers began to meet in the wood-paneled offices of N. M. Rothschild & Sons in London. The purpose of the fix is to set a benchmark price for gold, which is subsequently used by dealers, central banks and mining firms to buy and sell the precious metal and its various derivatives.

These days, the fix takes place by phone twice a day — at 10:30 a.m. London time and again at 3 p.m. — and generally lasts 10 minutes to an hour. According to one of the suits, “The ‘great flaw’ of the gold fixing process is that the member banks trade on the information exchanged during the call to manipulate the price of gold and gold derivatives before publication of the gold fix to the wider market.”

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China’s Baosteel in $1 billion bid to revive Australia iron ore project – by Sonali Paul (Reuters U.S. – May 5, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – (Reuters) – Chinese steel giant Baosteel Resources and an Australian partner launched a $1 billion takeover bid for Australian explorer Aquila Resources in a move that could help break the grip of mega iron ore exporters Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

Monday’s unsolicited A$1.14 billion ($1.06 billion) offer to take over Aquila Resources Ltd (AQA.AX) could open up a new Australian iron ore export region to supply Asian steelmakers, by jumpstarting the $7 billion West Pilbara Iron Ore project (WPIO), half-owned by Aquila.

State-owned Baosteel’s move would be the biggest foray into an undeveloped iron ore project in Australia by a Chinese investor since CITIC Pacific’s (0267.HK) $10 billion Sino Iron project, which began producing last year after massive cost blowouts and delays.

Baosteel, which already has a 20 percent stake in Aquila, said it first invested in the company back in 2009 to help it fund the iron ore project and a separate coking coal mine.

“But after five years we haven’t seen any projects being started. So we have been very patient, but we’ve become frustrated,” chief financial officer Wu Yiming told reporters on a conference call from Sydney.

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Bipolar markets: Eric Coffin on the macro view for metals – by Eric Coffin (Mining Markets – May 2, 2014)

http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Another period of sideways, with a few sharp turns along the way to keep traders on their toes. We basically stand where we were a month ago and we’re still waiting to see if we get a spring rally in resource stocks that lifts us above the March high for the Venture index. Admittedly, there isn’t a lot of “spring” left to work with and we all know how boring things can get as we exit May.

Like the last issue, I held this one for a few days hoping to see more news to report on and, like the last issue, not too much arrived. Things are warning up (weather wise). Summer exploration is beginning in the northern hemisphere so news should pick up. For the record, I did add a new company at the SD level and you can expect to see some new choices in these pages soon. I am waiting on technical data for a couple of stories I like. I need the data to cover them properly but I don’t expect it to change my basic opinion so odds are you see one of these in the next issue.

The editorial in this issue helps make the case for physical demand underpinning the gold market. I think a lot of the obvious sellers are out and the price has found a higher base than late 2013. There is always room for a Ukraine boost but I hope for both humanitarian and practical reasons people just buy the yellow stuff because they think it’s cheap.

For all the recent fear in the market after another flare up in the Ukraine its hard to complain about how the big indices are holding up. All are near their highs. That’s good but there are some strange cross-market correlations that make one wonder.

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Famed Gold Rush era shipwreck yields more treasure – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – May 6, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

One of the U.S’s most famous shipwrecks – and the millions of dollars in gold that it carried when it went down 4 years before the U.S. Civil War – is being re-explored after 23 years.

RENO (MINEWEB) – Nearly 1,000 gold ounces (28 kilograms) have been recovered during the first reconnaissance dive since 1991 to the SS Central America shipwreck site deep in the ocean east of Charleston, South Carolina.

Launched in 1853, the SS Central America is an 85-meter (280 foot) wooden-hulled, three-masted side-wheel steamship that operated during the California Gold Rush era, making 43 round trips between New York City and Panama.

On August 20, 1857, the mail steamer Sonora left San Francisco harbor carrying about 600 passengers and crew, as well as 10 tonnes of gold ingots, freshly-minted U.S. $20 Double Eagle coins, nuggets and gold dust mined in the California Gold Rush.

It also carried the largest Gold Rush relic, the Eureka Bar, which weighed 933.94 troy ounces, and was valued at $17,433 in 1857. The Eureka gold bar was scheduled to be melted and turned into coinage at the Philadelphia Mint.

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