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China’s steel meltdown will ripple around the world – by Carl Mortished (Globe and Mail – March 27, 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.

LONDON — There’s too much mining, and too much iron ore. Overproduction will take the price of steel’s raw material down by almost a third over the next few years, says Australia’s official forecaster. A supply glut could be just part of the problem, because a swathe of Chinese steel makers are burdened with too much debt – and Beijing is not keen on bailouts.

Australia’s iron triumvirate – Rio Tinto Group, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. – are ramping up production, and chasing market share at the expense of prices. The frenzied digging means that the country’s exports of ore are expected to rise by almost a fifth to 680 million tonnes this year.

Australia’s Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics is predicting that by 2019, the iron ore price will fall from last year’s average of $126 (U.S.) per tonne to $87.

The price has already declined by a fifth since the beginning of this year, moving close to $100 per tonne, amid concerns that China’s export engine is slowing.

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Coal Mines Face ‘Crunch Time’ as ARMS Mulls Closing Mine – by Jesse Riseborough (Bloomberg News – March 28, 2014)

http://www.businessweek.com/

A slump in coal prices to a four-year low means the biggest producers are facing tough decisions to shutter unprofitable mines, Asia Resource Minerals Plc (ARMS) Chief Executive Officer Nick von Schirnding said.

His company, Indonesia’s fifth-biggest exporter of the power-station fuel, is considering closing its largest pit where almost half its production last year was sourced. The world’s biggest exporters, Glencore Xstrata Plc, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd., have either halted coal operations or shelved expansion plans amid the price decline.

“This is crunch time for our business and the coal industry,” Von Schirnding said today. “Our most challenged pit is Lati, and that we are looking at very, very carefully. Clearly if thermal-coal prices continue at this level for a significant time, we are, as others are, going to be very challenged.”

Prices last week dropped to about $73 a metric ton, the lowest since November 2009, amid a supply glut that’s projected by UBS AG to be the equivalent of 4 percent of annual seaborne trade this year. Asia Resource Minerals today reported a wider full-year underlying loss of $173 million after selling coal for 16 percent less than in 2012.

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Mine promises hope for Thompson – by Jonathon Naylor (Brandon Sun – March 27, 2014)

http://www.brandonsun.com/

THOMPSON — As one door closes, will another open? That’s the fundamental question facing this hearty northern mining city.

Nickel giant Vale’s announcement that it will shut down its smelter and refinery at the end of 2014 (later revised to the end of 2015) raised grim speculation about Thompson’s future. But overlooked is the fact that while those surface operations are nearly tapped out, Vale is concentrating on its subterranean prospects.

“Our recent exploration activities have focused on increasing the confidence of near-infrastructure reserves and resources with the goal of maintaining current production levels from our existing mines,” says Ryan Land, the personable manager of corporate affairs for Vale’s Thompson operations. “This strategy will continue in the near term, and will be re-evaluated on an ongoing basis in response to nickel market conditions.”

Not only does Vale still run three Thompson-area mines — T-1, T-3 and Birchtree — there remains the irresistible promise of a fourth, known as 1-D, a $1- billion-plus mega-development.

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Stars Aligned for Nickel Bull Market – by Tim Maverick (Wall Street Daily – March 27, 2014)

http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions have certainly stirred the pot in the energy market, as our Investment Director, Karim Rahemtulla, recently pointed out. And now, the ripples have spread far beyond the energy market to other commodity markets.

You see, the threat of Western sanctions against Russia has put renewed focus on a base metal that’s been in the doldrums for years… nickel.

That’s because the world’s largest producer of the metal, which is used to make stainless steel and nonferrous alloys, happens to be Mother Russia’s Norilsk Nickel (NILSY). NILSY mines a whopping 17% of the world’s nickel each year. Sanctions against such a huge source of nickel would indeed be a big deal, and share prices are reacting accordingly.

Nickel is suddenly in bull market mode, and prices recently hit their highest level since April at $16,230 per metric ton on the London Metals Exchange (LME). That represents a gain of more than 20% since nickel’s low on January 9, at $13,334 per ton, and meets the technical definition of a bull market.

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Ottawa must step up to the ‘Ring’ – Gravelle – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 28, 2014)

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

The Government of Ontario won’t put a number on the “significant investment” it is committed to making to develop infrastructure in the Ring of Fire. But whatever that figure is, it wants the federal government to match it.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle told reporters in Sudbury on Thursday it’s important to have discussions about developing the vast chromite deposits “without setting the bar, without putting a figure in place.”

That’s because the costs of developing transportation, power and other infrastructure will vary according to whether access to remote first nations communities is factored in or not.

But Gravelle insisted the Liberal government of Premier Kathleen Wynne is committed to investing heavily and is looking for that same level of commitment from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. When the time is appropriate, his government will reveal what kind of money it is prepared to invest in developing the remote area 540 kilomteres northeast of Thunder Bay.

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Stornoway stocks rise on confirming ‘advanced’ financing discussions – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – March 27, 2014)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The proponent of Quebec’s only diamond mine, Stornoway Diamond Corp, has conceded that it was in advanced negotiations with a number of parties regarding a comprehensive financing plan for its Renard diamond project, located in north-central Quebec, sending its shares up by as much as C$0.16 apiece on Thursday.

Despite the company affirming that it did not generally respond to rumours or media speculation, Stornoway said that management was encouraged with progress made in discussions to date.

It did, however, note that the outcome of such discussions was uncertain and subject to further negotiation and executing binding term sheets and definitive agreements, and receiving all applicable regulatory, shareholder and other approvals.

“There is no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions, or as to the timing, structure or terms of any transaction (which may include any combination of debt, equity, forward sale of diamonds and other forms of financing) and no further comment will be forthcoming unless the situation so warrants,” Stornoway said in a statement.

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Constitution puts aboriginal front and centre on resource projects – by Mary Teresa Bitti (National Post – March 28, 2014)

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

Pick any province across Canada and you’ll find there are outstanding land claims for Aboriginal title. Even in the provinces that have treaties — which account for more than 30% the land mass that makes up Canada — Aboriginal title claims are being advanced. That means a large part of the country is subject to significant Aboriginal influence or control. Aboriginal and treaty rights are especially important because they are the only property rights in Canada protected by the Constitution.

“Generally, Aboriginal law has an impact on resource and land development but that is not just in rural Canada. Some aspect of Aboriginal interests or claims touch each of the major cities across the country,” says Charles Willms, a Band 1 ranked practitioner for aboriginal law and chair of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP’s aboriginal law practice.

“There are claims for Aboriginal title in and around the city of Toronto, the Ottawa Valley, Montreal, throughout the St. Lawrence Valley and into the Maritimes, for example. Aboriginal law affects all Canadians — that’s why it’s so important.”

While the first Aboriginal law case in the books was a family law case that dates back to 1813, the legal fight over land soon followed. It wasn’t until 1968, however, with the transformative Calder case that the courts recognized Aboriginal people had more rights than previously acknowledged.

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Raw oil exports offer big bang-for-the-buck for Canada’s economy, report says – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – March 28, 2014)

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

Canada’s raw oil exports are no hindrance to “high-paying, value-added jobs,” according to a new report. In fact, labour compensation in oil and gas extraction is the highest in the country, at more than three times the average hourly earnings in the Canadian economy generally, and nearly 50% higher than manufacturing.

Adding value to natural resources — from lumber to crude oil — is often seen as critical to creating high-end jobs in some quarters and some groups often view exports of ‘raw’ materials as a job-killer that robs the economy of taxes and revenues.

“It is completely false… to claim raw energy exports do not represent ‘high-paying, value-added jobs’,” Trevor Tombe, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Calgary and author of the report published last week by the School of Public Policy. “The opposite is true.”

Labour productivity in mining and oil and gas averages more than $200 per hour compared to about $160 per hour for utilities, the second-largest contributor. Manufacturing, often touted as a “value-added” industry, generates about $50 per hour, Statistics Canada data shows.

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Ivanhoe PEA provides glimpse of SA’s potential platinum future – by Jeff Candy (Mineweb.com – March 28, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/

The miner is planning to have an 8 million t/y platinum operation up by 2024, at costs of under $500 an ounce excluding by-product credits.

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Ivanhoe Mines’ preliminary economic assessment of its Platreef PGM project in South Africa is some welcome good news for a sector that has had more than its fair share of bad.

As the world’s three largest platinum miners continue to bleed in the wake of a strike that has cost them and their workers billions of rands, Ivanhoe’s PEA, released yesterday, confirms the size and scope of a project that not only has the benefit of significant base metal credits, but also ore veins that are wide enough to accommodate mechanised mining.

Driving home the difference between Platreef and its deep, thin-veined peers, CEO, Robert Friedland commented, “We’re looking forward to working with all of our stakeholders to advance the Platreef Project to production, to create valued and skilled jobs and to significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of the people of area communities who will have a voice in decision making and a direct share in our success through our responsively structured, broad-based, black economic empowerment partner.”

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Gravelle: Province ready to make ‘significant’ Ring of Fire investment – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – March 27, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

For a video presentation of Michael Gravelle’s speech, click here: http://www.northernlife.ca/news/localNews/2014/03/27-gravelle-Sudbury.aspx

Talks ongoing for feds to match provincial investment

The province is prepared to make a “very significant” infrastructure investment in the Ring of Fire, said Michael Gravelle, Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines,told reporters Sudbury today.

“Our commitment to a major investment is locked in. It’s real,” Gravelle said after speaking at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday. “We have not spoken about that figure specifically and I’m not in a position to do that right now.”

Gravelle made the comments a day after the province signed what he called an “historic landmark” framework agreement with the nine communities of the Matawa First Nations on how to move forward with mineral and community development in the Ring of Fire, a massive mineral deposit in a remote section of northwestern Ontario.

The framework agreement, Gravelle said, will set out the principles and guidelines for more formal discussions on issues such as resource revenue sharing, enhanced environmental assessments and socio-economic support for First Nations.

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Clark’s mining push meets resistance – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – March 27, 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.

VANCOUVER — Premier Christy Clark’s push for new mines in British Columbia is becoming mired in growing controversy.

On Wednesday, a delegation from Alaska was in Washington, D.C., to lobby the U.S. government concerning five proposed mines in northwest B.C. that are on watersheds draining into southeast Alaska. The delegation, representing 40 businesses, tribes, commercial fishing groups and environmentalists, claims the mines pose unacceptable risks to Alaska’s salmon fishery.

“We’re really worried about where this is going to go,” Brian Lynch, executive director of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association said about the proposed development of the mines near the Alaska border.

Mr. Lynch said he’s worried because the B.C. government seems to be simultaneously fast-tracking several mines without providing adequate resources for environmental reviews. “I doubt any agency could handle that work load,” he said. “The money is just not there to do that kind of work – and that scares us.”

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China’s ‘airpocalypse’ good news for commodities – by Howard Winn (South China Morning Post – March 27, 2014)

http://www.scmp.com/news

The mining industry may be in the doldrums but Robert Friedland, the executive chairman and founder of Ivanhoe Mines, remains undaunted and sees commodity prices bouncing back in two or three years, as he told the Mines & Money conference in Hong Kong earlier this week.

We make no apologies for giving you yet more of him, as he tells the best stories in the sector. Of hard and soft rocks, mineral grades and so on, he gives you all that, but tells you why it is important, and where this stuff is being used.

Naturally he has an interest in telling these stories since Ivanhoe is developing some of the world’s most significant finds in copper, zinc and gold in Africa. His big themes this week include copper. So why zinc? The metal is now recognised, along with potash, as one of the most intense organic fertilisers.

Some 60 per cent of soils in China and India have been depleted of zinc. Agricultural productivity increases significantly when added to the land as fertiliser.

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Excerpt From: Boardroom Games: You’re Fired! – University Choices and Practical Mining – by Peter Crossgrove

To order a copy of From Boardroom Games: You’re Fired, click here: http://amzn.to/1pA7i7q or here: http://bit.ly/OYexer

For a three part BNN interview with Peter Crossgrove, click here:

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip1071973

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip1071974

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip1071978

Sudbury-born Peter A. Crossgrove and another partner invested in Interior Door, a private company that became Masonite, a public company sold to KKR for $3.2 billion in 2004. Peter’s mining and boardroom experiences are indelibly etched real-life scenarios—humorous and thought provoking. Having served on close to seventy mining, corporate, and not-for-profit boards, armed with a sense of humour, dignity, dogged determination, and humility, Peter has challenged boardroom antics and relationship intricacies with the skill-sets and values he was raised with.

Excerpt from “Boardroom Games: You’re Fired!” – University Choices and Practical Mining

I loved accounting, I loved commerce, and I loved those business courses. At the end of the second going into my third year, my father was pushing me hard to return home, and in doing so to work in the purchasing department at Inco. I had worked a couple summers in the warehouse and Mac Forsythe, the purchasing agent who quite liked me, thought I should work under him and perhaps inherit his job that was a big job at Inco in those days.

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COLUMN-Indonesia nickel, bauxite ban yet to hit China – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – March 27, 2014)

 http://www.reuters.com/

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

(Reuters) – Indonesia’s ban on exporting unprocessed nickel and bauxite has been in force for more than two months, but the impact has yet to fully show up in Chinese imports.

China’s trade data for February shows nickel ore imports from Indonesia were about 3.1 million tonnes, down only 2.5 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Indonesia’s ban on exporting unprocessed minerals took effect on Jan. 12, and while there have been some moves to relax restrictions on copper and other ores, the total ban on nickel and bauxite remains.

Nonetheless, Indonesia’s share of China’s total nickel imports in February was 87 percent, showing the world’s biggest buyer of commodities hasn’t made a marked shift as yet to alternative suppliers.

In the first two months of the year China imported 9.2 million tonnes of nickel ore from Indonesia, a 29.1 percent jump over the same period in 2013.

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Gold bugs invade Northern Ontario – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – March 26, 2014)

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

It’s already bug season in Northern Ontario – gold bug season that is. The numbers of junior exploration companies eager to drill the region are almost as many as there will be blackflies when the weather warms up. Well … maybe not quite as many, but the winter drilling programs are promising for some.

Toronto’s Harte Gold Corp. is examining its Hemlo style Sugar zone property, located 60 km east of the Hemlo camp, between White River and Hornepayne. Having discovered what it calls the “Peacock Boulder” with gold values up to 87 g/t, Harte has mounted surface and airborne surveys. The next step is to conduct an induced polarization and magnetic survey to targets for additional drilling. The Sugar zone gas a 43-101 compliant indicated resource of 1.12 tonnes grading 8.41 g/t and an inferred resource of 417,000 tonnes grading 7.13 g/t. (HarteGold.com)

Lake Shore Gold has identified new, high grade structures near the current mining at the Bell Creek Labine deposit in the Timmins area. The previously untested gap in the North A zone and two hanging wall structures returned 14.12 g/t over 10.2 metres, 8.41 g/t over 12.0 metres, and 7.01 g/t over 10.7 metres. Near the active 685 level mine workings, core assayed 11.42 g/t over 3.6 metres, 8.47 g/t over 4.6 metres, 7.76 g/t over 8.7 metres, 5.96 g/t over 6.5 metres, and 6.38 g/t over 6.0 metres.

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