Republic of Mining

Greg Rickford could bring more collegial approach to Natural Resources portfolio – by Bruce Cheadle (Canadian Press – March 19, 2014)

March 21, 2014

http://www.680news.com/

OTTAWA – The arc of Greg Rickford’s career isn’t the norm but should give him an interesting perspective on his latest professional challenge.

From nurse to lawyer to MBA to member of Parliament, and now the new federal Natural Resources minister, Rickford, 46, has spent a lot of time dealing with First Nations issues in Ontario’s rugged and remote northwest.

Since last July, he’s been immersed in helping shepherd a massive northern Ontario mining development proposal through the federal-provincial funding labyrinth — a file fraught with political one-upmanship that Rickford has mostly avoided.

So when Prime Minister Stephen Harper tapped the Kenora, Ont., MP on Wednesday to replace Joe Oliver, the newly promoted finance minister, even the Conservative government’s critics were ready to cut him some slack.

Those who know Rickford say he’ll bring a collegial, level-headed approach to some of the biggest economic files on the Harper government’s plate. “He’s a practical, smart and down-to-earth guy,” said Geoff Norquay, a former senior aide to Harper who knows Rickford well.

Rio Tinto Puts Indian Women in the Driver’s Seat – by Joe Kirschke (Engineering and Mining Journal – March 19, 2014)

March 21, 2014

http://www.e-mj.com/

India is no easy place to be a woman. Despite comprising a workforce majority in the teeming nation of 1.2 billion with equal rights under a 1949 constitution, India’s women are almost universally exploited while often denied access to health, education and other basic needs. Worse, the world’s second most populous nation looms among the most dangerous places for gender-based violence.

Madhya Pradesh, one of India’s poorest regions and home to Rio Tinto’s Bunder Diamond Project, is emblematic: In 2011, the National Crime Bureau recorded 3,406 assaults against women—surely a conservative figure, and the highest rate nationwide. But while meeting local women pending development of India’s No. 1 diamond resource the year before, Rio officials noticed another grouping: dozens of raised hands at a community meeting—all hoping for driving skills.

The diversified Anglo-Australian giant is now beating the curve in empowering women in a deeply tribal, hardscrabble land booming India has long since forgotten. Through community development, moreover, Rio Tinto is bringing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) win-win for women in a trajectory where half marry before 18, and 60% of whom give birth within a year amid one of the highest infant mortality rates worldwide.

The story surrounding Rio’s CSR footprint in the 15 villages of 15,000 inhabitants each surrounding its Bunder site dates to 2006, two years after the discovery of porous volcanic outcroppings revealed the deposit.

Sulfate discussion: Wild rice and iron mining can coexist in Minnesota – by Chris Masciantonio and John Rebrovich (Minneapolis Star Tribune – March 19, 2014)

March 20, 2014

http://www.startribune.com/

A reasonable, science-based sulfate standard is the key.

The United Steelworkers and United States Steel have a long history of working together on issues that affect Minnesota’s cherished lakes and countryside, while keeping in mind the importance of preserving the state’s century-long tradition of iron mining. In recent weeks, Minnesotans have heard about multiyear, state-funded scientific research initiated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the effects of sulfate on wild rice production. The MPCA is soon expected to recommend a standard for sulfate levels in waters used for the production of wild rice.

We support science-based evidence to help Minnesota protect its important natural resource of wild rice. The state-funded research clearly shows that the current wild rice sulfate standard of 10 milligrams per liter — which has never been enforced — is not scientifically supported. This standard was enacted in the 1970s based on observational data from the 1940s. Not only is imposing this 40-year-old standard unnecessary, but it places at risk the future of a healthy taconite mining industry in Minnesota.

Most Minnesotans know United States Steel’s Minnesota ore operations for producing an abundance of the iron ore required by the North American steel industry. We are where steelmaking begins, and we are the reason for the name “Iron Range.”

Ivanhoe Mines finds thick high-grades at Flatreef discovery – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – March 19, 2014)

March 20, 2014

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Africa-focused project-development firm Ivanhoe Mines on Wednesday revealed that it had uncovered new thick high-grade mineralisation in an area that had become a new extension of the Flatreef platinum/palladium/nickel/copper/gold/rhodium discovery at the company’s Platreef project, on the northern limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Igneous Complex.

The TSX-listed firm reported that drill hole UMT400, recently bored in the Ga-Madiba extension zone on the eastern flank of the Flatreef extension, intersected 48.6 m that contained 4.63 g/t of platinum, palladium and gold (3PE), and 0.30% nickel and 0.13% copper, at a cutoff of 1 g/t of 3PE.

The ratio of platinum to palladium was found to be about 1:1 in the mineralised intercept, while rhodium assays were still pending. The vertical intersection had a true thickness of about 34.4 m when adjusted for the dip of the mineralised zone.

The Ga-Madiba zone, covering about 3.7 km2, adjoins and stretches to the south from the established area of Canadian National Instrument 43-101-compliant inferred resources, which, in turn, surrounds the area of indicated resources that lay at the heart of the Flatreef discovery, and where Ivanhoe is planning to develop an underground mine.

Whose duty to consult [First Nations]? – by Doug Beazley (National Magazine – March 2014)

March 20, 2014

http://nationalmagazine.ca/

It’s being left up to resource companies to negotiate access to aboriginal land. Is government outsourcing DTC to the private sector? Hindsight says everyone involved probably should have seen it coming.

In June 2012 — more than a year before Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. suspended its planned $3.3-billion chromite-mining operation in Northern Ontario, putting the entire Ring of Fire mining rush on the bubble — Northern Superior Resources quietly halted exploration of its gold claims in northwestern Ontario.

The junior miner was mired in a dispute with the local Sachigo Lake First Nation over compensation for exploration activities in Treaty 9 territory. Under Ontario’s Mining Act, mining start-ups on aboriginal land can proceed only after consultation with local aboriginal communities, which the company did. But things went off the rails.

The company found itself embroiled in disputes with the community over invoices and fees. At one point, the First Nation blocked two Northern Superior staffers from flying out of the community for a day.

In October 2013, Northern Superior filed a $110-million statement of claim against the Ontario government in a case that maps one of the deepest fault lines in the relationship between the Crown and First Nations: the legal doctrine of duty-to-consult (DTC).

NEWS RELEASE: FEDNAV BRINGS NEW ICEBREAKER TO THE CANADIAN ARCTIC

March 20, 2014

Montreal, March 20, 2014 – Fednav announces the arrival in Canada of its latest, highly specialized icebreaker, the MV Nunavik. Built at JMU’s Tsu Shipyard in Japan, the ship will be used to export the concentrates produced at the Canadian Royalties owned Nunavik Nickel mine at Deception Bay in northern Quebec. The vessel will also supply the mine with equipment and fuel, year round.

Rated Polar Class 4, the Nunavik is the most powerful bulk-carrying icebreaker in the world. It is similar in design to the Umiak I, the Fednav ship servicing Vale’s Voisey’s Bay operation in Northern Labrador. The Nunavik will sail unescorted in Arctic regions and will operate in the extreme winter conditions of the Canadian Arctic. It is capable of maintaining continuous progress of 3 knots in 1.5 m of ice.

The vessel was designed by Fednav and JMU, and will sail between Deception Bay and Northern Europe on a year-round basis. The engine produces 29,600 hp, three times the power of a conventional bulk carrier of the same size. The Nunavik will be supported by Enfotec Technical Services, a Fednav subsidiary to provide up to date information on ice conditions as well as technical support to the inhouse IceNav navigation system.

The Nunavik is equipped with the latest environmental technologies, such as a Tier II engine that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 20%, and the first ballast treatment system installed on a Canadian-owned vessel.

Major role for Aboriginal partners in Northern Ontario Detour Lake mine – by Bryan Phelan (Onotassiniik Magazine – Spring 2014)

March 20, 2014

http://onotassiniik.com/

The figure seemed so high, Leonard Rickard double-checked his calculations. Rickard, Aboriginal affairs manager for Detour Gold Corporation, had been asked to determine the value of Aboriginal participation in construction of the company’s Detour Lake gold mine.

To find the answer, Rickard pored over all contracts associated with building the mine, line by line. He discovered – and confirmed upon double-checking – Aboriginal businesses and joint ventures had done more than $400 million worth of the construction work.

Surprised when presented with the information, Rickard’s supervisor also wondered whether this extraordinary level of Aboriginal involvement had really been achieved or if the number reported was just the result of a typo.

“People assumed I meant to say $40 million, something in that area,” Rickard recalls, “but to be able to say we did $400 million was quite amazing … certainly well above what we had anticipated.” It’s also a big share of the $1.5 billion total cost of construction.

The open-pit Detour Lake mine is located 185 kilometres northeast of Cochrane on a site that had been mined previously, most recently by Placer Dome in the late 1990s.

Tricky talks await new Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – March 20, 2014)

March 20, 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.

OTTAWA — Greg Rickford will need to call on all his experience working with First Nations to resolve some of the toughest roadblocks in the Conservative government’s plan for energy and mining development.

The 46-year-old MP from Kenora, Ont., was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday to replace Joe Oliver as Natural Resources Minister. Awaiting him are brewing resource battles in British Columbia and Ontario that are both economically important and fraught with political risks for the government heading into the next election.

In both cases, the government’s relationship with aboriginal communities and its willingness to help finance their development are key.

Mr. Rickford came into politics promising to try to improve the economy and infrastructure of First Nations. Early in his career, he worked as a nurse and a lawyer in remote communities in northwestern Ontario. Running for election in 2008, one of his central campaign promises was about the need to improve conditions for aboriginal Canadians.

Battle over Essar-led project reflects India’s new mining pains – by Nita Bhalla (Reuters India – March 20, 2014)

March 20, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

MAHAN FOREST, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – With an axe on one shoulder and lugging a large log over the other, Bhajandhari Kushwaha emerges from the dense Mahan forest in central India with his dog by his side after a day of foraging and wood cutting.

For Kushwaha, the timber, leaves and seeds of this centuries-old forest not only sustain his family of five, they represent a vital part of his community’s cultural identity that has suddenly come under threat from two of India’s largest mining companies.

“This forest is our life. We get everything from it,” says the 45-year-old, vowing to fight plans by Mahan Coal Ltd (MCL) – jointly owned by London-listed Essar Energy Plc (ESSR.L) and the Aditya Birla-owned Hindalco Industries Ltd (HALC.NS) – to mine part of the 1,000-square-km (385-square-mile) woods for coal. “Whatever compensation the company is offering us, we do not want it. We will fight until we die, if that’s what it takes.”

It is a sentiment shared by many villagers in this dusty corner of Madhya Pradesh, a sign of growing popular resistance spurred by a new forest law that gives people a greater say over how natural resources are exploited.

Can Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford transform Canada into an ‘energy superpower’? – by Peter Koven and Jeff Lewis (National Post – March 20, 2014)

March 20, 2014

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

TORONTO/CALGARY – Greg Rickford knows mining, and he knows how to work with First Nations communities. Now he has to prove he can manoeuvre Canada through the rough-and-tumble world of pipeline politics.

Mr. Rickford, 46, was named the new federal natural resources minister on Wednesday as Joe Oliver moved on to finance. He inherits a grand plan to transform Canada into an “energy superpower” with $650-billion in resource development over the next decade.

The appointment was praised across Ontario’s mining sector, where Mr. Rickford is widely respected and is already at the centre of the province’s biggest new resource development. But it elicited shrugs in the West, where the Kenora native is a virtual unknown.

“Now is a critical time for Canada’s natural resource sector, and [Mr. Rickford] will need to get up to speed quickly on a number of files,” said David Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Among the plans championed by Ottawa are accelerated extraction of Alberta’s oil sands and liquefied natural gas exports on the West Coast. Then there are the contentious pipeline issues:

Mine strike hits the micro and macro in S.African economy – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters India – March 20, 2014)

March 20, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

RUSTENBURG, South Africa, March 20 (Reuters) – As South Africa’s biggest post-apartheid mine strike marks its eighth week on Thursday, it is already denting growth and export earnings, and many of those affected are having to sell their most prized possessions to make ends meet.

In an informal bar near the platinum belt city of Rustenburg, striking miner Oupa Majodina holds up his cell phone to show a photo of his pride and joy: his cattle. “I own 11, but I will have to sell some of them. What can I do? I need the cash,” he said glumly as he nursed a beer.

No talks are scheduled between the two sides to the strike, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the world’s top platinum producers, Anglo American Platinum , Impala Platinum and Lonmin, and they remain poles apart on the issue of wages.

That means the misery will only spread, making an even bigger headache for President Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress on the run-in to May 7 general elections.

PRESS RELEASE: Jinchuan International (02363.HK) Announces Annual Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2013

March 20, 2014

Revenue Increased by 21.2% to Approximately US$742.2 million

Profit Attributable to the Owners Increased approximately 354.7% to Approximately US$203.9 Million

Hong Kong, Mar 20, 2014 – (ACN Newswire) – Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. Ltd (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, collectively referred to “the Group” or “Jinchuan International”, Stock Code: 2362) today announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2013 (the period under review)*. For the year ended 31 December 2013, the Group’s revenue amounted to approximately US$742.2 million (2012: US$612.2 million), representing a significant increase of approximately 21.2%. This increase in revenue was due to the Group’s increased sales of copper from its operating mines and also the increase in trade volume from its international trade. Profit attributable to the owners of the company increased for approximately 354.7% to approximately US$203.9 million. Basic earnings per share was US cents 4.69 (2012: US cents 1.05 ). The Directors do not recommend final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2013.

Mr. Yang Zhiqiang, the Chairman of Jinchuan Group and the Chairman of the Board of the Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Jinchuan International said, “2013 was a landmark year for the Group’s transformation into a global metal mining company. To in line with the Company’s strategy to transform its business to the mineral and metal resources sector, the Group had completed acquisition from Jinchuan Group of a high grade copper and cobalt mining asset in Africa and had achieved turning its core business into a pure mining play, with its growing international metal related trading to support a steady revenue stream for the Group. The Group will continue to maintain high profitability through competitive differentiation strategies of copper business, to further optimize market segment and to broaden the scope of application of special copper metal.”

New finance minister Joe Oliver could boost push for national regulator – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – March 20, 2014)

March 20, 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.

Markets should react well to ‘serious guy’. Joe Oliver’s move into the finance minister’s seat could boost federal hopes of establishing a national securities regulator.

“He knows all the players, the banks, the regulators. He would have, certainly, contacts where he can sit down and have a conversation,” said Thomas Caldwell, chief executive of Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto, who has known Oliver for 40 years.

Outgoing finance minister Jim Flaherty had long pushed for a national regulator; Canada is the only major industrialized country without one. Oliver, who was named to the new post Wednesday, has worked as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch and is a former executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission.

The 73-year-old Harvard MBA is also former president of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, and played a prominent role as chair of the advisory committee of the International Council of Securities Associations, and as chair of the consultative committee of the International Association of Securities Commissions.

China doomsayers misguided and will be proven wrong – Vale CEO – by Juan Pablo Spinetto & David Biller (Mineweb.com/Bloomberg – March 20, 2014)

March 20, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Vale CEO, Murilo Ferreira, says investors betting against China and its demand for iron ore from the company will be proven wrong.

Investors betting against China and the nation’s demand for iron-ore from top producer Vale SA will be proven wrong, Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira said.

“The biggest enemy to our share price is a certain belief that China will be over,” Ferreira said during a presentation in Sao Paulo today. “They are once more betting against China as they did in 2004, 2005, 2006 and beyond and I think that people are going to fail again with their projections.”

Shares of Vale, which ships about half its iron ore and pellets to China, dropped to a five-year low earlier this month on concern a possible economic slowdown in the biggest buyer of the mineral will hurt sales. Iron-ore entered a bear market on March 7, losing 23 percent from a five-month high in August through today, as Australian miners including Rio Tinto Group boost supply and China tightens monetary conditions.

The world’s third-largest mining company has underperformed its main peers in the stock market for the past year as weakening demand growth in China and a multibillion-dollar tax dispute with Brazil weighed on investors’ confidence.

Soaring energy prices making Ontario look dim for manufacturers – by Adam Radwanski (Globe and Mail – March 19, 2014)

March 20, 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.

For businesses in Brockville, the attempt to lure them over the border wasn’t new. But the pitch was. Earlier this winter, manufacturers in the Eastern Ontario community received a letter reminding them that their province’s industrial electricity rates were projected to rise by 33 per cent over the next five years, and 55 per cent by 2032.

“As a hedge against these increases,” it suggested, “setting up an operation just across the border in St. Lawrence County, New York, may be a competitive strategy you should consider.”

Such overtures, if not in written form then made more casually, are becoming increasingly common in Ontario. While they may not find immediate takers, they are emblematic of the mounting economic threat from an energy-cost trajectory that – following a series of questionable policy decisions – the province now seems powerless to do much about.

Owing mostly to a combination of overdue investments in infrastructure, phasing out coal and an ill-fated gamble on green energy, soaring power rates have already greatly increased the cost of doing business in Ontario.