Republic of Mining

John Kaiser: ‘The bull is back’ – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining Markets – February 4, 2014)

February 5, 2014

The Northern Miner’s quarterly flagship magazine focusing on investing in the mining sector: http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Says the time of the retail investor is returning to the junior mining sector

It used to be that retail investors attending investment shows like the recent Vancouver Resource Investment conference would actually go out and buy some of the stocks their favourite speakers touted, says John Kaiser, the editor of Kaiser Research Online.

Kaiser, who calls it the “guru effect,” says that ended when it became obvious that accredited investors — individuals with at least $1 million in assets outside of real estate — were getting a manifestly better deal than retail investors.

“It became apparent that you guys are all here to be sold paper by existing shareholders,” Kaiser told an audience at the investment conference in January. “You were here to indirectly de-risk the whole process and that’s B.S.”

Accredited investors are able to participate in private placement financings, which have become the lifeblood of the junior mining industry. Such financings are priced as a discount to the market, and usually include warrants.

Osisko lawsuit against Goldcorp gets March trial date – by Nicolas Van Praet and Peter Koven (National Post – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

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

MONTREAL and TORONTO – Osisko Mining Corp. has another month to find a white knight after a Quebec Superior Court judge set a trial date in early March to hear the merits of a lawsuit the Montreal gold miner brought against its hostile suitor Goldcorp Inc.

On Tuesday, lawyers for Vancouver-based Goldcorp rejected as “fabrication” Osisko’s claims that Goldcorp misused confidential information when it made a $2.6-billion hostile offer for Osisko, saying the Montreal-based miner launched legal action simply to buy time.

“When we see judicial procedures like these, typically the party bringing them forward is trying to torpedo the offer because there are no other bids,” said Alain Riendeau, a Fasken Martineau lawyer acting for Goldcorp.

A three-day trial has been scheduled, starting March 3. Among the witnesses expected to testify are Goldcorp chief executive Chuck Jeannes. Under the terms spelled out by Judge Louis Gouin on Tuesday, Goldcorp agreed not to challenge Osisko’s shareholder rights plan (or “poison pill”) until March 6.

Friedland calls for ‘responsible’ mining leadership – by Brendan Ryan (Business Day Live – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

MINING entrepreneur Robert Friedland on Wednesday made a plea for “responsible leadership” from mining companies, labour unions and the South African government in resolving the turmoil on the country’s platinum mines.

Addressing the Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, Mr Friedland said that while “workers labouring in the deep underground mines certainly deserve better, it is equally important for workers and their leaders to understand that mining companies must make a profit or investors will not inject the billions of dollars needed to find and build profitable mines”.

“So, workers and union leaders need to carefully consider the impact and consequences of their actions. What is required is responsible leadership all around,” he said. Mr Friedland is a flamboyant and legendary personality in the mining industry because of his successes in finding and developing the huge nickel mine at Voisey’s Bay in Canada and the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, now controlled by Rio Tinto.

His latest ventures are being developed through Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines and include the Flatreef underground platinum project near Mokopane in Limpopo and the Kamoa copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Keystone a green light? Not so fast – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 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.

The U.S. State Department gives green light to the Keystone XL pipeline. That was the tenor of the media coverage and headlines after the department’s report was released last week.

Read one way, that interpretation was plausible. Read another, it was not. The conflicting interpretations, based on a reading of the document rather than spin from the Harper government and the oil industry, show why Keystone XL remains unsettled in Washington. The reason is not all politics, as is frequently asserted, although politics obviously plays a role.

The State Department’s detailed, lengthy and professional final report (no wonder it took so long to produce) argues that Alberta’s bitumen oil would be sent somewhere, somehow because demand for oil exists. Keystone XL or not, bitumen oil would be exploited and used.

If the U.S. nixed Keystone XL, affirms the report, bitumen oil would be shipped south by rail, or rail and ship. Or it would be sent by pipelines to Canadian coasts for export. Since bitumen oil would be used by somebody, blocking pipeline shipment to Gulf of Mexico refiners would not affect total greenhouse gas emissions. Hence the green-light interpretation.

NEWS RELEASE: Start-up of new First Nations mining company announced

February 5, 2014

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

SNC-Lavalin and Cementation Canada in conjunction with the Morris Group and four First Nations have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to create the First Nations Mining Corporation (FNMC). The First Nations participating in FNMC included Flying Post, Lac Seul, Mattagami and Wahgoshig.

The goal of FNMC according to the press release is to form partnerships with Aboriginal communities to promote and develop engineering, construction and environmental services for mining companies in Ontario. It aims to strengthen mining and First Nations links and facilitate the training of Aboriginals and the growth of Aboriginal capabilities in the mine supply and service sector.

“We are very pleased with this new partnership, which is a solid model for sustainable development in First Nations communities,” said Stephen Lindley, Vice President Aboriginal and Northern Affairs for SNC-Lavalin. “Our partners have worked diligently with Aboriginal leadership, companies and organizations across Canada to create business opportunities, which contribute to sustainable social and economic development throughout Ontario’s Aboriginal communities.”

Barrick hopes to score with new measures in Tanzania – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 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.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — In the midst of a drastic cost-cutting campaign at its three Tanzanian mines, African Barrick Gold PLC paused to make room for a new priority: a soccer match.

The subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corp. has been slashing costs and reducing jobs from top to bottom. But it made an exception in three areas: public relations, community relations and government relations. Those are the only departments where it is adding staff.

The new priorities are an admission of African Barrick’s need to rehabilitate its brand in Tanzania after years of protests and clashes between local villagers and police at its North Mara gold mine. Dozens of villagers have been killed or injured in clashes at the site in recent years, including another incident last month in which a man was killed and a policeman was injured.

The soccer match between the company’s managers and local community leaders is an example of the company’s new strategy. “It would never have happened a couple of years ago,” Brad Gordon, the company’s new chief executive officer, said at the annual Mining Indaba conference of African mining investors on Tuesday.

Mitsui Mining Boosts Zinc Fee 70% as China Demand Rises – by Jae Hur and Ichiro Suzuki (Bloomberg News – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. (5706), Japan’s biggest zinc producer, raised annual charges to overseas buyers by as much as 70 percent as consumption increases in China. Futures in London snapped a 10-day losing streak.

The higher fee compares with a 15 percent gain for special high-grade metal last year, said Osamu Saito, a general manager in the Tokyo-based company’s business department. He declined to disclose any dollar values.

Zinc stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange shrank 31 percent since the start of 2013, with inventories in Asia contracting 68 percent. Morgan Stanley forecasts cash prices to average $2,127 a metric ton in 2014, a 10 percent increase on last year as the zinc deficit widens sixfold.

“The market’s been waiting for a turnaround in zinc,” said Gavin Wendt, the founder and senior resource analyst at Sydney-based Mine Life Pty. “There are a lot of people, including myself, that think that 2014 could be the year.”

The metal for delivery in three months in London climbed 0.8 percent to $1,967 a ton at 2:16 p.m.

Special Report: Areva and Niger’s uranium fight – by Daniel Flynn and Geert de Clercq (Reuters India – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

ARLIT, Niger/PARIS – (Reuters) – When France began mining uranium ore in the desert of northern Niger in the early 1970s, Arlit was a cluster of miners’ huts stranded between the sun-blasted rocks of the Air mountains and the sands of the Sahara.

The 1973 OPEC oil embargo changed that. France embraced nuclear power to free itself from reliance on foreign oil and overnight this remote corner of Africa became crucial to its national interests.

Arlit has grown into a sprawling settlement of 117,000 people, while France now depends on nuclear power for three-quarters of its electricity, making it more reliant on uranium than any country on earth. Niger has become the world’s fourth-largest producer of the ore after Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.

But uranium has not enriched Niger. The former French colony remains one of the poorest countries on earth. More than 60 percent of its 17 million people survive on less than $1 a day.

Arlit is a dusty and neglected place, scoured by desert sandstorms and barely touched by the mineral wealth it ships off to Europe each year.

Blasting set to begin at Hollinger open pit – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – February 4, 2014)

February 5, 2014

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The familiar sound of blasting will soon officially mark the Hollinger Mine’s return to life. With its Ministry of Environment air and noise permits safely secured and drilling having begun, Goldcorp is expecting the first blast at the historic mine to take place on Feb. 11.

“We began drilling around Jan. 28, and the first blast is now expected for this coming week,” said Paul Miller, superintendent of surface operations for the Hollinger project. “The date we’re now targeting is Feb. 11, and public notifications are being sent out and there will be some immediate analysis on the first blast.

“The initial blast will be very small, in the 3,000 to 4,000 tonne range to begin with, and located on the south-east location of the property in an area where we’re distant from residents and businesses.”

Miller, along with Goldcorp/Porcupine Gold Mines (PGM) general manager Marc Lauzier, were at council to provide an update about the open-pit mine project.

Australia’s Super Pit gold mine gets 8-year lifeline (Reuters U.S. – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – Feb 5 (Reuters) – Australia’s giant Super Pit gold mine was given an eight-year extension by its operator on Wednesday, delaying its closure until 2029 and allaying concerns weakening bullion prices would lead to an early shutdown.

Actual mining of gold-bearing ore will cease in around five years at what was until recently Australia’s biggest gold mine, though processing of ores already dug up and stockpiled has been extended from 2021 to 2029, according to the operator.

Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM), which operates the Super Pit for 50-50 partners Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining, last year laid off staff as it ran cost reviews in response to falling gold prices.

Australia’s gold mining industry – the world’s second-biggest behind China – has borne the brunt of widespread job losses in mining across the nation as companies attempt to rein in costs.

By moving to process ores containing lower grades of gold, deemed mine reserves, the Super Pit will be able to keep up production for a longer period, according to KCGM.

Peru’s copper sector the one with highest growth potential in the world—Chilean expert – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

http://www.mining.com/

It is not usual to hear Chileans praising their Peruvian neighbours, especially when the matter in question is the copper industry, Chile’s most precious resource, which accounts for 60% of the nation’s exports and 20% of its GDP.

But Juan Carlos Guajardo, the Chile’s Centre for Copper and Mining (CESCO) director, told Peruvian newspaper Gestión (in Spanish) that the production gap between the two mining countries is “set to narrow,” as Peruvian copper projects are solid, competitive and less costly in terms of energy needs.

He added that rather than seeing Peru’s copper sector as a threat, Chileans miners should evaluate the many opportunities for cooperation between both industries.

Actually Peru is already looking to boost cooperation agreements on copper processing technology with Chile as the country, the world’s top copper producer, has decades of experience extracting the red metal.

Hard feelings over Westray vote in Sudbury – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – February 5, 2014)

February 5, 2014

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

A United Steelworkers campaign to hold employers criminally responsible for workplace deaths unfairly portrays them as bad guys, a local businessman has charged.

On Jan. 28, Sudbury city council heard from USW members on their movement to ‘Stop the Killing, Enforce the Law.’ It calls for police and Crown attorneys to charge executives and corporations criminally when workers are killed on the job.

At the same time, council passed a motion, presented by Joe Cimino, to support a campaign pushing the province to ensure police and the Crown are educated in and directed to apply the Westray amendments, named after the site of the 1992 mine explosion that killed 26 men.

“I fully support Westray. Absolutely, people should be held accountable for negligence and problems of that nature. I have no issue at all with the Westray Act,” Andre Dumais, who works in the mining supply sector, said Tuesday.

“My issue is with the name of the campaign, the Stop the Killing. To me it implies the employers in the mining companies, or any industrial companies for that matter, are actively trying to kill their employees.”

[Northern Ontario] Aviation pioneer – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 4, 2014)

February 5, 2014

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

NORTHERN Ontario’s aviation pioneers are a special breed. From lone bush pilots to small fleet owners they hop-scotched into a growing number of remote communities as airstrips were hewn out of the boreal forest. Gradually, scheduled air services were established. Names like Wieben, DeLuce and Kelner are among a long list of adventurous fliers who took on the challenge of opening up such a vast region as this.

The list is short a key member this week with the sudden death of Harvey Friesen. Together with his brother, Cliff, they grew Bearskin Airlines from a two-floatplane operation to a large, scheduled airline with 50 years of service — a remarkable achievement in an industry where longevity is rare.

The company was created in 1963 by a bush pilot named John Hegland from a base in Big Trout Lake, flying charter service to Sioux Lookout. (Hegland named the operation after Bearskin Lake where he owned a store.) A second hop to Thunder Bay was a logical step.

New owners turned Bearskin into an air taxi service with Harvey Friesen one of its pilots. In 1972, at age 24, he bought half the company and purchased most of the rest of it five years later. Brother Cliff bought in shortly after and a family business was born and grew with the addition of a base in Thunder Bay to augment the one in Sioux Lookout.

Human Rights Watch News Release: Uganda: Rights at Risk in New Mining Region (February 3, 2014)

February 5, 2014

http://www.hrw.org/

Urgent Need to Protect Indigenous Land Rights in Karamoja

Click here for full report: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/uganda0214_ForUpload.pdf

(Kampala) – Uganda’s nascent mining industry could do more harm than good for indigenous people unless the government makes reforms and mining companies start respecting rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Uganda’s government has promoted private investment in mining in the remote northeastern Karamoja region to bring economic development, but should implement reforms to respect the rights of indigenous people to determine how their lands are used.

The 140-page report, “‘How Can We Survive Here?’ The Impact of Mining on Human Rights in Karamoja, Uganda,” examines the conduct of three companies in different stages of the mining process: East African Mining, Jan Mangal, and DAO Uganda. Human Rights Watch found that companies have explored for minerals and actively mined on lands owned and occupied by Karamoja’s indigenous people.

Canadian miners take another look at Africa – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – February 4, 2014)

February 4, 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.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Just days into his post-political career, former Quebec premier Jean Charest took on one of his first and toughest assignments: flying into Senegal to negotiate a complex deal for a Canadian mining company, even as war was raging in neighbouring Mali.

It was a good introduction to the risks and rewards of Africa’s mining industry, and it helped preserve a $500-million gold project. A year later, Mr. Charest is increasingly bullish on African business, attending investment conferences in Abidjan and Cape Town over the past few days.

Some investors might be less keen on the risky African frontier, especially after a gloomy year globally for the mining industry in 2013, and the launch of a damaging strike by 70,000 platinum workers in South Africa last month.

The platinum strike continued on Monday as investors gathered for the Mining Indaba, the biggest annual African mining conference. But people such as Mr. Charest were looking beyond the labour unrest and seeing huge potential across the continent.