Republic of Mining

Miners retreat from Toronto exchange, one-time portal to riches – by Paul Garvey (The Australian – October 7, 2013)

October 7, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business

THE love affair between Australian miners and the Toronto Stock Exchange appears to be well and truly over, with the bleak conditions in the market driving companies to drop their dual listings and return to their home bourse

Several Australian miners have either left or are preparing to leave Toronto amid complaints about the low levels of investor interest in the resources sector, high levels of compliance, the steep cost of maintaining a listing and the failure of companies to attract the share price re-rating they had expected.

The TSX for years ranked as the largest single exchange for mining ventures and acted as a major gateway for Australian-based companies looking to tap into the North American capital pool. The market also attracted Australian companies that believed they would enjoy better valuations in the eyes of Canadian and American investors.

However, executives told The Australian that investors in North America were increasingly uninterested in resource stocks.

Canadian spies targeted Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry: report – by The Associated Press (Globe and Mail – October 7, 2013)

October 7, 2013

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.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A Brazilian television report that aired Sunday night said Canadian spies targeted Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry.

The report on Globo television was based on documents leaked by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and was the latest showing that Latin America’s biggest country has been a target for U.S., British and now Canadian spy agencies.

The report said the metadata of phone calls and emails from and to the Brazilian ministry were targeted by the Communications Security Establishment Canada, or CSEC, to map the ministry’s communications, using a software program called Olympia. It didn’t indicate whether emails were read or phone calls were listened to.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper would neither confirm nor deny the allegations when asked to respond to the report late Sunday night. The “CSEC does not comment on its specific foreign intelligence activities or capabilities,” said Harper’s communications director Jason MacDonald.

Why the rebirth of manufacturing is bypassing Canada – by Barrie McKenna (Globe and Mail – October 7, 2013)

October 7, 2013

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 — The footwear industry has always been hypersensitive to labour costs. In the hunt for savings, manufacturers are forever scouring the planet for the next best place to produce shoes and boots.

That’s why it’s notable that Merchant House International Ltd., which makes boots for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp., announced last month that it will open its first U.S. plant in Tennessee early next year. Until now, the Hong Kong-based company has made its footwear exclusively at factories in China.

The so-called reshoring phenomenon is now spreading to industries that experts long ago gave up for dead in North America, including clothing, textiles and footwear.

But it isn’t just clothing and textiles. More than half of U.S. executives at manufacturers with sales of at least $1-billion (U.S.) say they are planning to repatriate some production to the United States from China, according to an August survey by Boston Consulting Group. Respondents cited factors such as proximity to customers, product quality and lower transportation costs, competitive wage rates and skilled labour.

Malaysia’s state-owned energy giant to spend $36B building gas plant, pipeline in Canada – by Matthew Fisher (National Post – October 7, 2013)

October 7, 2013

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

Stephen Harper arrived for a summit of Asian leaders Sunday with economic momentum, following an announcement that Malaysia’s state-owned energy giant, Petronas, plans what its prime minister termed a “gargantuan” investment of $36 billion in Canada.

Petronas plans to build both a liquefied natural gas plant and fund the building by a Canadian company of a pipeline from the plant, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Sunday. This investment will be in addition to the nearly $6 billion Cdn that Petronas paid last year to purchase Calgary-based Progress Energy Inc.

“I am told this is the largest direct investment in Canada by any country,” Najib said at a brief news conference in the opulent prime minister’s office in Putrajaya, near Kuala Lumpur, before he and Harper left Malaysia separately to attend the annual APEC summit of Pacific Rim leaders.

“This is a very significant landmark decision by Petronas,” Najib said. “It is done in the wake of the friendly relations we have and the positive response we received from the Canadian government in respect to Petronas’ involvement in Canada … We have a very high level of confidence that this investment will be supported by the Canadian government today and in the future.

Markets hunger for Canadian bitumen, not refined oil – by Brian Lee Crowley (Globe and Mail – October 4, 2013)

October 7, 2013

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.

What is it about Canada’s natural resources that make normally sensible people take leave of their business and economic senses and clamour for policies that sound good, but a moment’s analysis reveals as a fraud and a chimera?

Natural-resource nationalism, the idea that “our” natural resources should go through every stage of processing within Canada, is one such policy. People as diverse as author Jeff Rubin, West Coast newspaper publisher David Black, trade union leaders, consumer advocates and many others believe Canada is somehow “losing out” when it exports bitumen from the oil sands, for example, rather than refined products like gasoline and jet fuel. Many of them look at the discount on Western Canadian oil and, misunderstanding its significance, agitate for that oil to be shipped east where it will prove a boon for consumers.

Both ideas are quite wrong.

Take the oil sands, for example. The oil sands do not produce oil, but a tarry sandy substance called bitumen, which contains oil. To refine the bitumen, you need to upgrade it to a refinable state (so-called synthetic crude); that takes either an upgrader or a coker.

Iron Range mine could pollute water for up to 500 years – by Josephine Marcotty (Minneapolis Star Tribune – October 5, 2013)

October 7, 2013

http://www.startribune.com/

A proposed copper-nickel mine in northeast Minnesota would generate water pollution for up to 500 years and require billions of dollars in long-term cleanup costs, state regulators have concluded as they near a key stage in the project’s review.

The mine would require what critics say is essentially perpetual water treatment — a first in Minnesota’s long history of mining — to remove pollutants and heavy metals that would otherwise flow into nearby streams and rivers and eventually Lake Superior, according to a draft environmental impact statement.

The analysis, which regulators expect to release for public review in November, was prepared as part of the state’s review of a mining complex proposed by PolyMet Mining Corp., at a site near Hoyt Lakes.

The prospect of centuries of water treatment illustrates the scope of the environmental challenges facing what would be Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine — and why it has generated intense environmental scrutiny and divided communities on the Iron Range. PolyMet is the first of many companies lining up to tap into one of the world’s largest copper-nickel deposits. The deposits offer the promise of a new era of mining for Minnesota, but one that comes with significant ecological risks for the wildest and most treasured corner of the state.

Proponents, critics draw opposite lessons from recent copper mines – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – October 5, 2013)

October 7, 2013

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Supporters of Minnesota copper mining often cite the Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith in north-central Wisconsin as an example of a mine that can run well, be played out and ultimately be “reclaimed” while not causing significant environmental problems.

While environmental groups cite ongoing issues with runoff at the Flambeau site, including high levels of copper in a small stream in excess of water quality standards, an August U.S. Court of Appeals decision ruled the company is not in violation of its permit. That decision is being interpreted by mining supporters in Minnesota as an example of a copper mine operating and closing without environmental doom predicted by critics.

The small Wisconsin deposit, discovered in 1969, was mined along the Flambeau River between 1993 and 1997, producing 181,000 tons of copper, 334,000 ounces of gold and 3.3 million ounces of silver.

“Yes, copper, nickel and other much needed metal production can and has been done safely and successfully, without polluting local waters,” the industry group Mining Minnesota notes in a recent publication. The Flambeau mine is “a great example of this success … and has since been closed and reclaimed in full compliance with Wisconsin laws.”

NEWS RELEASE: ONE HUNDRED AGGREGATE DELEGATES TOUR RAIL-VEYOR® MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM

October 7, 2013

The Ontario Stone Sand & Gravel Association Members Learn the Benefits of Rail-Veyor® for the Aggregate Industry.

Sudbury, ON, Canada – Oct 7, 2013 One hundred members of the Ontario Stone Sand & Gravel Association toured the Rail-Veyor® facility in Sudbury just recently. Rail-Veyor Technologies Global Inc. manufactures and installs RailVeyor®, a bulk material handling system for surface and underground applications for the mining and aggregate industries.

The Ontario Stone Sand & Gravel Association educates its members on the proven technologies that will help their companies maximize productivity, profitability and safety. “We’re pleased to have included the Rail-Veyor® bulk material handling system on our OSSGA Operations Tour. The technology and engineering behind the system is impressive. Based on the number of questions and time spent seeing it in action, it’s clear that our aggregate members had a lot of interest in the system and the productivity it offers to operations,” comments Dan Muys, Director of Communications and Marketing, Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

Calgary-based mining company suing Costa Rica for more than $1 billion – by Jeremy Hunka (Global News – October 4, 2013)

October 7, 2013

http://globalnews.ca/

LA TIGRA, Costa Rica – A billion-dollar showdown is looming in Central America this week as a Calgary-based mining company announced it will sue the country of Costa Rica, infuriating residents who say their sovereignty is being taken away.

Infinito Gold was hoping to operate an open-pit gold mine in the Crucitas region of Costa Rica’s north. On its website, the company says it “…completed all the environmental, social and technical studies and obtained all approvals required under Costa Rican law to develop and operate the Las Crucitas Project.”

But the project was held up in court, and after irregularities were found in the approval process the mine’s approval was declared illegal. In 2011, Costa Rica banned all open-pit metal mining.

“It took a lot of effort,” says Otto Mendez, who fought against the mining project. “It took a lot of people and a lot of money.” But now, Infinito Gold says it will take the country of Costa Rica to international arbitration.

Ring of Fire mining project no magic bullet for aboriginal communities: Rae – by Will Campbell (Canadian Press/Montreal Gazette – October 5, 2013)

October 7, 2013

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

TORONTO – Former Liberal leader Bob Rae says natural resource projects such as Ontario’s massive Ring of Fire aren’t a “magic bullet” to eliminate poverty in remote aboriginal communities.

Rae told a conference on Saturday that several approaches are needed — including jobs training, education and governance — to help the resource-rich but underdeveloped areas raise themselves up. “If you want to see conditions of real underdevelopment, and see what the impact is on people and families, on children and on adults, you do not have to go very far,” he told the crowd.

The former MP recounted his experiences from a trip to northern Ontario trip that he returned from on Friday, which included a visit to the community of Marten Falls First Nation. Rae said roughly 300 people live with intermittent electricity, $8 cartons of milk and no Internet access.

Marten Falls lies within the 5,000-square kilometre boundary of the Ring of Fire, a mining project that the Ontario and federal governments hope will attract billions of dollars in private investment to extract valuable minerals such as stainless-steel ingredient chromite.

Farm and Food: Potash market isn’t for sissies – by Alan Guebert (Journal Star.com – October 5, 2013)

October 7, 2013

http://journalstar.com/ [Lincoln, Nebraska]

There are two reasons to keep up to speed on the fast pace of events in what would seem to be the very dull world of potash.

The first is that the key players in this once tightly controlled market continue to lose their grip on it. According to analysts, prices for this key fertilizer will continue to drop — to nearly $300 per ton, some say — through the end of 2013.

If they’re right, that’s more than $100 a ton less than a year ago and a gargantuan $600 to $700 per ton below the record price of five years ago.

In short, go long potash; it’s the best time in years to buy it and apply it. The second reason to pay attention to the potash market is that, in truth, you can’t take your eyes off of what quickly is turning into a Russian version of an American soap opera.

Nine weeks ago the Russian-Belarusian potash cartel, a rocky twosome composed of Russia’s Uralkali and Belarus’ Belaruskali, parted company when the Russians simply called their marriage off.

Cameco, Sierra Club face off over uranium licences – by Canadian Press/CBC News Saskatchewan (October 04, 2013)

October 7, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/sask/

An environmental group is raising pollution concerns about Cameco’s uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. But Cameco says the Sierra Club’s allegations that it massively exceeded regulatory limits are false.

The commission heard from both sides during public hearings that ran Tuesday to Thursday on Cameco’s application to renew its mine and mill licences for its Key Lake, McArthur River and Rabbit Lake facilities.

“The most disturbing thing we discovered in the process of preparing the submission were huge, very huge numbers, in terms of pollution that’s coming from the plant and getting into the environment,” John Bennett, executive director of Sierra Club Canada, said Monday.

“Every kind of pollutant that comes out of them, their numbers are way over the limits and no one’s been enforcing it.” The Sierra Club says that as of 2010, water releases from the Deilmann tailings facility in cadmium exceed the Saskatchewan standard by 5,782 per cent. It says the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment allows Cameco to release water from tailings ponds directly into the environment at Horsefly Lake.

Australia’s Gold Miners Gang Up to Thwart Royalty Hike – by Stephen Bell (Wall Street Journal – October 4, 2013)

October 4, 2013

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Western Australia’s Government Is Under Increasing Pressure to Lift Revenue

PERTH, Australia—Gold producers in Australia’s most resource-rich state have banded together to resist any increase in royalties on sales of the precious metal, fearing a further blow to an industry already battered by falling prices and rising costs.

The Western Australian government is reviewing royalty payments on a range of minerals produced in the state as it seeks to boost revenue in the face of weaker commodity prices, and to tackle ballooning debt that has knocked down its credit rating.

Gold miners have been concerned ever since the premier of the state, Colin Barnett, told the state legislature last week that the current royalty on sales of the metal—currently 2.5%—was “a little light” compared with those for other minerals.

Western Australia’s Gold Royalties Response Group, which successfully lobbied against a previously mooted royalty increase three years ago, Friday said it had reformed.

Opinion: Why mining matters, now – by Philip Hochstein (Vancouver Sun – October 3, 2013)

October 4, 2013

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

Philip Hochstein is President of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.

Saying no to the New Prosperity mine means saying no to $11 billion worth of GDP over 20 years

When you live and work in Metro Vancouver or Greater Victoria, it’s easy to ignore the impact of mining, but the British Columbia mining story is exceptional. There is no industry in B.C. right now that has the potential to contribute more to our economy and improve the way of life here than mining, because few industries can create wealth out of raw resources as mining does. And yes, I mean improve life and create wealth in the big cities too.

At environmental assessment hearings this past summer, I spoke in favour of the proposed New Prosperity mine, which is 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake. Why would a Burnaby-based construction association care and why should you care about just another mine? The reason is because a new mine is not just another mine.

Manitoba Reed Mine approval a ‘step back,’ says Wilderness Committee – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – October 4, 2013)

October 4, 2013

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000. IAN@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

The province’s approval of Hudbay’s Reed Mine copper project in Grass River Provincial Park, which was granted on Sept. 24, is not going over well with the Wilderness Committee, which opposed the mine because of its proximity to the habitat of woodland caribou, a provincially and federally protected species.

“It is hard news to take,” said Eric Reder, the Wilderness Committee’s Manitoba campaign director in a Sept 25 press release. “Canada stopped mining national parks in 1930. Eight decades later and Manitoba still can’t join the party?”

The Reed Mine, which is 70 per cent owned by Hudbay, is projected to produce 1,300 tonnes of copper per day and is located about 80 kilometres west-southwest of Snow Lake on the southern side of Highway 39. The mine is expected to be in production for approximately five years, during which time 2.16 million tones of copper ore will be extracted and then trucked to and processed in Flin Flon, according to a project overview prepared by AECOM on behalf of Hudbay. At full production, the mine will provide 88 jobs, the company says.