Republic of Mining

Port plan would aid Ring of Fire – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – October 17, 2013)

October 17, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The Ring of Fire development has made headlines over past months and years for both the sheer scale and economic potential of its Chromite deposit and for the myriad of problems that both junior companies like KWG Resources and big mining conglomerates like Cliffs Natural Resources.

The logistical nightmare of exporting high-grade ore from the James Bay Lowlands to processing centres in Sudbury has plagued the development of the massive ore body.

But KWG Resources has brought forward a solution. The James Bay and Lowland Ports Authority.

“When the announcement was made regarding the dissolving of the ONTC and the ONR, the labour unions that represent those employees came to us (KWG) with an idea,” said Frank Smeenk, CEO of KWG Resources. “They talked to us about being from the North, about watching the development of the Ring of Fire, particularly the Black Horse deposit, and we know that we have a perfectly viable railroad business, maybe we can collaborate.”

Small stainless steel industry in Canada – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – October 17, 2013)

October 17, 2013

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

Re: From ore to steel, column by Stan Sudol — Aug. 31.

In my column on the potential of a stainless steel industry in Ontario, I mistakenly said that there is no stainless steel industry in Canada. I was given incorrect information. I should have said, “At the present time, there is no ‘major’ stainless steel production in Canada.”

Gratefully, ASW Steel Inc. president Tim Clutterbuck contacted me and indicated that his Welland, Ont.-based specialty steel facility dedicates 30% of its production capacity to stainless steel. The company employs about 95 employees and manufactures roughly 100,000 tonnes of specialty steel products annually, of which 30,000 tonnes are stainless steel ingots and billets, that are exported to the U.S. and Europe.

By comparison, Outokumpu, the biggest international producer, manufactures almost 3.6 million tons of stainless steels worldwide, slightly over 10% of the 35.4 million tonnes of global production last year, according to International Stainless Steel Forum preliminary figures.

Vale, Glencore Xstrata talks raise speculation – (CBC News Sudbury – October 16, 2013)

October 17, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Mining giants Vale and Glencore Xstrata are in early talks to combine their mining efforts in Sudbury, according to a report that came out late last week. Both companies have declined to comment, and the news has some worried about what this could mean for Sudbury.

Whatever ends up happening, it’s probably not going to be a merger says a professor of business strategy at Laurentian. Jean Charles Cachon said the companies are too big and too international to merge with each other.

“They have separate systems. A merger of the two firms is very unlikely due to anti-trust regulations in North America and Europe,” he said — but added there are other more plausible outcomes. One is the creation of a third company that will exist just to handle Sudbury mines.

The other is a formal agreement in which the companies will pool some resources, but will remain autonomous. A former executive with Falconbridge said whatever happens, this kind of deal will probably mean some workers are made redundant — particularly as nickel prices around the world are in a slump, and Chinese demand lags.

What happens in Vegas may boost Sudbury’s economy – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – October 16, 2013)

October 17, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

A Sudbury company is mining business opportunities in Nevada’s metals industry, thanks to a burgeoning partnership with Canada and a business group from the U.S. State.

While most people associate Nevada with Las Vegas, the area has much more to offer than gambling, says Bob Groesbeck, vice-president of the Canada-Nevada Business Council. Nevada his home to a billion-dollar mining industry that’s enjoying a resurgence, even as the rest of the state tries to recover from the recession.

“We’re just blown away by what’s going on in this community,” Groesbeck said at an Oct. 10 news conference at NORACT on Maley Drive. “It didn’t take us long to figure out that this is a good fit.”

The event included Mayor Marianne Matichuk, who connected with the CNBC last year while in Las Vegas for MINEExpo. Canada is Nevada’s largest trading partner, exporting $1.3 billion in goods to us and importing $813 million in goods from Canada. The largest percentages of goods from Canada are equipment and machinery, making up 20 per cent.

Alert systems notify workers of underground danger – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – October 15, 2013)

October 17, 2013

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.

Sudbury’s Hard-Line is introducing a new product to the mining industry that will increase safety for workers, with the aim of preventing injury or death on the job.

The Prox Proximity Detection System, launched in August, is designed to alert workers when they get too close to a piece of heavy equipment while working underground.

“There have been incidents in the mining industry where these sorts of things happen because people become complacent with using a remote control,” said Max Gray, Hard-Line’s director of sales North America and global marketing. “They get too close to it, they make an error, and all of a sudden it’s too late for them to react. This system will warn them so they can react.”

Prox, which is integrated into Hard-Line’s Muckmaster Radio Remote Control System, detects when a remote operator enters a zone around the piece of machinery being operated. When a zone is breached, the system emits an audible and visual warning alert and can be programmed to slow or stop the machine automatically.

Preventing and managing social conflict in Peru (Beyond Borders – July 2, 2013)

October 17, 2013

Beyond Borders is published by Barrick Gold Corporation: http://barrickbeyondborders.com/

Peru has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, driven largely by its mineral wealth and the expansion of the mining industry. Today, most major global mining companies have operations in the country, including Barrick, BHP-Billiton, Newmont, Freeport McMoran, Glencore Xstrata and others.

Increased mining sector investment and revenues have provided significant benefits to Peru’s national economy. The sector’s contribution to total government revenue averaged 14 percent between 2000 and 2010. In 2010 alone, Peru mined $18 billion worth of minerals, accounting for 12 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The mining boom has contributed to a marked reduction in Peru’s poverty rate to about 28 percent in 2011 from 42 percent five years earlier, according to The World Bank.

Barrick has been operating in Peru for the past 15 years and has two mines in northern Peru — Pierina and Lagunas Norte. The contribution of these operations to economic prosperity is significant. In 2012, Barrick paid nearly $400 million in taxes and royalties in Peru, and purchased approximately $340 million in goods and services in the country. Ninety-nine percent of the 1,200 Barrick employees who work at Pierina and Lagunas Norte are Peruvian nationals.

NEWS RELEASE: Slowdown in mining sector holds back economies of Canada’s territories in 2013

October 16, 2013

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/

Stronger growth expected in 2014 and beyond

WHITEHORSE, Oct. 16, 2013 /CNW/ – Lower commodity prices will hold back mineral exploration in Canada’s territories, cooling previously-robust economic growth in the territories this year.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the territories is forecast to grow by a tepid 0.5 per cent in 2013, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Territorial Outlook: Autumn 2013, released today at Canada’s North Summit 2013 in Whitehorse.

“A once-thriving mining sector is now re-evaluating development and exploration plans due to lower commodity prices and tight capital markets, which makes it difficult for mining companies to obtain financing,” said Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada.

“However, the outlook beyond this year is more promising. Economic growth in the territories over the next few years is expected to easily outpace growth in most other Canadian regions.

Lose the Double Standard Around Foreign Investment in Canada – by Yves Engler (Huffington Post – October 15, 2013)

October 16, 2013

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

Should the “right” of a foreign corporation to make a profit trump governments’ attempts to create local jobs, improve environmental regulations or establish laws that raise royalty rates? Most Canadians would say no.

But that’s what the Conservative government is pushing poor countries to accept if they want Canadian investment.

Barely noticed in the media, Canada recently concluded negotiations on a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement (FIPA) with the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire. In a press release Minister for La Francophonie Christian Paradis said: “The investment agreement announced today will provide better protection for Canadian companies operating in Côte d’Ivoire.”

Since the start of the year Ottawa has signed similar agreements with Tanzania, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon and Zambia while over the past few years Canada has concluded FIPAs with Madagascar, Mali and Senegal. Ottawa is currently engaged in FIPA negotiations with Ghana, Guinea, Tunisia and Burkina Faso and plans are likely afoot to pursue bilateral investment treaties with other African countries.

According to the government, “A FIPA is a treaty designed to promote and protect Canadian investment abroad through legally binding provisions and to promote foreign investment in Canada.

Coal to surpass oil as top global fuel by 2020: report – by Florence Tan (Reuters/National Post – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 2013

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

Coal will surpass oil as the key fuel for the global economy by 2020 despite government efforts to reduce carbon emissions, energy consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said on Monday.

Rising demand in China and India will push coal past oil as the two Asian powerhouses will need to rely on the comparatively cheaper fuel to power their economies. Coal demand in the United States, Europe and the rest of Asia will hold steady.

Global coal consumption is expected to rise by 25% by the end of the decade to 4,500 million tonnes of oil equivalent, overtaking oil at 4,400 million tonnes, according to Woodmac in a presentation on Monday at the World Energy Congress.

“China’s demand for coal will almost single-handedly propel the growth of coal as the dominant global fuel,” said William Durbin, president of global markets at Woodmac. “Unlike alternatives, it is plentiful and affordable.”

China – already the top consumer – will drive two-thirds of the growth in global coal use this decade. Half of China’s power generation capacity to be built between 2012 and 2020 will be coal-fired, said Woodmac.

Quo vadis Amplats, Griffith & Cutifani’s Anglo? – by David McKay (Miningmx.com – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 2013

http://www.miningmx.com/

[miningmx.com] – AN analyst at Johannesburg asset management company, Stanlib, planted the idea recently that although the South African government had formally rejected mines nationalisation as policy, a subtler expression of state interference had become practice.

This is, of course, a reference to the repeated government and union interference in restructuring activities of the publicly-listed Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).

The logic is that in allowing government to dictate the final shape of its restructuring plans, Amplats had granted the state a role in its affairs as if it owned it. As a stakeholder, the state has more influence over Amplats than shareholders who finance it. That has now been extended to unions.

So it is that Amplats agreed to adjust its restructuring plans a third time falling in with demands from the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) to provide voluntary separation packages to employees identified for retrenchment, and replacing contractors with full-time employees.

Shipments of Rio Tinto’s Mongolia copper stalled by China import snags (Globe and Mail – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 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.

SYDNEY — Reuters – Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd. could be forced to amass a mountain of copper concentrate at its new $6-billion (U.S.) Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia while Chinese buyers resolve a lengthy customs impasse with their government.

The Oyu Tolgoi concentrator continued to ramp up production in the third quarter and is now operating at maximum processing capacity of 100,000 tonnes of ore a day, said Toronto-listed Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. of Vancouver, which runs Oyu Tolgoi and is 66 per cent owned by Rio Tinto.

Oyu Tolgoi was supposed to start shipping copper concentrate to China shortly after the mine opened in July. But instead has been forced to stockpile the material while buyers negotiate with Chinese customs officials over import approvals.

“Oyu Tolgoi’s customers are making good progress with Chinese customs officials to resolve matters with purchased concentrate at the border,” Turquoise Hill chief executive officer Kay Priestly said in a statement.

Mining M&A Decline Imperils Explorers’ Aspirations – by Liezel Hill (Bloomberg News – October 15, 2013)

October 16, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Mining acquisitions valued at less than $1 billion have slumped to an eight-year low as the industry’s largest players rein in spending after a drop in commodities prices.

The slump threatens hundreds of exploration and development companies that don’t have revenue, more than half of which are based in Canada. Being bought by a larger miner is proving increasingly elusive as companies such as Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), the biggest gold producer, avoid acquisitions and new projects in favor of improving existing operations.

“Buyers are being very cautious on where they deploy capital,” said Matthew Hind, the Toronto-based head of Canadian metals and mining investment banking for Credit Suisse Group AG. “Players are in the process of re-evaluating their balance sheets and pipelines.”

There were 76 takeovers of companies in the third quarter, with a combined valuation of $1.73 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the lowest volume since the fourth quarter of 2004, the data show.

Alberta, B.C. seeking common ground over oil pipelines – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 2013

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

Have Alberta and British Columbia found a way to resolve their differences over oil pipelines?

The two Western provinces, which not long ago were at each other’s throat over the projects, announced Tuesday a plan to address the five major hurdles standing in the way of Alberta oil shipments to Asia from the B.C. coast: harmonizing marine and land spill response; ensuring fair fiscal and economic benefits to both provinces; consulting with First Nations; exploring resource transportation options; increasing public awareness of responsible resource development.

“B.C. and Alberta share an understanding on the critical importance of being globally competitive,” B.C. Premier Christy Clark said in a joint statement with Alberta Premier Alison Redford. “We are laying the foundation to work together to reach new markets, create jobs and strengthen both our economies, and Canada.”

The effort comes after years of opposition by environmental and aboriginal groups against the Northern Gateway pipeline proposed by Enbridge Inc. and the TransMountain pipeline expansion proposed by Kinder Morgan — the Western front of a war against oil sands pipelines that has been big on controversy, short on realistic solutions and a drag on the Canadian oil sector.

Pipeline talks to focus on compensating B.C. – by Carrie Tait and Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 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.

CALGARY and VANCOUVER — British Columbia has stiffened its stance on ensuring it receives financial benefits from any new oil shipped through the province on the way to global markets.

In an outline of plans to jointly develop new international export markets, B.C. and Alberta agreed to discuss how B.C. could reap “fiscal and economic benefits” should new oil pipelines be built in Canada’s westernmost province.

For B.C., financial benefits from such projects could be derived from any of three sources: payments from the federal government; from the energy companies involved in the projects; or the broad economic boost from building them, said Ben Chin, B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s director of communications.

Funds generated from energy development currently goes from the proponents themselves, they are from the federal government’s share, or from growing the over economic potential of the project,” he said.