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Harper ‘won’t take no for an answer’ from U.S. on Keystone XL – by Joanna Slater (Globe and Mail – September 27, 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.

NEW YORK — Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned that Canada would not take no for an answer from the United States on the Keystone XL pipeline and declared that political calculations were the only obstacle blocking the project.

In pointed remarks to an audience in New York, Mr. Harper asserted that the arguments in favour of the proposed pipeline were “overwhelming” and vowed to continue his campaign to win approval for the project until it succeeds.

“My view is that you don’t take no for an answer,” Mr. Harper said. “We haven’t had that [from the U.S.], but if we were to get that, that won’t be final. This won’t be final until it’s approved and we will keep pushing forward.”

Mr. Harper didn’t spell out what Canada would do if Keystone were rebuffed, but did point to demand for Canadian energy around the world and to proposals for eastern and western pipelines. “If I were an American the last thing I would want to see is Canada selling its oil anywhere else.”

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Oil find boosts Nfld. offshore prospects – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – September 27, 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 — Newfoundland’s government is touting a major offshore discovery as the start of a new chapter in the province’s oil industry, and a reason for international energy companies to consider investments there.

Statoil ASA of Norway said Thursday its discovery in the Flemish Pass Basin, called Bay du Nord, could hold 300 million to 600 million barrels of light oil. The upper end of that range would be Newfoundland’s third-largest discovery. Statoil’s partner in the project is Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc.

Bay du Nord represents the partners’ third oil discovery in that area. The find is in deeper North Atlantic water and farther off the coast from the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, where the Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose fields produce, and the $14-billion Hebron field is under development.

“That’s good news for us and it certainly will encourage increased offshore exploratory activity. It’s one of the largest offshore oil fields to be discovered off Canada,” Tom Marshall, Newfoundland’s Natural Resources Minister, said in an interview.

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Derailing passenger train to Ontario north costly blunder – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – September 27, 2013)

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/home.html

TORONTO — Think of it as Northern Ontario’s very own $1-billion gas plant boondoggle. Except it’s not about moving generating plants.

It’s about the way former premier Dalton McGuinty and his finance minister, Dwight Duncan, shut down Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), once a vital link for communities like North Bay, Cochrane and Timmins.

(While the end of the line was Marathon, a bus took passengers on to Timmins.) Abruptly last year, the government shut down the rail link from Toronto, leaving in place only the Polar Bear Express from Cochrane to Moosonee.

The last train rattled out of Union Station last September and since then Nipissing Tory MPP Vic Fedeli has been asking questions about the government’s figures.

Announcing the shutdown, Duncan claimed it would save $265 million. Documents made public along with the gas plant material put the lie to that, Fedeli says. “If they go ahead with the full sale, it will cost the treasury $790 million. That’s a $1-billion gap from saving $265 to costing $790 million,” he told me.

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South Africa, Sweden to bolster mining relations – by Chantelle Kotze (MiningWeekly.com – September 26, 2013)

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – While there are differences between the mining industries in South Africa and Sweden, mining forms the backbone of both countries’ economies and, therefore, knowledge-sharing in this field can be of great importance in terms of developing a better understanding of safety, skills and sustainability challenges in their respective mining environments.

This was highlighted by Ambassador of Sweden to South Africa Anders Hagelberg, at the Safety, Skills and Sustainability in Mining conference, in Johannesburg, on Thursday. The conference focused on how the efforts to improve safety, develop skills, facilitate longevity and sustainability, as well as increase profitability and efficiency in the mining sector.

It aimed to foster profitable and sustainable business, lower accident rates, better occupational health, lower environmental impact, positive social impact and technology, leadership and methodology sharing between the two countries.

The conference also marked the establishment of the Swedish–Southern African Mining Initiative, which aims to create a platform for knowledge sharing and networking between Swedish and South African mining role-players.

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Is Cliffs ready to cash out in the Ring? – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 26, 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. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Cliffs Natural Resources is not throwing in the towel in the Ring of Fire but the clock is ticking. After a recent Ontario Mining and Lands Commissioner’s decision that denied Cliffs road access to its Ring of Fire chromite property, the Ohio miner is evaluating whether to keep spending millions each month on a remote deposit that doesn’t have overland access.

“We’re not hanging it up right now but this (decision) is a possible showstopper,” said Bill Boor, Cliffs’ senior vice-president of global ferroalloys. Cliffs was seeking an easement to cross the mining claims of KWG Resources, a rival company in the Ring, in order to build a road into its Black Thor deposit in the James Bay lowlands.

KWG staked a string of claims to set aside a corridor for a future railroad stretching 328 kilometres from its Big Daddy chromite deposit – of which Cliffs is a 70 per cent owner – to the Canadian National Railway’s main line in northwestern Ontario.

In a ruling released Sept. 10, the independent government tribunal said granting Cliffs an easement would interfere with KWG’s ability to work its claims. The ruling has bitterly disappointed Cliffs.

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NEWS RELEASE: Resource revolution: Tracking global commodity markets – by Richard Dobbs, Jeremy Oppenheim, Fraser Thompson, Sigurd Mareels, Scott Nyquist, and Sunil Sanghvi (McKinsey & Company – September 2013)

http://www.mckinsey.com/

For the full report, click here: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/resource_revolution_tracking_global_commodity_markets

Resource Revolution: Tracking global commodity markets is a comprehensive examination of how resource markets are evolving, not a price-forecasting exercise.

It may be tempting to view recent declines in commodity prices as the end of the resource “supercycle”—the period of sharp price rises and heightened volatility since the turn of the 21st century. Yet rumors of the supercycle’s death are greatly exaggerated. Despite recent falls, commodity prices are still near their levels of early to mid-2008, just before the global financial crisis hit. (To track the movements in commodity prices over time, see the interactive, “MGI’s Commodity Price Index—an interactive tool.”) At a time when the world economy remains below full power, this phenomenon is striking, and a sign that the supercycle is alive and well.

Our first annual survey of resource markets was conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute and McKinsey’s sustainability and resource productivity practice. They found that a key reason for the price resilience appears to be higher marginal supply costs, which continue to rise for most commodities.

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The floodgates open: Anglo-American settles mineworkers’ silicosis claims – by Rebecca Davis (Daily Maverick/South Africa – September 26, 2013)

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

On Wednesday it was announced that Anglo-American South Africa would pay 23 former mineworkers undisclosed amounts to settle claims brought against the company after the workers contracted silicosis. The mining house remains adamant that this is not an admission of liability. But lawyers for the mineworkers are hopeful that the settlement may pave the way for payouts for silicosis victims across the industry.

Silicosis is a lung disorder caused by inhaling bits of silica, a mineral found in sand and rocks, over an extended period of time. Silica dust particles can make tiny cuts on the lungs, creating scar tissue which makes it more difficult to breathe. It’s a progressive condition, and sometimes it can come on up to ten years after exposure to silica. People who are most at risk for developing the condition are those who work with sand, rock or quartz, in industries like construction, demolition, or mining.

The South African government has recognised the problem of silicosis and committed to “significantly” reducing its prevalence by 2015 and eliminating it entirely by 2030. It’s a particular public health issue in South Africa because exposure to silica dust increases the risk of TB.

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Commodities ‘Super Cycle’ Is Seen Enduring by McKinsey – by Joe Richter (Bloomberg News – September 25, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Commodity supply constraints and demand from emerging markets mean it’s premature to talk about the death of the super cycle that brought a longer-than-average period of rising prices, McKinsey & Co. said.

Energy, metal and agricultural prices that more than doubled since 2000 are still close to highs reached before the financial crisis, even after commodities from gold to wheat dropped into bear markets, McKinsey said in a report today.

The surge in raw-material output in the past two years and signs of cooling economic growth in China, the world’s biggest consumer of everything from cotton to zinc, prompted Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. to say the super cycle ended. McKinsey said producers are being forced deeper into remote areas to secure supplies that require increasingly sophisticated technology to extract as consumption expands.

“When we look forward, we see a separation between new technology and productivity on the one hand, and emerging-market demand and supply constraints on the other,” Fraser Thompson, a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, said in a telephone interview from London. “We don’t want to bet against technology, but what we think often gets overlooked is the scale of the challenge we’re facing.”

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Lawmaker’s view: PolyMet will revitalize Iron Range – by Senator Dave Brown (Duluth News Tribune – September 26, 2013)

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour the proposed PolyMet mine site near Hoyt Lakes. PolyMet would like to reopen a former taconite mine for copper and nickel. Not knowing much about the mining industry in general, I was curious about the new jobs, tax revenue and other opportunities that could be generated for the state.

The staff members at PolyMet are lifelong Iron Rangers proud of their northern Minnesota mining heritage. They are avid outdoors enthusiasts who enjoy hunting, fishing and frequent trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. PolyMet has put together an experienced mining staff with strong and loyal employees who represent the best of Minnesota.

Refurbishing the PolyMet site will cost about $475 million and take about 2 million working hours. This is about the same as building Target Field, the new baseball stadium in Minneapolis. New jobs will be for carpenters, laborers, operating engineers and teamsters. Once the buildings and equipment are repaired and refurbished, the plant will have about 360 jobs that will pay $26 to $32 per hour year-round, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Over the 20-year life of this proposed project, it is estimated to generate $720 million in wages and benefits, $300 million in state and local government taxes and $10.3 billion for St. Louis County.

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Wild Notes: Ring of Fire – by Wildland League (Fall 2013)

http://www.wildlandsleague.org/

For the orignal newsletter, click here: http://www.wildlandsleague.org/attachments/WL-RingOfFireNEWSLETTER-2013_FALL.pdf

Ontario’s Ring of Fire

Few of you reading this will ever see Ontario’s Far North. Yet this vast region matters to everyone as much as their own backyard. That’s why we’re devoting this newsletter to it – particularly to mining development in the Ring of Fire, which lies in its heart.

As one of Earth’s last great, undisturbed expanses of forest and wetlands, the Far North regulates the climate, stores and cleans huge quantities of fresh water, and sustains animal and bird species being decimated elsewhere. It’s home to 24,000 First Nations people who rely on the land and have an inherent right to determine its future.

While they pay lip service to environmental protection and First Nations, governments and industry have been rushing to exploit the Ring of Fire’s mineral riches in the conventional way that’s caused so much destruction around the planet. The following pages describe why we must ensure industrial activity is allowed only after thorough assessments of all its impacts and in a manner that sustains this irreplaceable environment and the people who inhabit it.

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CRA says Saskatchewan uranium giant Cameco has avoided paying hundreds of millions in Canadian taxes by offshoring profits in Switzerland – by John Greenwood (National Post – September 26, 2013)

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

The Canada Revenue Agency says Saskatchewan-based Cameco Corp. hasn’t been paying its taxes and it wants the money. Now Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall has joined the fray, calling for Cameco, the world’s largest publicly traded uranium producer, to pay up.

Speaking to reporters this week, Mr. Wall said part of the tax revenue that Ottawa collects ends up going back to the provinces, so when the CRA says it’s not getting what it believes it should, “that’s a concern to [Saskatchewan] as well, and it should be. It doesn’t matter who the company is, or the individual. We should pay taxes that are due.”

At issue is Cameco’s alleged practice of shifting profits to a Switzerland subsidiary where taxes are lower. And while the Cameco case has been going on for several years and though the CRA won the most recent round, the ruling is being appealed and observers say it is unclear who will come out on top.

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Junior mining company financial outlook still bearish – MRG Survey – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – September 26, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

A Mining Recruitment Group survey revealed that mining executives still think gold will shine the brightest in terms of the great commodities gains over the next three years.

RENO (MINEWEB) – Mining executives surveyed by the Mining Recruitment Group still think the next six to 12 months will be bleak although fewer now have a bearish view as to the overall strength of the mining industry over the short term.

Of the 162 responses gathered for the MRG Mining Survey for the fourth-quarter of this year, executives seem to be getting more upbeat about the longer term (three-year view) of the mining sector. The survey found that 74% of executives hold a bullish outlook, compared to 64% of those surveyed for the third quarter.

“With the remaining executives holding a neutral outlook over a 3-year time-frame it is evident that in the minds’ eye of executives the fundamentals of the sector are still very much intact,” said Andrew Pollard, MRG president. Gold still glitters for 74% of those surveyed as executives think the commodity will see the greatest gains over the next three years, followed by 64% who expect to see a massive appreciation in copper, while silver rounded out the top three at 53%.

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COLUMN-Unloved uranium may shine as longer-term bet – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – September 26, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Sept 26 (Reuters) – It would be hard to find a natural resource less liked than uranium, but the radioactive fuel may just be the place for contrarian investors.

It’s not hard to see why uranium isn’t popular with swathes of the world’s public, given the high-profile disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after a major earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in March 2011.

Uranium prices, both spot and New York futures , plunged after the Fukushima meltdown and have stayed depressed as countries such as Germany backed away from nuclear power amid rising public mistrust. Spot uranium is around $35 a pound, less than half of what it was before Fukushima and about a quarter of the all-time high reached in the middle of 2007.

Given that all of Japan’s 50 reactors are offline and Fukushima is once again in the news over the problem of the build-up and leaking of contaminated water, it hardly seems the right time to turn bullish on uranium.

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Natural gas may be cheap and clean, but Quebec still holds a grudge – by Sophie Cousineau (Globe and Mail – September 25, 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.

Sophie Brochu was all smiles when she sat down to testify at Quebec’s roving commission on the province’s energy stakes, but in a flash, sparks started flying between the president and CEO of Gaz Métro and the commission’s co-chair Normand Mousseau.

She had been told by the commission’s staff she had 15 minutes to make her case. But he curtly retorted she had 10. Should she spill over and leave no time for questions, Mr. Mousseau implied, that would cast the province’s biggest gas distributor in a bad light. It was just a skirmish, really, and yet the incident was telling. In the land of hydroelectricity, natural gas is not cordially welcomed.

Through the public consultation now under way, the Quebec government is redrawing its energy policy with an eye to reducing its carbon footprint and to decreasing its reliance on imported oil. The Parti Québécois upped the ante on the Liberals with an ambitious promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2020. To keep its word, the PQ government is championing projects that strike the imagination of voters. Electrifying the province’s transportation means is all the buzz. So is pumping oil out of Quebec soil even if both of those grand schemes will take at least a decade to materialize.

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Make up your minds [Thunder Bay generating station] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (September 25, 2013)

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

WITH the fate of the Thunder Bay Generating Station occupying so much public and political attention these days, the ongoing crisis situation at the Regional hospital is unfortunately being shunted aside on the political agenda. The issue of hospital crowding is much worse because it is potentially life-threatening whereas a decision on the generating plant, though needed now, can take time to carry out.

Both crises demonstrate government indecisiveness on multiple pressing issues.

Queen’s Park twice reversed itself on converting the Mission Island generating station from coal to gas and currently has the matter on hold again while it awaits an analysis by the Ontario Power Authority on how best to serve the electricity needs of the Northwest. The region will need significantly more power when a pending mining boom occurs and it takes time to build transmission capacity.

Here, too, the province is dawdling on the central theme of how to get ore out of the Far North to processing plants. A legal tussle over whether it should be a road or a railroad needs provincial intervention on behalf of the entire region which stands to receive a major economic jolt once mining begins. Instead, the province is waiting and seeing while the lead company warns it is running out of time.

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