Twitter

Shift from ‘blame seeking’ will aid efforts to tackle SA’s AMD challenge – by Leandi Kolver (MiningWeekly.com – August 16, 2013)

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Current mining industry players are faced with the challenge of who should be responsible for and deal with the subsequent financial impact of the legacy issue of acid mine drainage (AMD).

The mining industry has been a significant driver of the country’s economy, dating back many years; however, as many of the mining houses that pioneered the industry in South Africa have moved on to other areas, or have evolved into other companies or consortiums, the challenge of assigning responsibility for current issues is a real concern, says minerals industry consultancy Venmyn Deloitte environmental industry adviser Sarah Dyke.

As South Africa’s water systems are interconnected, AMD, if not treated, could potentially decrease the country’s water supply quality, which will impact on industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing, Deloitte strategy and innovation consultant Sabatha Mhlanga says.

Out of the 120 mining companies that once mined in the Witwatersrand, only six remain, and there are about 6 000 ownerless and abandoned mines, as well as about 270 tailings dams in the area containing six-billion tons of pyrite – a catalyst for AMD.

Read more

China and India may not be enough to rescue gold – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – August 16, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia – (Reuters) – With gold demand slumping to the lowest in four years in the second quarter, bulls are grasping to hold on to anything positive and right now that means India and China.

If there was a bright spot in the World Gold Council’s (WGC)quarterly report, it was that demand in the world’s top two consumers surged.

India regained its lead over China by buying 310 tonnes in the second quarter, up 71 percent from the same period in 2012 and 21 percent above first quarter purchases.

China bought 275.7 tonnes in the second quarter, a jump of 87 percent from the same period last year, but 6 percent below the first quarter’s demand.

But even the strong demand in the Asian giants wasn’t enough to offset the dramatic outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw 402.2 tonnes of sales, more than double the 176.5 tonnes that flowed out in the first quarter.

Read more

Iron ore prices moving higher as China steel production rises – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – August 15, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

After a bit of a dip, iron ore prices are on the rise as Chinese steel production begins to increase again and the world’s top diversified miners will be the likely principal beneficiaries.

LONDON (MINEWEB)  – It should not have escaped anyone who follows the global mining sector’s attention that the world’s three biggest mining companies by a long way, BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale, are also the three biggest miners of high grade iron ore.

There had been much discussion of how these would fare in a Chinese downturn, given that China is by far the world’s largest importer of iron ore and there was comment that iron ore prices would fall dramatically, thus decimating the big three’s revenues and profits – exacerbated perhaps by the fact that they are all growing production with the inevitable additional costs that involves.

What the observers seemed to have failed to take into account is that China, in a recession, is still the equivalent of anyone else in a mega growth phase! Growth falling perhaps from 10% plus per annum to maybe 6 or 7% – figures western economies would give their eye teeth for!

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Harper Government invests to support business development and growth in Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities

THUNDER BAY, Ontario, August 14, 2013 – The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State for Science and Technology, and FedNor, and Minister Responsible for the Ring of Fire, today announced a Harper Government investment to help the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund create jobs, enhance entrepreneurial and business planning skills, and promote business development and growth in Northwestern Ontario.

“Our Government is committed to ensuring entrepreneurs and businesses across Canada have the right tools and expertise they need to take advantage of economic development opportunities that lead to job creation, economic growth and the long-term prosperity of our communities,” said Minister Rickford. “Today’s announcement does just that by enabling the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund to provide targeted support to First Nation businesses throughout the region, giving them the tools to seize and capitalize on opportunities related to the development of the Ring of Fire, right here in Northern Ontario.”

With a FedNor investment of $4,427,212 over three years, Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) will offer a variety of business development services, including marketing and communications, strategic planning, and project management. Resources will be available to First Nation communities serviced by NADF, with a strong focus on the nine Matawa communities, to help them successfully develop business opportunities and derive long-term economic benefit from mining-related developments.

Read more

Indonesia to see declining revenue from mineral – by Amahl S. Azwar (The Jakarta Post – August 16, 2013)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

The government is preparing to see a decline in revenue from the mineral sector as the ban on the exports of unprocessed mineral ore is expected to take effect next year, a top official has said.

The restrictions on raw ore exports is aimed at giving added value to the mining products as well as moderating mineral exploitation.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s coal and minerals director general, Thamrin Sihite, said on Thursday the country needs to tame the overexploitation of minerals in a bid to protect its resources.

“It is very crucial for us to control the current production to ensure the sector will be sustainable,” he said.

According to the 2009 Mining Law, miners will have to process their mineral ore at their own smelters or at independent smelters as of January 2014, before exporting their mineral production.

Miners that do not have a smelter or are reluctant to process their raw minerals at other smelters will be banned from shipping their unprocessed ore overseas.

Read more

Analysis – On ‘massacre’ anniversary, South Africa mines still volatile – by Peroshni Govender (Reuters U.K. – August 15, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

MARIKANA, South Africa – (Reuters) – A year after South Africa’s bloodiest post-apartheid labour incident awoke the world to the potential for unrest in the country’s mines, the industry still suffers from worker poverty, pay disputes, shrinking profits and a violent union feud.

At Lonmin’s Marikana mine where 34 striking platinum workers were shot dead by police on August 16, 2012 in killings that shocked South Africa and the world, memorial services are planned for Friday by politicians, unions and civic leaders.

President Jacob Zuma, still facing criticism for his African National Congress (ANC) government’s handling of what has come to be known as the “Marikana massacre”, has led a solemn chorus of assurances that such bloodshed must never happen again.

“We must all resolve to do everything possible to prevent a repeat of similar incidents,” Zuma said in a statement listing government steps to keep the peace and improve conditions in the country’s mines, where recurring illegal strikes have badly dented Africa’s biggest economy over the last year.

Read more

PRESS RELEASE: Detour Gold Achieves Commercial Production at Detour Lake

Aug. 14, 2013, 3:52 p.m. EDT

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Aug 14, 2013 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — Detour Gold Corporation CA:DGC +0.96% (“Detour Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that its Detour Lake mine reached commercial production on August 12, having operated for a period of 60 consecutive days (commencing June 13, 2013) at an average of 41,428 tonnes per day (tpd).

The Company’s definition of commercial production states that commercial production will be declared on the first day of the calendar month following the mill having operated for a period of 60 consecutive days at an average of 75% or more of the designed production capacity, equivalent to 41,250 tpd. Consequently, the Company will commence reporting operating costs as of September 1, 2013.

During the 60 day period, the processing plant processed a total of 2,486,000 tonnes of ore, including 17 days where daily milling rates exceeded 50,000 tpd. For the first 11 days of August, availability improved to 80%. During the last four days of that period, the processing plant operated at an average of 52,900 tpd with an overall availability of 95%, which is closely approaching the nameplate capacity of 55,000 tpd. The ramp-up is also steadily progressing at the mine with mining rates averaging 180,000 tpd (total material mined = overburden, ore and waste) for the first 11 days of August.

Read more

Wall says he’s ‘pleased’ with Potash on promises – by Joe Couture (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – August 16, 2013)

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

Premier Brad Wall says he’s pleased with PotashCorp’s progress in keeping promises it made to the province at the time of the attempted takeover by BHP Billiton in 2010.

“We get a report from (PotashCorp), and I’ve had a chance to talk to (CEO) Bill Doyle directly about it. We had a conversation about the status of the pledge and I think Saskatchewan people should be pleased. We’re certainly pleased,” Wall said.

“They’re heading toward the exact number they promised for head office jobs. They’ve had so many move up from Illinois.

“They’ve actually exceeded their targets for overall numbers of employees. They’re moving in the right direction in terms of aboriginal employment,” he added. “And from a corporate citizen standpoint, here’s a company that has exceeded their pledge, frankly, I think, and expectations.”

As examples of that, Wall pointed to PotashCorp’s contributions to the STARS air ambulance program and to the new Global Food Security Institute.

Read more

Why cartels collapse – by Jack M. Mintz (National Post – August 16, 2013)

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

The potash cartel collapsed, at least for now, and the oil cartel could be next

Cartels are tough to maintain as we have recently seen with the demise of the Russian-Belarusian duopoly that accounts for over 35% of world potash production. The North American Canpotex cartel accounting for another a third of global output faces a sharp reduction in profits.

The stock and bond markets have responded in kind. Potash Corporation, the leading global producer, has seen its credit rating downgraded by Standard and Poor’s from stable to negative following a steep drop in its stock price from $38 to $30.

Yet, not all cartels fall apart. OPEC has been in operation since 1960, first successfully manipulating global oil prices by reducing supply after the Yom Kippur war in 1973. Today, it is the swing producer, producing 32.4 million barrels per day (roughly 45% of world crude production in 2012). OPEC itself is dominated by Saudi Arabia, which accounts for almost one-third of OPEC production.

If a potash cartel can fall apart, could it happen to OPEC?

Read more

Iron ore boom vs. Rudd’s doom – by Barry Fitzgerald and Paul Garvey (The Australian – August 16, 2013)

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

ON the hustings and in his campaign ads, Kevin Rudd has been calling the mining boom over.

“The truth is in 2013 the China resources boom is over,” the Prime Minister said on July 11. At the leaders debate on Sunday: “The truth is, with the ending of the decade-long mining boom, we face new economic challenges.” At almost any media opportunity, the mantra is repeated. But he must have forgotten to tell the Chinese — the world’s biggest buyer of mineral commodities.

Ever since returning as PM on June 26, the price of iron ore — Australia’s biggest export by a big margin — has not looked back as Chinese steelmakers frantically restock on the expectation that while there is a slowdown in the country’s infrastructure and urbanisation boom, an economic growth rate of more than 7 per cent on an already greatly enlarged economy means it still needs to suck in vast amounts of the steelmaking raw material.

Iron ore has surged by 26 per cent, or $US29.80 a tonne, to $US142.80 a tonne since Mr Rudd returned to the Lodge and began mapping a re-election strategy that in part at least, links the claimed end to the mining boom to Australia’s ballooning budget deficits.

Read more

ForestEthics fights for one-way democracy – by Peter Foster (National Post – August 16, 2013)

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

The question is whether eco storm troopers will abide by the decision if they lose

Eco radicals have a highly flexible approach to public participation, but little or no flexibility on its allowable conclusions. When it comes to forcing a green agenda on people – say, via removing the right to object to local wind farms in Ontario — they are all in favour. When it comes to new pipelines, however, they believe in the widest possible consultation, but with only one acceptable decision: Ban them.

This week the government’s regulatory streamlining legislation for new energy projects, contained within 2012’s Omnibus Bill C-38, was the subject of a lawsuit by an arm of San Francisco-based environmental group ForestEthics, which has for years been front and centre in anti-oil sands and anti-forestry activism.

A subsidiary, ForestEthics Advocacy, FA, and an individual named Donna Sinclair, both represented by celebrity Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, FA’s chairman, sought to overturn the government’s provisions on the basis that they restrict freedom of speech, not to mention threatening the survival of life on earth.

Read more

Oil’s new Arctic passage to Europe – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – August 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 –  As some of the biggest players in Canada’s oil industry fight for proposals to move the product west, south and east, a new plan is emerging to move crude north.

Omnitrax Inc., a private U.S. company that owns Churchill, Man.’s port, may provide a new channel for moving crude to markets on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Denver-based company, which also owns Manitoba’s northern railway, is nearing a test run to ship oil through its system as part of an ambitious plan that could see Western Canadian crude moving for the first time to Europe’s largest port via tanker across Hudson Bay.

If the plan is realized, it would run counter to long-established crude oil flows, in which east coast Canadian refineries have imported their feedstock from North Sea and Middle East suppliers.

Read more

A year after Marikana: The pendulum is swinging, but in which direction? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – August 16, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Many things have changed in the 12 months since the massacre by police of striking workers in South Africa’s platinum belt, but is it enough?

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Shorthand for the worst possible outcome, the name Marikana has been mentioned many times in the last 12 months.

It has been used as both a rallying cry and a cautionary tale. But, asked what has changed over the course of the last 12 months either in terms of improving the lot of those who work in the mines or to ensure that such a tragedy can never recur, the answer is almost always: “not enough”.

For the most part, that is where the similarities end. Yes, some progress has been made. The wave of wildcat strike action that plagued the country in the last quarter of 2012 that spilled over into other sectors from the mines has been calmed but, on the mines, continued tension among the unions have led to further shootings.

Government has stepped up to the plate, committing to deliverables by signing the peace and stability framework. But a year later the Farlam Commission is yet to present its findings and the violence on the mines still remains too high.

Read more

Time to build a road to prosperity in the Far North – by Mark Quinn (Troy Media – August 13, 2013)

http://www.troymedia.com/

An all-weather road would increase economic development and provide a better quality of life

OTTAWA, ON, Aug 13, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Over the last decade Canadians have become increasingly aware of a number of First Nation communities that have been in serious crisis.

The plight of communities like Attawapiskat, Pikangikum, and Kashechewan are well known in the national media but what is less well known is that they are all in the same region, Northern Ontario.

These communities are three of the approximately 30 First Nation communities in Ontario’s Far North. Most of these communities have much in common and are facing remarkably similar challenges. The Far North – comprising some 42 per cent of Ontario’s landmass (approximately 420,000 square kilometers)  – has more in common with the arctic than with the rest of the province. Consider the following:

• it has virtually no community infrastructure;
• there is little access to the hydro grid in the region;

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Northern Gold Announces Exploration Agreement With Wahgoshig First Nation for Its Golden Bear Project

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Aug. 15, 2013) – NORTHERN GOLD MINING INC. (TSX VENTURE:NGM) (“Northern Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exploration agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Wahgoshig First Nation community (“Wahgoshig”) near Garrison Township, Ontario. The Agreement establishes a commitment by the Company to develop an ongoing relationship with Wahgoshig in the area of the Company’s Golden Bear Project, and provides Wahgoshig with an opportunity to participate in the benefits of Northern Gold projects through training, ongoing communication and business development. Northern Gold has also agreed to negotiate an Impact Benefit Agreement with Wahgoshig should construction or mining operations commence on any of the Company’s properties located on Wahgoshig traditional territory.

Martin Shefsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Gold, stated, “The Agreement is an important step as we strengthen our mutually respectful and beneficial relationship with Wahgoshig. We will continue working closely with Wahgoshig and look forward to receiving their input as we explore the opportunities within the Golden Bear Project and move forward in a socially responsible manner for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Chief David Babin of Wahgoshig stated, “We are pleased to enter into the Agreement and appreciate that Northern Gold has consistently recognized and acknowledged our constitutional rights.

Read more