Twitter

Aglukkaq takes environment post as Ottawa seeks to win over First Nations, U.S. on resource projects – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – July 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.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has moved his cabinet’s lone aboriginal minister into the sensitive portfolio of Environment as the government works to win crucial First Nations’ support for new pipelines and other resource-development projects.

In the shuffle announced on Monday, Mr. Harper demoted former broadcaster Peter Kent to the back benches and appointed health minister Leona Aglukkaq to the critical post, where one of her first jobs will be to finalize long-promised federal regulations covering greenhouse-gas emissions in the oil and gas sector.

The Conservative government is under great pressure to show it is serious about battling climate change and protecting the environment, even as it aggressively pursues energy and mining development.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, who has been the government’s point man on its so-called responsible resource development approach, remains in the post he has held since entering Parliament two years ago.

Read more

Innovation’s vastly cheaper than green subsidies – by BJØRN LOMBORG (Globe and Mail – July 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.

 Bjørn Lomborg is author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It, and director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently published a report that estimates global shale gas resources. These findings may have a significant impact on energy policy in the future: Shale gas increases global resources of natural gas by a whopping 47 per cent. And this may be the tip of the iceberg. For example, at the end of June, the British Geological Survey released shale gas estimates for just one field in mid-England that increased the global estimate by more than 18 per cent.

Canada’s shale gas resources – the world’s fifth highest in terms of technically recoverable gas, estimated at 573 trillion cubic feet – are nothing to balk at. The economic benefits from fracking are manifold: Whereas natural gas prices in the European Union have doubled since the year 2000, U.S. prices have declined about 75 per cent in the past few years. This has saved U.S. consumers $125-billion a year. So the shale gas revolution promises to be great news for the Canadian economy, but – perhaps surprisingly, it is also good news for our climate.

Read more

China’s next bet is on natural gas – by Peter Tertzakian (Globe and Mail – July 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.

They say, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” but not so in China. Affairs in the Middle Kingdom have huge global influence – at least the mundane affairs of economic activity, primary energy use and environmental impact (in that order of causation). After a dozen boom years, the impact of small changes in China’s gargantuan condition triggers repercussion around the world, not the least for major oil and gas exporters like Canada.

Here’s what’s going on: China’s economy is decelerating, which implies caution (but not alarm) for oil markets; but its energy diet is becoming leaner, which rings a positive tone for future natural gas use. A Chinese transition to more natural gas, much more than the International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting, reinforces the importance of Canada’s West Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) prospects.

China’s annual GDP growth has cooled off from its historically supercharged 10 per cent or more, down to an annualized 7.5 per cent for the second quarter of this year. Other metrics suggest loss of economic momentum; its exports are down 3.1 per cent year-over-year; domestic wages are increasing; manufacturing is weakening; and credit is crunching.

Read more

Uncertainty concerning disputed land claims compounds challenges for Manitoba’s miners – by Alana Wilson (Mining Facts.org – July 10, 2013)

MiningFacts.org is a digital resource for Canadian mining information produced by the Fraser Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank.

Manitoba faces ‘potentially deal-breaking uncertainty’ over treaty land claims in its mineral exploration sector according to an article by Martin Cash in the Winnipeg Free Press. This is compounding problems for the mineral exploration sector at a time when metal prices are low, investors are already avoiding the sector, and equipment is subject to an additional 1% sales tax.

According to the article, Mega Precious Metals –an exploration company working to develop a gold property called Monument Bay—have received an eviction notice from the nearby Red Sucker Lake First Nation. A temporary court injunction has since been issued which “authorizes the arrest of anyone obstructing, trespassing or creating a nuisance or ‘engaging in any act which interferes with the operations of the Monument Bay project’.”

The band has referred to the property in a news release as “a mineral-exploration company operating illegally in Red Sucker Lake First Nation traditional territory”. Yet Mega Precious Metals has been working with the band for years and in 2010 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with them.

Read more

Special report: In tax case, Mongolia is the mouse that roared – By Anthony Deutsch and Terrence Edwards (Reuters India – July 16, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

AMSTERDAM/ULAN BATOR – (Reuters) – Turquoise Hill Netherlands is a little-known Amsterdam-based company with three employees, no office, and not even its own mailbox. To the government of Mongolia, though, the company represents billions in taxes that it will never see.

Turquoise Hill was created in 2009, five years after Mongolia and the Netherlands signed a tax treaty to avoid double taxation and boost investment in Mongolia. But in 2011, Mongolia decided to cancel the pact, arguing that it would cost the country income from one of the most lucrative gold and copper mines in the world.

The move was rare – tax experts say only a handful of such deals between countries have ever been cancelled – and it highlights a big contradiction.

The Netherlands, which has more than 90 such treaties globally, spent roughly 13 million euros ($17 million) on three aid programs to Mongolia in 2009 and 2010. Globally its aid budget is about $5.5 billion – the fifth most-generous rate among rich nations at 0.71 percent of Gross National Income, according to the OECD.

Read more

UPDATE 3-POSCO drops $5.3 bln Indian steel mill, keeps main project alive – by Hyunjoo Jin (Reuters India – July 16, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

SEOUL, July 16 (Reuters) – South Korea’s POSCO said on Tuesday it will pull out of a $5.3 billion steel mill development in India’s Karnataka state, but will proceed with another $12 billion project billed as the country’s largest foreign direct investment.

POSCO said in a regulatory filing that it had agreed to cancel the project with the government of southern Karnataka state because of delays in receiving iron ore mining rights and opposition from residents which had held back land acquisition.

The move could provide fresh impetus to POSCO’s main steel project in the eastern state of Odisha. Already eight years in the making, it has recently gained momentum with the clearing of legal obstacles to the granting of an iron ore exploration licence.

“We will proceed with a steel mill project in Odisha, which is making progress. The latest move will make us more focused on the project,” POSCO spokeswoman Kim Ji-young said. POSCO, the world’s fifth-biggest steelmaker, had pursued three steel mills in India as a way of hedging its bets on the slow-moving Odisha project.

In 2010, POSCO signed a preliminary agreement with the Karnataka state government to construct a mill capable of producing 6 million tonnes of steel a year. A year earlier it signed a separate steel mill deal with state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

Read more

Bye, bye BRIC: A new global investment shift takes hold – by Joanna Slater (Globe and Mail – July 13, 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 — When the thirteen members of the investment team at Ballentine Partners LLC sit down each quarter to review their holdings, it is a loud and boisterous affair. Last month, their discussion turned to emerging markets.

The Massachusetts-based firm, which manages $4-billion (U.S.) for ultra-wealthy families, faced a decision: Pare its bullish bet on such countries or stick with it, even as stock prices fell.

The debate circled around the potential dangers for these markets and for China in particular. One agitated analyst pounded the table and called the country’s credit-fuelled expansion a “shell game.”

In the end, the firm’s staff decided to scale back on emerging-markets stocks. “It’s going to be a bumpy time,” said Greg Peterson, Ballentine’s head of investment research. So they decided to act out of caution, he said, to see “how all the issues resolve right now.”

Across the world, many investors are coming to a similar conclusion, watchful and uneasy about the future path of developing economies. In recent weeks, some have fled those markets, sparking marked declines in stocks, bonds and currencies.

Read more

[Ring of Fire] Influence moves northwest with cabinet shuffle – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – July 15, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The appointment of Kenora MP Greg Rickford as minister responsible for FedNor and the Ring of Fire is another sign of the importance upper levels of government place on developing the major chromite discovery.

And Dick Destefano, executive director of the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association, says it’s a sign of the growing political influence of northwestern Ontario.

Rickford replaces Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement in a major cabinet shuffle that was unveiled Monday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his twitter account. In all, Harper added eight new faces to his cabinet of 39 ministers, the largest federal cabinet since Brian Mulroney’s government in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Rickford’s appointment comes months after Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne named Thunder Bay MPP Michael Gravelle as minister of Northern Development and Mines, replacing longtime Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci, who is retiring.

Both appointments reflect new realities in Northern Ontario, Destefano said. “The focus is not on northeastern Ontario at all, it’s on northwestern Ontario and the Ring of Fire and it’s potential value,” he said. “From a political point of view, it’s seen as the area where the next major development is going to take place in Ontario.”

Read more

Rickford Ready for Ring of Fire – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – July 15, 2013)

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

OTTAWA – Greg Rickford says that his Blackberry has been “radio active today”. The new Minister of State for Science and Technology has been busy all day since being sworn in this morning in his new position in the Conservative Government. In an interview with NetNewsLedger, Rickford comments that the process has been exciting, however for the past week since he was informed is was a little cloak and dagger to keep out of the public eye and maintain the secrecy of cabinet building for Prime Minister Harper.

Ring of Fire Responsibilities in Rickford’s Camp

While Tony Clement remains the Senior Minister for Northern Ontario, Rickford confirms that he has responsibility for the Ring of Fire. Rickford’s experience in Northern Ontario where he has been working in the medical field as well as Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs should serve him well there.

Rickford is now not only responsible for Science and Technology, a portfolio that reportedly has had the Prime Minister looking to gather greater scope, but in addition is the Minister responsible for FedNor.

“In following Minister Tony Clement, I realize I have some big shoes to fill, and I am looking forward to the challenge, but also with working closer with Minister Clement,” stated Rickford.

Read more

Rickford [Ring of Fire/FedNor] appointment draws praise – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – July 16, 2013)

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

Friends and foes alike of the federal Conservatives are hoping that a re-focused FedNor agency under Tory MP Greg Rickford will be a boon for some large-scale Northwestern Ontario economic development projects like the Ring of Fire. Rickford, 46, who is from Kenora, was put in charge of FedNor Monday in a cabinet shuffle that also made him Science and Technology minister.

A Northerner hasn’t headed the FedNor file since 2005, when former Liberal MP Joe Comuzzi was the agency’s minister.
“I’m just ecstatic about it,” said Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs. “A lot can get accomplished in two years (before the next federal election).”

“I know (Rickford) was champing at the bit to get into cabinet, and I think he’s going to be a great guy for the job,” added Hobbs, who is a personal friend of Rickford. Though Rickford represents the riding of Kenora, “I’ve always considered him an MP for Thunder Bay,” said Hobbs.

NDP MP John Rafferty (Thunder Bay-Rainy River) said it’s a good thing to have a Northerner in charge of an agency (FedNor) that is devoted to Northern projects. According to Rafferty, FedNor was neglected under Industry Minister Tony Clement “who did not consider FedNor as one of his top priorities.”

Read more

Outlook fails to quell ore appetite – by Arpan Muhkerjee (Dow Jones/The Australian – July 16, 2013)

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

DIRE predictions of slumping iron ore prices and warnings of the end of the commodities super-cycle aren’t deterring some deep-pocketed, long-view investors whose appetite for the steelmaking raw material is driving mining-asset mergers and acquisitions activity from Australia to Canada.

The short-term outlook for iron ore isn’t good.Prices have fallen 12 per cent since the start of the year and are down more than 20 per cent from the high of $US158.90 a tonne in February.

Some see iron ore slumping to $US90 a tonne or less due to rising supplies and slowing growth in top consumer China. UBS expects iron ore to average $117 a tonne this year, while Goldman Sachs has forecast $US80 a tonne in 2015.

“People are looking to buy cheap assets, so this is the perfect time when the downside (in prices) is still there,” said Helen Lau, senior analyst at UOB KayHian in Hong Kong. “Investors are able to negotiate even cheaper prices with miners.” Also weighing on prices is likely future iron ore supply rises.

Rio Tinto, Australia’s biggest iron ore exporter by volume, is pushing ahead with an expansion of output in the ore-rich Pilbara region.

Read more

Mettle of big miners’ austerity to be tested – by Matt Chambers (The Australian – July 15, 2013)

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

THE nation’s biggest resource companies release quarterly reports this week in the first chance for investors to gauge progress in the big miners’ self-proclaimed new era of spending restraint and productivity.

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Woodside Petroleum and Santos will report production, and energy firms revenue, from what has been a weaker quarter than it could have been from the nation’s resource-rich Pilbara in Western Australia. Rio and BHP experienced a very wet dry-season month of June in the Pilbara.

This is understood to have affected production from Rio, which reports tomorrow, and is likely to drag down its regional production, including minority partners’ interests, by a couple of million tonnes from the 61 million analysts had forecast.

Data from Rio’s Dampier and Cape Lambert ports in the Pilbara compiled by Credit Suisse backs this up, showing June exports this year were at their lowest in four years for the traditionally strong month. BHP, which reports on Wednesday, is said to have been hit to some extent.

While any impacts will be unwelcome, they are unlikely to worry investors and will be seen as one-offs that have a good chance of being compensated for over the rest of the calendar year.

Read more

1880s saw first ore flow from Johnson Camp Mine east of Tucson – by William Ascarza (Arizona Daily Star – July 15, 2013)

http://azstarnet.com/

MINE TALES: William Ascarza is an archivist, historian and author of five books, including “Southeastern Arizona Mining Towns” and “Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.” Email him at mining@azstarnet.com

SITE NEAR DRAGOON STILL ACTIVE TODAY, HAS LARGE RESERVES OF ORE

Located 65 miles east of Tucson on the eastern slopes of the Little Dragoon Mountains, the Johnson Camp Mine is a working copper mine in Cochise County. Substantial mining operations didn’t start there until the early 1880s upon the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad through the nearby town of Dragoon, seven miles south of the mine.

The property has been the site for underground mining, open-pit mining and mineral processing. Early smelting operations began with the erection in 1882 of a 30-ton smelter that had an output of 4 tons of copper bullion a day. The ore during that time contained as much as 7.4 percent copper.

Two towns emerged in what became known as the Cochise (Johnson) Mining District. The first was Russellville, which was soon replaced by Johnson.

Read more

Taseko Mines praises Ottawa ahead of environmental hearings – by Dene Moore (Canadian Press/CTV New – July 14, 2013)

http://www.ctvnews.ca/

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The company behind a rejected billion-dollar gold and copper mine in the British Columbia Interior has been lobbying for the federal government to change the environmental assessment process that previously rejected the project, documents show.

And Taseko Mines Ltd. likes what it’s heard, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

“I believe that yourself and the government of Canada are showing great leadership by taking an unapologetic approach to the responsible development of this country’s natural resources,” John McManus, senior vice-president of operations for Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO), wrote to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver following a January 2012 meeting in Vancouver.

The proposed New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine was rejected by a federal environmental assessment panel in 2010 over concerns about the environmental impact, specifically the plan to drain a nearby lake for use as a tailings pond. Public hearings before a new panel are to begin this week in Williams Lake, B.C., for a revised mine proposal. The planned site is located about 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Read more

Conservative Shuffle A Fresh Start – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – July 15, 2013)

 http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Prime Minister Harper has shuffled his cabinet. The move offers a fresh start for the Conservative government which has been mired in recent months. “These changes to the Ministry feature both younger Members of Parliament ready for new opportunities, and steady hands that will continue to deliver strong leadership in key portfolios. In particular, I am proud to welcome four new strong and capable women to the Cabinet table,” stated the Prime Minister in announcing his new cabinet. There are four more women into cabinet, and four new men who will now sit at the cabinet table.

The Conservatives are going to seek to put a new face on the government. It is needed. Over the past two years, the Conservatives have started to show their age, and some of the expected exhaustion that the stresses of the job of Minister entail.

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs states, “I am ecstatic at hearing the news that MP Rickford is Minister of Fednor and point person for the Ring of Fire. Minister Rickford is a good personal friend and also knows well the North and Northwest. I look forward to working closely with Greg on issues affecting Thunder Bay and area”.

While however, there are several major shifts, Peter MacKay is now the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Jason Kenney is now the Minister of Public Works. Many of the front bench members remain.

Read more