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Mining’s relationship with First Nations has matured – by Zoe Younger (Vancoucer Sun – June 20, 2013)

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

Opinion: We see aboriginal people choosing the mining industry and building careers with us

Zoe Younger is vice-president, corporate affairs at the Mining Association of B.C.

As we celebrate National Aboriginal Day across Canada, it is timely to reflect on the evolving relationships between the mining industry and First Nations, in particular with respect to employment in the industry.

With a long history of working together, it is interesting to note how the partnerships between our industry and First Nations have matured, and the mutual respect for each other has deepened. Parallel to the evolving case law that has dictated changes in the regulatory process, and has better defined the relationships between the Crown and First Nations, the mining industry and aboriginal leaders across Canada have been reshaping their own relationships not based on what they have to do, but based on common interests, shared goals and values, and most importantly, communication grounded in mutual recognition and respect.

Aboriginal communities across B.C. have high levels of unemployment, and many of these communities are located in parts of the province that are economically depressed. In particular, rural and remote communities that were once dependent on a thriving forestry sector faced hardships as that industry waned.

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DERIVATIVES: Commodity super-cycle loses power – by Helen Bartholomew (International Financing Review – June 20, 2013)

http://www.ifre.com/

As concerns surrounding the inflationary impact of central bank intervention recede, investors have begun to unwind commodity-based inflation hedges, resulting in a flood of outflows from commodity funds.

It is a trend that could accelerate, with some analysts warning that the commodities super-cycle may finally have ground to a halt. And that could leave prices subdued for the next decade.

“Futures markets suggest no respite to commodities correction for the time being. The evidence seems to be clear – the commodity super-cycle is over,” noted Taimur Baig and Jun Ma, DB’s chief economists in a recent report.

In addition to a cyclical shift, with demand from emerging market proving to be less vigorous than first thought, Baig and Ma cite a range of structural factors, including muted demand projections, substantial oil supply shocks and adoption of alternative energy sources in China.

However, they view developments in shale oil and gas extraction as the big game-changer in keeping natural gas prices dampened. Shale extraction is expected to represent more than 50% of US production by 2040, up from just 10% in 2007, according to projections from the US Department of Energy.

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Exxon joins West Coast LNG race, seeks 25-year export permit – by Jeff Lewis (National Post – June 21, 2013)

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

CALGARY – ExxonMobil Corp. has joined the race to export liquefied natural gas from British Columbia with a monster proposal that would process the equivalent of nearly one-third of Canada’s current daily production.

The world’s largest energy company is seeking approval from Canada’s National Energy Board to export up to 30 million tonnes annually of liquefied natural gas, or four billion cubic feet a day, over 25 years from a prospective terminal in the vicinity of Kitimat and Prince Rupert, B.C., it said in an export application filed with the regulator Wednesday.

Exxon, which has optioned land from the B.C. government at Grassy Point, north of Prince Rupert, said the project would initially produce 10 million to 15 million tonnes of chilled fuel per year, beginning in the 2021-to-2023 time frame. At full capacity, the facility would include six processing units. It would draw gas from fields owned by Exxon and Imperial Oil Ltd., its Canadian subsidiary, the company said.

No capital cost for the project was given, but the application is the biggest export scheme proposed for Canada’s West Coast yet. It comes in the same week as the U.K.’s BG Group Plc asked Canadian regulators for permission to export up to 21.6 million tonnes of LNG per year, or roughly 2.9 billion cubic feet of a day. Canada’s natural gas production, by comparison, stood at 14.1 billion cubic feet per day in 2012.

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Oil a constant in a changing energy world – by Yadullah Hussain (National Post – June 21, 2013)

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

We are not in 1974 anymore, says Maria van der Hoeven, as she scans the complex and multi-layered energy world.

That year OECD countries had hastily launched the International Energy Agency as a direct response to the Arab oil embargo that was hurting Western economies and had quadrupled crude prices. The Americans were concerned about their dwindling oil production and the Western world tasked the IEA to keep an eye on their fragile crude inventories.

But the world has moved on since then. “It has changed dramatically in more than one aspect,” Ms. van der Hoeven, who heads the agency, told a conference in Montreal last week. “The IEA has also been changing dramatically and has to change, because energy policy in 1974 was quite simple, although — how should I put it — not easy.”

The Paris-based autonomous IEA and its 28-member countries now have to balance climate change issues with economic development and the importance of non-OECD countries in the global economy — a far cry from just releasing crude stocks to counter OPEC’s machinations.

But one thing that is not going to change: the demand for oil. In 2010, fossil fuels made up more than 80% of the world’s energy, and despite the rapid deployment of renewable energy technologies, they will still command three-fourths of the market by 2035, according to the IEA’s estimates.

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Is It Sustainable To Mine Gold In This Current Price Environment? – by Alex Létourneau (Kitco News – June 14, 2013)

http://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – After seeing gold prices plummet in 2013 and with gold miners battling high operating costs, gold companies find themselves with razor thin profit margins with the ounces they’re pulling out of the ground.

The cost to mine and produce an ounce of gold, on average, ranges from $1,100 to $1,250.. Some mines produce gold at a very affordable cost while others are now producing gold at costs that are higher than the metal is valued.

As gold rose to over $1,900 an ounce in the fall of 2011, the general thought process that accompanied the rise was that gold miners were reaping enormous profit margins.

Not so, said Peter Gray, managing director of Headwaters MB, a US-based investment bank. “Everyone thought at $1,600, $1,800 and $1,900 gold (that) all the mining companies were making profit hand over fist, but, the reality is that the capital costs of construction had escalated so significantly that the margins of production and the margin of operation were still tight,” Gray said.

“$1,300 is not a sustainable gold price. In the long term, I think it’s good that this correction happened, but for the immediate future of gold there’s going to be some systemic changes that will result as a consequence of this price environment, no question.”

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As Glencore grows, investors ask about life after Ivan – by By Clara Ferreira-Marques and Sinead Cruise (Reuters U.S. – June 20, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – (Reuters) – Glencore Xstrata (GLEN.L) boss Ivan Glasenberg, a former coal trader who has been at the helm for over a decade, is known for his pre-dawn runs, cut-throat competitiveness and a grueling travel schedule that shows no signs of slowing.

Yet while no one expects the imminent departure of Glencore’s top shareholder – at 56, not far above the average CEO age – the takeover of $46 billion miner Xstrata has prompted investor questions over how a company so closely identified with a boss will manage his succession.

This includes not just the process of earmarking future leaders, but that of rebuilding the board and bringing in a new chairman willing to act as a counterweight to both Glasenberg and a culture born of almost four decades as a private company.

“On the one hand you don’t want to stifle the entrepreneurialism, aggression, dynamism that people associate with Glencore versus the style of the other mining companies,” said analyst Paul Gait at Sanford Bernstein.

“But on the other hand, you do want to put into place the processes and protocols that you associate with a bluechip company,” he added.

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Sudbury mourns fallen workers – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star -June 21, 2013)

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

There is only one correct answer to the question of whether workers should fight for improved workplace safety or “just remember” those who were killed, injured or got sick on the job, says the president of Mine Mill Local 598/CAW.

As long as one worker in the world is killed every 15 seconds, the union representing four men who died in a rockburst at Falconbridge Mine in 1984 will do more than just honour those miners’ memories.

It will continue to call for workplace improvements in health and safety, Richard Paquin told about 150 people at the 29th annual Workers’ Memorial Day at the Caruso Club.

Paquin repeated what he has said at previous services, a fact that every year drives home how many people are hurt on the job. “More people have died at work than in war,” said Paquin.

That includes more than 1,125 people who died in a fire at a Bangladesh garment factory in April and the 12 construction workers killed on the job every year in New York City.

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Mayor touts mining, downtown – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – June 21, 2013)

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

A water park and laser tag for Greater Sudbury? The mayor certainly hopes so. “I want a water park for this city. This is something I see as something we need to do,” Marianne Matichuk said, following her State of the City speech at the Radisson Hotel on Thursday.

“Laser tag, I think, is great. That’s not a hard one.” Her desire to bring the entertainment destinations to town came after spending time with two high school students earlier this year, winners of the Mayor for a Day contest.

“Both (girls) said they wanted more for teenagers to do in our community, such as a water park, laser tag and retail shopping.

“I agree wholeheartedly with them, and I am still working with a couple of groups to make these things happen. I was reminded of when I was a teenager in Sudbury and one of the most common complaints then, as now, was there’s nothing to do in Sudbury.”

In her half-hour speech, the third one of her mayoralty term, Matichuk talked at length about mining, the downtown and tourism.

Boasting of $6 billion in mining investment expected over the next five years and a number of mines reopening — including Victoria, Errington and Vermillion — the future of mining looks bright, she said.

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Politis lobbying for Spring Bear Hunt return – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – June 21, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Another week, another close-call with a curious black bear. A woman in Sudbury was among the latest to report such an encounter this week, rushing the children she was watching over indoors after spotting a stray bear cub roaming the neighbourhood.

It has become a theme in cities across Northern Ontario for a number of years. Many are pointing to the Ontario government’s 1999 cancellation of the Spring Bear Hunt, saying it’s no coincidence bear sightings within city limits seem to keep increasing more than a decade later.

Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis, the Progressive Conservative candidate for Temiskaming-Cochrane riding in the next provincial election, spoke to The Daily Press about the issue. He said something needs to be done soon.

“I’ve been doing a lobby effort to change the way wildlife is managed here in the area, particularly larger animals like bears, which can be fatal to people,” said Politis. “The Spring Bear Hunt is definitely part of that.

“It’s a part of the problem, I really believe that. It’s not the solution, and it’s not the issue causing the problem by itself, but certainly a well-managed hunt is part of creating balance in the ecosystem.

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Premier open to options with ONTC – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – June 20, 2013)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Premier Kathleen Wynne says her government is open to other options surrounding the sell-off of the ONTC. She said it is important to listen to industry, municipalities and other stakeholders before a final decision is made.

During a phone interview Thursday with The Daily Press, Wynne said her government is listening to all stakeholders regarding the privatization of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission. She said this is one of the reasons a special stakeholders committee was struck with Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle at the table.

“The minister is in conversation with all of that right now. He has said quite distinctly that complete divestiture is not the only option,” Wynne said. “We need to take a step back and work with those community voices.

“One of my concerns when I was Minister of Community Affairs and Housing, when I attended the FONOM (Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities) conference a couple of years ago, I was very concerned there was not local voices in the whole discussions around the ONTC and so we’ve changed that. So that’s the work the minister is doing right now with his advisory group.”

The Premier explained the government must look at the big picture before any more parts of the ONTC are let go.

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[Mining] Anti-slavery campaign targets Nintendo for protest day – by Colin Campbell (Polygon.com – June 19, 2013)

http://www.polygon.com/

http://www.walkfree.org/

A new campaign has been launched by anti-slavery organization Walk Free that aims to persuade Nintendo to tighten up its supply chain and avoid the use of ‘conflict minerals’ mined by slave labor.

Walk Free has launched a video lampooning Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, which states that Nintendo has yet to respond to a forceful campaign to join an electronics industry audit program for conflict-free mineral supplies. The video points out that minerals sourced from some suppliers come from slavery operations in conflict regions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, where miners are often forced to work at gunpoint.

Walk Free’s website states that the campaign aims to tell Nintendo that “slavery is not a game.” It adds, “We’ve sent 430,558 emails calling on Nintendo to take concrete steps to ensure slave-mined conflict minerals are not in its gaming consoles, and we have heard nothing back.”

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Ontario Mining Minister Michael Gravelle’s “Insight Mining Conference” Speech (Thunder Bay – June 20, 2013)

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle at the March PDAC 2013

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Thank you, Mike, for your kind introduction. I would like to begin by commending the organizers for putting together this third annual conference promoting mineral development in Ontario.

Conferences like this provide a tremendous opportunity to exchange ideas on how to better drive mineral development across our great province.

As both the Minister of Northern Development and Mines and a passionate northerner, my top priority continues to be promoting a strong northern Ontario economy and helping to develop vibrant mining and mining supply & services sectors across the province.

With a good part of this conference proceedings focused on the Ring of Fire, I would like to take the opportunity today to comment on the evolution of this historic undertaking.

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Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia to begin shipments – by Robb M. Stewart (Dow Jones/The Australian – June 20, 2013)

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

RIO Tinto plans to make its first shipment of copper and gold from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia on Friday, an operation the mining company estimates will account for over 30 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product when it reaches full production in 2020, says a person familiar with the matter.

A ceremony marking the event would be held that day at the mine in the southern Gobi Desert, about 100km north of the Mongolia-China border, the person said.

The $US6.2 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine is key to Rio Tinto reducing its dependence on iron ore, which accounts for about 80 per cent of its earnings. Faced with volatile commodities markets, new Chief executive Sam Walsh is moving to simplify the company’s structure and is selling non-core and poor performing assets and targeting more than $US5bn in cost savings by the end of next year. A number of senior managers at Rio Tinto’s iron ore division in Western Australia were laid off this week.

The first copper-gold concentrate was produced at Oyu Tolgoi in January and Rio Tinto had forecast commercial output would begin by the end of June, provided it could settle a dispute with Mongolia’s government over costs and the further development of the mine.

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Canadian-owned mine must be closed, says archbishop – by Michael Swan (The Catholic Register – June 20, 2013)

http://www.catholicregister.org/index.php

The Archbishop of San Salvador is calling for international support in shutting down a Canadian-owned gold mine just across the border in Guatemala.

Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas told his weekly press conference June 9 his country should “go to international justice mechanisms” if bilateral talks between El Salvador and Guatemala fail to prevent Vancouver-based GoldCorp from going ahead with the Cerro Blanco mine, which is already extracting gold bearing ore as part of an advanced exploration project.
Escobar believes the Canadian mine will inevitably contaminate Lake Guija, which feeds the Lempa River, El Salvador’s main source of drinking water.

Since 2008 El Salvador has suspended all hard rock mining in the tiny country. Since taking on El Salvador’s most senior Church post in February, Escobar has spoken out frequently in support of a permanent ban on metal mining.

Escobar made his call for international help with a cross-border mining dispute just as Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a tentative step toward regulating the conduct of Canada’s mining companies abroad.

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PRECIOUS-Gold hits 2-1/2 year low as Fed flags end to easy money – by Jan Harvey (Reuters U.S. – June 20, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) – Gold prices tumbled to their lowest in more than 2-1/2 years on Thursday and silver fell more than 6 percent after the U.S. Federal Reserve gave its most explicit signal yet that it plans to bring the era of easy money to an end.

Gold plunged after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economy was expanding strongly enough for the central bank to begin slowing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year.

Its fall picked up momentum after it broke through its April low at $1,321 an ounce, a key support level, knocking it to a low of $1,285.90, down 4.5 percent and its weakest since September 2010.

Spot gold was down 3.5 percent at $1,302.90 an ounce at 1141 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $71.40 an ounce at $1,302.60. “For western investors, there’s certainly less incentive to hold gold at the moment,” Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said.

“The markets have clearly decided that the withdrawal of QE is bad for gold prices,” he said. “The risk of the euro zone falling apart is less, the risk from the banking system is less, and prices certainly haven’t been going up for a while.”

Bonds, shares and commodities fell sharply around the world on Thursday and the dollar rose after Bernanke’s comments.

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