Republic of Mining

The invisible gold rush – by Sean Phipps (The McGill Daily – November 5, 2012)

November 5, 2012

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/

Sean Phipps is a U2 Latin American Studies and Environment student. He can be reached at sean.phipps@mail.mcgill.ca.

Canadian imperialism and the gold mining boom

As I write this the price of gold is $1,776.80 an ounce, the highest it’s ever been, up from $1,023.50 in 2008 and $282.40 in 1999. Global economic instability has fueled this dramatic spike, and along with it a massive increase in gold production, an expansion that some have termed “an invisible gold rush.”

In Canada we – or at least some of us – directly benefit from this expansion. 75 per cent of the world’s mining companies (in both production and exploration) are Canadian registered, and several of the industry’s biggest players such as Barrick, Goldcorp, and Kinross are Canadian. And, with a government increasingly working to reflect the needs and interests of the extractive industry, these companies have emerged as key dictators of our country’s economic and foreign policy.

As a country, we are increasingly tied to gold. It is with this in mind that I chose to look at the long and often brutal history of gold mining, the way in which we have viewed gold over time, and to help piece together our strange relationship with this mineral.

Why gold? What has led us to value it above all other substances? Looking at a sample in the display cases in the Redpath Museum, it is hard to deny its beauty. However, gold’s real power has always been symbolic, for gold is wealth itself.

Thunder Bay Power plant shocker – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (November 4, 2012)

November 5, 2012

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

JUST when Northwestern Ontario had some wind in its sails — bam! — the penny-pinching province becalms mining-related momentum by suddenly cancelling the conversion of Thunder Bay’s electricity generating station from coal to gas. There are a whole raft of questions still to come, and there might well be good answers to them. But for the time being, this plan looks hair-brained.

First, it flies in the face of the province’s vaunted coal phase-out policy built on converting newer plants in order to keep the lights on in various regions. Converting Thunder Bay Generating Station to natural gas and Atikokan to biomass is a central plank in the clean-air platform. Atikokan is still proceeding but it will only produce 20 megawatts at the best of times.

Thunder Bay GS would produce 700 MW from gas. Removing that capacity from the grid would leave the Northwest destitute for electricity just when it needs a lot of it to power the new mining boom, area leaders said Friday at a news conference punctuated with expressions of dismay.

The energy minister cautions this is temporary — for now — while the Ontario Power Authority prepares a new plan for the North built around a doubling in capacity of the east-west tie line to 600 MW.

Vale partner says Guinea seeks to seize iron ore rights – by Richard Valdmanis, Clara Ferreira-Marques, and Saliou Samb (Reuters Canada – November 3, 2012)

November 5, 2012

http://ca.reuters.com/

DAKAR/LONDON (Reuters) – The mining arm of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s business empire has accused the government of Guinea of seeking to “illegally seize” its assets through a probe into how it won rights to mine part of a major iron ore deposit.

Privately owned BSG Resources, which has been working in the West African country with Brazilian mining major Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote), confirmed it had received a letter from a government commission alleging improper behavior and graft in its winning of rights to develop blocks in the Simandou region.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that a government committee backed by philanthropist George Soros had launched a corruption probe into the award process for the blocks in 2008 and sent the letter to BSG including a range of charges.

The blocks were stripped from Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX: Quote) and the licenses passed to BSGR in 2008, under a previous administration. Simandou, in Guinea’s hilly and forested southeast, is estimated to hold what could be the world’s largest unexploited iron ore reserves.

“This is the fifth and most clumsy attempt by an already discredited Government of Guinea in an ongoing campaign to illegally seize BSGR’s assets,” BSGR said in a statement.

Is Indonesia China’s new mining investment hotspot? – by Jeff Hutton (Mineweb.com – October 23, 2012)

November 5, 2012

http://www.mineweb.com/

Indonesia’s upcoming ban on mineral exports is drawing a wave of Chinese investors but for some it may already be too late to jump on the bandwagon.

JAKARTA (AUSTRALIAN MINING) – Indonesia’s upcoming ban on mineral exports is drawing a wave of Chinese investors and equipment suppliers as local miners are forced to beef up ore processing capability before a 2014 deadline.

The wave may be one of the few bright spots for aspiring Chinese suppliers, many of whom are venturing out of their home markets for the first time, in bid to offset a construction and investment downturn in their home market.

One small example? Tonghua Jianxin Metalurgy Co. The company based in Jilin province, opened its first office outside of China in Jakarta this month, after sealing only its second overseas contract to design, build and commission a nickel ore smelter in July.

The company will build a smelter capable of processing 50 tons of nickel ore a day for Bukaka Forging Industries, whose specialty products include automotive parts and passenger air bridges at Indonesia’s airports.

The Value of the Prospector – by William Sulzer (1938)

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012

From a speech delivered in 1938 by William Sulzer, a former governor of New York.

The prospector is the most useful man to commerce and the most valuable man of civilization.

Political economists tell us that next to agriculture, mining is the next greatest industry. This is true from the viewpoint that if our soil were untilled, famine would stalk the land.

From a monetary standpoint, however, the mining industry is the greatest in the world. The truth of this assertion becomes apparent when one considers that mining gives us the standard of value by which the price of everything produced by the brain and brawn of man is measured.

Abandon mining and the value of every commodity would be insignificant, humanity would sink back to the barter-and-exchange age, and financial paralysis would lock in its vice-like grasp the industries of mankind.

It would be the greatest calamity that ever befell the human race, and in less than a century, civilization would revert to the barbarism of pre-history, when primitive man knew nothing about copper, gold, silver, iron, lead, zinc and the other mineral resources of Mother Earth.

The Weird & Wonderful World of Mining – Edition 1 – by Mining IQ

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012

http://www.miningiq.com/

Mining IQ is proud to present The Weird and Wonderful World of Mining. This mining guide e-book contains hundreds of interesting and valuable facts to be shared and enjoyed throughout the mining industry and community.

The book, born from a discussion about all the crazy trivia within the mining industry, has been compiled not only by the Mining IQ team but also from a plethora of Mining IQ members and the outer mining community who have shared with us their favourite titbits.

The e-book contains 10 chapters covering a huge range of topics from historical and famous to business and the community. We will be releasing the e-book two chapters at a time and edition 1 will contain the chapters – Mining in the Community & Largest/ Most Heaviest. Mining IQ is sure the industry will enjoy The Weird and Wonderful World of Mining just as much as we did putting it together.

Click here for access to the e-book: http://www.miningiq.com/business-improvement-and-corporate-strategy/white-papers/the-weird-wonderful-world-of-minin/

Let us know what you think of the e-book on our social media networks! We’d love to hear your feedback or perhaps you too have some weird mining information you’d like to share!

Advancing safety in mining through better planning and practices in Ontario

November 4, 2012

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Ontario’s mining industry continues to move towards the goal of zero harm in the workplace by 2015. Every avenue is being explored to reach that target. A presentation by Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis at a recent Ontario Mining Association board of directors meeting helps to provide light for the path forward.

“The Prevention Council held its first meeting on September 28 and one of its priorities is a renewed focus on the Internal Responsibility System,” said Mr. Gritziotis. “Health and safety is a tier one public good.” He is looking into having a mine in Northern Ontario participate in a pilot project concerning the re-emphasis on the IRS.

Roy Slack, President of mine contractor Cementation Canada, represents the mining sector and Northern Ontario on the Prevention Council and he was described by Mr. Gritziotis as a “true champion of health and safety.”

Mr. Gritziotis outlined the priorities of the Prevention Council. They include support in health and safety for small employers and small businesses, for vulnerable workers such as youth, immigrants and older workers and for those in high hazard sectors.

Mining in Nunavut – Booming with new investment – by Liz Kingston, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines (Canadian Mining Magazine – Fall 2012)

November 4, 2012

This article was originally in Canadian Mining Magazine.

Nunavut is booming. With record mineral investment this year expected to top $550 million, Nunavut is the fourth largest mining investment destination in Canada. With Agnico-Eagle’s Meadowbank gold mine settling into its third year of production, and significant other project investments, mining has risen to 15% of the economy. Statistics Canada says Nunavut recorded the largest economic increase in Canada this past year.

More opportunity is coming. At press time, Baffinland Iron Mines was awaiting the final decision from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) for its massive Mary River iron project on North Baffin Island to proceed to permitting. This project proposes construction of Canada’s most northerly railroad and a port to serve the mine, and of course would drive significant jobs and business opportunities for Nunavut and Canada.

As another precedent setter, it would pay $100 million annually in royalties to the Inuit land claim organization, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., perhaps the largest mining benefit to an Aboriginal group in the country. Given the project’s size and opportunities, it will cement mining as the foundation of Nunavut’s future economy.

NWT Minerals industry – Multiple projects in EA, Diamonds still #1 – by Tom Hoefer, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines (Canadian Mining Magazine – Fall 2012)

November 4, 2012

Tom Hoefer is the Executive Director, NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines. This article was originally in Canadian Mining Magazine.

The mining industry clearly dominates private sector contributions to the Northwest Territories economy. But then, one might expect it when the NWT is the world’s third most valuable producer of diamonds! Last year diamond production was valued at just over $2 billion, exceeding by 5 times the contributions of mining to either the Yukon or Nunavut’s economies. Add in some tungsten and copper from the Cantung mine, the NWT’s mining industry contributes one third of the GDP; with indirect benefits, it’s contributions are closer to half the economy.

It seems like only yesterday when geologists Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson made the first discovery, which resulted in production from our first diamond mine, BHP Billiton’s EKATI in 1998. This was followed in relatively short order with two more mines: Rio Tinto and Harry Winston’s Diavik mine, and De Beers’ Snap Lake mine.

Diamonds continue to create remarkable results. Since production began, our mines have created 20,000 person years of northern employment, and half of that Aboriginal. But that’s not all. Additionally, the mines have paid Northern businesses some $9 billion in capital and operating costs. And for the first time ever in our history – and notable in Canada’s too – $4 billion of that business has been invested with Aboriginal firms. This has created a surge in Aboriginal business creation and growth and is arguably the biggest economic legacy for those communities since the fur trade.

China eyes Canadian potash, fertilizer sectors – by Jason Fekete (Calgary Herald – November 2, 2012)

November 5, 2012November 4, 2012

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

Two of China’s largest state-owned energy giants – CNOOC and Sinopec – have expressed interest to the federal government about investing in Canada’s potash sector and fertilizer production, government documents obtained by Postmedia News show.

The documents also reveal the Conservative government was aware for the past year, well before the recent controversy over foreign investment rules and the takeover bid for Nexen, that CNOOC was interested in co-operating “with other oil majors in investments in Canada.”

China was also looking for “early completion” of the Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline between Alberta and the B.C. coast currently under review by a federal panel.

As the Conservative government finalizes a new policy framework on foreign investment – and considers CNOOC’s $15.1-billion takeover bid for Calgary-based petroleum producer Nexen – it has been doing so knowing that major Chinese national oil and gas companies have been looking to invest in potash and fertilizer processing as well.

The Harper government has already blocked an attempted hostile takeover of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan by Australian mining giant BHP Billiton.

Closer trade and investment ties to China turning into a big headache for Stephen Harper – by Les Whittington (Toronto Star – November 4, 2012)

November 4, 2012

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

OTTAWA—Playing the China card, a key to Stephen Harper’s economic strategy, has proven a lot trickier than the federal Conservatives expected when the Prime Minister signalled in Beijing that Canada was open for business.

Increased trade, investment and energy dealings with Asia, particularly China, underpin the natural resources-heavy cure-all for the economy that the Harper government embraced last winter after U.S. President Barack Obama rejected the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

In response, the Conservatives stepped up efforts to diversify trade and energy sales away from the U.S., touting as a national priority a proposed pipeline to carry oil sands-derived crude from Alberta to British Columbia for shipment to Asia. Regulatory approval was streamlined in hopes of fast-tracking energy sales to China, while the pipeline’s opponents were demonized as anti-Canadian.

And in February, Harper carried out a visit to Beijing characterized as a major breakthrough in Canada-China economic relations, with the Prime Minister initialling a long-sought investment protection agreement between the two countries.

Edmund Zavitz planted the idea for 2 billion trees [in Ontario] – by Mark Cullen (Toronto Star – November 3, 2012)

November 4, 2012

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Hard to imagine, I know: A desert of a place where floods were common, farmland turned to blowing sand and forest fires were nearly a daily occurrence. Growing food on much of this land was more than a challenge, it was downright unproductive. Many natural disasters were accepted as “part of the price” paid for living in a progressive land where the hand of man was free to take trees without thought or consideration to the long-term effects. This was our beloved Ontario about a century ago and, frankly, there really was no plan.

When this land was “opened up,” a settler and his family was required by the Crown to clear the trees off of it, reserving the very best wood (the giant virgin white pines and sycamores) for the government to haul off to Great Britain, where they were valued for use as ship masts and planks. Naïvely, it was thought that this single-minded approach was a good idea. Land was cleared most everywhere, except in the hardest to reach places.

Between 1790 and the early 1900s, Ontario was denuded of all of its existing forests through the efforts of lumbermen and farmers. The results were devastating. Wildlife disappeared, streams and rivers dried up, and sand and top soil blew away.

In 1904, an ambitious professor from the University of Toronto in forestry proposed to province that it would be a good idea to establish an aggressive replanting program in the marginally productive areas of the province.

Gillard maps out plan for Australia in ‘Asian Century’ – by Natasha Odendaal (MiningWeekly.com – October 29, 2012)

November 4, 2012

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The scale and pace of Asia’s rise in the coming decades offered opportunities for Australia across all sectors of the economy, including natural resources, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan said at the weekend.

In a statement following the release of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s foreign policy plan aimed at improving Asian ties, Swan said demand for raw materials had already created a boom in minerals and energy investment, and that the region’s ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation would continue to drive demand for a wide range of mineral resources.

The ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ white paper pointed out that Asia was set to overtake the combined economic output of Europe and North America and, by 2025, hold 4 of the 10 largest economies.

Further, it was expected that the continent would become the largest goods and services producer, as well as consumer, globally by 2025, with the average gross domestic product a person doubling. “The structural shift of global economic gravity towards our region mean the scale and pace of Asia’s rise in the coming decades will be truly transformative,” Swan said.

Over the past decade, foreign direct investment into Australia has more than doubled, from $850-billion in 2001, to $2-trillion in 2011, with the mining sector accounting for more than 30%.

Australia in the Asian Century White Paper (October 2012)

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012

Executive Summary

Asia’s rise is changing the world. This is a defining feature of the 21st century—the Asian century. These developments have profound implications for people everywhere.

Asia’s extraordinary ascent has already changed the Australian economy, society and strategic environment. The scale and pace of the change still to come mean Australia is entering a truly transformative period in our history.

Within only a few years, Asia will not only be the world’s largest producer of goods and services, it will also be the world’s largest consumer of them. It is already the most populous region in the world. In the future, it will also be home to the majority of the world’s middle class.

The Asian century is an Australian opportunity. As the global centre of gravity shifts to our region, the tyranny of distance is being replaced by the prospects of proximity. Australia is located in the right place at the right time—in the Asian region in the Asian century.