Republic of Mining

The EU’s dubious attack on the oil sands – by Jason Langrish (National Post – February 23, 2012)

February 23, 2012

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

Jason Langrish is the executive director of the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business.

Its Fuel Quality Directive is impossible to implement

Today, the European Parliament votes on the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD), a piece of legislation that will in effect classify oil derived from the Alberta oil sands as “dirty,” possessing a higher carbon content than oil derived from other sources.

Canadian climate scientist Andrew Weaver recently published a paper that concluded that the reputation of the oil sands as polluting is overstated. So who are we to believe?

It really doesn’t matter. The reason why the FQD is a bad idea has to do with the questionable aims of the proposed legislation and the near impossibility of implementing it in a meaningful way.

If the EU wants to cut carbon dioxide emissions from upstream production, the FQD is not the right instrument. If oil sands products do not enter the EU they will find other markets, ensuring that there is no reduction in carbon dioxide emissions globally — any carbon dioxide cut the EU would claim from implementation would be false, as the FQD would simply shift the carbon dioxide elsewhere in the global system.

Canada needs an EU win on oil sands – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – February 22, 2012)

February 23, 2012

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

After the mess in the U.S. over Keystone XL, Canada could really use a win on Thursday — or at least the benefit of the doubt — when the European Union votes on whether to label oil from the Alberta oil sands as “highly polluting.”

A vote in favour of the Fuel Quality Directive would signal that attitudes against the oil sands are hardening, even as far away as Europe. It would also stand out as another home run for the environmental movement and its strategy of picking on the Canadian sector to fight its climate-change and off-oil agenda.

A vote against the directive would set a favourable policy precedent for Canada as it courts new markets for oil sands crude. It would also show its intense lobbying and education efforts in Europe over the past few months are working.

The directive, driven by EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard, sets a mandatory target for fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon footprint of fuels by 6% over the next decade. The oil sands would be ascribed a higher value greenhouse value (107) than average crude oil (87.5), if byproducts are ever sold there.

Shale oil boom drives down prices versus rest of world – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – February 20, 2012)

February 23, 2012

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.

North America’s crude market is increasingly diverging from the international scene, as rising U.S. production and weak demand pose long-term challenges for Canadian-based oil companies.

The U.S. is forecast to lead the non-OPEC world in crude production this year, with Canada not far behind. But that surge in supply is splashing against constraints in pipeline and refining capacity, and against a “peak demand” scenario in which U.S. consumption is not expected to return to the 1985 high water mark any time soon.

That stands in sharp contrast to the international crude market. Globally, high-growth emerging markets like China are driving demand higher, while new production capacity is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few Persian Gulf states. Geopolitical risks – like the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions – add strain to a fundamentally tight market.

The result is a sharp disconnect between international oil prices and what U.S. and Canadian producers can get for their crude, a divergence that will widen if refiners and pipeline companies fail to keep up with rising production.

Ring of Fire lights up Northern Ontario’s mining industry – Ontario Business Report

February 23, 2012

This is an Ontario Government Publication. (2012) http://ontariobusinessreport.com/en/

They went looking for diamonds in the rough, but found something perhaps even more valuable.

In 2002 DeBeers, the world’s leading diamond miner and trader, ventured into Ontario’s far north muskeg near Hudson’s Bay seeking the precious stones. What it discovered instead was copper and zinc.

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But that was enough to spark a flurry of other exploration efforts. One potentially commercial find led to another, and by 2008 prospectors struck gold, so to speak. What they uncovered, for the first time in commercial quantities anywhere in North America, was an extremely rare mineral called chromite. The discoveries are so vast that the Ontario mining industry and others speak of a multi-billion dollar deposit that may take generations to fully exploit.
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Indeed, the province considers the chromite and related discoveries in a 5,000-sq-km region now known as the Ring of Fire as “historic.” Says former Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle: “It’s home to one of the most promising mineral development opportunities in Ontario in more than a century.”

FRASER INSTITUTE NEWS RELEASE: New Brunswick trumps Alberta as world’s No. 1 spot for mining investment;

February 23, 2012

February 23, 2012

TORONTO–New Brunswick is the world’s most attractive jurisdiction for
mineral exploration and development in the view of the international mining industry, according to the Survey of Mining Companies: 2011/2012, released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank.

“New Brunswick shot to the top of the rankings as miners lauded the province for its fair, transparent, and efficient legal system and consistency in the enforcement and interpretation of existing environmental regulations,” said Fred McMahon, Fraser Institute vice-president of international policy research and coordinator of the survey.

“Combine that with a competitive taxation regime and minimal uncertainty
around disputed land claims and New Brunswick has emerged as a superstar in the view of the global mining community.”

New Brunswick vaulted to first place from 23rd last year, unseating Alberta
at the top of the global rankings as that province fell to third overall.
Quebec, which enjoyed a three-year reign at No. 1 from 2007 to 2010,
continued to lose support among mining executives as it fell to fifth place
from fourth in 2011.

NEWS RELEASE: LAURENTIAN LOOKS TO RECLAIM CANADIAN MINING GAMES TITLE

February 22, 2012

National competition returns to Sudbury for first time since 2005

SUDBURY, ON (Feb. 22, 2012) – Laurentian University is proud to be hosting the 2012 Canadian Mining Games from Feb.23rd to Feb 26th, and is preparing to welcome teams from across the country for this prestigious national competition.

“There’s a lot of bragging rights that go with the Canadian Mining Games,” said Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, Director of Laurentian University’s Bharti School of Engineering. “Our guys and girls are really pumped about taking back the title they feel rightfully belongs here at Laurentian.”

A series of events and challenges designed to test and sharpen the skills of engineering students in all aspects of mining, the Games have been held annually since 1991. Typically, each of the 10 participating universities sends a team of 12 students to compete. Laurentian University’s team has won the title more often than any other university (7 times in the 21-year history of the Games).

NEWS RELEASE: New President for [Sudbury’s] CEMI [Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation]

May 7, 2013February 22, 2012

For Immediate Release

Sudbury, ON – On February 8, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) announced the appointment of Mr. Douglas Morrison, Chair of Holistic Mining Practices, as President and CEO of the Corporation effective March 1, 2012. Douglas Morrison brings expertise from a long career in mining, starting at Falconbridge Ltd., then at Inco Ltd. and most recently as Global Mining Leader at Golder Associates.

Since joining CEMI in 2011, he has served as Vice President and now succeeds Dr. Peter K. Kaiser who, after leading CEMI for five years, will focus on his role as Director of the Rio Tinto Centre for Underground Mine Construction, a Division of CEMI. He will also assume an advisory role as Vice President Research at CEMI and resume his research at Laurentian University as Chair for Rock Mechanics and Ground Control.

Sam Marcuson, Vice President of Vale Canada for Base Metals Technology Development and Chairman of the CEMI Board of Directors, welcomes mining veteran, Douglas Morrison, to the role of President and CEO. “With his extensive experience in the Canadian mining industry and more than 15 years in international consulting, he brings a broad understanding of the issues that confront the global mining industry now and into the future.

Plan Nord Under the Microscope – by Frédéric Dubois (The Dominion – Janurary 9, 2012)

February 22, 2012

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/

Public involvement in diamond venture ends once gems are found

MONTREAL—Since the mid 1900s, every man, woman and child living in Quebec has donated the equivalent of $20 towards exploration costs for the province’s first diamond mine project. But when a mine was finally discovered and the promised rewards for years of the province’s investment began to be realized, the Quebec government sold the project to a private company. Not only that, but Quebeckers can expect to shell out even more as the now privately owned mine moves towards production.

According to documents obtained by The Dominion, all that’s left for the public after they invested over $157 million in the Renard Diamond Project is a 37 per cent stake in a private company, and token public representation on the company’s board of directors.

The diamond mine is today being hailed as a model operation by the Quebec government. But a deeper look into what this model would mean for Quebeckers casts a long shadow over the government’s economic policies.

Green Australia Still Experiencing Massive Coal Boom – by John Daly (OilPrice.com – February 21, 2012)

February 22, 2012

www.oilprice.com

Australia, despite being deeply committed to curbing greenhouse gas emissions GGEs, is nonetheless experiencing a fossil fuel surge.

The growth comes despite a carbon tax, due to be implemented later this year, which is deeply unpopular with the country’s mining industry.

According to the government agency Geoscience Australia, in fiscal year 2011 coal exploration spending in Australia surged by 62 percent, with investment in exploration for new coal deposits reaching $520 million, with spending on exploration surging faster than any other mineral commodity. Australia’s coal is abundant and considerably less expensive than other energy sources, with the country’s black coal reserves located primarily in New South Wales and Queensland, along the eastern seaboard where the majority of electricity is generated and consumed.

The country also has substantial reserves of lower-grade brown coal (lignite), located primarily in the Gippsland Basin of Victoria, with Australia possessing an estimated 25 percent of the world’s economic demonstrated resources (EDR).

How the US Shale Boom Will Change the World – by Gary Hunt (OilPrice.com – February 15, 2012)

February 22, 2012

www.oilprice.com

A funny thing is happening on the way to the clean energy future–reality is setting in. There is ‘incontrovertible evidence’ about the economic growth and job creating effects of America’s unconventional oil and gas production boom – more than 600,000 jobs directly attributable to shale gas development. Even President Obama is praising the job creating benefits of ‘America’s resource boom’. America is getting its energy mojo back and that is good news but not the entire story.

How Much Shale Gas is there in the United States? In July 2011 US EIA released a [Review of Emerging Resources: US Shale Gas and Shale Oil Plays produced by INTEK. This is an updated assessment of onshore lower 48 states technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources. The assessment found the lower 48 states have a total 750 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas resources with the largest portions in the Northeast (63%), Gulf Coast (13%), and Southwest regions (10%) respectively.

The largest shale gas plays are the Marcellus (410.3 trillion cubic feet, 55 percent of the total), Haynesville (74.7 trillion cubic feet, 10 percent of the total), and Barnett (43.4 trillion cubic feet, 6 percent of the total).The INTEK assessment was incorporated into the Onshore Lower 48 Oil and Gas Supply Submodule (OLOGSS) within the Oil and Gas Supply Module (OGSM) of NEMS to project oil and natural gas production for the Annual Energy Outlook 2011 (AEO2011) to provide a starting point for future work.

The oilsands are a symptom of the bigger problem of our dependence on fossil fuels – by Andrew Weaver (Toronto Star – February 22, 2012)

February 22, 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.

Andrew Weaver is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Climate Modelling and Analysis in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria. He was a lead author in the UN second, third, fourth and ongoing fifth scientific assessments of climate change.

Back in September the Keystone XL pipeline controversy was at its peak. Proponents of the pipeline were entrenched in their views that the suggested route was the only viable one. Opponents brought forward myriad concerns. Nebraskan ranchers pointed out the absurdity of building a new pipeline over the Ogallala Aquifer — the water source of much of the U.S. agricultural belt.

The National Congress of American Indians and Canadian First Nations brought forward compelling arguments that the pipeline jeopardized the potential health of their communities and resources. Others argued that it might be “game over” as far as global warming was concerned.

It was in the midst of this controversy that Neil Swart, a Ph.D. student in my lab, and I became engaged in a discussion as to the global warming potential of the oil in the Alberta tarsands. Our hunch was that it was big. We had heard the rhetoric and we wanted to undertake a quantitative assessment as to its veracity.

Oil sands proponents get a PR boost – by Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – February 22, 2012)

February 22, 2012

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— “Dirty” is a tough label to bear. It’s simple, descriptive and evocative. It sticks.

At least it has for Canada’s oil sands sector, which has been tarred with the “dirty” brush for the products it wrests from beneath the forest of northeastern Alberta.

The industry has struggled mightily to burnish its image with TV commercials and glossy magazine ads. So it was with open arms that it greeted a new scientific report showing that burning billions of barrels of oil sands crude actually has a modest climate impact.

The report, co-authored by respected climate scientist Andrew Weaver and published in the journal Nature, shows that, when it comes to global warming, the oil sands are far from the world’s chief villain – and is being seized upon by Canada’s top industrial political leaders as proof that the oil sands aren’t as dirty as some have made them out to be.

Another pipeline debate kicks off as Kinder Morgan lines up shippers – by Carrie Tait and Nathan Vanderklippe (Globe and Mail – February 22, 2012)

February 22, 2012

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— Oil producers have thrown their support behind the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to the West Coast, but the latest project aimed at providing much-needed shipping capacity for the oil sands industry now faces regulatory hurdles and growing resistance to pipelines.

Kinder Morgan Inc. $3.8-billion plan to double the amount of oil it can move from Alberta to the Pacific has garnered “strong” support from shippers and the company will now carry on with engineering and planning, it said Tuesday.

The momentum means the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will attract greater scrutiny – something it has largely avoided as local communities and environmental groups turned Enbridge Inc.’s (ENB-T38.870.350.91%) proposed Northern Gateway pipeline into an international debate. The federal government supports greater access to the West Coast, but arm’s-length regulators must deliver their verdicts before the projects can proceed.

Federal agencies raise flags over Ring of Fire – CBC News/ThunderBay – (February 21, 2012)

February 22, 2012

This article came from CBC News Thunder Bay: http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Environment Canada and Canadian Wildlife Service urge caution in assessing chromite project

CBC News has learned two federal agencies want a more thorough review of the environmental impacts of chromium mining in the Ring of Fire.

Documents obtained by CBC News under access to information show the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) was seeking advice earlier this year from other government departments.

It wanted to know how much scrutiny it should give the proposed Cliffs chromite project, 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

In a June 2011 letter, the Canadian Wildlife Service said the agency should “err on the side of caution due to the many uncertainties” associated with the project “and the potential for impacts to migratory birds, species at risk and wetlands.”

Madeline Head, who is with the environmental stewardship branch of the Canadian Wildlife Service, recommended the CEAA put the Cliffs project to “a higher level of assessment and scrutiny ensuring rigorous assessment of the project effects …”

Exploiting Canada’s resources can be a fool’s game – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – February 22, 2012)

February 22, 2012

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.

Everywhere in Canada, the news is about natural resources: forestry and mines in British Columbia; oil and coal in Alberta; potash in Saskatchewan; hydro in Manitoba; the “ring of fire” minerals in Ontario; hydro and Old Harry oil and shale gas in Quebec; offshore oil and hydro in Newfoundland.

Canadians are so damn lucky. We just dig and pump and cut and ship, and we never seem to run out. We just hope commodities prices remain high.

All those resources can be a fool’s game. Pumping and digging and cutting can keep the country comfortable, but they do little to address the country’s biggest challenge – a sagging competitive position. All those natural resources soak up capital; they usually don’t require much innovation or processing.

The Harper government, possessed of a majority government, seems to have its mind around elements of the long-term challenge.