Republic of Mining

Chavez nationalizes all gold mines in Venezuela – Globe and Mail Editorial (August 25, 2011)

August 25, 2011

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous impact and influence on Canada’s political and business elite as well as the rest of the country’s print, radio and television media.

What Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President, intends to do with his decree on Tuesday nationalizing all the gold mines in the country is by no means clear; in particular, it is not known whether any compensation, let alone how much, will be offered. There has been a Canada-Venezuela Investment Protection Treaty since 1996, which might help.

Before this week’s decree, two Canadian companies, Crystallex International Inc. and Gold Reserve Inc., were already suing the Venezuelan government because they had been deprived of their gold interests, in unwieldy international arbitration proceedings under the treaty. As it happens, Gold Reserve Inc. revised its claim upwards in August, to $2.1-billion.

Rusoro Mining Ltd., a Vancouver-based firm that is now the only non-Venezuelan company to be actually mining gold in the country, is remaining calm. It has some reason to hope that the nationalization is aimed at wildcatters and smugglers in the southeastern state of Bolivar, not at enterprises of any size. But the company may be prudently refraining from provoking Mr. Chavez by expressing concern.

Yellowknife feels at home at the Range [Mining frontier culture]- Katherine Laidlaw (Toronto Star – August 25, 2011)

August 25, 2011

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.

YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T.—As the front-woman for the house band at one of the North’s most famous watering holes, Karen Single has spent many a night belting out pop tunes to a frenzied crowd at the “Strange Range.”

But none compare to a night two years ago when an unexpected guest hopped onstage to help out. “I had an elder, she must have been 90 years old, come up on stage. We sang ‘Thunderstruck’ by ACDC. Where else do you get that?”

“She was somebody’s grandma,” she says, laughing. But memories like those that hang in the balance as the Range’s future is called into question. Council is looking to redevelop 50th Street (known as “Range Street”) — a stretch of road that has long been an eyesore and a gathering place for Yellowknife’s homeless and intoxicated.

Tories’ asbestos policy ‘unethical and shameful’ say Canadian doctors – Joanna Smith (Toronto Star – August 25, 2011)

August 25, 2011

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.

ST. JOHN’S—The Canadian Medical Association condemned the Conservative government for blocking asbestos from being listed as a hazardous substance around the world earlier this summer.

“I think this sends a strong message to the federal government that their unethical and shameful behaviour will not be tolerated by the physicians of Canada,” Dr. Barry Turchen of Abbotsford, B.C. told the annual gathering of the national body representing about 75,000 doctors on Wednesday.

Canada opposed the inclusion of chrysotile asbestos in a United Nations treaty last June that would have forced exporters to warn importing countries of health hazards.

The Rotterdam Convention, which operates by consensus, would have also given recipient countries the freedom to refuse to allow the product to enter their borders if they did not believe they could handle it safely.

Canada is the Centre of Global Mining Finance – by Francis Manns Ph.D., P.Geo. (Artesian Geological Research)

August 25, 2011August 24, 2011

Canada is blessed with precious metals, nickel, copper, lead and zinc, industrial metals and minerals yet somewhat hampered by seasonal exploration and difficult glacial overburden of thick sand and gravel.
We have learned to explore despite the terrain and climate and our strength comes from the difficulty. It has not killed us, and has made us expert.

Historically we have always had secure title on Crown Land. This was buffered by the recycling of properties – explore land or lose it – a great practical policy. Explorers are required to file technical reports for the public record and previous work can be incorporated into new ideas by the next explorer.

Exploration always seemed to work best when detailed work programs with small budgets are applied to small properties. Canada also allows a smooth transition from exploration to exploitation which creates investment safety.

Canada also has good universities built around the British model but more pragmatic. Geology and engineering students work on real projects, with well-paid summer work in the field and we have attracted grad students to our research facilities from around the globe to University of Toronto, Queens, University of British Columbia, Concordia and all the rest.

OMA member Agnico-Eagle puts some teeth into health and education initiatives in Mexico

May 16, 2012August 23, 2011

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 Mining Association member Agnico-Eagle Mines is engaged in a number of ongoing health and education programs in communities near its Mexican operation. The company’s Pinos Altos mine is located 220 kilometres west of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. At an elevation of more than 2,000 metres, the mine, which has 972 employees and another 127 contractor employees on site, is near the town of Cahuisori and the smaller more isolated communities of Jesus del Monte and La Bateria.

“Our community relations team has developed a proactive community relations program that strives to support the local communities in the areas of greatest need,” said Dale Coffin, Corporate Director Communications for Agnico-Eagle. “We believe that initiatives should come from the community because they stand a better chance of being carried forward in the future.”

One program involves the organization of local dental clinics through the assistance of dentists from the University of Chihuahua. This initiative, which brings dental service to people’s doorsteps, provides local residents with free check-ups, x-rays, extractions and treatment. In 2010, four clinics provided service for about 360 patients in their own communities.

Even gold’s backers in awe of metal’s rise – by David Ebner (Globe and Mail – August 23, 2011)

August 23, 2011

Vancouver – Gold’s biggest believers are beginning to have some doubts.

Many investors focused on gold seem certain that gold, which closed at a record $1,891.90 (U.S.) on Monday, will crack the $2,000 mark. But market bulls said they are preparing for a sharp decline of several hundred dollars, possibly very soon.

The ascent of the precious metal, which marked its third consecutive record high on Monday, has gone “parabolic,” with the price increasing exponentially, several analysts observed.

“Parabolic price surges … are not something with which an economist is particularly comfortable, unlike hedge-fund managers and short-term traders,” said DundeeWealth chief economist Martin Murenbeeld in a report to clients.

Mining builds communities across Ontario — Timmins

August 22, 2011

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.

There is little doubt that today Noah and Jules Timmins would not recognize the little community they helped to found – and provide its name – in 1912. However, one thing which has remained constant in the development of Timmins as the town has grown from 974 people when it started to a population of more than 46,000 today has been — and is — mining.

In 1912, the Dome, McIntyre and Hollinger gold mine headframes could be seen on the horizon. Today, Xstrata Copper, Goldcorp, Lake Shore Gold, St. Andrew Goldfields, Brigus Gold and Luzenac talc all have mineral producing operations in the area. In addition, De Beers Canada uses Timmins as its base for the Victor diamond mine near Attawapiskat and Detour Gold is relying on the community to support its new gold mine in the Cochrane area.

Christy Marinig, Chief Executive Officer at the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC), points out there is a great deal of mineral exploration being carried out at this time and that the region of Timmins service area covers about 118,000 people. “We are born out of mining and mining is still the leading economic driver,” she said.

How Congress Devastated Congo – by David Aronson (New York Times OP/ED – August 7, 2011)

August 22, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/

David Aronson is a freelance journalist and blogger focusing on Central Africa.

IT’S a long way from the marble halls of Congress to the ailing mining towns of eastern Congo, but the residents of Nyabibwe and Nzibira know exactly what’s to blame for their economic woes.

The “Loi Obama” or Obama Law — as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform act of 2010 has become known in the region — includes an obscure provision that requires public companies to indicate what measures they are taking to ensure that minerals in their supply chain don’t benefit warlords in conflict-ravaged Congo. The provision came about in no small part because of the work of high-profile advocacy groups like the Enough Project and Global Witness, which have been working for an end to what they call “conflict minerals.”

Unfortunately, the Dodd-Frank law has had unintended and devastating consequences, as I saw firsthand on a trip to eastern Congo this summer. The law has brought about a de facto embargo on the minerals mined in the region, including tin, tungsten and the tantalum that is essential for making cellphones.

Glitter of gold, jitters over cyanide divide Romanians on Gabriel-owned project – Alison Mutler (Globe and Mail – August 22, 2011)

August 22, 2011

ROSIA MONTANA, ROMANIA — This is fairy tale land and there’s even a pot of gold buried beneath it. But not everyone’s happy.

With the precious metal at an all-time high, a Canadian company is eager to start blasting out mountains and demolishing parts of the ancient Romanian town of Rosia Montana to build an open-cast mine where 300 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver are buried.

The plan, which would use cyanide in the extraction process, faces fierce opposition from ecologists and many locals who want to preserve the region’s unique heritage.

Transylvania is a land of majestic mountains, never-ending forests, and meadows dotted with cones of hay, horse-drawn carts and medieval churches – scenes straight out of Grimms’ fairy tales.

NEWS RELEASE: SEISMIC EVENT AT [Sudbury] CREIGHTON MINE

August 22, 2011

SUDBURY, August 21, 2011 – Vale is notifying Greater Sudbury residents who may have felt a rumble last evening that a seismic event occurred in the area of Creighton Mine at approximately 9:40 pm. The seismic event occurred approximately 500 feet from the inner workings of the mine around the 7,200 foot level. In consultation …

[Mining Potential] With sparse basic services can Canada claim the far north? – by Allan Woods (Toronto Star – August 20, 2011)

August 21, 2011

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—Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern has two Twitter accounts on which she chronicles the ups and downs of the Nunavut capital.

On the plus side of her online ledger is the recent catch of a 70-tonne bowhead whale by local hunters and the first visit north by Governor-General David Johnston.

On the other side are the territory’s lamentable schooling levels and a stream of suicides, including a young man who took his life just days after his girlfriend killed herself.

Arctic sovereignty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s annual summer visit to the north next week falls somewhere in between, with a lot of hope and hype about asserting Canadian control across the tundra. The everyday benefits for northerners are less apparent.

[Northern Ontario: Group of Seven] Brush with greatness – by Joe O’Connor (National Post – August 20, 2011)

August 21, 2011

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

Sue Waddington looks at her husband, Jim, and shrugs. There was not a master list taped to the kitchen fridge with “invent a new and unique hobby” written across the top. What happened just happened.

“I mean, I guess I always liked the Group of Seven as a child,” Ms. Waddington says. In 1976, she already had a hobby: rug-hooking. For a class project she decided to copy a Group of Seven work, an A.Y. Jackson painting called Hills.

Hills, according to the description the artist attached to it, was somewhere in Killarney. The iconic Canadian landscape painter included another detail in brackets: “Nellie Lake.”

Sue, now a retired nurse, and Jim, a retired physicist at McMaster University, loved camping. And all those years ago they had a life-altering hypothesis: What if A.Y. Jackson’s Nellie Lake was an actual place?

Betting on platinum group metals – by Rita Poliakow (Sudbury Star – August 20, 2011)

August 20, 2011

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

I don’t know where I am. I don’t know the people around me and I can’t pronounce the word palladium. Actually, I’m not even sure what it is. A mineral, I suppose, because Harry Barr, of Pacific North West Capital Corp., seems really excited about it.

Palladium’s price, it seems, has soared, making the River Valley exploration project, just outside of Sudbury, a possible financial gold mine. The mining exploration company specializes in platinum group metals, which includes platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium and iridium.

These metals can be as rare as gold. And as profitable.

Standing around River Valley, an exploration site owned by Pacific North West about 100 km from Sudbury, I realize what this article has turned into. Far from an introduction to mining, it’s more like one of those “What doesn’t belong” games. And the answer, in case you haven’t guessed, is me.