Republic of Mining

SA chrome industry at odds over Govt. tax ore exporters say only suits Glencore, Samancor – by Brendan Ryan (MiningMX.com – November 5, 2020)

November 5, 2020

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CHROMESA is at odds with both the South African government and the country’s major integrated producers of chrome ore and ferrochrome – Glencore and Samancor – over the proposed tax on chrome ore exports.

That became clear at a presentation by Chrome SA to financial media on Thursday during which Assore GM, Alistair McAdam, confirmed the integrated producers “believe such a tax will be beneficial to themselves and will not be detrimental to us as exporters”.

This is despite the fact that Glencore and Samancor are also exporters of chrome ore to China which is the prime target of the proposed tax which the South African exporters would have to pay themselves and then claw back in increased prices from their Chinese customers.

As Psychedelics Enter the Mainstream, Mining Companies Look to Dig Up Profits – by Russell Hausfeld (Psymposia.com – November 3, 2020)

November 5, 2020

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At the 2020 Psychedelic Liberty Summit, longtime cannabis activist Steven DeAngelo addressed one of the elephants in the room concerning the blossoming psychedelic industry: the wresting of agency from those connected culturally, spiritually, and idealistically to psychedelics, by those who see psychedelics as the next exploitable resource to sell to the masses.

DeAngelo founded one of the first cannabis dispensaries in the United States—Harborside in Oakland, California—and helped create the ArcView Group in 2010, with the mission to develop the first cannabis-focused investment group. He knows firsthand how the corrosive effects of capitalism can eat away at the cultural values of once-subversive cultures.

“With Arcview, we hit on the energy of free enterprise to power the social change we wanted, and a lot of the progress we made is because we did invite the investor class in, but it came at a cost, a significant cost,” DeAngelo said.

Column: COVID-related spending increases threaten future economic growth – by Livio Di Matteo (Sudbury Star – November 5, 2020)

November 5, 2020

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The COVID pandemic has sparked increased government spending worldwide including here at home.

Many countries have introduced substantial fiscal packages with direct household income supports, loans, guarantees, tax deferrals and other supports along with increased health-related spending.

With declining economic activity and tax revenues, governments are financing the spending with more government borrowing and ultimately more debt, which raises the spectre of future inflation and higher taxes.

Silver particles in consumer goods found to harm fish in Ontario lake study – by Ivan Semeniuk (Globe and Mail – October 19, 2020)

November 5, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Microscopic silver particles that are added as an antimicrobial agent to athletic clothing, condoms and yoga mats, among many other products, have been shown to harm fish and freshwater ecosystems when released in quantities that are similar to what is thought to be emerging from wastewater plants across Canada.

Researchers who laced a Northern Ontario lake with the material, known as nanosilver, as part of a multiyear experiment, say the adverse effects they measured in two species of fish were significant enough, both individually and at the population level, to warrant including the unregulated substance as part of Canada’s water safety guidelines for the metal.

“We found effects right down to the cellular level,” said Lauren Hayhurst, a fisheries biologist at the Experimental Lakes Area, near Kenora, Ont., where the work was conducted.

Australia accepts human rights complaint against Rio Tinto over Bougainville – by Staff (Mining.com – November 4, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

Australia’s Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) issued a statement saying that the residents of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have welcomed this week’s decision by the Australian government to accept a human rights complaint against mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) for investigation and conciliation.

The complaint, which was filed by the HRLC on behalf of 156 Bougainville residents, alleges environmental and human rights violations caused by Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine on the island.

The operation was run by Rio Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper (BCL) and was abandoned in the 1990s due to a civil war that was largely fought over how mine profits should be shared. Some 25 years later, in 2016, Rio handed its shareholding to national and local governments.

Nickel explorer seeks to bring new life to two former Timmins mines – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 3, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Class 1 Nickel posts a two-million-tonne-plus resource at Alexo-Dundonald Project

A new nickel sulphide player has fully emerged in the Timmins camp seeking to revive a well-known piece of mining ground.

Class 1 Nickel and Technologies released a very promising new mineral resource estimate for its Alexo-Dundonald Nickel Project, 45 kilometres northeast of the city.

The Toronto-based company reported an updated estimated indicated mineral resource of 1.25 million tonnes with an average grade of 0.99 per cent of nickel, and a total estimated inferred mineral resource of 1.01 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.08 per cent.

Gina Rinehart’s wealth soars as Hancock Prospecting reports $4b profit – by Nick Toscano (Brisbane Times – November 4, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has added to her wealth after her mining company Hancock Prospecting reported a 50 per cent surge in profit on the back of soaring prices for iron ore.

Days after Mrs Rinehart topped The Australian Financial Review’s 2020 Rich List with an estimated $29 billion fortune, financial accounts reveal her private company’s after-tax profit rose from $2.6 billion to $4 billion in the past financial year.

While many of Australia’s top export commodities such as coal and liquefied natural gas have faced sharp falls due to various impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, iron ore has soared and remains above $US110 a tonne, providing a windfall to mining giants such as Fortescue, BHP, Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting’s majority-owned Roy Hill.

Iamgold suspends production at Quebec gold mine after earthquake – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 2, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Iamgold Corp. has suspended mining at its Westwood gold mine in Quebec after yet another earthquake hit the site on the weekend, the latest in a long list of seismic events over the past few years to affect both production and reserves.

On Monday, the Toronto-based gold company said in a statement that an earthquake occurred at the underground mine around 2:30 p.m. on Friday. All underground employees were safely brought to the surface but Iamgold did not specify how long the process took.

Natural Resources Canada said the quake measured 3.8 on the Richter scale, and was “lightly felt” by residents of Preissac, Que., in the Abitibi region.

Mali’s transitional government to review mining deals – by Dominic Ellis (Mining Global – November 4, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.miningglobal.com/

Mali’s transitional government intends to review mining conventions signed with companies by the previous administrations, interim President Bah N’daw has confirmed, following recommendations from the country’s auditor general.

Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold producers, and companies operating in the country include Barrick Gold Corp, AngloGold Ashanti – which operates mines in Morila (pictured) and Sadiola – and Resolute Mining.

“The conventions establishing mining companies include clauses which do not always guarantee the protection of the interests of the state,” Auditor General Samba Alhamdou Baby says, after handing his report to the interim president, according to a report by Reuters.

Gold will be a winner no matter who clinches the U.S. election, investor says – by Saheli Roy Choudhury (CNBC.com – November 3, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.cnbc.com/

Gold and gold miners are set to benefit no matter who wins the U.S. election this week, one investor told CNBC.

That’s because the United States will likely to adopt a sizeable fiscal stimulus program no matter which candidate wins the presidency, James Rasteh, CIO of Coast Capital, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.

“We would be printing trillions of dollars more and all of that ultimately has extraordinarily positive repercussions for gold,” he said.

Amazon gold rush: Brazil grapples with illegal mining in the rainforest – by Bryan Harris, Sam Cowie and Gideon Long (Financial Times – November 3, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.ft.com/

When Brazilian military helicopters swooped over the Maicuru Biological Reserve in the Amazonian state of Pará in October, they discovered an illegal mining operation that was surprising in its sophistication.

There was a system of motors to heave gold out of deep caverns where it had been found and landing strips carved out of the surrounding rainforest to take the cargo away.

“This location is only accessible via plane, there’s no other way. So to structure an operation there, first you need to build an airstrip, and then have aeroplanes,” says Gecivaldo Vasconcelos, the federal police chief of Santarém, a sweltering port town along the banks of the river. “This demands an investment, it is not small scale.”

ROB MAGAZINE: What investors still don’t understand about Nutrien – by Michael McCullough (Globe and Mail – October 27, 2020)

November 4, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Farmers in Saskatchewan have been social distancing for over a century, the joke in the agricultural sector goes. Behind the cheap laugh lies an essential truth: A global pandemic isn’t felt much on a crop farm.

The work conditions don’t require a lot of human contact compared to other industries and, as another well-worn industry adage goes, “People gotta eat.”

Which is good news for Nutrien Inc., the largest producer of potash—and second largest of nitrogen fertilizer—in the world, with 20,000 employees and a market capitalization approaching $30 billion.

NEWS RELEASE: MATAWA FIRST NATIONS STAND IN SUPORT OF NESKANTAGA FIRST NATION AS THEY EXPERIENCE A LARGE BLOW TO THEIR WATER TREATMENT & DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC (November 3, 2020)

November 4, 2020

THUNDER BAY, ON – The nine (9) First Nations making up the Matawa Chiefs Council today offered their support for Neskantaga First Nation as they experience another large blow to their water treatment and distribution system amid a 26-year lack of clean drinking water crisis and in a global pandemic.

They offer their support for the extraordinary measures Neskantaga First Nation have had to take to ensure the safety of their citizens including an evacuation to Thunder Bay for the second time within the span of 12 months (first one in September 2019) due to unsafe drinking water, and this time, a complete water outage, in their community.

A majority of the First Nations of the Matawa Chiefs Council, both road-access and remote, have experienced similar issues with regards to access to clean drinking water. With the exception of two (2) First Nations who have the opportunity to access municipal water treatment systems—all have experienced either ‘boil water’ or ‘do not consume’ advisories, for a lengthy period of time at some point in history.

B.C. committed to regional environmental assessments, but experts warn they might never happen – by Matt Simmons (The Narwhal – November 2, 2020)

November 4, 2020

The Narwhal

At first glance, northwest B.C. is a vast wild landscape home to big forests, even bigger mountains and rich river systems that cut through the landscape. But looking closer, those forests are criss-crossed with logging roads and punctuated with massive clearcuts.

Many mountains are mined for the minerals within and the watersheds are continually threatened by industrial development. Where the rivers meet the ocean, massive freight ships come and go, delivering goods from overseas and carrying materials like grain, lumber, coal and wood pellets across the Pacific.

The region is subject to a seemingly never-ending stream of proposals for mines, export facilities, processing plants and other industrial developments. The question is: can the ecosystem as a whole sustain all of these projects?

Estevan looks to diverse coal usages, modular potash mines – by Evan Radford (Regina Leader-Post – November 2, 2020)

November 2, 2020

https://leaderpost.com/

As part of southeast Saskatchewan’s move away from burning coal, Estevan is looking to a new partnership struck with a nearby First Nation and a veteran geologist to help keep jobs and money in the area.

The city has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ocean Man First Nation and Buffalo Potash Corporation to study how and if it can bring modular potash mines to the area and a processing facility that wouldn’t burn coal, but would still use it to create fuel.

Ocean Man sits about 100 kilometres north of Estevan. Buffalo Potash Corp., founded in 2018, is headed by long-time geology consultant and potash expert Stephen (Steve) Halabura; some of his past work includes pinpointing underground potash reserves in the province and helping BHP Billiton set up its mining sites.