Republic of Mining

OPINION: Can Barrick’s Mark Bristow break down barriers to mining takeovers? – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – October 12, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive officer Mark Bristow seems determined to drive consolidation in Canadian mining through sheer force of will.

If just a few institutional investors are willing to join the endearingly blunt CEO’s crusade, then long-predicted takeovers among the country’s mid-tier gold plays may finally come to pass.

Mr. Bristow banged the drum for deals last month at the World Gold Forum, a widely followed annual event in Denver that drew even more eyeballs by going virtual this year.

Dominion Diamonds says the proposed sale of Ekati is off (CBC News North – October 9, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

The owner of the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories says the proposed $166 million dollar sale of the mine to affiliates of the Washington Companies is off.

In a press release Friday Dominion Diamonds said it had stopped negotiations around the proposed sale of certain Dominion assets, including the Ekati mine.

In the press release Dominion said it has been advised that surety bond users and the purchaser reached an “impasse in negotiations” with no reasonable chance of reaching an agreement that is satisfactory to all parties before the deal was set to go before the courts for approval on Oct. 14.

Resurgent WA nickel attracting battery and car manufacturers (Australian Mining – October 13, 2020)

October 13, 2020

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Battery manufacturers and automakers are increasingly looking to invest in nickel projects to secure supply and the resurgent West Australian sector stands to benefit, according to Mincor Resources managing director David Southam.

Talks between miner BHP and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla over a potential nickel deal were last week reported by Bloomberg.

Both parties declined to comment but it hasn’t stopped the speculation being a key point of discussion at the annual Diggers and Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie.

POLAND’S COAL INDUSTRY FINALLY BURNS OUT – by Maria Wilczek (Balkan Insight – October 12, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://balkaninsight.com/

Polish miners steadfastly blocked the overhaul of the coal industry for decades, but further delay has become too costly. BIRN reports the backstory of a landmark deal with the unions that signals the last days of the industry, and looks at what the future holds for these communities.

The sandwiches were stacked, the posters were up. The mining unions in the Silesian town of Ruda Slaska had been preparing for the big protest for days.

Ruda Slaska in southern Poland is home to 130,000 people and three coal mines slated for swift shutdown. Around the city posters called on townsfolk to protest against the closures: “Save Silesia! The government and European Union’s program will annihilate Silesia!”

The prime minister had sent a delegation to negotiate a timeline for reforms. By Friday, September 25, talks had already been dragging on for three days.

Opinion: The Liberals are becoming a climate cult – by Dan McTeague (Financial Post – October 7, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://financialpost.com/

Proposed Clean Fuel Standard is a second carbon tax that will lead to as many as 30,000 job losses nationally

The conversation around climate change arguably has been irrational since it began decades ago, but the irrationality has only become more and more deeply imbedded — perhaps nowhere more than here in Canada, with the current Liberal government and its latest initiative, the Clean Fuel Standard.

Full disclosure: for 18 years I was a Liberal member of Parliament, and a very active one. But the Liberal party I knew was a very different party from the one running the country today.

Today’s Liberals are seized with an irrational obsession on the climate file. Climate change trumps any other concern, excluding the pandemic.

Trudeau delivers another blow to energy, mining sectors – by Alex Whalen and Elmira Aliakbari (Troy Media – October 9, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://troymedia.com/

Alex Whalen and Elmira Aliakbari are analysts at the Fraser Institute.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s energy sector, already struggling from the downturn in world oil markets and the COVID-19 recession, has taken another blow – this time directly from the federal government.

The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently imposed new rules – known as the Strategic Assessment of Climate Change (SACC) – that requires certain projects (including mines, and oil and gas projects) to describe how the project will achieve net-zero emissions.

According to federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, the plan will ensure Canada exceeds its Paris climate agreement targets by 2030 and 2050.

Washington State blows away wind fantasies – by Ronald Stein (Cfact.org – October 12, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://www.cfact.org/

The Northwest has spoken loudly as the Benton Public Utility District (BPUD) has documented their actual battleground experiences with intermittent electricity from wind farms that should be a wake-up call to our policy makers. Their message is “no more wind”.

The Washington state utility 16-page report titled “Wind Power and Clean Energy Policy Perspectives” of July 14, 2020 provides a devastating counter attack to the wind lobbyists that they question the efficacy of wind farms for power generation and resulted in the utility’s commissioners saying they “do not support further wind power development in the Northwest.”

Kudos to this Washington state public utility for speaking up after seeing the costs and dangers of California’s experience with an overreliance on intermittent electricity from wind and solar.

OBITUARY: Lawyer Steve Vaughan was a ‘legend in the mining law world’ – by Allison Lowlor (Globe and Mail – October 12, 2020)

October 12, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

An elder statesman of Canada’s mining industry, William (Steve) Vaughan is credited for helping to elevate the stature of the country’s industry both at home and around the world as a leading legal adviser on natural resource law, project finance and mineral policy.

Called upon to advise not only Canadian junior mining companies and big corporations but also governments worldwide, Mr. Vaughan used his expertise to help strengthen mining and fiscal policies in the global minerals industry.

“He was like a legal legend in the mining law world,” said Pierre Gratton, president and chief executive of the Mining Association of Canada. “Everybody knew him.”

Was Mark Twain Right About Miners? – by Dave Iben (Forbes Magazine – October 5, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://www.forbes.com/

Dave Iben is the Chief Investment Officer, Managing Member, Founder, and Chairman of the Board of Kopernik Global Investors.

Like many people in the mid-nineteenth century, Samuel Clemens headed west to try his hand at mining. Fortunately, he failed at that, opting to be a humorist and writer instead.

Here he was much more successful, writing mostly under the nom de plume Mark Twain. Amongst his many purported quips was, “the definition of a mine is ‘a hole in the ground with a liar standing next to it.’” Given his experience, and the experiences of many others, that is a statement that has been too often true.

Here in the twenty-first century we are being sold not mines, but many other supposed “bonanzas.” We are told that a virtually profitless startup automobile company is worth more than all other successful auto companies combined.

3 mining operations build on-site COVID-19 labs in northern Quebec – by Susan Bell (CBC News North – October 7, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Move means some Cree workers can see family for the first time in months

From June to September, Michelle Polson didn’t get a single cuddle or kiss from her two young children, daughter Payton, 10, and son Keyton, 8.

Like other Cree working in the mining sector, Polson’s life consisted of a brutal routine of 14-days working, followed by 14-days self-isolation, as required by the Cree Nation Government’s COVID-19 restrictions. And it’s not just workers in the mining sector.

Under the restrictions, all mines, exploration sites, forestry camps and Hydro-Quebec work sites are considered “at risk zones” and require Cree workers to self-isolate for two weeks when they finish their shifts, as a way to protect vulnerable populations in Cree communities from COVID-19.

First Nations involved in energy sector determined to share wealth and see others thrive – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 6, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

When First Nations benefit from big natural resource projects, entire regions across the country seem to thrive.

In the last 10 to 15 years, Indigenous communities in Western Canada have made great strides in participating in the oil and gas sector. Now they’re poised to take the next step, to take an equity stake in massive infrastructure projects, like pipeline developments.

But they need Ottawa to remove some historical barriers and free up access to capital that has constrained Indigenous prosperity and prevented them from participating in industry on an equal footing.

Gold price rally lifts Top 50 mining stocks above $1 trillion for first time – by Frik Els (Mining.com – October 7, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

MINING.COM’s ranking of the world’s 50 largest mining companies based on market value shows an industry recovering from its covid-19 slump and moving into positive territory for Q4 2020.

The Top 50 most valuable mining companies added $80.2 billion in market capitalization over the three months to end September, thanks to surging gold and silver prices, iron ore prices firmly in triple digits, and a copper price flirting with two-year highs.

Mining’s majors looked poised to join the trillion dollar club at the outset of 2020, but the pandemic torpedoed the early stages of a cyclical upswing for the industry, delaying the milestone by nine months.

Anglo, Glencore among firms in study said to be meeting Paris Agreement targets – by David McKay (MiningMx.com – October 7, 2020)

October 8, 2020

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ANGLO American and Glencore were two of only seven companies that a study said were doing enough to meet Paris Agreement targets on climate control.

Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) assessed 59 resources and energy companies finding the fossil fuel industry was failing on its environmental scorecard.

The TPI is a global program based at the London School of Economics, which assesses climate risks and companies’ preparedness for a low-carbon economy, said Bloomberg News which reported on the study.

Agreement finalised to reduce US reliance on uranium from Russia – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – October 7, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://www.miningweekly.com/

The governments of the US and Russia have finalised a deal extending the limits of uranium imports from Russia for another 20 years, a move which US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross says will help revitalise the domestic nuclear industry.

The final amendment to the agreement suspending the antidumping investigation on uranium from Russia now extends through 2040. It was previously set to expire on December 31, 2020, which would have resulted in unchecked imports of Russian uranium.

“This landmark agreement will contribute to the revitalisation of American nuclear industry, while promoting America’s long-term strategic interests,” said Ross in a statement on Tuesday.

Nicolas Maduro wins latest round in U.K. court fight for $2-billion in gold – by Paul Waldie (Globe and Mail – October 8, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro doesn’t have many friends around the world, but a British court has given him a victory in a long-running battle over nearly US$2-billion worth of gold that’s housed at the Bank of England.

The England and Wales Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court ruling that handed the gold to Mr. Maduro’s opponent, Juan Guaido, who is supported by Britain and more than 50 other countries, including Canada.

The appeal court judges ordered a new hearing in the case and said Mr. Maduro’s government has a credible claim to the fortune.