Republic of Mining

Contra Guys: This is one gold stock we’re (very patiently) watching closely – by Benj Gallander and Ben Stadelmann (Globe and Mail – February 25, 2020)

February 25, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

It is almost time for PDAC, one of the world’s largest mining shows held annually in Toronto. March 1-4 are the dates, and for investors scouting out resource investments, this is a great place to venture as companies large and small are in attendance and want to make you aware of their wares.

At least one of us has attended almost every annum for more than 30 years, during fat times and lean for gold and commodity prices. When valuations are up, the place is rocking; when down, as one attendee said, “You could shoot a cannon down the aisle and not hit anyone.” With the gold price being reasonably sweet and getting sweeter, 25,000 plus should be in attendance this year.

While we wrote about our success with better than a triple on Alacer Gold in August, Orvana Minerals has proven more problematic for Benj. Purchased just over five years ago at $0.28, it currently trades at $0.22.

Teck Frontier cancellation entirely Justin Trudeau’s fault – by Lorne Gunter (National Post – February 25, 2020)

February 25, 2020

https://nationalpost.com/

Make no mistake, the end of Teck Resources’ Frontier oilsands mine is Justin Trudeau’s fault — plainly, clearly, unequivocally. The project’s cancellation also means the radical fringe is in charge of Canada, not the government, the courts or the police.

Teck’s decision, announced Sunday, will also have far-reaching effects on the entire Canadian economy, not just the energy sector. There is no doubt this is Justin Trudeau’s fault.

Oh sure, the Liberals will try to spin this as an economic decision by the company. The feds will insist the price of oil is too low to make such a huge investment viable.

Australian state turns to crowdsourcing to uncover mineral riches (Reuters U.S. – February 25, 2020)

February 25, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE, Feb 25 (Reuters) – South Australia is putting A$250,000 ($166,000) up for grabs in a crowdsourcing competition to uncover more mineral reserves, as the industry taps expertise from a wide array of disciplines to find new large mineral lodes.

The five-month challenge will make available the state’s historic data sets for a region home to BHP Group’s huge Olympic Dam copper mine, the government of the Australian state said in a statement. The competition will kick off on March 2 and run until July 31, it added.

“The competition offers the chance to combine geological expertise with new mathematical, machine learning and artificial intelligence to accelerate mineral discovery in the mineral-rich Gawler Craton,” said Justin Strharsky of program facilitators Unearthed.

‘Nail in the coffin’: Era of big oil sands mines may be over (Bloomberg/Mining Weekly – Februay 25, 2020)

February 25, 2020

http://www.miningweekly.com/

Canada’s oil sands industry may have already built its last big mine. The cancellation of Teck Resources’ Frontier project in northern Alberta — which envisaged producing more crude than OPEC member Gabon — epitomises the struggles of an industry that has already seen most foreign investors flee.

It’s not clear that any other proposed mine would be able to clear the hurdles that felled Frontier in the years to come, possibly spelling the end of an era of megaprojects that transformed North America’s energy landscape by turning Canada into the top foreign crude supplier to the US.

“This may be the nail in the coffin,” said Laura Lau, who helps manage C$2-billion in assets at Brompton Corp. in Toronto. “I would expect some smaller projects would have a better chance going through.”

Freeport’s Adkerson does not want to sell Grasberg mine to Barrick – by Jeff Lewis (Reuters U.S. – February 24, 2020)

February 25, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (Reuters) – Freeport McMoRan Inc (FCX.N) is not interested in selling its Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia, Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said on Monday, tamping down speculation of a deal with Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO).

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow in recent weeks has expressed interest in buying Grasberg. Earlier this month Bristow said he sees no competition for the asset from global or state-backed Chinese miners.

That back and forth from two of the mining industry’s most-powerful executives comes as investors are expecting a wave of buyouts this year, especially for copper assets.

Are foreign interests fomenting Indigenous dissent about Canada’s resource development? – by Diane Francis (Financial Post – February 25, 2020)

February 25, 2020

https://business.financialpost.com/

Climate change radicalism aimed at shutting down Canada’s resource base is behind the current blockade crisis, says Indigenous leader

Climate change radicalism aimed at shutting down Canada’s resource base is behind the current blockade crisis and is destroying efforts to improve the lives of most Aboriginal people, according to Ellis Ross, a prominent Indigenous leader and a Liberal MLA in British Columbia, in a powerful online interview with Resource Works News.

He is a former chief councillor for the Haisla Nation and has been at the forefront of issues concerning resource development and Aboriginal rights in his province.

“There is a well co-ordinated, well-funded machine shutting down Canada,” he said. “The agenda is basically anti-fossil fuel, but also forestry and mining. This machine has set back Aboriginal reconciliation by 20 years.”

Canada’s future is going down the drain amid destructive federal-provincial feud – by John Ivison (National Post – February 24, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://nationalpost.com/

“Provincial and federal governments have their differences but if
their focus remains on one another, there will soon be no oilpatch
to phase out – and no money to pay for poverty-reduction. Much more
of this and Venezuela is going to look like an attractive investment alternative.”

As Canada goes down the drain, its political leaders are arguing about the size of the plug-hole.

The Alberta Court of Appeal decision, which rules that the federal carbon tax is unconstitutional and erodes provincial jurisdiction, is merely the latest blow to Canada’s brand as a safe and reliable investment haven.

Why would any sentient investor put money into energy projects in a country where environmental policy is so erratic? Justin Trudeau’s political opponents were quick to exploit the decision by Teck Resources to shelve the giant Frontier oil sands project.

With Gold Up, Miners Face Payouts Versus Production Dilemma – by Justina Vasquez, Danielle Bochove and Steven Frank (Bloomberg News/Financial Post – February 24, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://business.financialpost.com/

(Bloomberg) — As gold prices rise, miners have been boosting shareholder payouts in the face of a decline in global output. That’s worrying some investors concerned about the longterm growth prospects of an industry built on a depleting resource.

The value of gold, a haven commodity, is driven more by global economics than supply and demand. It’s soaring toward $1,700 an ounce now on fear the coronavirus will harm growth.

Any unexpected event — from a surprising cure for the virus to a positive trade deal — could drop the value significantly. High prices put more gold scrap on the market, low ones boost hoarding and, if miner output remains static, so should profits.

Trump proposal triggers rush of uranium mining plans, including in southern Utah – by Brady McCombs and Ellen Knickmeyer (Deseret News/Associated Press – February 23, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://www.deseret.com/

SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump’s $1.5 billion proposal to prop up the country’s nuclear fuel industry has emboldened at least one company to take steps toward boosting operations at dormant uranium mines around the West, including southeast Utah and outside Grand Canyon National Park.

The company, Canada-based Energy Fuels Inc., announced a stock sale and said it would use the proceeds for its uranium mining operations in the U.S. West.

The Trump administration asked Congress recently for $1.5 billion over 10 years to create a new national stockpile of U.S.-mined uranium, saying that propping up U.S. uranium production in the face of cheaper imports is a matter of vital energy security. Approval is far from certain in a highly partisan Congress.

OPINION: The ‘iron road’ that brought ruin and death – by Stephen Maher (MACLEAN’S Magazine – February 17, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://www.macleans.ca/

As tempers flare over rail protests and talk of the rule of law, consider the history of the CPR

Ask Canadians to describe their country and they talk about public health care and hockey, military valour on European battlefields, peacekeeping and multiculturalism.

But most industrialized countries have public health care, some better than ours. Lots of countries play hockey. Most societies have stories they tell themselves about military glory. Many countries do more to keep the peace around the world than we do.

If you were to describe this country to someone who had never heard of it, it would be accurate to describe Canada as a country built around a railway—the Canadian Pacific Railway—on land taken by force from Indigenous people.

COLUMN-Funds sell copper as coronavirus hits physical supply chains – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – February 24, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Funds have given up on their early-year hopes for higher copper prices. Investors have turned bearish on the CME copper contract , slashing long positions and putting on fresh bets for lower prices.

The net money manager short is now back at levels last seen in the third quarter of 2019, when market sentiment hit a “trade war” trough. The deadly coronavirus has frozen the expected Chinese manufacturing recovery story and is now showing signs of spreading to South Korea, another industrial powerhouse.

While equity markets have been taking a more sanguine view of the medium-term economic impact of the virus, copper is starting to price in the multiple short-term impacts on the physical supply chain.

Police move in on Tyendinaga Mohawk rail protesters after deadline to clear site passes (Canadian Press/National Post – February 24, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://nationalpost.com/

By 8:30 a.m. EST Monday, reports indicated that police had begun to make moves to clear the site

TYENDINAGA MOHAWK TERRITORY, Ont. — Ontario Provincial Police have moved to clear a rail blockade on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Police and CN Rail had given protesters until midnight Sunday to clear the blockade or face an investigation and possible criminal charges.

The deadline came and went, and the blockade near Belleville, Ont., that has crippled both freight and passenger rail traffic in most of eastern Canada for nearly three weeks remained in place Monday morning. However, by 8:30 a.m. EST Monday, reports indicated that police had begun to make moves to clear the site.

CP24 reports that a “large column” of OPP police vehicles approached the protesters. CTV reports that “several dozen” officers began arresting people and wrestling others to the ground.

The thin white line: How Northern Ontario’s winter roads are built and kept safe to drive – by Marcus Gee (Globe and Mail – February 24, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Roy Moonias stands on a rise overlooking a frozen lake bathed in wintry moonlight. In the distance, the headlights of a big fuel truck appear. “It’s coming,” he shouts, holding up his phone to shoot some video.

Mr. Moonias has a professional interest in the truck’s progress: His men built the road it is travelling on. Open for only a few weeks a year, the winter road to his remote Indigenous community passes over muskeg, swamps, eskers, creeks and, finally, this lake. His crew has been striving since November to get it ready: Plowing, smoothing, flooding and clearing fallen timber until everything is just right, or as right as it can be on a road constructed of ice and snow on a foundation of muck.

Now, the road is set for its big test. Snowplows have cleared the ice on the lake, leaving a wide corridor lined by snowbanks that stretches a kilometre and a half from shore to shore. Crews have set up log posts fixed with reflectors to mark the way.

Teck Resources pulling application for Frontier oil sands mine – by Robert Fife and Marieke Walsh (Globe and Mail – February 24, 2020)

February 24, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. is pulling its application for the massive Frontier oil sands mine in Alberta, citing the need for Canada to finalize its climate-change policies and determine how resource development fits within them.

After years of companies shelving investment in the oil and gas sector, high hopes were pinned on the massive heavy-oil mine for its potential direct economic impact as well as the broader signal it would send to the market.

But the mine also landed at the centre of a heated debate both in Canada and internationally about the balance this country is striking between resource development and addressing climate change.

Yukonomist: Three questions on Yukon Zinc and China – by Keith Halliday (Yukon News – February 20, 2020)

February 21, 2020

https://www.yukon-news.com/

What would you like the Yukon government to spend $35.5 million on? Perhaps more nurses at the hospital? Some green power plants to fight climate change? Affordable housing? More front-line teachers?

Well, never mind. Judging from Yukon Zinc’s bankruptcy case, it looks like the government will be spending it cleaning up another abandoned mine. This case is particularly troubling. First, it’s recent. The mine opened in 2012. Unlike Faro, we can’t blame this one on 1960s-era mining techniques and long-dead mining executives and regulators.

Second, it’s on the Yukon’s tab. Devolution meant gaining authority over our own resources. It also meant that we would be on the hook for mining mishaps authorized by the Yukon government. The Yukon government is already going into deeper debt each fiscal year, and a $35.5 million hit will have to come out of the hide of other public programs.