Republic of Mining

Vale to exit New Caledonia, eyes Indonesia to boost nickel output – by Eric Onstad and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – December 4, 2019)

December 5, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale SA plans to exit its troubled New Caledonia assets but still aims to ramp up nickel output ahead of rising demand for electric batteries, executives said on Wednesday.

The planned divestment of nickel operations in New Caledonia comes after Vale said last month it would write down the mine and incur a non-cash impairment charge of about $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter.

A year ago, the world’s top nickel producer unveiled plans to invest $500 million in the mine after failing to find a partner for the operation.

OPINION: Is Canada’s economy keeping up with the Joneses? Unfortunately, the answer is no – by David Williams and Jock Finlayson (Globe and Mail – December 5, 2019)

December 5, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

David Williams is vice-president of policy at the Business Council of British Columbia. Jock Finlayson is the council’s executive vice-president and chief policy officer.

It’s been about 12 years since the peak of the last business cycle in 2007. And as the 43rd federal Parliament sits for its first session, it’s a good time to reflect on how Canada’s economy has performed compared with other advanced countries over the current business cycle. Has Canada “kept up with the Joneses?”

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Canadians have seen a substantial deterioration in living standards relative to peer countries since 2007, according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data. This is primarily because other countries have increased their productivity by more than Canada.

Canada’s peer group – “the Joneses” – includes the other Group of Seven countries, namely the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain. Australia and New Zealand are added because they have resource-based economies like Canada with similar institutions and well-educated work forces. Finally, we can also compare Canada to the average performances of the OECD, the G7 and the Euro area.

I’m a Jewelry Nerd, So I Went to Africa to Learn Firsthand About Diamond Mines – by Lauren Eggertsen (Who What Where.com – December 5, 2019)

December 5, 2019

https://www.whowhatwear.com/

Unless you work in the jewelry industry, chances are everything you know about diamond mines is based on hearsay, stereotypes, or, if you’re really out of the loop, the movie Blood Diamond. The misconceptions surrounding this industry are monstrous, and up until recently, I knew little to nothing about what really goes into mining diamonds.

Am I a jewelry nerd? Yes. But no article found on the internet could have educated me as well as my recent trip to Africa where I got to see a diamond mine firsthand and ask all the questions I had been dying for someone to explain to me.

Forevermark, a subsidiary diamond company within De Beers Group, took me to its Orapa Mine in Botswana, and all I can say is, everything I thought I knew about diamond mines was completely wrong.

Copper primed for a pop if U.S./China trade war is resolved – by Melanie Burton and Mai Nguyen (Reuters U.S. – December 3, 2019)

December 5, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Low inventories across the copper supply chain mean that any resolution to the U.S.-China trade war could trigger a snap rally in prices as consumers rush to restock, market participants said on Tuesday.

Combined stocks of on-warrant copper in London Metal Exchange and Shanghai exchange warehouses have declined 50.5% since mid-August metal buyers have slowed replenishment rates.

Declines in warehouse stocks are often seen as a sign of robust demand in the main industrial demand centres for the metal, used in construction and power industries.

Talon plans more copper-nickel exploratory drilling near Tamarack – by Jimmy Lovrien (Duluth News Tribune – December 4, 2019)

December 5, 2019

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Talon Metals has asked the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for permission to drill more exploratory borings at its Tamarack copper-nickel mining project near the Aitkin-Carlton county line. The request comes just after the DNR approved Talon’s plans to re-explore several of its existing borings.

On Nov. 22, Talon submitted an exploration plan with the DNR detailing plans to drill exploratory borings in bedrock at four sites on active state nonferrous metal mineral leases about 1/2 mile north-northeast to about 3.5 miles north-northeast of Tamarack.

The borings would be drilled using the diamond core drill method and be temporarily or permanently capped upon completion in accordance with Minnesota Department of Health regulations. The DNR has 20 days from the Nov. 22 submission to approve or deny Talon’s plan.

COLUMN-U.S.-China trade pendulum swings toward Beijing; commodities key – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – December 3, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Since U.S. President Donald Trump launched his trade dispute with China one of the best questions to ask in order to assess the current state of the process is who, right now, is more desperate to do a deal.

For most of 18 months or so since the tit-for-tat tariffs began the conventional thinking has been Beijing is more keen to finalise an agreement, given the obvious slowing of growth in the world’s second-biggest economy.

However, the abrupt swing in the Purchasing Managers’ Indexes for both China and the United States, coupled with mounting domestic political pressure on Trump as he heads into his re-election campaign, may have altered the dynamic.

Canadian labour legend Leo Gerard on the past, present and future of unions – Interview by Michael Enright (CBC Radio – Sunday Edition – November 22, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/

Leo Gerard was 11 years old when he handed out his first union leaflets. That was in 1958, and he was living in Sudbury, a mining town. The leaflets were for the Mine Mill, the union his father belonged to.

What Gerard didn’t know then was that he would spend much of the rest of his life as a labour leader and activist. He began as a staff representative at the United Steelworkers (the USW) and moved quickly through the ranks. This summer, he retired as international president of the USW, a position he held for 18 years.

Gerard spoke to The Sunday Edition’s Michael Enright about his life in the labour movement and the future of unions in an age of globalized trade, a collapsing manufacturing sector and precarious employment.

Indonesia Dangles Cheaper Energy to Lure Billions in Investment – by Tassia Sipahutar (Bloomberg/Financial Post – December 4, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

(Bloomberg) — Indonesia is touting an abundance of low-cost renewable energy to lure billions of dollars in investment Southeast Asia’s largest economy needs to build processing plants for commodities such as nickel, copper and aluminum.

The commodity powerhouse has potential to develop 33,000 megawatts of hydro power and 29,000 megawatts of geothermal energy at costs as low as 2-4 cents per kilowatt, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said. The green energy will help the country cut its use of fossil fuels and produce more value-added commodities, he said.

Indonesia, home to some of the world’s largest deposits of copper, nickel and tin, is curbing exports of raw materials to force companies to build refineries and smelters to create more jobs and boost export earnings.

Trudeau government does spadework on minerals crucial to future economy – by Jim Bronskill (Canadian Press/Financial Post – December 3, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is digging for intelligence on the role Canada’s mining sector could play in providing the United States and other key trading partners with crucial minerals and metals — from cobalt to tellurium — considered building blocks of the new economy.

Natural Resources Canada plans to hire a British firm to provide pricing forecasts and analysis of global supply and demand between 2020 and 2030 for about two dozen vital minerals used in products like solar cells, permanent magnets and rechargeable batteries.

The move comes as Canada works on a joint plan with the United States to ensure reliable access to these minerals and foster future competitiveness of the U.S. and Canadian mining industries.

Glencore’s Glasenberg says successor could be in place next year – by Barbara Lewis and Eric Onstad (Reuters Canada – December 3, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore could announce a new chief executive next year once a new management team is in place, its current boss told an investor meeting on Tuesday as the commodities giant laid out its priorities for 2020.

The mining and trading company faces a challenging year as it contends with problems on multiple fronts, from a series of mine fatalities and climate politics to a continuing U.S. Department of Justice investigation and difficulties in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Speculation about Ivan Glasenberg’s departure has intensified after he said last year that he expected to retire in between three and five years. Asked for detail on a planned management transition, Glasenberg said there was “a good crop of people” but did not offer names.

Vale puts New Caledonian nickel operation up for sale – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – December 4, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://www.mining.com/

Brazilian mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) is selling its ailing Goro nickel operation on the Pacific Island of New Caledonia, which has been strewn with operational problems ever since it came on stream, two years behind schedule, in 2011.

The company, the world’s top nickel producer, had been hoping to attract a partner for the loss-making asset, but the lack of success prompted it to go it alone. Exactly a year ago, Vale announced it would invest $500 million in the project, mainly on a waste storage facility, between 2019 and 2022.

The company, however, has never fully mastered the challenging high-pressure-acid-lead (HPAL) technology used to convert ore to nickel oxides.

Why the left loves a climate crisis – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – December 4, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

We had major breaking news Tuesday out of the United Nations’ 25th Conference of the Parties (COP 25) climate change summit in Madrid: Greta, the self-described “angry kid,” had landed. Her boat docked in Lisbon, just as the World Meteorological Organization reported that 2019 had been a cold year for Canadians.

The Greta news drowned out the WMO report, which also found 2019 produced record levels of frigidity in many parts of North America, including “the coldest February on record for several regions in Western Canada, including the city of Vancouver.

It was also a rather cold first half of the year in parts of Eastern Canada. There were further outbreaks of unseasonable cold and early-season snowfall in the western and central interior of North America in late September and late October.”

Chile eyes state-backed lithium push in far-flung salt flats – by Fabian Cambero (Reuters Canada – December 3, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

SALAR DE AGUILAR, Chile (Reuters) – Chile’s Atacama salt flat may get all the attention when it comes to lithium, but the South American nation is looking to develop two lesser-known deposits of the mineral needed to power a global push into electric cars.

Chile’s mining minister, Baldo Prokurica, told Reuters on a trip to the Atacama region the government had asked state-owned copper giant Codelco and smaller state miner National Mining Company, Enami, to forge ahead with lithium projects in the region.

“It seems to me, to say the least, a sin that companies with lithium holdings like this are not even working them,” Prokurica said on a tour of the Aguilar and Infieles salt flats. “What has been missing here is the will to move forward.”

Wolf Lake part of renewed focus on mining frontier – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – December 3, 2019)

December 4, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

A junior miner heralding a “new frontier” in Sudbury exploration is poised to add claims around Wolf Lake to a vast property it has already staked in the Chiniguchi-Temagami area.

“This whole area northeast of Lake Wanapitei has never really been explored,” said Stefan Spears, chairman and CEO of Inventus Mining. “Everyone assumed it was too far away or assumed that it wasn’t part of the Sudbury environment.”

The Inventus property, dubbed Sudbury 2.0, lies about 40 kilometres northeast of Sudbury within the Temagami Magnetic Anomaly, an egg-shaped zone that stretches from Lake Wanapitei to Bear Island in Lake Temagami. The anomaly is comparable in both size and magnetic stamp to the Sudbury basin, suggesting a mineral trove may also exist below the rugged surface of this untapped twin.

U.S. copper frenzy grows as Rio Tinto plans $1.5 billion Utah mine expansion – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters U.S. – December 3, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Rio Tinto Plc said on Tuesday it would spend $1.5 billion to expand its Kennecott copper mine in Utah, part of a growing trend by miners to invest in strategic mineral projects across the United States.

The move more than doubles the mining industry’s recent investment in U.S. copper projects, as Tesla Inc and other automakers demand more of the red metal for electric vehicle motors and other components.

“We like copper. We like the U.S.,” Rio Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in an interview. “If we had not taken this decision, our position in the U.S. market would be shrinking.”