Republic of Mining

Friedland regains control over large chunk of Ivanhoe shares – by Frik Els (Mining.com – December 2, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://www.mining.com/

Robert Friedland issued a news release on Monday after the market close under Canada’s so-called early warning financial market requirements that he’s regained control over a large chunk of shares in Ivanhoe Mines.

According to the press release issued from Singapore where Friedland is based, the billionaire financier has “regained direction and control” over 25m common shares that were previously pledged as security for a loan. The shareholding is worth C$84m (US$63m) at today’s ruling price.

According to the press release Friedland now effectively controls 14.4% of Ivanhoe Mines:

“The 25,000,000 common shares constitute 2.1% of the 1,194,039,162 common shares of Ivanhoe Mines currently issued and outstanding.

UPDATE 7-Trump, citing U.S. farmers, slaps metal tariffs on Brazil, Argentina – by Andrea Shalal and Gabriel Stargardter (Reuters Africa – December 2, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://af.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON/RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump ambushed Brazil and Argentina on Monday, announcing he would restore tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from the two countries in apparent retaliation for currency weakness he said was hurting U.S. farmers.

“Effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the U.S. from those countries,” Trump wrote in an early morning tweet that sent officials from both countries scrambling for explanations from Washington. He added that Brazil and Argentina were “presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies.”

In fact, the opposite is true: Both countries have actively been trying to strengthen their respective currencies against the dollar. The real and the peso have been buffeted by weakness partially linked to Trump’s trade battle with China.

Coal Exports Choked by Green-Minded Towns on U.S. West Coast – by Will Wade (Bloomberg/Financial Post – December 3, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

(Bloomberg) — Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. It’s about to get harder for America’s miners to ship coal to Asia.

On Tuesday, the city of Richmond, California, is expected to approve a ban on coal at a terminal that accounts for almost a quarter of exports from the U.S. West Coast. The prohibition will shut miners out of one of the few places in the region willing to handle the fuel and limit their access to one place in the world where coal demand is still growing.

That’s exactly what Richmond city officials want. “This is something we can do that will almost certainly result in less coal shipped from the U.S. to Asia, and maybe less coal burned in Asia,” Richmond Mayor Tom Butt said in an interview.

Centerra Gold shuts Kumtor mine after two workers go missing in rock slide – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – December 3, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Two employees are missing after a major rock slide forced Centerra Gold Inc. to halt operations at its flagship gold mine in Kyrgyzstan.

The Toronto-based mining company said in a statement that a “significant rock movement” occurred at Lysii, one of the mine’s waste dumps at the Kumtor site, early Sunday morning.

Centerra has evacuated all staff from the site and is conducting a search-and-rescue operation in conjunction with the Kyrgyz Republic’s Ministry of Emergencies. Scott Perry, Centerra’s chief executive officer, said in a statement early Monday that search teams are working in “very challenging conditions.”

Centamin snubs $1.9 billion bid proposal from Endeavour Mining – by Muvija M and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – December 3, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Gold miner Centamin Plc on Tuesday rejected a 1.47 billion pound ($1.9 billion) all-stock takeover proposal from Canada’s Endeavour Mining, saying it did not offer enough value to Centamin shareholders.

Toronto-listed Endeavour announced its offer, a 13% premium to Centamin’s last closing price, earlier in the day, seeking to gain control of Centamin’s only operating mine, the Sukari project in Egypt.

The Canadian firm said Centamin had rebuffed several attempts to engage in talks. “The terms of the proposal provide comparatively greater benefit to Endeavour’s shareholders, do not adequately reflect the contribution that Centamin would make to the merged entity,” Centamin said.

Trudeau’s ridiculous, holier-than-thou climate policies are making emissions much worse – by Diane Francis (Financial Post – December 3, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

For every pipeline and well and LNG plant that is not built in Canada, the Chinese and Indians will simply burn more dirty coal

The inconvenient truth about the Kyoto-Paris Agreement on climate change is that the 1997 deal has been a major flop because it was flawed from the beginning. It should be scrapped and completely overhauled and Canada’s Liberals should have realized this before they embarked on their ruinous attack against the country’s resource base.

The failure of the agreement, evidenced by emissions that are climbing alarmingly fast, reveal how the Trudeau government’s holier-than-thou approach on climate change is naive and completely misguided.

The facts are that Ottawa should have been building lots of pipelines, approving many LNG export projects, and leading an international movement to scrap and try to redo the Paris agreement.

UPDATE 3-China’s Zijin Mining to buy Canada’s Continental Gold for $1 bln amid security risk – by Min Zhang and Jeff Lewis (Reuters Africa – December 2, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://af.reuters.com/

BEIJING/TORONTO, Dec 2 (Reuters) – China’s Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd has agreed to buy Canadian miner Continental Gold Inc for C$1.3 billion ($1 billion), but a top executive with the target company said elevated security concerns in Colombia pose a risk to the deal.

State-backed Zijin’s offer for Continental, announced on Monday, aims to secure Continental Gold’s flagship Buritica gold project in Colombia. “Zijin doesn’t have any experience in Colombia, and we have obviously had some incidents in the past,” Continental Chief Financial Officer Paul Begin told Reuters.

“But if a major security incident happened at any project, it would be considered a material adverse change and they would have an out if they wanted to,” he said.

Editorial: Dig deep for better understanding (Nunavut News – December 2, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://nunavutnews.com/

Let’s face it, not all mining companies play nice. Some mines in Nunavut have made gestures of good faith such as Agnico Eagle delivering million dollar donations to community groups and education initiatives in Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake earlier this year.

But, at the end of the day, these mines are most concerned about the bottom line. This became abundantly clear when 586 contractors were laid off at Baffinland’s Mary River iron mine mere weeks before the holiday season due to “uncertainties” with the regulatory approval process for the next phase of the mine’s expansion.

As Baffinland looks to increase iron ore output from six million tonnes of ore to 12 and build a 110-km railway on Baffin Island, it has been consulting with affected communities. To make sure this communication is thorough and sufficient, it’s important that everyone takes their time.

While Canada hesitates, Russia builds 3,000 km gas pipeline to China in just five years – by Victor Ferreira (Financial Post – December 3, 2019)

December 3, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

As multiple Canadian pipeline projects linger in limbo, Russia and China have just turned on the taps on a natural gas behemoth long enough to connect Timmins, Ont., to Burnaby, B.C.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping brought the Power of Siberia pipeline, which will stretch 3,000 km from Siberia into northeast China, online Monday. The US$55 billion pipeline is expected to carry five billion cubic metres of natural gas into China in 2020, with production eventually ramping up and hitting 38 billion cubic metres by 2025.

The partnership between the two nations came in response to the sanctions levied on Russia following its annexation of Crimea. Brutalized by the financial sanctions in particular, Russia desperately needed to bring new capital into the country and China appeared to be an eager partner to supply it. The pipeline is expected to yield Russia US$400 billion over 30 years.

Billionaire Says Congo Is Now More Attractive Than Chile for Copper Mines – by Elena Mazneva (Bloomberg News – November 25, 2019)

December 2, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Chile’s worst civil unrest in decades means the Democratic Republic of Congo is a more attractive proposition for mining investment, according to billionaire Robert Friedland.

While Chile, the world’s top copper producer, seeks measures to quell the social unrest that exploded last month, the election of President Felix Tshisekedi earlier this year has improved the prospects in Congo, Friedland said at the Mines and Money conference in London on Monday. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., founded by Friedland, is developing the world’s second-largest copper-mining project in Congo, with production due to start in 2021.

“There is a new sheriff in town,” said Friedland, referring to Tshisekedi. Chile is now a “terrible place to invest in mining, while Congo is a really great place,” he said.

In China, coal creeps back in as slowing economy overshadows climate change ambitions – by David Stanway (Reuters U.S. – December 2, 2019)

December 2, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China is building more coal-fired power plants and approving dozens of new mines, despite assurances from the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter that it was serious about fighting climate change.

China’s 2021-2030 policy plans are under close scrutiny as the United Nations climate change conference gets under way in Madrid, especially after a new UN report said the world needs to cut carbon dioxide by 7.6% a year over the decade in order to limit temperature rises.

But with the country’s economic growth at its slowest in nearly 30 years, industry data as well as speeches from leaders and industry officials suggest a willingness to lean on coal for power, especially in old mining regions.

Town called Asbestos to rename itself after people ‘scared away’ – by Vincent Wood (Independent – December 1, 2019)

December 2, 2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/

The town of Asbestos, Canada will seek a new name after acknowledging that the moniker “does not have a good connotation – particularly in English-speaking circles”

Founded in 1899 and named for the “grey gold” found in its surrounding hills, the French-speaking town in Quebec once boasted a thriving mining community. However the mine suspended operations in 2011, with the municipal government of Quebec cancelling a $58million loan promised to reopen it a year later.

Now the town has said it needs to move past its heritage for harvesting the hazardous mineral. “As the word ‘Asbestos’ does not have a good connotation, particularly in English-speaking circles, it is a brake on the city’s willingness to develop economic relations abroad,” the local authority said in a statement.

US must counter China’s stranglehold on key minerals – by Matthew Kandrach (Casper Star Tribune – November 29, 2019)

December 2, 2019

https://trib.com/

Matthew Kandrach is the president of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, a free-market oriented consumer advocacy organization.

The element cobalt isn’t something most people think of every day. And yet cobalt is critically important for the production of cell phones, wind turbines, and satellites. It’s also a key part of the lithium-ion battery — making it an essential resource for the emerging green revolution.

Right now, much of the world’s cobalt comes from one source — the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC produces roughly two-thirds of the world’s cobalt. Unfortunately, much of that mining is done by child labor, with revenues that often end up in the hands of autocratic rulers and warlords.

As global competition for resources like cobalt continues to grow, one country has moved quickly to dominate the field. Thanks to heavy investment in the DRC, China now owns much of the world’s cobalt production. In fact, China’s heavy investment in both copper and cobalt has given it a strong stake in global metal and mineral supplies.

Climate protesters storm German coal mines (Deutsche Welle – December 30, 2019)

December 2, 2019

https://www.dw.com/en/

Several major coal mines in eastern Germany were hit by protests on Saturday as activists criticized the German government’s climate change plans and urged an immediate coal phase-out.

Authorities said more than 1,000 people took part in the protests, which targeted the Jänschwalde and Welzow-Süd mines in the state of Brandenburg, as well as the United Schleenhain mine in the state of Saxony.

The environmental group Ende Gelände (End of the Road) put the number of protesters at 4,000. Activists blocked train tracks at some sites, seeking to disrupt the flow of coal to power plants.

Secret mission moves billions in gold from London to Poland – by Staff (Fox Business – November 30, 2019)

December 2, 2019

https://www.foxbusiness.com/

It seems like a page taken out of a spy novel. Four trucks pull out of a “secret” facility somewhere in London while the city sleeps. A police escort on the ground and the air joins the heavy trucks with lights flashing to clear the road and a helicopter whirring above.

The passenger receiving this high-security entourage? Twenty large wooden crates filled with solid gold bars. The events last Friday were not the first time this mission was carried out.

“It was the eighth time we had made the trip, in the middle of the night,” Paul Holt, general manager of G4Si in Europe (North and South), Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, said. “It was all very secretive, and extremely important it was done well.” Any large delivery of gold would seem important given the value of the cargo. But these shipments were important because of the historic significance.