Republic of Mining

Landowners Ready To Reopen [Bougainville] Panguana Mine (Papua New Guinea Post-Courier – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://postcourier.com.pg/

Landowners of the decommissioned Panguna Copper Mine are now prepared to reopen the mine as soon as the next Bougainville House of Representatives is installed.

Seeing that as the only means of generating income for Bougainville as soon as it gains independence status, the landowners have agreed that Panguna will finance Bougainville like it financed Papua New Guinea back in the 1970s and 80s.

Special Mining Lease Osikayang Landowners Association (SML-OLA) mobilised all landowners from different parts of Panguna to gather at the edge of the mine pit to show that they were now one and ready to re-open the mine when Bougainville gained its independence.

OPINION: [Sudbury History] For Sudbury, the signs are all there – by Michael Atkins (Northern Ontario Businee – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

It was 1977. The price of nickel was in the tank. INCO was warning about massive layoffs, and speculation about negotiations between the United Steelworkers union and INCO was that there would be no way to avoid a strike.

Financial analysts thought it would be a gift to INCO to go on strike because the price of nickel was so low and the stockpiles so high. The union didn’t go quietly. They embarked on one of the toughest and longest labour strikes in Canadian history. It was brutal. Sudbury suffered enormously. It was never the same.

The year before the strike of ’78, a group of community leaders, anticipating the brutal layoffs, began meeting informally about what could be done. They called the gathering ‘Sudbury 2001.’

France’s LVMH close to buying Tiffany after sweetening offer: sources – by Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters U.S. – November 24, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – LVMH (LVMH.PA) is close to buying U.S. jewelry chain Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) for about $16.3 billion after sweetening its offer, sources said on Sunday, as the owner of Louis Vuitton and Bulgari aims to tap the fast-growing luxury jewelry market.

The two sides are close to an agreement after the French luxury goods company raised its offer price for the company known for its engagement rings and ties to Hollywood glamor to $135 per share, sources familiar with the matter said.

The boards of both companies will be presented with the terms of the deal on Sunday, one source said. A deal could be announced later on Sunday or on Monday, two other sources said.

Rallies in twin Saults protest plans for ferrochrome plant – by Darren Taylor (Northern Ontario Business – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Groups of environmentally concerned citizens gathered in the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie – in Ontario, Canada and in Michigan, U.S. – on Nov. 23 for coordinated rallies to protest Noront Resources’ planned ferrochrome production facility for Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

“I know of people in Marquette, all over the state of Michigan, who are concerned about the building of this facility,” said James McCall, Sault Michigan resident, speaking to SooToday.

About 20 protesters gathered on the U.S. side at 1 p.m., intending to stay at that location until 6 p.m., the group including professional environmentalists and members of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Nutrien forced to shut down largest mine due to CN strike – by Eric Atkins (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The week-long strike by 3,200 Canadian National Railway Co. train conductors has forced the shutdown of Nutrien Ltd.’s potash mine in Rocanville, Sask.

Nutrien, the world’s largest fertilizer company, said on Monday it will halt output at its largest mine for two weeks beginning Dec. 2., as the impact of the strike at Canada’s largest rail company widens.

“It is extremely disappointing that in a year when the agricultural sector has been severely impacted by poor weather and trade disputes, the CN strike will add further hardship to the Canadian agriculture industry,” said Chuck Magro, Nutrien’s chief executive officer. “Any further disruption will be harmful to our business, the Canadian economy, and Canada’s competitive position and reputation as a reliable supplier of fertilizer and food.”

OPINION: The CN strike and our ensuing winter of discontent – by Melanie Paradis (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Melanie Paradis is a director at McMillan Vantage Policy Group.

What started with coal miners in the United Kingdom may serve as a warning for what could come for Quebec and the rest of Canada this winter. With a new minority Parliament and a Senate in disarray, an inability or unwillingness to act could trigger Canada’s own Winter of Discontent.

In the mid-1970s, the British economy was struggling, a problem compounded by soaring inflation. Wages had not kept pace, so coal miners began job actions across Britain. At a time when most of the country’s electricity was produced by coal-burning power stations, the effect was immediate and severe, touching the lives of families and businesses alike.

Within a month of the initial job actions, the British government temporarily implemented a three-day workweek in order to reduce electricity consumption and conserve coal stocks.

BHP Plans to Increase Its Stake in Ecuador-Focused SolGold – by Thomas Biesheuvel and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group increased its stake in Ecuadorian copper miner SolGold Plc, another sign that the biggest miners are increasing exposure to copper in the hope that the electrification of cities and cars will boost demand.

SolGold shares surged the most since June after Bloomberg earlier reported the companies were in talks. Melbourne-based BHP paid 17.1 million pounds ($22 million) to raise its holding in the company to 14.7%, almost drawing level with top investor Newcrest Mining Ltd.

Brisbane-based SolGold’s interests in Ecuador include the flagship Alpala copper-gold project, which the company estimates has a potential 55-year life and is among the world’s best undeveloped deposits. The company is also studying 13 other priority targets in the nation, according to a presentation this month.

RPT-As lithium prices drop, private equity investors hunt for deals – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters U.S. – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

Nov 22 (Reuters) – Private equity groups and other investors have grown emboldened by the lithium industry’s malaise, forging plans to invest billions of dollars in mining projects to develop the electric vehicle battery metal.

A more than 50 percent drop in lithium prices since 2018 has unnerved industry executives, fueling cuts to capital spending and halting expansions. Shares in major lithium producers have dropped as a result, exacerbating retail investor anxiety.

But Carlyle Group-backed Traxys and other nontraditional investors and lenders say they sense a buying opportunity, as electric vehicles grow in popularity and fossil fuels are phased out in a rising number of countries.

Kirkland Lake buying Detour Gold in all-stock deal worth $4.9-billion – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. is buying Detour Gold Corp. in an all-stock deal worth $4.9-billion that sees one of the industry’s best-performing gold companies buy a turnaround play.

Toronto-based Kirkland is paying 0.4343 Kirkland shares for each Detour share, a 24-per-cent premium to Friday’s closing price. The transaction sees Kirkland, which already has mines in Ontario and Australia, add another major asset in a safe jurisdiction.

Thanks to the success of Kirkland Lake’s Fosterville mine in Australia, it has been the best-performing major gold stock in the world over the past few years.

Ottawa should watch and learn as B.C. is about to become a testing ground for Indigenous rights – Editorial (Globe and Mail – November 25, 2019)

November 25, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

British Columbia is about to become the first place in Canada to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

The NDP provincial government in late October introduced a bill that calls on it, working with Indigenous people, to “take all measures necessary” to align the laws of B.C. with UNDRIP. The UN passed the declaration and its 46 articles as a non-binding resolution in 2007. The B.C. bill is on track to become law as soon as this week.

And yet it is still not clear what UNDRIP in B.C. law will mean, or what the consequences will be. There are concerns about the phrase “free, prior and informed consent” in a number of articles in the declaration – including around resource development. The meaning of consent is undefined and the impact is difficult to predict. This page has previously expressed these worries, but there may be a silver lining in B.C.’s move to codify the declaration.

China boosting coal power despite global plea to cut emissions – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 22, 2019)

November 23, 2019

https://www.mining.com/

Less than four years after China vowed to limit the use of coal and cancelled more than 100 coal power projects, a new study shows the nation — the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter — is back in love with the fossil fuel.

According to the latest report by Global Energy Monitor, a non-profit group that tracks coal stations, the Asian giant is set to fire up enough coal-based power plants to match the entire capacity of the European Union, which currently sits at 149 gigawatts (GW).

Across the country, 148 GW of coal-fired plants are either being built or are about to begin construction, the study shows. The figure is also higher than the combined 105 gigawatts under construction in the rest of the world, it notes.

The IPCC isn’t quite as apocalyptic as Greta Thunberg – by Conrad Black (National Post – November 23, 2019)

November 23, 2019

https://nationalpost.com/

I am not trying to twist the IPCC’s meaning. It clearly acknowledges that an acceleration (and a slight acceleration at that) in global warming is not certain and if it occurs at all, it will not be solely due to human activities

The Green Terror grips Canada. Everyone can agree that environmental pollution should be combated and everyone can agree that maximum vigilance should be exercised to deduce what climate changes are occurring and to determine the appropriate response.

But in enunciating these unexceptionable points and stopping there, I lay myself open to immense obloquy as a climate denier, though I am not denying anything for which there is evidence. Historians of the future will wring their hands in wonderment that we have succumbed to a cultic madness, and elevated its most strident or spectacular espousers to a position of totalitarian intellectual authority.

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, tours the world like an atheistic St. Joan of Arc, high priestess of the evangelizing religion of climatism, transmitting her Revelations. She is actually preaching from the latest report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group that has had serious intermittent problems of credibility, with dire predictions that have simply not come to pass.

How jihadists struck gold in Africa’s Sahel – by David Lewis and Rya McNeill (Reuters U.S. – November 22, 2019)

November 22, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

OUAGADOUGOU – People around Pama, a West African town on the edge of vast forested conservation areas, had long been forbidden by their government to dig for gold in the reserves, to protect antelope, buffalo and elephants. In mid-2018, men wearing turbans changed the rules.

Riding in with assault rifles on motorbikes and in 4X4 trucks, they sent government troops and rangers fleeing from the area in eastern Burkina Faso bordering the Sahel, a belt of scrubland south of the Sahara Desert. The armed men said residents could mine in the protected areas, but there would be conditions. Sometimes they demanded a cut of the gold. At other times they bought and traded it.

The men “told us not to worry. They told us to pray,” said one man who gave his name as Trahore and said he had worked for several months at a mine called Kabonga, a short drive northwest of Pama. Like other miners who spoke to Reuters, he asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. It was not safe for reporters to visit the region, but five other miners who had been to Kabonga corroborated his account.

As you celebrate the Berlin Wall’s ‘fall’ in 1989, remember 1979, too – by Raymond de Souza (National Post – November 22, 2019)

November 22, 2019

https://nationalpost.com/

The coverage of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurred earlier this month, was disappointing. Much of it made it seem as if the wall just fell down, like a weathered old barn. But it did not fall down; it was torn down. Little coverage seemed interested in why and how.

The error was made in high places. Before the anniversary, Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, put out an official statement in which he paid tribute to the Gdansk shipyard workers and Prague’s Charter 77. But mostly he offered Euro-speak about multilateral efforts to combat climate change.

Maas, like so many others, did not acknowledge that the key turning point in the Cold War, the events that made 1989 happen in the way that it did — non-violently through a moral revolution — began 10 years earlier in 1979. In 1979, St. John Paul II visited Poland. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Sudbury: Construction underway on infrastructure for Vale’s $750M Copper Cliff mine expansion – by Erik White (CBC News Sudbury – November 19, 2019)

November 22, 2019

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

New expanded Copper Cliff mine expected to open in 2021

Construction is underway in Copper Cliff on a set of massive ventilation fans to supply fresh and warm air to miners below. It’s part of Vale’s $750 million refurbishing of the existing Copper Cliff north and south mines.

Danica Pagnutti, the mining company’s senior advisor on corporate and Indigenous affairs, says workers will be tackling new ore bodies beneath Copper Cliff beginning in 2021.

“This is really about the future of our operations here in Sudbury. It represents a major expansion and new sources of ore for our operations, so this is a very important project for us,” she says. “We’re going to need 200 miners and 200 tradespeople and a whole host of supporting roles. It’s a great time at Vale and we are hiring.”