Republic of Mining

Mining Illinois: is it time up for coal mining? – by Heidi Vella (Mining Technology – November 7, 2019)

November 7, 2019

https://www.mining-technology.com/

The Illinois coal basin is one of the oldest and most productive in the US, but as the coal market continues to slump, and new mine closures are being announced, many are beginning to wonder, can the industry overcome this latest challenge? Heidi Vella investigates.

Coal was first mined along the 400-mile-long Illinois coal basin, which covers parts of Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky, by settlers in the 1800s. According to the Illinois Coal Association (ICA), by the1900s, coal was being produced in at least 52 of the region’s 102 counties, nine of which were producing more than one million tons a year. Overall, it’s thought more than 7,400 mines have operated in Illinois.

The basin, which has the second largest coal reserves in the US, is known for producing cheap, sulphur-rich, bituminous coal. In recent years, this soft, highly polluting type of coal has lost much of its market due to emission restrictions put on US power plants under the Obama administration. According to the ICA, these regulations saw around 25% of coal power plants close down, creating a massive decline in demand for the coal mining industry.

Baffinland blasted for its approach to community consultations – by Elaine Anselmi (Nunatsiaq News – November 6, 2019)

November 7, 2019

https://nunatsiaq.com/

Pond Inlet resident Tim Anaviapik Soucie says the problems with Baffinland’s approach to community consultation for its plans to expand its Mary River mine were evident from the moment chairs were set up in the room.

“Lining people up in chairs to talk to us tells us who is important and who is in charge,” Soucie told the Nunavut Impact Review Board during its hearing in Iqaluit on Tuesday, Nov. 5. “Circles do away with this.”

Soucie described Baffinland’s team arriving in town with a PowerPoint presentation that celebrated their achievements and work so far, and then asked if there were any questions. “This is not consultation,” he said.

Gold prices are trading near record highs, so why are Australia’s mineral explorers crying poor? – by Jarrod Lucas (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – November 6, 2019)

November 7, 2019

https://www.abc.net.au/

The movers and shakers in Australia’s mineral exploration industry could be channelling Tom Cruise’s character from the movie Jerry Maguire because they constantly seem to be shouting: “show me the money!” Known as the lifeblood of the mining industry, exploration is an expensive game which is as much a gamble as it is an investment.

There are never any guarantees a rich mineral deposit lies beneath the surface and for all the mining industry’s technological advances in recent decades, the best way to make new discoveries is by drilling into the earth. The pay-off can be big if a company strikes it lucky.

Case in point is one-time penny dreadful stock Sirius Resources, which was almost broke when it discovered the Nova nickel-copper deposit in Western Australia in 2012 before completing one of the great rags-to-riches stories in 2015 with Independence Group’s $1.8-billion takeover.

Indonesia may decide on Thursday whether to resume nickel ore exports (Reuters U.S. – November 6, 2019)

November 7, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia may decide this week whether to resume nickel ore exports after halting shipments to investigate reports of export rule violations, a senior official from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Maritime and Investment Affairs Coordinating Ministry, which has overall responsibility for mining activities, meets on Thursday to review the results of the investigation, Yunus Saefulhak, the director of minerals, told a conference.

The government ordered a temporary halt to exports of nickel ore on Oct. 28 following reports that exports had surged after Indonesia said an export ban would be implemented from January 2020, bringing it forward from 2022.

Dozens dead in attack on Canadian miner Semafo’s convoy in Burkina Faso – by Nicolas Van Praet and Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – November 7, 2019)

November 7, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Assailants ambushed a convoy carrying employees of Canadian gold miner Semafo Inc. in Burkina Faso and killed dozens of people, one of the deadliest insurgent attacks in the West African country in recent years.

The raid occurred on a road between the town of Fada and Semafo’s flagship Boungou gold mine in Burkina Faso’s eastern region of Est, the Montreal-based mining company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The local governor for the region said 37 people were killed and more than 60 injured in what he called an “ambush” by unidentified individuals. “The governor firmly condemns this barbaric and cowardly attack,” regional governor Lieutenant-Colonel Saidou T.P. Sanou said in an official statement.

NEWS RELEASE: MATAWA FIRST NATIONS STATEMENT ON HIDDEN MINING ACT AMENDMENTS IN THE PROPOSED ‘BETTER FOR PEOPLE, SMARTER FOR BUSINESS ACT’ (November 6, 2019)

November 7, 2019

THUNDER BAY, ON: – Today, the Chiefs of the nine Matawa First Nations (MFN) released the following statement in response to the Government of Ontario’s newly proposed legislation, Bill 132 Better for People, Smarter for Business Act tabled on Monday, October 28, 2019 during the 1st session of the 42nd legislature of the Ontario Legislative Assembly by the Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction.

“The proposed Better for People, Smarter for Business Act is deeply problematic for the Matawa Chiefs for a number of reasons. Notwithstanding the fact that the proposed bill, in its current omnibus form, covers a number of diverse and unrelated topics that were not brought forward in advance publicly for consultation, debate and scrutiny—we oppose the proposed amendments in relation to the Ontario Mining Act as they impact on our pre-existing inherent rights embodied in our jurisdiction and also protected by 35(1) of the Canada Constitution Act, 1982.

As the 4th annual Treaties Recognition Week is celebrated this week in the province, the proposed Better for People, Smarter for Business is a move to diminish these rights and instead prioritizes the interests of business and the economy.

Close offices, cut jobs, Barrick CEO says as he calls for consolidation in the gold industry – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 6, 2019)

November 7, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive officer says the gold-mining sector needs more merger activity to capitalize on the cost savings that come from closing head offices and cutting staff.

Mark Bristow helped kick start a wave of deal making in the industry last year when his Africa-focused Randgold Resources Ltd. agreed to be sold to Barrick for US$6-billion. A few months later, Newmont Mining Corp. announced it would acquire Goldcorp Inc. for US$10-billion, creating the world’s largest gold mining company. Barrick and Newmont also agreed this year to combine some operations in Nevada in order to reduce costs.

Now, he says, the time has come for more deals and more job cuts at gold companies. Under Mr. Bristow, Randgold was known for employing a skeleton crew at its head office.

Nutrien CEO: 2020 will see strong recovery from this year’s soft fertilizer demand – by Canadian Press (Toronto Star – November 6, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://www.thestar.com/

SASKATOON – Nutrien Ltd. says global demand for fertilizer is weaker than anticipated this year due to poor weather in North America and offshore buyers that have chosen to draw down their inventories.

As a result, the Saskatoon-based company has lowered key estimates for 2019, including a further reduction on potash sales volume following an earlier downward revision issued in September.

Nutrien’s potash sales for this year are now estimated at between 11.6 million and 12 million tonnes, down 300,000 tonnes from September, and one million tonnes lower than its estimate in July.

The West doesn’t need Quebec to get its oil flowing East. There is another way – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – November 6, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Oil could move year-round through a pipeline-to-tanker operation loaded from a facility on the West Coast of Hudson Bay

The future of Alberta’s oil and gas resources has never looked grimmer. Anti-pipeline activists promoting the ideology of climate change have infiltrated federal and provincial governments, leaving Canada’s fossil-fuel rich Western provinces in seeming isolation.

Some First Nation groups and environmentalists went to court Tuesday to shut down the Trans Mountain XL oilsands pipeline to Canada’s West Coast. In Quebec, Bloc Québécois federal leader Yves-François Blanchet and Premier François Legault promise to block any attempt to build new pipeline capacity through their province to Canada’s East Coast.

There is an alternative for the West, for Alberta’s oil and maybe for the future of Confederation. To put it bluntly, the West doesn’t need Quebec. To get oil to the East and other parts of the world, where fossil fuel demand is set to grow no matter how hard the United Nations tries to shut it down, veteran Canadian energy transport expert Michael H. Bell has a plan.

Trump activated a long-dormant clause in Cuba trade war — and it’s starting to hurt Canadian companies – by Naomi Powell (Financial Post – November 5, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Sherritt International is suffering from a ratcheting up of U.S. restrictions on everything from financial transactions, to travel and shipping

Tougher U.S. sanctions on Cuba squeezed Sherritt International in the third quarter, disrupting the supply of diesel to its nickel mine on the island and casting doubt over the timing of key payments in foreign currency.

The Toronto based firm, which operates the Moa mine as a joint venture with the Cuban government, was forced to adopt conservation measures including running fewer mining trucks as U.S. sanctions on oil shipments worsened an acute fuel shortage.

The measures reduced production of mixed sulphite, though nickel production was unaffected. Mixed sulphides production is now back on track and access to fuel supply returned to normal in the fourth quarter, the company said in a call with investors Friday.

Trevali eyes $80m Namibia expansion, moves operations down cost curve – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – November 6, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Base metals miner Trevali, which owns operations in Peru, Canada, Namibia and Burkina Faso, has launched a “transformative improvement programme”, dubbed T90, which aims to move its operations down the cost curve.

Trevali is targeting $50-million in pre-tax yearly sustainable efficiencies over the next two years, culminating in all-in sustaining costs (AISC) falling to $0.90/lb by the beginning of 2022.

“We will accomplish this through operational improvements, standardization, and the deployment of technology. This plan will give us the platform to scale and additional improvements beyond T90 are undoubtedly in front of us as it opens the door to the reduction in cut off grades and extended mine lives at our operations,” said president and CEO Ricus Grimbeek.

Goldcorp mines weigh on Newmont gold output as it cuts forecast – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 6, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A little more than six months after buying Goldcorp Inc., Newmont Goldcorp Corp. is struggling to make the acquisition work.

On Tuesday, Denver-based Newmont missed analysts’ estimates for the third quarter and cut its production forecast for the year, as the world’s biggest gold company contends with operational problems at mines formerly owned by Vancouver-based Goldcorp.

During the quarter ended Sept. 30, Newmont dealt with the aftermath of a serious fire at its Musselwhite mine in Northern Ontario, and a blockade at its Penasquito mine in Mexico. Grades at Éléonore, a mine in Quebec, also disappointed in the quarter.

Canada saw fewer mining deals in September compared to the rest of the year – report – by Staff (Mining.com – November 5, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s metals and mining industry saw a drop of 17.5% in overall deal activity during September 2019, when compared with the last 12-month average, a new report reveals.

The document, prepared by market intelligence firm GlobalData, presents a review of all deals the industry registered in September.

A total of 33 deals worth C$383.35 million were announced during the ninth month of the year. This result is seven deals below the 12-month average of 40 deals per month.

‘Mailbox 200’: Soviet waste dump a landslide away from poisoning millions – by Mariya Gordeyeva (Reuters U.S. – November 5, 2019)

November 6, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

MAILUU-SUU, Kyrgyzstan (Reuters) – Hidden in a remote Central Asian gorge, thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste are one landslide away from contaminating the water supply for the whole Ferghana valley, home to millions of people, environmentalists say.

Neglected for decades by the Soviet Union and then Kyrgyzstan, uranium ore dumps near the town of Mailuu-Suu must be urgently reinforced to prevent disaster, according to the European Commission and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) which are raising funds for the project.

“There are 14 million people in the Ferghana valley and in the event of a natural disaster water may wash away the tailings into the Naryn (Syr Darya) river which will be a tragedy for the whole valley,” says Bolotbek Karimov, an environment researcher based in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh.