Republic of Mining

[Webequie FN] First Nation takes the lead on the supply road to the Ring of Fire – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A First Nation community is breaking new ground is leading the environmental assessment and consultation process on a proposed short supply road to the Ring of Fire.

Webequie First Nation, the closest fly-in community to the James Bay mineral belt, is hosting a series of public information sessions in Thunder Bay this week to share information with the public about the road project and to gather feedback.

It’s part of the early stages of a larger environmental assessment (EA) process that’s underway for a planned 107-kilometre all-season road between the Webequie Airport and the area around McFaulds Lake, better known as the Ring of Fire, 535 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

Teck Resources cutting B.C. jobs after price of coal plunges (CBC News British Columbia – October 8, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/

Coal workers in British Columbia are bracing for leaner times. The price of metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, has fallen by about 40 per cent since the summer and Teck Resources, which operates four mines in the province’s Elk Valley region, is warning employees there will be layoffs.

In a letter dated Sept. 26 from Robin Sheremeta, Teck’s senior vice president of coal, to all employees at the four operations, the company noted the price of coal had dropped from approximately $210 per tonne to about $130 per tonne in a few weeks.

The letter outlined Teck’s plans to save money, which include an immediate salary and hiring freeze, reduced and deferred training and job losses.

French government appoints new mining delegate to French Guiana – by John Williams (Global Mining Review – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.globalminingreview.com/

Columbus Gold Corp. has announced that in September the French government appointed Didier Le Moine as the new mining delegate and coordinator of mining projects in French Guiana.

Le Moine, a mining engineer, formally held the position of Director of Industry, Mines and Energy in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, where a nickel mining industry was successfully established.

Le Moine’s new mandate is to define, coordinate and implement actions for the development of a responsible mining industry in French Guiana that is compatible with France’s ecological ambitions, is respectful of the populations and generates wealth and jobs for the territory.

Workers at Fura emerald mine in Colombia labor in unsafe conditions: ex-employees – by Julia Symmes Cobb (Reuters U.S. – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

COSCUEZ, Colombia (Reuters) – Workers at the Colombian emerald mine run by Canada’s Fura Gems’ – the first publicly-traded emerald miner operating in the South American nation – have been laboring in unsafe conditions and sometimes lack basic safety equipment, according to four former employees.

Fura set out early last year to revive production at the fabled, four-century-old Coscuez mine, once the Andean country’s largest producer of the gem.

The Toronto-based company promised to operate by the book in a province known for organized crime and dangerous wildcat mining but the sources – who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals – said it had been falling short.

Iamgold Sale Stalls as Chinese Bidders’ Talks Fail – by Vinicy Chan, Harry Brumpton and Scott Deveau (Bloomberg News – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The sale of Iamgold Corp. has stalled after the mid-tier Canadian gold miner failed to reach an agreement with several Chinese suitors, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Chinese gold producers including China National Gold Group Corp., Shandong Gold Mining Co. and Zijin Mining Group Co. had all shown interest in Iamgold, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. But discussions stumbled over price as well as concerns related to ongoing Sino-Canada political tensions, the people said.

Though talks have stalled, it’s still possible a suitor may re-enter with a better offer, according to one of the people. The Canadian company could also decide to pursue other options, such as selling a stake in its Cote project, the people said. Representatives for Iamgold, China National Gold, Shandong Gold and Zijin Mining declined to comment.

Editorial: Funds demand more tailings transparency – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – October 8, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.northernminer.com/

Less than a week after the Jan. 25 tailings dam collapse at Vale’s Feijao iron ore mine in Brazil that killed 251 people and left 19 missing, the Church of England Pensions Board, along with Sweden’s Public Pension Funds Council, Dutch funds APG and Robeco, New Zealand Super, the U.K.’s LGPS Central and Canada’s BMO Global Asset Management — together representing over US$1.3 trillion in assets — jointly called for a global independent public classification system that would monitor the safety risk of tailings dams.

The Church of England Pensions Board estimates there are 18,000 tailings storage facilities (TSFs) worldwide, 3,500 of which are active, but says there is no consolidated public register of them. “Without a global register, the precise scale of the risks are not clear, nor is it clear which company has responsibility for which facilities,” it says.

“This proposal will drive a new level of accountability and transparency within the mining sector,” Adam Matthews, director of Ethics and Engagement for the Church of England Pensions Board, stated on Jan. 31. “Simply put, these failures of tailings dams should not be happening. These are not black-swan events.”

Hunt for Palladium Riches Sends South African Miners Abroad – by Felix Njini (Bloomberg News – October 8, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Southern Africa is home to the world’s richest platinum deposits, but when Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. pondered how to invest its windfall profits it chose North America instead.

The acquisition of North American Palladium Ltd. is partly a bet on platinum’s sister metal palladium continuing to rally, while Implats Chief Executive Officer Nico Muller has also stressed the appeal of a relatively quick payback from low-cost, mechanized assets. However, the deal is also a geopolitical play as the Johannesburg-based miner seeks to balance exposure to its more volatile home region.

“The diversification into North America provides a hedge against some of the socio-economic, political and structural risks the company faces in South Africa and Zimbabwe,” said Christopher Nicholson, an analyst at RMB Morgan Stanley.

China And The U.S. Fight Over Australian Rare Earths – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.forbes.com/

The U.S. hunt for future supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals has led Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to Australia this week where he might not get the reception he was expecting.

China is not only well entrenched in the Australian mining industry but an academic paper released to coincide with Ross’s visit suggest that China could be a more reliable source of project development capital for new mining projects.

Published by the United States Studies Center at the University of Sydney the paper’s theme was whether there was scope for government intervention in rare earths, an industry dominated by China but important to many countries because rare earth elements have unique properties.

Stunning photos show what it’s really like to work deep underground in an American coal mine – by James Pasley (Business Insider – October 5, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.businessinsider.com/

Coal mining is dark, dirty, and dangerous work. It’s not for everyone — it’s for the few who love to descend into the bowels of the Earth to extract “black gold.” Even as they face the risk of mines collapsing, or catching on fire, or the long term health threats like black lung.

As Curtis Burton, who spent the last 17 years working in or for coal mines in Pennsylvania, told Business Insider, coal mining is a hard job, but it’s also entirely unique. “Every day you’re seeing a part of the earth nobody else is seeing ever,” he said.

Coal currently fuels just under 40% of the world’s electricity. It’s the most polluting fossil fuel, but it’s also cheap and relatively plentiful. In the US, natural gas and renewables are replacing it as the top energy sources, even as President Donald Trump has promised to bring coal mining back.

[Copper Mining] THE BOUGAINVILLE REFERENDUM AND BEYOND – by Ben Bohane (Lowyu Institute – October 8, 2019)

October 9, 2019

http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Australia has a long history and a complicated relationship with Bougainville, an island group to the east of the PNG mainland that was administered by Australia as part of Papua New Guinea for 60 years between 1915 and 1975.

On 23 November 2019, its 300 000 people will commence voting in an independence referendum, and a clear majority is expected to vote for independence from Papua New Guinea. The Bougainville Peace Agreement requires PNG and Bougainville to negotiate an outcome after the conclusion of the referendum, and Canberra has indicated that it will respect any settlement reached between them. James Marape, the new PNG prime minister, has expressed a clear preference for an autonomous, not independent, Bougainville.

With geostrategic rivalry growing across the Pacific, Australia will need to step up its engagement and consider further policy approaches to Bougainville if it wishes to remain a trusted peace and security broker in Melanesia. If the people of Bougainville vote for independence and are unable to reach agreement with the government of Papua New Guinea, the Bougainville issue may precipitate another regional crisis.

Top-five BHP investor Aberdeen Standard piles on climate pressure ahead of AGM – by Barbara Lewis and Simon Jessop (Reuters U.S. – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – One of BHP’s biggest shareholders Aberdeen Standard Investments on Wednesday added to pressure for the world’s leading miner to cut ties with lobby groups it says are at odds with the company’s pledges on climate leadership.

Earlier, the Church of England Pensions Board urged shareholder advisers to review their opposition to a resolution calling on BHP to withdraw from groups that lobby for policies inconsistent with global climate change limitation goals.

Aberdeen Standard Investments, which holds around 3.2% of BHP’s stock, said it was taking the rare step of speaking out ahead of a vote at BHP’s annual shareholder meeting in London on Oct. 17 because of the urgency of tackling climate change, and after its research found the lobby groups were the biggest single obstacle to progress.

India set to become net iron-ore importer – by Ajoy K Das (MiningWeekly.com – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.miningweekly.com/

KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – India is poised to become a net importer of iron-ore during the next financial year, as the domestic market shifts from surplus to deficit.

Supply-side disruptions could lead to an estimated deficit of about 50-million tons during 2020/21, forcing imports of between 25-million and 30-million tons a year.

According to the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), state governments of iron-ore-bearing states were scheduled to put up for auction 48 iron-ore blocks where mining leases were expiring on March 31, 2020.

Alaska Natives and fishermen sue EPA for reversing Pebble Mine decision – by Richard Read (Los Angeles Times – October 8, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/

SEATTLE — Trump administration officials broke the law when they reversed course and gave a green light to a proposed copper and gold mine near Alaska’s Bristol Bay, mining opponents said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Alaska Native, commercial fishing and economic development organizations said the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision July 30 to step aside and let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determine whether to permit the Pebble Mine was “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion” and illegal.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage is the latest challenge to the project that the EPA’s Seattle branch criticized in written comments July 1 before abruptly reversing course, withdrawing the agency’s option to block the proposed open-pit copper and gold mine.

Battling ‘battery cell scarcity’ and manufacturing hiccups, Tesla quietly buys Ontario automation firm – by Gabriel Friedland (Financial Post – October 9, 2019)

October 9, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Richmond Hill-based Hibar Systems Ltd., which specializes in building ‘complex high speed integrated battery assembly lines,’ now a subsidiary of Tesla

Tesla Inc. has quietly acquired an Ontario-based battery manufacturer in its latest investment in Canada. Richmond Hill-based Hibar Systems Ltd., which specializes in building “complex high speed integrated battery assembly lines,” is now a subsidiary of the California-based electric vehicle maker.

Terms of the deal, including price, were not disclosed, but Tesla filed lobbying forms in October in Ottawa that list Hibar as a subsidiary, as first reported by trade magazine Electric Autonomy, and the company has scaled back its website to a single page.

The move comes amid Tesla’s well-known manufacturing challenges, having consistently missed ambitious production targets despite making large investments in robotics and other technology to automate its processes.