Republic of Mining

The road to nowhere: Claims Ontario’s Ring of Fire is worth $60-billion are nonsense – by Niall McGee and Jeff Gray (Globe and Mail – October 26, 2019)

October 26, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has talking points he’s fond of repeating – over and over again – and one of his favourites is a pledge to build a billion-dollar road to a boggy, remote region of Northern Ontario known as the Ring of Fire.

When asked about the promise by a reporter at a plowing match in September, Mr. Ford repeated almost verbatim an infamous tweet from last year’s provincial election campaign: “If I have to hop on a bulldozer myself, we’re going to start building roads to the Ring of Fire.”

“You’re going to see me on that bulldozer,” Mr. Ford declared, with a confident chuckle. The declaration by the Ontario premier is just one example of the big talk over the past decade by politicians of all stripes about the Ring of Fire.

Diamonds hold promise for a better future for Africa – WDC president – by Tasneem Bulbulia (MiningWeekly.com – October 25, 2019)

October 25, 2019

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Diamond-producing countries on the African continent received about $8.1-billion in 2018, or 9.5% of the $85.9-billion worth of revenues generated from the sale of diamond jewellery, and some still may consider that an insufficient share, World Diamond Council (WDC) president Stephane Fischler told delegates attending the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, earlier this week.

He stressed that the economic potential of the diamond resource, whose value increased by about a factor of five as it travelled from the mine to the countertop of the retail jeweller, was indisputable.

“Diamond deposits hold the promise of a better future for all African producing countries, and more specifically for the communities living in the areas where they are located.

A Message From Canada [Energy Industry]

October 25, 2019

https://www.canadaaction.ca/ Canada Action is an entirely volunteer-led grassroots movement encouraging Canadians to take action and work together in support of our vital natural resources sector. We believe it’s critical to educate Canadians about the social and economic benefits provided by the resource sector and industry’s commitment to world-class environmental stewardship.

Chinese-owned nickel plant in PNG shut down after toxic slurry spill – by Bethanie Harriman (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – October 24, 2019)

October 25, 2019

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

Papua New Guinean authorities have shut down a Chinese-owned nickel processing plant for breaching safety and mining laws, after the operator spilled tens of thousands of litres of toxic slurry into a bay in August.

PNG’s Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) chose to take punitive action against the Ramu Nico plant, which is majority owned by the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), after it failed to fix problems the authority identified while investigating the spill.

These included incompetency among operators at the plant in PNG’s Madang province, problems with the spillage containment system, and inadequate equipment maintenance.

Call for immigration boom so Canada reaches 100 million people a blueprint for more state intervention – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – October 25, 2019)

October 25, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

A report from an organization co-founded by Dominic Barton brings a certain Xi Jinping tone to prescriptions for a bigger, bolder Canada

In October 2016, about a year after Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were elected with a majority, the government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth’s first report set out a bold agenda: Canada should aim to become a nation of 100 million by the end of the century.

The council, headed by one of Trudeau’s economic gurus, Dominic Barton, proposed increasing annual immigration to 450,000 a year by 2021, launching the country toward escalating prosperity created by “skilled and talented people” eager to build a nation of “inclusive economic growth.”

Through the fevered immigration environment of the last three years, the objective has mostly faded from the policy agenda. In the wake of another election, Barton and other advocates of an immigration boom are back with another report on the same ambitious theme.

What Trudeau’s re-election means for mining in Canada – by JP Casey and Umar Ali (Mining Technology – October 24, 2019)

October 25, 2019

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

Canadian voters have returned liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau to office for a second term, albeit with a significantly reduced share of the vote. Mining Technology reviews the impacts of his first term on Canadian mining, and, with a minority government looming, considers how the sector could be affected over the next four years.

With more than 60 minerals and metals currently being pulled from Canadian soil, the mining industry is a major contributor to the national economy. Mining is responsible for 620,000 jobs and 19% of domestic imports, alongside making a US$97bn contribution to the country’s GDP.

However, the rapid expansion of mining operations have introduced a number of problems . The sector’s greenhouse gas emissions have more than tripled from 22.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e) in 1990 to 74.5mtCO2e in 2016, and some of the most harmful environmental impacts remain unknown, with a 2016 government report finding that 35% of mining facilities profiled by the state provided “incomplete effluent monitoring information”, raising the possibility that over a third of the country’s mines are leaking harmful tailings into local environments.

Metals sector in costly battle to turn green – by Eric Onstad and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – October 25, 2019)

October 25, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Metals producers, from miners to smelters, are grappling with increasingly tough and costly environmental demands imposed by banks seeking cleaner investments.

While the transition may prove overwhelming for smaller producers, larger companies are playing a long game, casting ahead to a period where greener technology helps slash their costs.

Sustainability has been a long-standing issue in metals, covering a wide range of issues including corruption, board structure, jobs, communities around mines and mine waste.

Teck Resources to lay off staff, cut spending as global uncertainty weighs on commodity prices – by Staff (Financial Post – October 24, 2019)

October 25, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Teck Resources Ltd. said it would eliminate jobs, start a cost-cutting program and defer some planned capital projects amid global economic uncertainty that’s weighing on commodity prices.

The Vancouver-based company is aiming to reduce around $500 million from its spending plan through the end of 2020, according to its third-quarter results statement.

“Over the past few years, we have focused our attention on maximizing production to capture margin during periods of higher commodity prices,” said Don Lindsay, president and CEO of the company. “However, current global economic uncertainties are having a significant negative effect on the prices for our products, particularly steelmaking coal.”

Brazil’s Vale earnings miss expectations, cites dam shutdown progress – by Christian Plumb and Roberto Samora (Reuters U.S. – October 24, 2019)

October 25, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian miner Vale (VALE3.SA) on Thursday reported a weaker-than-forecast 15% gain in quarterly earnings as the iron ore exporter tries to overhaul its operations to avoid a recurrence of the dam burst that killed more than 250 people in January.

Vale’s net profit rose to $1.654 billion from $1.408 billion in the year-ago period, missing the $2.72 billion mean of analysts polled by Refinitiv, as an increase in iron ore prices was partially offset by a slump in production following the incident.

Vale, which is still wrestling with the aftermath of the deadly dam collapse near the town of Brumadinho, said it was making progress with its effort to decommission, or shut down, other such dams as Chief Executive Eduardo Bartolomeo reiterated the company’s “commitment to safety.”

‘It’s time Canadian companies stand up’: Agnico-Eagle CEO vows to make the case for energy and mining – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – October 25, 2019)

October 25, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Boyd said he plans to be particularly vocal about the need for federal government investment in Canada’s Arctic

Two days after a federal election left Canada fractured along regional lines, and divided on many issues including whether to build energy pipelines, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. chief executive Sean Boyd said he plans to begin advocating more forcefully for resource development.

The comments came in an interview with the Financial Post on Thursday, when Agnico reported record quarterly gold production of 477,000 ounces, and which has helped propel the company’s stock up by 40 per cent surge this year.

As the company grows into its role as one of Canada’s largest mining companies, Boyd said he plans to be particularly vocal about the need for federal government investment in Canada’s Arctic. His company has spent the past decade building two mines in Nunavut, which still largely lacks roads, energy grids, higher education resources and other infrastructure, and said it plans to use the experience to propound the benefits of mining.

Noront officials grilled on proposed Soo smelter – by Jairus Patterson (CTV News Northern Ontario – October 24, 2019)

October 24, 2019

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

Thursday night in Sault Ste. Marie, residents had an opportunity to speak with Noront Resources officials regarding the ferrochrome smelter that is expected to be built in the city over the next decade as part of the Ring of Fire project.

For five hours, the Noront team was grilled by the public with concerns regarding the proposed smelter. CTV News spoke with Noront President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Coutts at the event. Coutts said his team was asked a lot of questions.

“Some that we can answer and some that we can’t answer yet. We’re taking notes, we’re trying to engage. We’re trying to provide the information that we can,” The information was presented in an open house format in a hotel boardroom with everyone free to move around. It is a set up many residents say just did not work.

From Wyoming to Australia, Coal’s Heartlands Are Retreating – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – October 24, 2019)

October 24, 2019

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg Opinion) — From the Rocky Mountains to the Rhineland and Australia’s Great Dividing Range, the great tide of the coal industry is receding.

The entire Powder River Basin, the region spanning the states of Montana and Wyoming that provides about half of America’s thermal coal, is “distressed,” Moody’s Investors Service wrote in a report last week.

All companies producing coal there are now focusing on mining coking coal elsewhere in the U.S., the ratings company wrote. Output “will likely fall significantly in 2020,” it said.

Column: Copper Study Group slashes both supply and demand forecasts – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – October 24, 2019)

October 24, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has taken the red ink to both sides of this year’s copper market balance equation. Global consumption is now expected to register anaemic growth of just 0.3% this year, compared with the Group’s May assessment of 2.0%.

Supply is expected to fare even worse. The net outcome of these adjustments is a widening of the Group’s forecast supply deficit this year to 320,000 tonnes, from the 190,000 tonnes estimated in May. Next year’s expected balance has been flipped from a deficit of 250,000 tonnes to a surplus of 281,000 tonnes.

These headline findings should be interpreted cautiously given the statistical problems of calculating a supply-usage balance in a 25-million-tonne market.

Nuclear energy is a vital part of solving the climate crisis – by John Gorman (Globe and Mail – October 24, 2019)

October 24, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

I never thought I would become a passionate champion for nuclear energy. But after 20 years of advocating for renewable energy, I’ve overcome the misconceptions I had in the past and I am convinced by the evidence we can’t fight climate change without nuclear.

When I was the chief executive of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, I thought the “holy grail” was to make renewable energy cost-competitive so it could fulfill our energy needs. Today, wind and solar are among the cheapest forms of energy in many places around the world. The generous subsidies that fuelled early growth are no longer at play, yet the growth of wind and solar continues.

Despite the strong growth, the percentage of emissions-free electricity in the world has not increased in 20 years. It’s stuck at 36 per cent, according to a recent IEA report.

Chile´s Codelco shuts Andina mine as general strike hits operations – by Fabian Cambero and Dave Sherwood (Reuters U.S. – October 23, 2019)

October 23, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s state miner Codelco, the world’s top copper producer, said on Wednesday one of its mines was shut and operations at a smelter drastically reduced amid a general strike as protests and chaos have rocked the South American nation.

Six of Codelco’s eight divisions were carrying on with the “majority of their operations,” the company said in a statement.

The strike had shut down Codelco’s Andina copper mine near Santiago, and had also hobbled its Ventanas copper smelting division, which was operating with a skeleton crew to “ensure the security of its facilities.” The company said its Salvador division was operating “partially.”