Republic of Mining

New ‘green mine’ creates over 200 jobs – by Elena De Luigi (Timmins Daily Press – September 24, 2019)

September 24, 2019

https://www.timminspress.com/

CHAPLEAU — Up to 250 jobs have been created with the opening of the new Borden mine in Chapleau. The mine held its official inauguration Monday.

As the first electric mine in the world, it features “state-of-the-art” health and safety controls, digital mining technologies and processes and low-carbon energy vehicles.

The underground fleet will eliminate diesel particulate matter from the environment and lower greenhouse gas emissions to help reduce energy costs, protect employee health and minimize impacts to the environment. Marc Lauzier, general manager for the Newmont Goldcorp Porcupine and Borden mines, said Borden sets a global standard for clean mining.

‘You have stolen my dreams’: Greta Thunberg condemns world leaders for failing to take action on climate change – by Valerie Volcovici and Matthew Green (Globe and Mail – September 24, 2019)

September 24, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Teenage activist Greta Thunberg angrily denounced world leaders on Monday for failing to tackle climate change, unleashing the outrage felt by millions of her peers in the heart of the United Nations by demanding: “How dare you?”

The Swedish campaigner’s brief address electrified the start of a summit aimed at mobilizing governments and businesses to break international paralysis over carbon emissions, which hit record highs last year despite decades of warnings from scientists.

“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?” said Ms. Thunberg, 16, her voice quavering with emotion. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she said.

NEWS RELEASE: Two of Ontario’s Largest Industrial and Engineering Firms Partner With Noront to Advance Ring of Fire Development (September 20, 2019)

September 24, 2019

http://norontresources.com/

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario, Sept. 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront”) (TSX Venture: NOT) announced agreements with Algoma Steel Inc. and Hatch Ltd. today to facilitate development of the Ring of Fire mineral district and the associated Ontario-based processing facilities.

“Noront is partnering with two Ontario-based industrial and engineering giants to advance Ring of Fire development,” said Alan Coutts, President and CEO of Noront Resources. “This is truly a ‘made in Ontario’ collaboration on one of the most economically and socially important projects our province has seen.”

The agreement with Algoma provides Noront with a 5-year, renewable option to lease a brownfield property in Sault Ste. Marie for a period of 99 years. Noront plans to design, construct and operate a ferrochrome production facility which will service the company’s Ring of Fire chromite deposits. This agreement provides Noront and Algoma with an opportunity to re-purpose an existing brownfield location with a view to sharing infrastructure.

Proposed mining project in Newfoundland is going for gold – by Bernice Hiller (CBC News Newfoundland-Labrador – September 23, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

All that glitters is not gold, but people in southwestern Newfoundland are hoping a future gold mine could be right on their doorstep. However, they still have plenty of questions about the plan by Matador Mining and about the impact it would have on the environment and traditional activities, such as hunting and fishing.

Matador has asked government for approval to develop a mine, mill and processing operation for gold ore in the area of Isle aux Morts. As part of the province’s environmental assessment process, the company held two public consultations last week.

Port aux Basques Mayor John Spencer said the impact on wildlife topped the list of questions from the nearly 70 people in attendance. “‘How would this impact the moose and caribou that frequent the area?’ ‘How would this impact the migratory birds?’ ‘What about the salmon?'” said Spencer.

Moving a town to save a mine: the story of Kiruna – by JP Casey (Mining Technology – September 23, 2019)

September 23, 2019

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

The Swedish town of Kiruna is sinking into the caverns excavated by more than half a century of iron ore mining in the region. In response, local officials and the state-owned miner responsible for the mining work are committing over a billion dollars to relocate much of the town three kilometres to the east, trying to transplant the spirit of Kiruna to a new, safer, location. JP Casey takes a look at how you can move a village, to save a mine.

Swedish state-owned miner Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) has enjoyed a profitable and productive few years, with end-of-year profits rising from $512.9m in 2017 to $563.2m in 2018, and total iron ore production climbing from 25.7 million tonnes (Mt) in 2014 to 26.9Mt half a decade later.

However, LKAB faces a unique challenge. Much of the company’s ore is produced at a mine beneath the remote Swedish town of Kiruna, one hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, which is considered to have one of the largest and purest deposits of iron ore in the world.

British Columbia proposes reforms to strengthen oversight of mining industry (Canadian Press/National Post – September 21, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://nationalpost.com/

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government is asking for public feedback on proposed changes to the Mines Act that it says will improve regulation and oversight of the mining sector.

The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources says in a news release it’s proposing to formally separate authorizations and permitting from enforcement and auditing powers. It’s also suggesting establishing an independent oversight unit with an auditing function and enhancing compliance and enforcement.

The Mines Act regulates all mining in B.C. and the proposed amendments are in response to recommendations made by the provincial Office of the Auditor General and a mining jobs task force.

Illegally tapping French Guiana’s forest of gold – by Nick Clark (Al Jazeera.com – September 22, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Thousands of illegal gold miners come to the abundant rainforest of French Guiana in search of a fortune, leaving a trail of environmental destruction.

I am not sure which was more terrifying – the six-metre anaconda coiled beneath the floorboards of the research station or the Eurocopter pilot’s extreme acrobatics over the dense rainforest. Two days in French Guiana and that was not the half of it.

Rainforest covers 98 percent of its territory and to enter the interior you either fly or take to the endless rivers and waterways that meander through a region of jungle the size of Ireland. From above, this carpet of biodiversity spreads in every direction as far as the eye can see, the canopy a thousand shades of green.

This is a rare commodity in Amazonia – intact rainforest. But then suddenly a great gash of brown appears where the trees have been ripped out. “Look! Look down!”

‘We can’t be ignored any longer.’ Young climate activists fighting to have their voices heard ahead of election – by Megan Ogilvie (Toronto Star – September 23, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://www.thestar.com/

It began with one teenage girl skipping school on a Friday to push her government to do something about climate change. Thirteen months after Greta Thunberg sat outside the Swedish Parliament, that small act of protest has erupted into the biggest climate demonstration in history and inspired a generation of young people to fight for a healthy planet.

Friday’s global climate strike saw more than a million people flood the streets in more than 150 countries around the world, including 250,000 in New York City, where Thunberg addressed cheering crowds and demanded global leaders act on the climate crisis.

“It felt like history in the making; it we felt like we were setting the tone for what the future holds,” said Caroline Merner, a 24-year-old climate activist from Vancouver who was among those marching in Manhattan. “The momentum young people have is incredible.”

B.C. mining mogul predicts explosive gold market – by Hayley Woodin (Business In Vancouver – September 19, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://biv.com/

The price of gold is headed for a new high, and when it does, money will flow to companies, predicts mining mogul and philanthropist Frank Giustra, chairman of Leagold Mining Corp. (TSX:LMC). “This is going to be an explosive gold market,” he told Kitco News in an interview earlier this month.

“The world is in uncharted waters right now. We’re living in a world with a global debt bubble, and any time you get debt bubbles of this magnitude that are global, that are fuelled by speculation, something’s going to happen.”

That something, he forecasts, is the price of gold hitting US$1,900 per ounce (about $2,500) – an approximate 27% increase above the spot price for gold midday on September 11. The prediction comes with a caveat: the potential for gold prices to boom comes in the context of a forecasted global economic bust.

Opinion: Perception is not reality: Canada’s energy sector is best in the world – by Mac Van Wielingen (Calagary Herald – September 21, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://calgaryherald.com/

Canada’s energy sector is world-leading in scale and capabilities, but it has been progressively hampered by political, legal and regulatory processes and hostile activism. There’s no justification for the damage we have done to ourselves. The common explanations come wrapped in concern and criticism about our energy sector’s environmental, social and governance standards.

The problem is not what most believe. We are arguably “best in the world” for our standards and performance. Nor is the problem that the industry denies climate change. The problem is misinformation and misunderstanding, the failure to grasp actual realities, the unwillingness to collaborate and a lack of visionary leadership.

The energy and climate vision we are now pursuing may “feel good” for some Canadians and create electoral gains for some political leaders, but the impact on global emissions and climate risk may be insignificant or even adverse.

Salgado’s Amazonia photos beamed on Assisi basilica to warn of threat – Antonio Denti (Reuters U.K. – September 23, 2019)

September 23, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

ASSISI, Italy (Reuters) – Hundreds of people braved driving rain on Sunday night to see pictures of Amazonia by famed Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado beamed onto the Basilica of St. Francis and to hear him talk of the danger facing the area.

The black-and-white photographs showed native peoples of the Amazon as sombre classical music by 20th century Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos played in what almost seemed like a requiem for the parts of the Amazon that have already been lost to deforestation and mining.

Salgado, addressing the crowd, said it was “the predatory economic model that is everywhere in the world. Our agricultural system, our industrial system, our consumption system that has caused the destruction of the Amazon”.

Chinese mining company Jiangxi targeting First Quantum for potential takeover bid, sources say – by Andrew Willis and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – September 21, 2019)

September 21, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

State-controlled mining company Jiangxi Copper Corp. Ltd. is stalking Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals Ltd., owner of the largest copper mine in Africa, an approach driven by the Chinese government’s drive to lock up supplies of natural resources in the continent.

First Quantum recently hired investment bankers and lawyers to deal with a potential takeover bid from Jiangxi, China’s largest copper producer, according to financial industry sources who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak for the company. These sources said Jiangxi has not made a formal offer, and may decide to abandon the chase.

First Quantum’s share price jumped a total of 20 per cent on Thursday and Friday. Bloomberg this week reported possible takeover interest by global miners and a toehold 9-per-cent investment in the Canadian miner by Jiangxi. First Quantum stock closed Friday at $12.21 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, valuing the company at $8.4-billion.

Miners must earn this trust through action: Clearer rules will help bring about safer tailings dams – by Bruno Oberle (Financial Times – September 20, 2019)

September 20, 2019

https://www.ft.com/

Bruno Oberle is chair of the Global Tailings Review, was state secretary for environment in the Swiss government, professor for green economy and resource governance at EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and heads its International Risk Governance Center.

In January 2019, a tailings dam near the town of Brumadinho in south-eastern Brazil collapsed. Mining waste — or tailings — rapidly flowed down a valley, claiming the lives of 248 people (with 22 individuals still missing) and causing widespread destruction.

Sadly, this was not the first time tailings have been released from the dams built to hold them, with devastating impact on the nearby communities and the natural environment. Nor was this the first time an event of this magnitude has happened in Brazil.

Following the disaster at Brumadinho, I was appointed chair of the Global Tailings Review convened by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

Column: Shanghai nickel surge morphs into London squeeze – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – September 19, 2019)

September 19, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – There’s only so much bullish news even the red-hot nickel market can absorb. London nickel leapt to a five-year high of $18,850 per tonne this month as Indonesia confirmed it would bring forward to next year a ban on exporting nickel ore.

That will cut off the major source of feed for China’s nickel pig iron (NPI) producers. This week’s news that the Philippines will suspend indefinitely operations in the nickel mining hub of Tawi-Tawi province threatens supply from China’s second largest ore supplier.

But rather than extending its super-charged rally, nickel has retreated from the highs in both London and Shanghai, a telling sign of bull exhaustion. This particular chapter in the nickel story, nevertheless, is far from over, the original Shanghai surge morphing into a London squeeze.

U.S. Says Saudis Must Forgo Enrichment for Nuclear Sharing Deal – by Ari Natter (Bloomberg News – September 19, 2019)

September 19, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Saudi Arabia will be required to forgo enriching or reprocessing spent uranium if it wants to secure a nuclear-technology-sharing deal with the U.S., Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a letter to the kingdom that addresses bi-partisan non-proliferation concerns about the proposal.

The U.S. has been in negotiations with the Saudis for an agreement that could benefit Westinghouse Electric Co. and other American companies that want to construct or sell nuclear reactor technology to the kingdom.

But that prospect has been met with increasing alarm by Congress and others concerned that the Saudis could enrich nuclear fuel into weapons grade material. Those concerns were heightened after the Trump administration said it might not insist on the so-called “Gold Standard” barring such activities.