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Kinross to spend $150-million at Tasiast in expansion plan for key African mine – by Nial McGee (Globe and Mail – August 16, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Kinross Gold Corp. is moving to expand its Tasiast mine in West Africa in a bid to reduce its costs of production and boost output in the region.

On Sunday, Toronto-based Kinross announced it will invest US$150-million into the mine in Mauritania, predicting that production will rise to an average of 445,000 ounces of gold a year starting in 2020. Last year, the mine produced about 250,000 ounces.

The announcement comes after a previous, more expensive expansion plan for Tasiast was put on hold in 2018. Acquired by Kinross in 2010, the mine’s expansion plan has been in limbo for more than a year amid protracted negotiations with the Mauritanian government over taxes and procurement agreements.

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Petra Diamonds shares hit all-time low as loss widens – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – September 16, 2019)

https://www.mining.com/

Shares in African diamond miner Petra Diamonds (LON: PDL) hit an all-time low on Monday after reporting a net loss of $258.1 million for the year ending in June, compared to a $203.1 million-loss in 2018, amid challenging market conditions.

The company, which has mines in South Africa and Tanzania, said the loss reflected an impairment charge of $246.6 million triggered by lower diamond price assumptions.

Richard Duffy, who has been at Petra’s helm since April, said the diamond market was in its worst state since the financial crisis in 2008, but expects it to stabilize in the next 12 to 18 months.

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Oil prices jump after drone attack slashes Saudi production in half – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – September 16, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Oil prices surged after a weekend attack on oil operations in Saudi Arabia significantly cut crude output and raised fears of escalating military tensions in the region.

Drone strikes caused explosions and fires at two of the kingdom’s key production and processing facilities and slashed its oil production by more than half. Yemen’s Houthi rebel group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which revealed the vulnerability of the Middle East’s largest oil producer.

State oil company Saudi Aramco said production had been cut by 5.7 million barrels a day – a volume equating to more than 5 per cent of global demand and more than all of Canada’s output. Officials said the company hoped to restore about a third of that by early this week.

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Mining industry predicts nuclear will be cheapest power – by Aaron Patrick (Australian Financial Review – September 16, 2019)

https://www.afr.com/

The mining industry has declared that nuclear power could be the cheapest way to generate electricity in the next decade, an audacious claim that advocates of wind and solar power are likely to bitterly dispute.

The chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, Tania Constable, said a new generation of compact nuclear reactors should be legalised because they could generate electricity for as little as $60 a megawatt hour – which is much less than the $98.10 average price last year in the renewable pioneer of South Australia, and higher than any other state in the National Electricity Market.

“Apart from existing run-of-water hydro, nuclear is the only energy source capable of providing affordable zero-emissions power 24/7 at industrial scale,” Ms Constable said as part of a submission to a federal inquiry into nuclear power.

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Broad [Australian] coalition opposes nuclear power – by Colin Brinsden (7news.com – September 15, 2019)

https://7news.com.au/

More than 40 groups representing millions of Australians have come together to issue a clear message to the federal government that the nation’s energy future is renewable, “not radioactive”.

However, the mining industry is calling for the ban on nuclear energy to be lifted. The coalition of groups has submitted a shared statement in response to the federal parliamentary inquiry into the prospects for nuclear power in Australia.

Submissions to the inquiry close on Monday. “The groups maintain nuclear power has no role in Australia’s energy future and is a dangerous distraction from real progress on our pressing energy and climate challenges and opportunities facing Australia,” the Australian Conversation Foundation said.

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OPINION: Canadian mining companies key players in Mexico’s move to sustainable development – by Patrico Cumming and Christie Stephenson (Globe and Mail – September 16, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Patricio Cumming is a senior associate with the Mexican law firm Gonzalez Calvillo SC. Christie Stephenson is executive director of the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.

Mexico is undergoing a seismic political change. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office last December, promises a system that works for the many and not just the few. In this context, Canada is a crucial stakeholder. Specifically, the Canadian mining industry has the opportunity to be a key driver in achieving the sustainable development goals the Mexican government pledges.

Mining is a significant part of the Mexican economy and, according to Global Affairs Canada, roughly 70 per cent of foreign-owned mining companies operating in the country are based in Canada. Mr. Lopez Obrador has promised to scrutinize the treatment of Indigenous populations and the environmental impacts of mining.

Many investors worry that the risk of contract cancellations and project delays are higher under Mr. Lopez Obrador. However, mining companies committed to sustainability and best practices will likely thrive in this environment.

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Column: Sliding Japan premium confirms aluminium’s demand problem – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – September 13, 2019)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – A sharp fall in Japanese physical premiums for fourth quarter shipments is the latest sign that aluminium is not immune from the demand weakness that is sapping the industrial metals complex.

The timing, however, is ironic. Years of chronic overproduction appeared to be coming to an end with global output actually falling so far this year and large off-market stocks finally starting to diminish.

Demand hasn’t been a problem for aluminium in the past, thanks to its growing usage in an automotive sector focused on light-weighting vehicles. That has changed over the course of this year.

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‘Historic event’: Groundbreaking marks start of Tlicho all-season road construction (CBC News North – August 23, 2019)

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

Elected officials stabbed at muddy ground with clean shovels at the official groundbreaking on the Tlicho all-season road in Whatı̀​​​, N.W.T., on Saturday. For Whatı̀ Chief Alfonz Nitsiza, the moment was the culmination of decades of effort.

Speaking to reporters in a scrum, Nitsiza said that decades ago two elders — including his own uncle, who is a former chief — survived two plane crashes in the Tlicho region.

“They quickly realized, this is too much, and there’s a lot of people going in and out of the community for medevac, we need to get a road here. That’s when it all started — almost 30 years ago.”

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Franco-Nevada chairman slams big miners’ exodus from Canada – Andrew Bell interviews Pierre Lassonde (BNN/Bloomberg News – September 13, 2019)

 

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Franco-Nevada Corp. Chairman Pierre Lassonde is sounding the alarm on the hollowing out of Canada’s big mining companies.

Lassonde, who will step down from his role and become chairman emeritus next year, said he’s “very sorry” that large miners are moving their headquarters outside of Canada, and bemoaned the impact it could have on the whole industry.

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Uranium: A 2040 prognosis: Growing energy needs, emissions reduction look positive for the other yellow metal – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – September 5, 2019)

http://resourceclips.com/

Oversupplied and under-priced for years, uranium’s forecast now looks good up to 2040, according to a new study. In its latest Nuclear Fuel Report, a study released at roughly two-year intervals, the World Nuclear Association has revised its projections upwards for the first time in eight years.

Demand will come from a growing reliance on nuclear energy thanks mainly to China, India and other Asian countries, said the industry organization. Global warming concerns also play a role. The report presents different data for each of three case studies, explained World Nuclear News, a WNA publication.

The Reference scenario reflects official targets and plans announced by states and companies, and also considers how nuclear can help address climate change.

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Miners welcome Indonesian export ore ban, plan smelting expansion – by Mai Nguyen and Wilda Asmarini (Reuters U.S. – September 11, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Large mining companies on Wednesday welcomed a recent decision by the Indonesian government to move forward a ban on exporting nickel ore, as the firms aim to increase smelting output.

Top nickel ore supplier Indonesia last month said the country will stop ore export from Jan. 1, 2020, pushing forward a ban by two years and raising concerns of supply shortage as well as causing financing issues for smaller players.

But major industry players gathering at the Asian Nickel conference on Wednesday said the ban would further support the development of the nickel processing industry in the country.

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Potash downturn forces tough decisions, expert says after Nutrien layoff announcment – by Bridget Yard (CBC News Saskatoon – September 12, 2019)

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

The resource economy in Saskatchewan felt the pain of downturns in the potash market and resulting cost-saving measures Wednesday, when Potash giant Nutrien announced that up to 750 employees at three of its Saskatchewan mines will be affected by temporary layoffs.

It’s the latest move in an industry that has seen over-supply issues for years — and while marginal gains have Nutrien projecting a positive outlook, one Saskatchewan expert predicts the market will continue to suffer, at least for a few more years.

One of the goals of the merger of PotashCorp and Agrium that formed Nutrien was to produce $500 million in savings each year, but “you don’t pull that out of the air,” said University of Saskatchewan professor Brooke Dobni, who specializes in analysis of the province’s potash industry.

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Britain’s last tin mine could reopen – by Lauren Kent and Nina dos Santos (CNN Business/Kyma.com – September 13, 2019)

https://www.kyma.com/

POOL, United Kingdom – Cornwall’s last tin mine closed 20 years ago. Now growing demand for metals from ethical sources could spark a revival in one of Britain’s most deprived regions.

Once the mining center of the world, Cornwall is dotted with more than 2,000 derelict engine houses, many of them along its rugged coastline. Tin mining and smelting in this southwest corner of rural England dates back thousands of years. But in the late 19th century, when new deposits were discovered in East Asia and South America, English tin became uncompetitive and Cornish miners scattered overseas in search of new prospects.

Cornwall has struggled ever since. It is the second-poorest region in Northern Europe, according to EU data, and it struggles with higher rates of child poverty and homelessness than the rest of the United Kingdom. Now its fortunes may be looking up again. Ruined tin mines could be revived because tech companies and carmakers are racing to find ethical sources of the metal. And the last mine to close —South Crofty — could be the first to reopen.

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Canadian economy won’t feel impact of battery metal mining – by Frik Els (Mining.com – September 12, 2019)

https://www.mining.com/

Hardly three years ago expectations of a demand boom for battery materials used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage reignited interest in the mining sector as the China-induced supercycle in commodities demand started levelling off.

Prices for lithium and cobalt soared (only to fall back again). Same for vanadium. Graphite and rare earth prices made a comeback. Nickel, where EV-related demand is still tiny, was caught up in the euphoria, and the primarily steelmaking metal is holding onto those gains and more.

Longer term mining’s bellwether metal – copper – may benefit the most and aluminum (on a dollar-basis a bigger industry than copper) will feel a sizeable impact.

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Book celebrates 100 years of Kirkland Lake – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – September 11, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Mayors and reeves, renowned strongmen and multi-million-dollar lottery winners are among the cast of colourful characters in a newly published book celebrating the centennial of the Town of Kirkland Lake.

Authored by Bill Glover, Gold for a Mad Miner is an anthology of 18 stories celebrating the town’s history, quirks and legends, printed in time to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the town’s founding in 1919. Glover, who was born and raised in Kirkland Lake, said he’s always been interested in storytelling, and this marks the fifth book he’s written.

Though he’s retired now, he spent close to six decades in the mining industry, first working in Sudbury at Frood and Stobie mines, before establishing his own consultancy firm, which took him to Asia, Europe, South America, the U.S. and beyond.

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