Republic of Mining

Clean energy dream fuels a dirty mineral rush (RT.com – August 8, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://www.rt.com/

A future of environment-friendly energy, where dirty engines and power plants rust in history’s scrapyard, is an idyllic vision. In the cynical real world, the rush for green batteries is fueling a harmful mining boom.

By 2030, there will be 140 million electric cars on Earth, and by 2040 every third vehicle will be powered by green electricity instead of the fossil fuels that have been slowly choking the environment for the past couple centuries. That’s according to assessments by Glencore Plc and BloombergNEF.

Sounds like we’re on the right track and Greta Thunberg’s zero-emission dream could be achieved within her lifetime. Humanity is finally coming to its senses.

Get digging

Not quite. All those cars will need batteries, and all those batteries will need to be built with a small periodic table of minerals. And all those minerals need to be mined – in some cases strip-mining the rest of the planet’s explored deposits.

Gold Tops $1,500 as Investors Seek Shelter From Gathering Storm – by Ranjeetha Pakiam, Rupert Rowling and Justina Vasquez (Bloomberg News – August 7,, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold futures rallied above $1,500 an ounce on sustained demand for the traditional haven as the U.S.-China trade war festers, global growth slows and central banks around the world ease monetary policy.

The metal advanced as much as 2.6% an ounce on the Comex to the highest since 2013. The move extends this year’s climb to 19%, with gains underpinned by inflows into exchange-traded funds and central bank purchases. China’s central bank expanded its gold reserves for an eighth straight month in July.

Gold has been one of the chief beneficiaries of the turmoil in global financial markets as Washington and Beijing spar over trade. In recent days, the Trump administration threatened fresh tariffs against Chinese goods, the yuan was allowed to sink, and the U.S. branded China a currency manipulator.

Cobalt, Africa setbacks shrink Glencore’s first-half profit – by Yadarisa Shabong and Barbara Lewis (Reuters Canada – August 7, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore (GLEN.L) reported a 32% drop in first-half core profit on Wednesday, sending its shares to their lowest since late 2016, while a fall in cobalt prices prompted it to halt output for two years at the world’s biggest mine of the battery material.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were $5.58 billion for the six months ended June 30 against $8.18 billion a year earlier.

The company’s shares were trading nearly 2% lower by 1139 GMT, recovering slightly from losses that took them to their weakest since October 2016. Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg blamed “a challenging economic backdrop for our commodity mix” and setbacks during the ramp-up of operations in Africa.

Returning investors see gold prices surge, but new M&A activity still unlikely – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 8, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Surging bullion prices might not stimulate blockbuster dealmaking, but there are signs generalist investors are wading back into gold stocks after a protracted period of shunning the sector.

“I hadn’t gotten a call about gold from a client in the better part of a year and a half, and I got one yesterday,” said Matt Barasch, portfolio manager with RBC Dominion Securities in Toronto, who manages money for retail clients.

Gold hit a six-year high on Wednesday north of US$1,500 an ounce, driven by escalating trade-war tensions between the United States and China, falling interest rates and a slowdown in global growth. Historically sought out as a safe-haven investment, gold has risen by 17 per cent in 2019, after languishing in the US$1,300 range for about three years.

Project imagines mining without the need for blasting – by Staff (Sudbury Star – August 8, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Imagine building a new underground mine — or expanding an existing one — without using explosives.

That’s the goal of a new project unveiled in Sudbury on Wednesday. And while the announcement was made in here, the money — $1.5 million — will go to McGill University of Montreal to test cleaner methods of mining.

“Today’s announcement is a great example of how we can use intelligent, targeted investments to ensure Canada remains at the forefront of mining practices,” Sudbury Paul Lefebvre said in a release. “By investing in projects like rock fragmentation research, we will ensure that Canada remains a leader in environmental stewardship, while creating a more prosperous mining industry.”

After protests, Alamos CEO defends Turkish mine project against misinformation’ – by Tuvan Gumrukcu (Reuters Canada – August 7, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

ANKARA (Reuters) – Canada-based Alamos Gold has defended its environmental record at a mining project in western Turkey against a wave of protests, saying it had paid for future reforestation at the site and denying cyanide would leak into the surrounding area.

Thousands of Turks and opposition lawmakers protested on Monday in the Canakkale province against expected pollution from the mine, saying Alamos had cut down more trees than it had declared and would use cyanide, contaminating water in the region.

In an interview in Ankara, Alamos CEO John McCluskey said protests against the project near the town of Kirazli were based on politically-motivated misinformation.

Glencore Plans to Shut Giant Cobalt and Copper Mine in Congo – by Thomas Biesheuvel and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – August 6, 2019)

August 8, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc is planning to halt production at one of the world’s biggest cobalt mines after prices for the battery metal collapsed and costs at the project increased, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The announcement that Glencore will close its Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to come as the company lays out an overhaul of its key African copper and cobalt business when it releases first-half results on Wednesday.

It would be another setback for Glencore, which has been dogged by operational problems, legal challenges and a rift with Congo’s government over a new mining code.

Column: Copper hits 2-year lows as metals demand outlook dims – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – August 5, 2019)

August 7, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – If you believe that “Doctor Copper” is a sensitive gauge of the health of the global economy, then you should be worried. London Metal Exchange (LME) copper fell through the year’s low of $5,725 per tonne on Friday and hit a 26-month low of $5,640 early on Monday.

The trigger for the slump was the latest escalation of the trade stand-off between the United States and China, President Trump announcing the imposition of more tariffs on Chinese goods effective the beginning of next month.

Copper has been used as a proxy for trading the on-off trade talks for some time and funds had amassed a significant short position on the CME copper contract even before Friday’s break-down.

Ecuador’s crackdown on wildcatting at Australian mogul’s mining lease faces backlash – by Alexandra Valencia and Luc Cohen (Reuters U.S. – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BUENOS AIRES, Ecuador (Reuters) – Ecuador’s market-friendly President Lenin Moreno is cracking down on illegal gold miners, who are increasingly encroaching on formal mines, but keeping them away from an Australian billionaire’s concession for good may prove a tall order.

Moreno last month sent 4,000 troops and police to clear thousands of miners from a gold and copper mining concession belonging to Hancock Prospecting, controlled by Gina Rinehart, Australia’s wealthiest person.

Now, with the area under a 60-day state of emergency and military and police guarding nearby Buenos Aires parish, authorities say illegal mining, also known as wildcatting, at the Imba-2 concession has stopped.

Sudbury’s mining expertise, regreening success story attract Latin American delegations – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – August 2, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Battery-powered mining equipment and Sudbury’s regreening efforts are attracting groups from Latin America to visit the Nickel City in August.

Sudbury’s growing mining expertise in the development and use of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) has attracted the interest of managers and engineers from Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer.

Representatives from Chile’s state-run mining company, arrive in Sudbury on Aug. 5 to begin a five-day tour of operations and suppliers in Sudbury and Kirkland Lake. The Aug 5-9 visit is organized by Sudbury and Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA).

‘Tsunami of Risk Aversion’ Ripples Through Asian Stock Markets (Bloomberg News – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Asian stock investors woke up to another day of market slumps after salvos from the U.S. and China in their ongoing trade war. Declines were tempered by mid-morning after China set its yuan reference rate stronger than analysts expected.

China’s shock and awe tactics had left investors reeling, sending a “tsunami of risk aversion across global markets,” said Stephen Innes, a managing partner at Vanguard Markets Pte. in Singapore.

China’s Tuesday yuan fixing is “ambiguous enough to keep two-sided interest alive while still conveying a message to U.S. trade hawks that in no uncertain terms will China be a pushover if trade talks ever resume,” he said.

World’s largest ore chute created in Sudbury – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A manufacturing shop in Greater Sudbury has created the largest ore chute in the world, which will soon be shipped out and installed in one of the largest copper and gold mining operations in the world, the Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

The massive steel chute, as big as a house and with built-in safety features, was manufactured at Variant Mining Technologies in Lively. It is the prototype for several other chutes that will be installed at the mine in the coming months and years.

An ore chute is a device that allows chunks of rock (muck) to be transported by force of gravity from one level of the mine to another level. The chute is used to control the flow of muck, or waste rock, so that haulage equipment such as scooptrams, ore trucks or even underground rail cars can be loaded quickly and safely.

Sierra Leone community’s suit against diamond miner shows activist trend – by Cooper Inveen (Reuters U.S. – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

FREETOWN, August 6 (Reuters) – At the foot of a slag heap some 40 meters high, Adi Kalie Bangura showed the black welts that dot his arms and legs that he says are the result of drinking and bathing in water contaminated by Sierra Leone’s largest diamond mine.

The water “makes us get headaches and feel sick in our stomachs,” said Bangura, a traditional healer and community elder in Koidu, the largest city in the West African country’s diamond-rich Kono district. The aluminium roof of the mud brick house he shares with a dozen family members is pockmarked by holes he says are the result of rocks loosened by years of blasting by the mine.

Bangura’s claims are part of those made by a group of Koidu residents in a lawsuit against diamond mining firm Octea Limited and related companies, highlighting how communities in developing countries are becoming increasingly emboldened to use courts to pursue grievances against mining firms.

How pulling frozen mud ‘Popsicles’ from N.W.T. lakes can help make mining cleaner – by Priscilla Hwang (CBC North – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/

An Ottawa researcher developing new technology to pull up and analyze frozen mud samples from N.W.T. lakes says it will give regulators and mining companies a better tool to do their jobs.

“It’s a technology that’s going to allow mining companies to … better plan how they’re going to use the area around the lake, and make sure that their work is done sustainably,” said Tim Patterson, professor of geology at Carleton University.

“That’ll allow them to do better to protect the aquatic ecosystems.” Currently, mining companies have to follow strict cleanup protocols when planning to mine in the N.W.T.

Deals by foreign buyers near $40-billion, set to eclipse last year’s pace – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – August 6, 2019)

August 6, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Acquisitions in Canada by foreign buyers are already approaching the dollar value for all of 2018, as confidence in the economy trumps rising global trade tension and a dearth of deals in the oil patch.

Deals announced in the first half of 2019 topped $39.3-billion, only slightly less than the $40.2-billion worth of deals in all of 2018, a year considered to have been brisk for deal-making by foreigners, according to figures from the law firm Torys LLP.

Based on announced transactions and those the firm knows are being discussed, it is shaping up to be a strong year, though it is too early to predict a record, said Cornell Wright, co-head of Torys’ mergers and acquisitions practice.