Republic of Mining

Five-year anniversary looms with no charges in catastrophic Mount Polley dam collapse – by Gordon Hoekstra (Vancouver Sun – July 7, 2019)

July 9, 2019

Environmentalists and Mount Polley mine-area residents are anxiously waiting as one deadline approaches for federal agencies to lay charges over the 2014 collapse of the B.C. Interior mine’s tailings dam.

After a 4-1/2-year investigation, a team comprised of officials with Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, along with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, delivered a charge package to federal prosecutors this spring.

It is now up to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to determine if charges will be laid. Under federal law, there is a five-year window that ends Aug. 4 to lay charges in a summary conviction under the Fisheries Act, where a large corporation faces fines up to $8 million.

U.N. deep sea mining body rejects Greenpeace criticism – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – July 5, 2019)

July 5, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has rejected criticism from Greenpeace over its handling of ocean mining, fuelling a spat that threatens to overshadow talks this month by the U.N. body toward rules for deep sea mining.

Mining international waters is in the spotlight as companies and countries are looking at minerals concentrated on the ocean floor that can be used in batteries for smart phones and electric vehicles.

Greenpeace, which wants a moratorium at least until the ocean depths are better understood, issued a report this week warning seabed mining risks doing irreversible harm and said the 168-member ISA should not set the rules.

Krause questions why Trudeau changed charity laws for activists – by Licia Corbella (Calgary Herald – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://calgaryherald.com/

Why did Prime Minister Justin Trudeau order his revenue minister to stop the Canada Revenue Agency from auditing politically active charities? Was it to protect his best friend and former principal secretary, Gerald Butts?

Those are just two of the many questions asked by Vivian Krause during a sold out Calgary Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel and during a scrum with reporters afterwards.

Krause, the Vancouver-based researcher who has single-handedly exposed the foreign-funded campaign to “land-lock Alberta crude” — which Alberta Premier Jason Kenney vows to hold a public inquiry into — pointed out that her popular blog and Twitter account are called Fair Questions, because she doesn’t claim to have all of the answers.

Nutrien says 34 workers trapped in Sask. potash mine now safely back on surface (Financial Post/Canadian Press – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

A spokesman said the workers, who were about a kilometre underground, were safe and had food, water, power and contact with the surface

SASKATOON — A fertilizer company says all 34 people who were trapped deep in a Saskatchewan potash mine for more than a day are now safely above ground.

Will Tigley, a spokesman with Nutrien Ltd., said a service shaft stopped working at its Cory mine near Saskatoon on Tuesday. On Wednesday evening, the staff took a separate elevator normally used to transport potash to the surface.

“We are happy to confirm that we have all of our 34 people above ground,” he said. “For the most part, all of our employees were in good spirits and we got some of our other employees to drive them home to their families.”

CZECHS, GERMANS HOPE TO WIN UNESCO LISTING FOR KRUŠNÉ HORY–ERZGEBIRGE MINING SITES – by Brian Kenety (Radio Praha – July 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://www.radio.cz/en/

The Ore Mountains have formed a natural border between Bohemia and the German state of Saxony for some 800 years. Known in Czech as Krušné hory, the uniquely preserved landscape is also among the most heavily researched mountain ranges in the world.

In total, the Czech delegation to Azerbaijan has nominated five sites in this country for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. A German delegation, with which it submitted a joint bid, has nominated 17 sites on their side of the border.

Michal Urban of the non-profit Montanregion Krušné hory – Erzgebirge, formed to coordinate public and private regional groups in hopes of getting the listing explains how it would help the region.

San Bernardino Co. Mine May Represent America’s Best Chance to Loosen China’s Grip on Rare Earths (KTLA.com/CNN Wire – July 3, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://ktla.com/

Less than an hour from the glitzy casinos and high-rise hotels of Las Vegas, the miners at Mountain Pass are reviving an industry that nearly disappeared from American soil. This is the only mine in the country devoted to rare earths, elements essential to modern electronics. Rare earths are contained in everything from iPhones to wind turbines to Teslas.

“If there’s going to be an American rare earths industry, it’s gonna be led by us. We’re it,” said James Litinksy, the co-chairman of MP Materials, which owns the mine in Mountain Pass, California.

Shuttered after the previous owner went bankrupt in 2015, MP Materials has spent two years rebuilding the Mountain Pass operation. Two hundred people now work at the mine site, carrying out blasts, trucking the minerals out of the mine and milling them into a powdered concentrate that is packed into dozens of white bags on site.

India’s top court sides with indigenous people over illegal mining fallout – by Rina Chandran (Thomson Reuters Foundation – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

BANGKOK, July 4 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Indigenous people in an Indian state must be protected from illegal mining and the pollution it causes, the country’s top court ruled, providing a “historic” victory to tribal groups fighting for better rights over land and natural resources.

Indigenous people, who own much of the land in northeastern Meghalaya state, have full rights over the land and any resources on it, and only they can grant permission for mining after the correct permits are obtained, the Supreme Court ruled.

The state government had “entirely failed to stop illegal mining, which is the cause of degradation and pollution”, and must end illegal mining and rehabilitate the environment, it said on Wednesday.

Diamond Producers Association battles diamond mining misconceptions – by D’Arcy Jenish (Northern Miner – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

Northern Miner

Jean-Marc Lieberherr readily concedes that the industry he represents and speaks for – global diamond mining – has an image problem. “There are so many misconceptions about diamond mining,” says Lieberherr, chief executive ofﬁcer of the Belgium-based Diamond Producers Association.

“Issues from the 1990s, like conflict diamonds that funded several African civil wars, are real scars in the history of the industry.” Much has changed within the industry over the past 20 years.

In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution establishing the Kimberley Process Certiﬁcation Scheme, which aimed at preventing conflict diamonds from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. And by July 2013, some 54 participants from 81 countries had endorsed the Kimberley Process.

Armed Forces Called to Defend Glencore Mine in Congo – by William Clowes and Tiago Ramos Alfaro (Bloomberg News – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc said armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo are in the area around the operations of its Kamoto Copper Co., after dozens of illegal miners were killed in a landslide last week.

“We prioritize the safety and security of our workforce and host communities,” Glencore said in a statement on Thursday. “KCC will continue to engage with all the relevant stakeholders to collaborate on identifying and implementing a long-term, sustainable solution to illegal mining in the DRC.”

Illegal miners will be removed from the site of the Glencore project where at least 43 died last week, Interior Minister Basile Olongo said on Saturday. Glencore estimates that 2,000 unauthorized people enter its open-pit mine on average every day.

Taseko Mines seeking court injunction after First Nation members block work at Fish Lake – by Andrea Woo (Globe and Mail – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A B.C. mining company is seeking a court injunction after its crew was blocked from beginning work this week on a controversial open-pit mine near Fish Lake, also known as Teztan Biny.

Brian Battison, vice-president of corporate affairs for Taseko Mines Ltd., said the company has no other choice but to pursue the authoritative option after members of the Tsilhqot’in Nation blockaded access to the site on Tuesday. “What else can you do but rely on the law?” Mr. Battison said Wednesday.

The roadblock was set up roughly 80 kilometres from the site of the proposed New Prosperity copper and gold mine project, southwest of Williams Lake. When Taseko crews arrived on Tuesday, members of the Tsilhqot’in Nation told them they did not have access to the site.

COLUMN-Iron ore price peak may be near as Australia, Brazil exports recover – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – July 4, 2019)

July 4, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 4 (Reuters) – There are tentative signs that the supply crunch that has driven iron ore prices to their highest in more than five years is starting to ease, although the market is still some way from returning to balance.

Shipments from the two major exporters, Australia and Brazil, show a recovery in June, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv.

For the whole of June, Australia exported 76.8 million tonnes, down slightly from May’s 77.9 million. But measured by daily average, June’s exports of 2.56 million tonnes were actually above the 2.51 million achieved in May.

Japan’s JX Nippon Mining seeks pot of gold in high-tech chips, batteries – by Yuka Obayashi (Reuters Canada – July 3, 2019)

July 3, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

TOKYO(Reuters) – The mining and smelting unit of giant Japanese energy-to-metals company JXTG Holdings plans to drill down into the world of consumer electronics and high-tech batteries to beef up profits while pausing on traditional, high-investment base metals projects that drain resources.

JX Nippon Mining & Metals’ new president, Seiichi Murayama, said his firm is interested in buying stakes in smaller mines of rare metals such as tantalum and niobium, key examples of the kind of materials needed to make the advanced semiconductors and batteries used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.

Murayama aims to make what he calls “electronic materials” the most profitable business at JX after cost overruns at its key Caserones copper mine project in Chile and weaker copper prices that have weakened the firm’s financial health.

Barrick and Newmont Goldcorp launch Nevada Gold Mines (Mining Technology – July 2, 2019)

July 3, 2019

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

Barrick Gold and Newmont Goldcorp have concluded a transaction establishing Nevada Gold Mines. Canadian mining company Barrick Gold will own 61.5% of the new company, while Newmont takes the remaining 38.5%.

The joint venture (JV) assets in North-eastern Nevada comprise ten underground and 12 open pit mines, two autoclave facilities and two roasting facilities. It also consists of four oxide mills, a flotation plant and five heap leach facilities.

Barrick Gold president and CEO Mark Bristow said: “The establishment of Nevada Gold Mines was designed to combine arguably the industry’s best assets and people in order to deliver the best value to stakeholders.

Thunder Bay junior miner zeros in on platinum, palladium – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 3, 2019)

July 3, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Benton Resources swings deal on two high-grade properties in northwest

A Thunder Bay gold exploration company is picking up two high-grade platinum group metals (PGM) properties, west of the city.

In two separate deals, Benton Resources announced July 2 of its impending acquisition of the Escape Lake Discovery from Rio Tinto Exploration Canada for $6 million, and the Thunder Bay North deposit from Australia’s Panoramic Resources for $9 million.

The two properties are 60 kilometres south of North American Palladium’s (NAP) Lac des Iles Mine and 10 kilometres east of NAP’s Sunday Lake property. The acquisitions should be finalized within the next two to three months.

Vale CFO Should Face Criminal Indictment for Dam, Panel Says – by Maria Luiza Rabello, Sabrina Valle and Vinicius Andrade (Bloomberg News – July 2, 2019)

July 3, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

A Brazilian Senate committee is expected to recommend that 12 current and former executives of Vale SA, including Chief Financial Officer Luciano Siani and ex-Chief Executive Officer Fabio Schvartsman, face criminal indictments for a fatal dam disaster in January.

The rapporteur of the committee proposed the indictments Tuesday after a 2-1/2-month congressional inquiry into the causes of the dam break that left at least 246 people dead and unleashed a sea of mud over the city of Brumadinho, where Vale had an inactive iron ore mine. His report says the company was negligent and its risk and compliance controls were flawed.

If approved, as expected, the report will be sent to several Brazilian authorities, including federal and state police and prosecutors, as well as the governor of Minas Gerais and the ministries of energy and environment.