Republic of Mining

China’s iron ore sizzles in record-setting rally – by Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters India – June 14, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://in.reuters.com/

MANILA (Reuters) – Dalian iron ore futures surged to a record peak on Friday and posted their biggest weekly gain since February, buoyed by expectations of sustained tightness in supply and brisk demand amid China’s renewed drive to support its slowing economy.

The most-actively traded September iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 4% to 797.5 yuan ($115.20) a tonne, the highest since Dalian iron ore futures started trading in 2013.

It ended the session 2.2% higher at 783.5 yuan, posting a weekly gain of 11.4%. It has risen around 80% this year. “Chinese ore demand has been robust and is likely to remain so for the near term,” said Westpac Banking Corp.

Metals mines association, accounting for most federal enviro assessments, OK with Bill C-69 (Canadian Press/CBC News – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/

New bill gives more clarity and flexibility in assessment process says mining association head

The head of the Mining Association of Canada says the hotly contested federal environmental assessment bill is welcome in the industry it will affect the most.

“This promises to be a better system than what we’ve had for the last seven years,” said Pierre Gratton, the president of the association.

Bill C-69 overhauls Canada’s environmental assessment regime for major national resource and transportation projects but the high-octane opposition from the oil and gas sector has drowned out much of the comment from other affected industries.

Russia’s Murmansk region among country’s 10 most polluted, says government agency – by Anna Kireeva (Bellona.org – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://bellona.org/

Officials have said that Murmansk Region ranks among those with the most polluted air in the country, according to a new report published by Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s federal consumer rights agency.

The report, entitled “On the state of sanitary and epidemiological wellbeing of the population of the Russian Federation in 2018,” paints a stark picture of drier, hotter weather conditions conspiring with industrial pollution all while higher levels of toxins are being measured in area soil.

Specifically, the report says that heavy metal quantities in soil found in residential zones of the Murmansk Region exceed legal measures by three times. Chemical substances found in playgrounds and other areas geared toward children exceeded hygienic standards by the same amount.

Coal miners daughters story told at Davis Day ceremony in Springhill – by David Mathieson (Amherst News – June 14, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/

SPRINGHILL, N.S. – Springhill mining history came to life at the 2019 Davis Day service June 11 at the St. Andrews-Wesley United Church in Springhill.

“As was the practice in those days, the eldest son, Donald, my grandfather, went to work at a man’s job at the age of 13 to support his family,” Shawna Canning said to the crowd gathered for the service.

Born in 1913, Canning’s grandfather, Donald Arthur Campbell, was named after his grandfather who was killed in the 1891 explosion that killed 125 miners. Donald began working at the mine at the age of 13 after his father, John Campbell, was injured at the mine and was unable to work again.

Agnico Eagle Offers To Acquire Alexandria Minerals – by Allen Sykora (Kitco News – June 14, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE, TSX: AEM) has made an offer to acquire Alexandria Minerals Corp. (TSXV: AZX), a Toronto-based junior gold and exploration company, for C$26 million, the companies reported Friday. The proposal is based on a purchase price of 5 Canadian cents per share.

Alexandria said that its board of directors concluded that the unsolicited offer constitutes a “superior proposal” as outlined in a prior May 14 agreement with Chantrell Ventures Corp. Chantrell now has a 10-business-day period in which it can amend its own offer for Alexandria.

To enter an agreement with Agnico Eagle, Alexandria would first have to terminate the Chantrell agreement and pay a fee of C$875,000. If the Alexandria board accepts the Agnico Eagle offer, the agreement would be subject to approval of Alexandria shareholders.

Blackwater founder expands operations in Congo – by Aaron Ross (Reuters U.S. – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

DAKAR, June 13 (Reuters) – A company run by private security firm Blackwater’s founder Erik Prince has registered a subsidiary in Democratic Republic of Congo with a mandate to extract minerals and timber and conduct financial operations, corporate filings show.

Prince, who renamed Blackwater and sold it in 2010 after several of its employees were indicted on unlawful killing charges in connection with their work as U.S. government contractors during the Iraq War, has run Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group (FSG) since 2014.

FSG has close ties to the state-owned Chinese investment company CITIC and provides security, aviation and logistics services to Chinese firms operating in Africa.

Greens Celebrate, As Nets Ignore Bloomberg’s $500M Assault on Coal – by Julia A. Seymour (NewsBusters.org – June 14, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.newsbusters.org/

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg reannounced a $500-million effort to eradicate coal and natural gas use in the U.S. on June 6. ABC, CBS and NBC news didn’t even flinch.

That night the three broadcast evening shows made no time for the billionaire media mogul’s massive spending to shut down the rest of the nation’s coal plants by 2030 and start targeting natural gas plants. They also haven’t reported it since, much less scrutinized it even though he’s a high-profile liberal donor, media owner and maybe former politician.

“We’re in a race against time with climate change, and yet there is virtually no hope of bold federal action on this issue for at least another two years. Mother Nature is not waiting on our political calendar, and neither can we,” Bloomberg said of his Beyond Carbon initiative.

Biggest Union Kicks Off Platinum Talks With 48% Wage Demand – by Paul Burkhardt (Bloomberg News – June 14, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — The biggest union in South Africa’s platinum industry demanded wage increases of as much as 48% from producers in the world’s top supplier of the metal, setting the stage for a tough fight in upcoming pay talks.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union wants minimum basic pay of 17,000 rand ($1,146) a month, President Joseph Mathunjwa said Friday. That compares with about 11,500 rand currently earned by the lowest-paid workers.

Key Insights

The opening salvo — issued to companies including Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Sibanye Gold Ltd., and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. — represents a substantial step up from the labor group’s years-long rallying cry for “a living wage” of at least 12,500 rand a month.

Nutrien pondering potash production increases – by Devan C. Tasa (Humboldt Journal/Yorkton This Week – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.yorktonthisweek.com/

Nutrien is considering whether it should increase its potash production capacity by five million tonnes by 2023, then by another five million tonnes after that.

At an event for investors in Toronto on May 28, Susan Jones, Nutrien’s executive vice president for potash, said they have five million tonnes of capacity in place at existing operations that can be quickly brought online with minimal investment if there’s a need.

“In other words, all of this available capacity has already been bought and paid for over the last decade, putting us in a unique position as the only producer with available tonnes to move tonnes into the market quickly, nimbly and flexibly as needed,” she said.

First Nations push for massive conservation area in northern B.C. – by Laura Kane (Canadian Press/CTV News – June 12, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/

LOWER POST, B.C. – First Nations in northern British Columbia are calling on the provincial government to endorse an ambitious proposal for a 40,000-square-kilometre conservation area to protect major watersheds and sensitive species.

The proposal would cover the ancestral areas of three Kaska Dena First Nations and would be larger than Vancouver Island, taking up a massive section of north-central B.C.

Premier John Horgan’s government hasn’t said whether it supports or opposes the idea after seven months of phone calls, letters and meetings with officials from various ministries, say the project’s proponents.

China’s New Wealth-Creation Scheme: Mining the Moon – by Jack H. Burke (National Review/Yahoo News – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://news.yahoo.com/

On January 3, 2019, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) soft-landed a spacecraft, the Chang’e-4 (嫦娥四号) robotic lander and rover, on the far side of the moon, the first such landing in history.

Chang’e-4, named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology, touched down in the Von Kármán crater in the lunar southern hemisphere and then released its rover, Yutu-2 (玉兔二号), to explore the lunar landscape.

Yutu-2 has proven a great success. As of June 10, the rover, named after the “Jade Rabbit,” a companion of the moon goddess, had traveled over 212 meters across the lunar surface, giving the far side of the moon “its first set of rover tracks,” as Mike Wall put it last January.

Liberal MPs are jumping ship in droves as Trudeau continues to hobble the economy – by Diane Francis (National Post – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Come October, the Liberals will pay the price for Trudeau’s economically suicidal policies

Justin Trudeau followed the advice of Gerald Butts, a
serial job-killer who advised Ontario to spend recklessly
and ram through a “green” agenda that has harmed its engine
of growth, auto manufacturing. Then the two targeted Canada’s
engine of economic growth, oil and gas.

If polls are any indication, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading for the exit this fall but many of his Liberal MPs have already announced they are leaving or won’t run for re-election.

The departures began even before the SNC-Lavalin scandal erupted this year. In September, Ontario Liberal (and former Air Force officer) Leona Allesley crossed the floor to join the Conservatives because of disagreements with the government’s handling of the economy and foreign affairs.

“Here at home, we see large amounts of capital investment leaving Canada while tax structures, federal infrastructure problems and politics prevent us from getting goods to market, and deter companies from expanding and undermine our competitiveness.

Windsor Salt mine rescue workers take top prize at provincial competition – by Jennifer La Grassa (Windsor Star – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://windsorstar.com/

Windsor Salt mine workers struck gold by taking top prize at the province’s annual mine rescue competition.

For the first time in 40 years, mine rescue volunteers from K+S Windsor Salt Ojibway Mine walked away wearing gold hard hats after winning the weeklong Ontario Mine Rescue challenge.

The 70th annual competition, at Newmont Goldcorp’s Red Lake Gold Mines in Red Lake, Ont., tested eight teams on firefighting skills, first-aid response, use of emergency equipment, and decision-making ability in a simulated emergency situation. Mine rescue equipment technicians were also tested on their ability to repair specialized equipment.

The mining grinches are right: SA needs a new broom for endemic dysfunction – by David McKay (MiningMX.com – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

MiningMX.com

SOUTH African mines minister, Gwede Mantashe’s, compromise on energy in which he hopes to align the aspirations of the green lobby with miners, seems a sensible approach. The country doesn’t have a coal mining problem, it has an energy problem so the debate around solving it needs to be appropriately universal in character.

The middle way is not, however, working out quite as well in the mining sector. Without doubt, Mining Charter III is an advance on previous versions, but it falls short in critical areas which have been taken to court by the Minerals Council, as is well documented.

Mantashe has emerged as a bit of a unifying voice in the Ramaphosa Administration. But the investment sector will be less sympathetic. Similarly, the advance Mining Charter III makes in respect of junior mining is tinged with disappointment, as the Minerals Council points out.

Vale says hopes to reach dam burst global settlements by year-end – by Marta Nogueira (Reuters U.S. – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale said on Thursday that it expects to reach global settlements covering economic and environmental damages from the January collapse of its Brumadinho tailings dam by late this year or in 2020.

Vale is scrambling to deal with the fallout from the disaster, which killed at least 246 people, triggered the replacement of its CEO and an overhaul of its board, and has forced it to set aside billions for compensation and cleanup costs.

Investors have been closely watching its ongoing talks with prosecutors and regulators on the terms of a global settlement to see how much higher the price tag from the disaster will be.