Republic of Mining

North America’s first cobalt refinery inches closer to production — but obstacles remain – by James Snell (Financial Post – April 11, 2019)

April 11, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

CEO Trent Mell remains optimistic about the refinery’s prospects

First Cobalt Corp., the $50-million company, is inching closer to becoming the first producer of battery-grade cobalt to feed the nascent North American electric vehicle market, but there are still plenty of roadblocks in its way.

The Toronto-based company achieved a breakthrough when it announced earlier this month that it successfully produced battery-grade cobalt sulfate using its refinery’s own processes, or flowsheet, — but the problem is, it was done in a lab using a small sample.

CEO Trent Mell, who is currently in Shanghai meeting with investors at the Fastmarkets MB Battery Materials Conference, remains optimistic about the refinery, which is in the midst of a $30-million refurbishment.

KGHM’s mines in Canada face uncertain future – Staff (Sudbury Star – April 11, 2019)

April 11, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Poland’s KGHM, which operates mines in Sudbury, may freeze some projects in Canada or the U.S. if they require big investments, its chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

“We are not currently thinking about selling foreign assets,” said Marcin Chludzinski told Reuters. “We’re considering strategies for the next few years.” All of KGHM’s foreign mining projects except those in Chile have been put under review, he said.

“It’s not that we want to or have to sell,” Chludzinski told the news agency. “It’s more that we are looking at these assets as a strategic reserve. We’re considering actions similar to those we took at the Morrison mine (north of Sudbury), which is to freeze a project.”

‘Mine 9,’ movie about a coal mine entrapment, opens Friday (Associated Press/Bradenton Herald – April 8, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.bradenton.com/

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA: A film whose chilling theme is known all too well by residents of coal producing states — an entrapment inside an Appalachian mine — opens in theaters this week.

“Mine 9” debuts Friday in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. It’s expected to roll out nationwide starting next week, news outlets reported.

New Martinsville, West Virginia, native Eddie Mensore wrote, produced and directed the film, which takes place deep inside a coal mine where nine miners with a limited oxygen supply are trapped after a methane explosion.

From turbines to thermostats: Copper miners eyes high-tech demand – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters U.S. – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Growing demand for smart thermostats, wind turbines and other high-tech devices is expected to keep copper the dominant material used in electrical components, industry players said, offsetting rising use of aluminum, a cheaper alternative to conduct electricity.

That bodes well for the likes of Chilean producer Codelco, Rio Tinto Plc and other major copper miners, who are investing billions of dollars to bring new supplies of the metal online during the next 20 years.

Copper is used to make motors, batteries, wiring and other goods as it is the best electrical-conducting metal, after silver. Aluminum, which is lighter and cheaper than copper, shares some of these traits, but is more corrosive and brittle than its red rival and only about 60 percent as conductive.

SolGold scores again, finds greater resource potential at Ecuador project – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

http://www.mining.com/

Ecuador-focused miner SolGold (LON, TSX:SOLG) said drilling at its Cascabel copper-gold project in the country’s north, one of the few new red-metal bearing ones expected to come online in the near future, has revealed previously unknown mineralization.

Together with high-grade find, over 1.5% copper equivalent, the company has also detected mineralization within the inferred resource area at the Alpala resource, as well as some medium grade mineralization of between 0.7% copper equivalent and the high-grade threshold of 1.5%.

“The drilling campaign continues to deliver to our expectations with these latest results revealing previously unknown mineralization and providing a clear indication of the growth potential that exists through the extension of the Alpala resource,” chief executive Nick Mather said in the statement.

Revitalizing its copper mines may not be sufficient to keep Chile at the fore – by Dave Sherwood (Reuters U.S. – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Codelco and other copper mining giants are set to plow billions of dollars into the revitalization of Chile’s mines, but that may not be enough to keep the country from losing ground to competitors elsewhere in the world.

Demand for copper is widely expected to take off by the mid-2020s amid a boom in electric vehicle production, but Chile is saddled with mines facing crippling declines in ore grades and a system that allows the bulk of its exploration concessions to sit idle.

“Chile is a fantastic country to work in. The question then comes, if it has all this potential, why are we not seeing growth in exploration?” said Anthony Amberg, of Los Andes Copper, a Canada-based junior with prospects in Chile.

NEWS RELEASE: MATAWA CHIEFS COUNCIL REJECT ONTARIO GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL TO REPEAL THE FAR NORTH ACT

April 10, 2019

THUNDER BAY, ON: Responding to a February 25, 2019 Government of Ontario announcement proposing to repeal the Far North Act, 2010—the Matawa Chiefs Council offered the following statement:

“The Matawa Chiefs Council is opposed to any unilateral legislative change that will have an impact on the Inherent Aboriginal and Treaty Rights of Matawa First Nations protected and affirmed under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982; that includes repealing the Far North Act, 2010 and proposed amendments process for the Public Lands Act, 1990 as the basis of Land Use Planning and implementation of our Inherent Aboriginal and Treaty Rights. The Matawa Chiefs Council reject the Ontario government’s proposal to repeal the Far North Act, 2010.

The proposal will have a high-level of impact on the Inherent Aboriginal and Treaty Rights of Matawa First Nations and our members, and a permanent impact on our future generations.

The Liberals manipulate a climate report to justify handouts to Loblaws – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Bring on what promises to be a steady blizzard of climate announcements

In a huge coincidence last week, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna leaked — to the CBC — her department’s latest official climate change report on the very same day her government’s new carbon-tax regime came into effect in four provinces.

The government-owned flagship news program, The National, sprang to attention. Host Rosemary Barton kicked off the Monday night show by cranking up the volume on “Canada’s Changing Climate Report” from Environment Canada scientists:

“Tonight a dire warning for Canada’s climate. The country is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. According to virtually every climate scientist, climate change is already here. Temperatures have risen and are expected to keep rising with dramatic and increasingly disastrous impacts. And today we are learning that in Canada, that goes double.

Germany’s Coal Plants May Be Converted to Giant Batteries – by Brian Parkin and William Wilkes (Bloomberg News – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Germany’s dirtiest power plants may avoid the scrap heap in the nation’s coal exit by getting refashioned as giant batteries for storing wind and solar power.

The Energy Ministry proposal is being weighed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition to help ease the phaseout of coal-fired generation in two regions where the fossil fuel is a major prop to the economy and jobs. Her administration promised in February some 40 billion euros ($45 billion) in aid to smooth coal’s 18-year wind down that starts next year.

The Rhine lignite belt in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia and Lusatia in Brandenburg and Saxony host eight big power plants owned by RWE AG and LEAG GmbH. The plants and mining operations support thousands of jobs and Merkel is seeking a smooth transition to a clean-energy economy for both areas.

DRC on the path to fulfilling great mining potential – by Jean Kassongo (CAJ News Africa – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

http://cajnewsafrica.com/

AFTER years of a lull attributed to insecurity, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is on course to fulfill its mining potential on the back of the biggest global interest and some measure of stability since a new administration assumed office.

Arguably the country most endowed with mineral resources globally, the vast nation has failed to fulfill its great potential after years of skirmishes since independence from Belgium in 1960.

It had its first peaceful transfer of power earlier this year when the then-opposition leader, Felix Tshisekedi, won a hotly-contested presidential poll to bring the 18-year-old reign of Joseph Kabila.

UPDATE 2-Zimbabwe mulls ‘use it or lose it’ approach to mining rights – by Tiisetso Motsoeneng (Reuters Africa – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://af.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, April 10 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe may withdraw mining rights from companies that take too long to dig for minerals, the deputy mines minister said on Wednesday, part of efforts to lift output in a sector vital to the country’s economic revival.

Zimbabwe sits on the second-largest known platinum deposits after neighbouring South Africa and President Emmerson Mnangagwa is keen to revive mining after years of reticence by foreign investors during the Robert Mugabe administration.

Speaking to investors and executives at a mining conference in Johannesburg, Polite Kambamura said details of the so-called “use it or lose it” approach to mining policy would be made available in due course.

New job for former Vale boss – by Staff (Sudbury Star – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Ricus Grimbeek didn’t say unemployed for long. Grimbeek, who left suddenly in February as Vale’s chief operating officer, North Atlantic operations and Asian refineries, is now president and chief executive officer of Trevali Mining Corporation. Grimbeek was with Vale for less than a year.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ricus Grimbeek as Trevali’s president and CEO,” Jessica McDonald, chair of the board, said in a release. “Ricus brings extensive global experience to Trevali, both as a corporate executive and as a mine operator, and has a proven track record of operating safe and efficient businesses with a focus on asset optimization and strong cost performance.

“He combines deep knowledge of mining processes and technology, and decades of hands-on global mining experience, with a progressive approach to mining that places a high priority on safety, sustainability and responsibility.

Top 10 Deepest Mines In The World: Most Of Them Are Gold Mines – by Vikas Shukla (Value Walk.com – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.valuewalk.com/

South Africa is home to eight of the world’s top 10 deepest mines. The country has been one of the world’s largest gold producers for decades, even though gold production there has been declining in recent years. A mine is an artificially made pit from where minerals and other resources are extracted. The depth of a mine represents the elevation from the entrance to the deepest excavation point.

The ranking below includes only operational mines, not the ones that are no longer in operation. For instance, the Empire Mine in California has a depth of 2.08 miles, but it’s no longer in operation. Similarly, the Kolar Gold Fields in India, which was 2 miles deep, was shut down in 2001 due to low levels of output after producing gold for centuries.

When they run out of minerals at existing levels, mining companies prefer to go deeper in existing mines to extract more minerals instead of digging a new mine.

Copper producer KGHM may freeze more mines in Canada, U.S.: CEO – by Agnieszka Barteczko (Reuters Canada – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s KGHM, one of the world’s biggest copper and silver producers, has no plan to sell its foreign assets but may freeze some in Canada or the United States if they require big investments, its chief executive said.

State-run KGHM, which for many years had focused only on Poland, accessed Chilean, Canadian and U.S. metal deposits through its almost $3 billion purchase of Quadra FNX in 2012, the largest foreign acquisition by any Polish company.

Since then, KGHM’s foreign assets have struggled with rising costs, falling copper prices, technical problems and higher-than-expected capital spending, which raised questions over KGHM’s plans regarding their potential sale.

NEWS RELEASE: Nornickel invests $2.3 billion in cutting sulphur dioxide emissions (Tass.com – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019

http://tass.com/

ST. PETERSBURG, April 10. /TASS/. The Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Company (Nornickel) plans to invest more than 150 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) in processing sulphur dioxide at its Polar Division’s facilities, the company’s Vice President Dmitry Pristanskov told the international Arctic forum on Tuesday.

“The Northern Project is absolutely non-commercial, it is a part of the national Ecology project,” the company’s representative said. “The company plans to attract more than 150 billion rubles in Russian technologies to cut sulphur dioxide emissions by 75%.”

TASS wrote earlier that under the Clear Air federal project, which is a part of the Ecology national project, Nornickel would invest in cutting emissions in Norilsk about 123 billion rubles ($1.9 billion).