Republic of Mining

Mine development picks up – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – March 4, 2019)

March 28, 2019

http://www.sudburyminingsolutions.com/

The optimism pulsing through the Metro Toronto Convention Centre at last year’s PDAC offered hope for an end to the long and painful mining industry downturn that began in 2013, but the final verdict on 2018 was one of disappointment.

There were signs of recovery early in the year, but “the pendulum swings both ways, and we gave back a lot of the gains as the year progressed and commodity prices retreated,” said PDAC president Glenn Mullan.

Exploration expenditures in Ontario increased only marginally from C$539.7 million to C$567.5 million. The year was especially challenging for junior miners, who depend on public capital markets for financing, as weak commodity prices, investment apathy, cannabis, cryptocurrency and competition from other jurisdictions conspired against them.

The climate alarmists are keeping poor people in the dark — literally – by Joe Oliver (Financial Post – March 27, 2019)

March 28, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

It is impossible to elevate people in dire need to a decent standard of living without inexpensive electricity

I recently returned from a Petroleum and Energy Summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG), which put into stark relief the moral imperative of developing fossil fuels, especially for the poorest people in developing countries.

By implication, it reinforced the profoundly unethical stand of climate-change alarmists who are working to rid the world of hydrocarbons, irrespective of the harm to economic growth, employment and a decent standard of living for billions of people.

A mere 13 per cent of Papua New Guineans have access to electricity. The government’s goal is to extend electrification to 70 per cent by 2030, an ambitious precondition to substantially raising GDP per capita above its current $2,400.

First Nations-led group planning bid for majority stake in Trans Mountain pipeline – by Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – March 28, 2019)

March 28, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A First Nations-led group is putting together a bid to buy a 51-per-cent stake in Ottawa’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline with the aim of kickstarting the long-delayed expansion by giving Indigenous communities a financial stake.

All First Nations in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are being invited to participate in the $6.8-billion plan, which values the project at more than $13-billion.

The effort is led by Delbert Wapass, former chief of the Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan and current vice-chairman of the Indian Resource Council. The group, called Project Reconciliation, hopes to build support for the massive oil export project, which has divided Indigenous people.

THE DRIFT: Smart helmet to improve safety, efficiency: Jannatec’s wearable device to roll out this spring – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – March 26, 2019)

March 28, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

When it hits the market this spring, Jannatec Technologies’ smart helmet will function a lot like the modern smartphone – one communications device that incorporates multiple uses.

But the wearable gear is being designed for use deep underground to provide miners with higher visibility, radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging, proximity detection, biometrics monitoring, photography and video capabilities, and more.

“We try not to think of it as a helmet,” said Mark Burnett, an account representative with Jannatec. “We try to think of it as a platform that’s going to offer (mining) operations different capabilities and solutions that they may need to fit their unique problems, which is why it’s going to be a multi-faceted platform.”

Canada has good reason to be wary of becoming too dependent on China – by Diane Francis (Financial Post – March 5, 2019)

March 28, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Canada is being pushed around by China these days to prevent extradition to the U.S. of a Chinese billionaire’s daughter and executive of telco giant Huawei. Two Canadian diplomats have been unjustly imprisoned by China in retaliation.

This is unacceptable behaviour, but there will be more to come if the woman is eventually extradited to the United States for what the Chinese call “bogus” charges. But Canada must extradite her. To do otherwise would be to interfere in the American-Canadian legal system.

Canada is getting bullied by China, but it’s nothing compared to what China is doing to other trading partners. It’s waving a big stick in more devastating ways, which is why Canada and others — caught between China and the United States — should avoid too much trade liberalization or dependency on the ruthless giant.

Bell Tolls for Gold Mine That Once Powered South African Economy – by Felix Njini (Bloomberg News – March 27, 2019)

March 27, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The final demise of South Africa’s gold industry came a step nearer on Wednesday with the announcement that Sibanye Gold Ltd. won’t extend the life of Driefontein, once the biggest mine on the continent.

Last year the mine, more than 2 miles (3,200 meters) deep, produced about 300,000 ounces of gold, just a fifth of its peak output two decades ago. Now Sibanye will wind down Driefontein’s operations within 10 years, with plans to cut thousands of jobs as it shuts unprofitable shafts.

South Africa’s gold industry employs just over 100,000 people, less than a fifth of the number that used to drive the apartheid economy. With most of the nation’s gold operations unprofitable, more job cuts are inevitable. Moreover, the geological challenges faced by the world’s deepest mines saw fatalities at Sibanye’s gold operations soar last year.

OPINION: Oil Tanker Moratorium Act will harm Canada’s economy and reputation abroad – by Perrin Beatty, Robert Lewis-Manning, Dennis Darby and Tim McMillan (Globe and Mail – March 27, 2019)

March 27, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Robert Lewis-Manning, president, Chamber of Shipping, Dennis Darby, president and CEO, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Tim McMillan, president and CEO, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and Perrin Beatty, president and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

While the Canadian economy is slowing to a halt, the federal government is advancing a ban on tanker traffic on a significant portion of the West Coast that will prevent Canada from exporting our responsibly produced energy products.

At a time when Canada desperately needs marine access to reach new growing markets in Asia – and to avoid losing millions of dollars per day on the sale of our oil – Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, is an irresponsible measure for the Canadian economy.

For decades, Canada’s West Coast has been a trading gateway for commercial marine transport. It has provided access to global markets for our country’s most valuable resources and products.

Mining group works with U.N., ethical investors to tackle tailings (Reuters U.S. – March 27, 2019)

March 27, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – A group bringing together the world’s biggest listed miners on Wednesday said it was working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and ethical investors to help agree a global standard for tailings dams.

The safety of dams used to store mining waste known as tailings became more high profile after the collapse of a Vale tailings dam in Brazil in January killed an estimated 300 people.

Vale and other major miners, including Rio Tinto, BHP and Glencore, are members of the industry body International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which met in London on Wednesday to debate tailings safety.

Global Iron Ore Market Faces Deficit, Mining Billionaire Forrest Warns – by Krystal Chia and Tom Mackenzie (Bloomberg News – March 27, 2019)

March 27, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The global iron ore market is likely to have a shortfall following the dam spill and mine curtailments at top supplier Vale SA, according to Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. founder Andrew Forrest, who cautioned that other producers face constraints in boosting output.

“We do have to face the reality of a potential deficit,” Forrest said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the Boao Forum in Hainan province. While the Australian miner is “looking very hard” at how it can help customers, it can’t guarantee it’ll be able to help fill the deficit, according to Forrest.

Iron ore is heading for the biggest quarterly advance since late 2017 as investors seek to gauge the consequences of the disruption in Brazil, with Citigroup Inc. warning the market has yet to see the full impact of the disaster as a looming mid-year crunch will spur a rally to $100 a ton.

SNC-Lavalin ‘appalled’ and ‘surprised’ as Chilean miner Codelco cancels $260-million contract – by Sandrine Rastello and Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News/Financial Post – March 26, 2019)

March 26, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., the embattled engineering firm at the heart of Canada’s biggest political crisis in years, has been dealt another blow in Chile.

Copper producer Codelco said Monday that it canceled a contract worth US$260 million to build two new acid plants in the Chuquicamata mine. Montreal-based SNC has “seriously” and “repeatedly” breached aspects of its contracts, according to Codelco, which cited delays in construction and in payments to subcontractors, as well as quality issues.

“Codelco made several attempts to resolve the problems facing the project, with the last attempt in February,” according to the statement from the Santiago-based company.

A Delay In Mining Auctions Could Disrupt A Third Of India’s Iron Ore Supply – by Nickey Mirchandani (Bloomberg News – March 26, 2019)

March 26, 2019

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

Nearly a third of iron ore supplies to domestic steel mills could be disrupted if the auction of 33 mines whose leases are slated to expire in March next year are not held in time.

These mines contribute about 28 percent of the country’s total production of iron ore, a key raw material used in steelmaking, according to a report by the Ministry of Mines. The majority of these are located in Odisha (16 licences set to expire), followed by Karnataka (eight) and Jharkhand (five).

Among the 16 working licences of India’s largest iron-ore producing state of Odisha, Serajuddin and Rungta mines produced 6 million tonnes and 11 million tonnes, respectively, last year, a report by SteelMint said. Overall, these two miners have 2.9 percent and 11.65 percent share, respectively, of India’s total iron ore market, it said.

World’s largest copper producer brings AI to its mines – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 26, 2019)

March 26, 2019

http://www.mining.com/

Chile’s Codelco, the world’s No. 1 copper producer, will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into its mines to monitor the health of mining equipment and ensure operations run efficiently, as part of a deal signed Tuesday with Chicago-based AI provider Uptake.

The move is part of an aggressive transformation of the state-miner, which is looking at adding fresh technologies to revitalizing some of its century-old mines.

Over the next ten years, Codelco plans to automate the operation of its mine fleets and processing plants, capture data and detect efficiencies as it continues to redefine its entire operational approach.

China boosts coal mining capacity despite climate pledges (Reuters U.K. – March 26, 2019)

March 26, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

BEIJING (Reuters) – China added 194 million tonnes of coal mining capacity in 2018, data from the energy bureau showed on Tuesday, despite vows to eliminate excess capacity in the sector and to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Total coal mining capacity in the country was at 3.53 billion tonnes per year by the end of 2018, according to a statement from the National Energy Administration (NEA). That compares to 3.34 billion tonnes at the end of 2017.

The NEA said that excludes 1.03 billion tonnes per year of approved coal capacity currently under construction and 370 million tonnes per year under trial operation.

‘Reset’ on Canada’s road to resources – by Bill Gallagher (Corporate Knights – March 26, 2019)

March 26, 2019

https://www.corporateknights.com/

The precise moment announcing Canada’s “reset” on its road to resources was this headline splashed across the front page of the Globe and Mail on May 17, 2018: “Pipeline pledge won’t cost taxpayers a cent, Morneau says”.

It refers to the stalled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which Ottawa had already approved but which now was in big trouble as a result of the proponent’s inability to access its terminal on account of protests.

There it was in black and white. Formal, high-level political recognition (by Finance Minister Bill Morneau) that resource projects in modern day Canada needed to be de-risked through direct federal government intervention. And as we were about to learn, this pipeline needed more than de-risking: It needed outright rescuing. Ottawa paid billions to assume Kinder Morgan’s ownership position, as the latter headed for the exits.

Century-old silver mines are long gone. But tainted tailings are still polluting Park City. Now the feds are suing to clean up the Superfund site. – by Nate Carlisle (Salt Lake Tribune – March 26, 2019)

March 26, 2019

https://www.sltrib.com/

What are now world-class ski runs used to be profitable mountainsides where 19th-century miners dug silver out of the dirt and mud.

The materials left over from that mining and processing are called tailings, and a lot of them were dumped into Silver Creek — the stream that runs from the south side of Park City northeast to Wanship. The federal government has had plans to clean up the tailings and the poisonous chemicals that come with them.

The plan has stalled, partly because United Park City Mines Co. hasn’t followed through on a 2014 agreement to scrub the biggest tailings site and owes the federal government for work that has been done, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court. The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a judge to order the mine company to pay what it owes and declare the company liable for future cleanup costs.