Republic of Mining

Canada’s Lundin Mining still seeking assets after $1 billion mine purchase: CEO – by Nichola Saminather (Reuters U.S. – April 15, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Canada’s Lundin Mining Corp is looking to buy more mining assets, Chief Executive Marie Inkster told Reuters on Monday, after the company announced its purchase of a Brazilian copper-gold mine from Yamana Gold Inc for more than $1 billion.

The Toronto-based company is seeking a project where exploration is complete, which it can take over and build, Inkster said. Lundin prefers a copper asset, but would also consider a zinc poly-metallic mine, with nickel a distant third option, she said.

“Our leverage will still be extremely low after we close this deal, and we have great mines that are cash flowing,” Inkster said in an interview. “But there’s a scarcity of copper assets right now, and we have to be patient.”

Electric cars can clean up the mining industry – here’s how – by Elsa Dominish and Nick Florin (The Conversation – April 16, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://theconversation.com/

Growing demand for electric vehicles is important to help cut transport emissions, but it will also lead to new mining. Without a careful approach, we could create new environmental damage while trying to solve an environmental problem.

Like solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage technologies, electric vehicles require a complex mix of metals, many of which have only been previously mined in small amounts.

These include cobalt, nickel and lithium for batteries used for electric vehicles and storage; rare earth metals for permanent magnets in electric vehicles and some wind turbines; and silver for solar panels.

Kinross Gold cuts ties with two more executives as it eyes cost cuts – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April 17, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Kinross Gold Corp. is cutting ties with two more senior executives, weeks after it let go of its chief financial officer, as it focuses on cost cutting.

On Tuesday, Toronto-based Kinross said that chief operating officer Lauren Roberts and Gina Jardine, senior vice-president, human resources, are leaving the firm. Company spokesman Louie Diaz said that Kinross has no plans to replace either role.

In March, Kinross said it was parting ways with chief financial officer Tony Giardini. He will be replaced by Andrea Freeborough, vice-president, investor relations and corporate development.

Nfld. & Labrador: From more seismic to new training programs, Liberals betting heavily on natural resources – by Terry Roberts (CBC News Newfoundland-Labrador – April 17, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

With millions budgeted for everything from equity investments to offshore seismic work to new training programs, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Liberal government is continuing to bet heavily on the natural resources sector.

And making zero apologies for doing so, amid a clarion call about the dangers of climate change and the burning of fossil fuels. Budget 2019-20 was presented Tuesday in the House of Assembly, laying out a road map for growth in oil and gas, and mining.

Both sectors employ thousands of people and contribute billions to the province’s fragile economy. But these investments won’t come cheap.

Generalisations about coal are fraught with risks – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – April 17, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.ft.com/

Underlying drivers for fuel prices remain intact despite a softening in Europe’s market

All fossil fuels are not created equal. Take thermal coal, which is burnt in power stations to produce electricity. It almost defies categorisation as a commodity because differences in quality vary markedly from region to region.

Coal produced in Australia’s Hunter Valley, for example, commands a higher price than material mined in Indonesia or some parts of South America because of its high calorific value and low impurities.

That makes generalisations about the near 1bn-tonne-a-year seaborne thermal coal market — an important source of income for miners including Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton — fraught with risk.

Your Cell Phone Is Spreading Ebola – by Laurie Garrett (Foreigh Policy – April 17, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://foreignpolicy.com/

Last week, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), declined to declare the ongoing outbreak of Ebola a global emergency.

His decision came on the advice of an expert scientific panel; it was dubious nevertheless. Whatever the world chooses to call it, the disease is now on the edge of catastrophe that requires an urgent response. The most urgent of all is also among the least direct. It doesn’t involve Ebola at all but rather the inside of our cell phones.

As of April 13, the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sickened 1,251 people, killing 803, or 64 percent, of the infected. (This is well past the threshold of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which was formally declared a global health emergency by WHO on Aug. 8, 2014.)

British Columbia: Proposed $1.8B mining project for Central B.C. gets environmental approval – by Betsy Trumpener (CBC News British Columbia – April 16, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Project could create up to 1,500 jobs during construction, ministry says

The federal environment ministry has greenlit a proposed $1.8 billion mining project in Central B.C.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announced its approval of the proposed Blackwater Gold project “following a thorough and science-based environmental assessment process.”

The announcement means an open-pit gold and silver mine could be built and operated about 110 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof, B.C., several hours drive from Prince George.

UPDATE 1-Eramet gets go-ahead to boost New Caledonia nickel exports, shares rise (Reuters U.S. – April 16, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) – French mining company Eramet said its loss-making SLN nickel division had received a boost from the New Caledonia government approving a sharp rise in SLN’s nickel ore exports. Eramet shares rose around 5 percent in early trading.

The company said the decision would allow SLN to export its lower-grade nickel ore, which in turn would allow SLN to cut its costs. It added the move would help it execute a broader strategy plan to reduce SLN’s cash cost by $1.30 per lb by 2021.

“I would like to thank the government of New Caledonia and all the stakeholders who contributed to this decision,” said Eramet Chairman and CEO Christel Bories. “This is a sign of confidence in the successful implementation of the SLN rescue plan.”

OPINION: Alberta election 2019: Economic worries trumped concerns about UCP. Now what? – by Gary Mason (Globe and Mail – April 17, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In the end, a battered economy trumped everything. Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party won a historic Alberta election Tuesday, overcoming concerns about his own moral and ethical imperatives and a string of controversies generated by UCP candidates linked to racist and homophobic commentary.

While the public storms these incidents caused undoubtedly cost Mr. Kenney support, it was not enough to jeopardize the lead his party had established over the NDP.

Now hold on to your hats. The province, and the country, will not have seen an Alberta premier this ready to rock conventions, to disrupt the status quo, since Ralph Klein.

COMMENT: Mega-mergers will bring short-lived glory if miners ignore innovation – by Peter Bryant and Kulvir Gill (Canadian Mining Journal – April 16, 2019)

April 17, 2019

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Peter Bryant is an advisory board member for the World Economic Forum’s Mining 2050 initiative and a managing partner at Clareo, a growth strategy and innovation consulting firm. Kulvir Gill is a senior principal at Clareo. Learn more at www.Clareo.com.

CHICAGO – The writing is on the wall for Canadian mining companies and it has been for quite some time. Their glory days as a global leaders are fading – and mega-mergers won’t bring salvation.

Market signals are already showing troubling signs of this shift in the sector. While Canada’s GDP saw a 0.3% lift in January, which was the biggest gain in eight months, this dramatic uptick didn’t spill over into every industry.

Mining still felt the pinch in a time where miners globally are revelling in rebounding commodity prices and company profits. This should be no surprise since Canada’s share of international exploration has dwindled to 13.8% in 2017 from 20.5% in 2008, according to the Mining Association of Canada.

Build pipelines, scrap carbon tax and battle protesters: That’s what Kenney vows to do for Alberta’s oilpatch – by Kevin Orland and Theophilos Argitis (Bloomberg/Financial Post – April 17, 2019)

April 17, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Alberta returned to its conservative roots, electing United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney premier after he vowed to fight harder for the province’s beleaguered energy industry. Kenney defeated center-left incumbent Rachel Notley, 55, whose New Democratic Party snapped four decades of conservative rule in 2015.

Kenney’s election may herald big changes for Alberta’s energy industry, which produces more oil than most OPEC members and has the world’s third-largest petroleum resources.

He’s vowed to get stalled pipelines built, scrap the province’s carbon tax, and create a “war room” to hit back at anti-oil-sands campaigners. He also pledged to cut corporate taxes and balance the province’s books in his first term.

Column: Rio Tinto warning may rupture mining industry into green and dirty – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – April 16, 2019)

April 16, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

The mining industry is starting to come under more intense pressure
from investors who are demanding sustainable and ethical mining.

LAUNCESTON, Australia (Reuters) – It’s not quite yet pistols at dawn but Rio Tinto’s polite warning to mining lobby groups that they have to acknowledge the threat of climate change is likely a sign that the industry will inevitably fracture into two camps.

These factions could be described as the “green” miners, who produce the minerals essential for the transition from the age of oil to the age of electricity, and the “dirty” miners who remain trapped in coal and other minerals deemed unnecessary for a carbon constrained future.

Rio Tinto’s carefully worded statement on industry associations, released last week, said that it would only work with groups aligned with its own climate principles.

Canadians paying for Liberals’ mistakes on Bill C-69 – by Shannon Stubbs (Regina Leader Post – April 16, 2019)

April 16, 2019

https://leaderpost.com/

Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs is the shadow minister for natural resources.

The “no more pipelines” Bill C-69 is the centerpiece of the Liberals’ anti-resource development agenda. Despite Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi’s claim that he cares “deeply about building projects,” not a single inch of the Trans Mountain Expansion has been built.

The Liberals cancelled the Northern Gateway Pipeline and meddled to help kill Energy East, the only proposed options for export beyond the U.S. The Liberals’ bills C-48 and C-86 will unilaterally block exports from the northern B.C. coast, and from all coasts. Canada is now the only top 10 oil producer in the world with a carbon tax.

More than 120,000 oil and gas workers have lost their jobs under the Liberals, and 12,500 more Canadians are expected to lose their oil and gas jobs this year.

RPT-COLUMN-Funds hold their fire on confused copper market – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – April 15, 2019)

April 16, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) – Funds have this year played copper from the short side and from the long side but with little success either way. They are now broadly neutral as they and everyone else try to work out where Doctor Copper is heading next.

In part this is a reflection of copper’s lack of directional impetus in recent weeks. The London Metal Exchange (LME) contract has since late February been treading water in a $6,300-6,550 range with an absence of clear chart signals. On Monday, it was trading around $6,470 per tonne.

That has muted activity from the black-box funds that feed off momentum and other technical indicators. But copper’s well-trod trading range is itself a sign of how confused the broader market is right now with no clear consensus on the short-term outlook.

Yamana Gold cleans up balance sheet with $1-billion sale of Brazilian mine to Lundin Mining – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – April 16, 2019)

April 16, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

The company plans to apply the entire proceeds from the Chapada mine sale to reduce its $1.6 billion debt pile

When the management teams at Yamana Gold Inc. and Lundin Mining Corp. look at copper and gold, both see a rising price environment ahead.

Despite the shared positive outlook, it was copper-focused Lundin Mining Corp. that announced on Monday it would plunk down $1 billion in cash to purchase the Chapada copper-gold mine in Brazil from gold-focused Yamana, which needs cash to reduce its debt load.

In some ways the deal mirrors analysts’ optimistic predictions about copper compared to a more hazy outlook on gold equities, even in the face of a potential U.S. recession, and the possibility of a global economic slowdown amid persistent trade disputes.