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Arctic ambitions of China, Russia – and now the US – need not spark a cold war – by Nong Hong (South China Morning Post – March 11, 2019)

https://www.scmp.com/

While competition over access to resources is inevitable, security concerns aside, the three share many common interests. Recent US investment in the Arctic to counter Chinese and Russian influence heightens the need for partnership

The United States has always been a reluctant power in the Arctic. It has invested very little into its Arctic resources – with no real ports along Alaska’s Arctic waters, little military presence, and insufficient diplomatic engagement.

However, in February, the US government allocated a total of US$675 million in funding for new icebreakers, which military leaders deem vital for competing with Russia and China in the Arctic.

When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited America’s Nato ally, Iceland, on February 15, he also discussed China and Russia’s growing presence in the Arctic. It seems that the US has begun to shift its Arctic policy, now aimed at countering the growing influence of China and Russia in the high north.

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Tanzania orders cleanup at Acacia gold mine, threatens closure – by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala (Reuters U.K. – March 7, 2019)

https://uk.reuters.com/

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Acacia Mining Plc must halt waste water pollution at its North Mara gold mine in Tanzania by March 30 or the facility will be shut down, the country’s mining minister said on Friday.

Doto Biteko said Acacia needs to stop contaminated water seeping from a waste storage dam at the mine to nearby communities in the country’s north.

“The life of even one Tanzanian is worth more than their gold mining activities,” Biteko told Reuters. Acacia Mining said it had stopped a temporary overspill at the mine, blaming vandals for destroying sections of the pipe it uses to move waste water.

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‘Nice and dirty’: Rio’s new mine taps aluminium boom – by Darren Gray (Sydney Morning Herald – March 9, 2019)

https://www.smh.com.au/

Construction jobs always involve a few risks, but for the workers who built Rio Tinto’s new $2.6 billion Amrun bauxite mine on Cape York, some of the safety procedures were particularly unique.

The advice to workers was quite snappy, much like the risk sometimes observed in the water or on the riverbanks in the area: always keep at least six metres from the water’s edge, always face the water when near it, and, of course, always carry a big stick.

Because a potential threat, which is also spelt out in large signs at a ferry terminal Amrun mine workers must travel through en-route to work, is of a potential crocodile attack.

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[Vancouver] Island Voices: We need to get tougher on the mining industry – by Bev Sellars (Victoria Times Colonist – March 10, 2019)

https://www.timescolonist.com/

Mining in B.C. has a long history of being glamorized, romanticized, prioritized and given freedoms to act that no other industry or citizen enjoys. As a result, incalculable harm has been caused (and continues to be caused) since the province was colonized more than one and a half centuries ago.

Perhaps — as part of its recent throne speech commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — the current B.C. government will finally address the dark side of an industry that has for so long inflicted so much misery and destruction in pursuit of gold and other minerals.

This dark side is a shameful history that we First Nations know only too well, and which government after government, decade after decade, has ignored. Some might have been too easily bought by the promise of mining revenues, others too afraid of the political might of an industry used to always getting what it wants.

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Coal is king in India—and will likely remain so – by Samantha Gross (Brookings Education Blog – March 8, 2019)

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/

In conversations about avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, removing coal from the world’s energy system is always at the top of the list of solutions.

Here in the United States, inexpensive natural gas has out-competed coal in the power system, bringing about a 40 percent decline in coal-fired generation over the last decade. However, coal is still king in other parts of the world.

India’s ambitious renewable energy goals have received a lot of international attention, but coal still provides half of India’s commercial primary energy and is the dominant fuel for power generation. In “Coal in India: Adjusting to transition,” Rahul Tongia and I state that we expect coal to remain the dominant fuel in the power sector in India, through 2030 and beyond.

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Russia wants to join Luxembourg in space mining – by Vladimir Soldatkin (Reuters U.S. – March 6, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Russia, a leading producer of natural resources, plans to join Luxembourg in mining for minerals in outer space, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday.

Space mining has been the realm of science fiction, but a handful of firms and governments are pursuing the idea of making it a reality. The small Duchy of Luxembourg became the first country to adopt legal regulations relating to mining in space, including from asteroids.

“In January we offered Luxembourg a framework agreement on cooperation in the use of (mining) exploration in space. We expect an answer from Luxembourg,” said Golikova, part of a Russian delegation headed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

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Megamerger Push Has Gold Miners Eyeing New Dance Partners – by Danielle Bochove and Justina Vasquez (Bloomberg News – March 8, 2019)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

A push by the world’s biggest gold miners to get even bigger will likely have a knock-on effect among their competitors, adding new vigor to an industry that failed to inspire investor support in 2018.

The megamerger mania now under way for Newmont Mining Corp., Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. is likely to result in some of their assets being sold, helping to diversify portfolios for other miners and boosting the interest of investors. More importantly, it could force mid-tier companies to team up in order to successfully compete.

“This is a competitive marketplace in terms of attracting capital, and you have to make a decision at some point,” Michael Siperco, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Markets, said in a telephone interview. “Yamana, Kinross, Iamgold — what’s the strategy here in terms of not getting absolutely left behind?”

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NEWS RELEASE: Mining Revenues Strong in Northwest Territories; pass $1 billion in Nunavut

Yellowknife, NT (March 11, 2019) Mineral production continues to be strong at over $2 billion in the Northwest Territories, and with production growth has surpassed $1 billion for two consecutive years in Nunavut according to recently released statistics posted by Natural Resources Canada.

Preliminary estimates for 2018 show that the total value of NWT mining production is $2.111 billion, up slightly by $6 million (0.3%) from $2.105 billion in 2017. Of this:

• Diamond production accounts for nearly the entire value (99.4%) at $2.097 billion, up slightly by $6 million (0.3%) from $2.091 billion; and
• With no other minerals produced in the NWT, sand, gravel, and stone production value accounts for the remaining $13 million.

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Brazil aims to open indigenous reserves to mining: minister (Reuters U.S. – March 8, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

BRASILIA (Reuters) – The government of Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro is preparing an overhaul of mining sector regulations that will include opening up indigenous reserves to mining, the country’s mines and energy minister said.

Mining in indigenous reserves is currently prohibited. Minister Bento Albuquerque said Brazil plans to overhaul mining rules to prevent future disasters such as the dam bursting at a Vale SA facility in January that killed hundreds and also allow for more economic growth in the sector, including of mineral exports.

“That legislative effort shall also include the regulation of the use of indigenous and other areas according to what the Brazilian federal constitution states,” Albuquerque said at an event in Washington, D.C. A video of the remarks were posted late on Thursday.

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After the Diamond Rush: Shoddy Housing, Few Jobs in Eastern Zimbabwe – by Gamuchirai Masiyiwa and Linda Mujuru (Global Press Journal – March 10, 2019)

Global Press Journal

CHIADZWA DIAMOND FIELDS, ZIMBABWE — Police and military officers man a boom gate, which marks the boundary of this diamond mining area. An officer stops each vehicle and asks for identity documents from each passenger. No vehicles get through the gate without a permit and the officer’s approval.

Behind the gate, residents of three dozen villages struggle to forge ordinary lives as authorities strictly monitor their movements. The permit to get into this diamond mining area is free and valid for one month, but it’s not issued nearby. Even those who live here must go to Mutare, a town about 40 miles away, to get it.

In shopping areas, locals gather to listen to the radio and socialize. They’re cautious: They never know when the military will show up and look for evidence that people are illegally mining diamonds.

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Barrick Withdraws $17.8 Billion Hostile Bid for Newmont – by Joseph Richter and Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – March 11, 2019)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is withdrawing its $17.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Newmont Mining Corp., with the companies opting instead to forge a joint venture around their Nevada projects.

The change came weeks after Barrick proposed an all-share offer that would have created the world’s largest gold producer. After Newmont’s board rejected the bid, Newmont Chief Executive Officer Gary Goldberg proposed the joint venture as an alternative both companies could gain from.

Barrick’s decision ends two weeks of animosity between the gold producers, and helps Newmont focus on securing shareholder approval for its previously announced offer to buy Goldcorp Inc. Newmont raised doubts about the Barrick bid from the start, saying its Goldcorp move offered better benefits.

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Australia’s Newcrest Mining takes 70 per cent stake in B.C. mine from Imperial Metals – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 11, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

One of Australia’s largest miners is buying a majority interest in a B.C. mine from Imperial Metals Corp. for US$806-million, providing a cash injection for the struggling Vancouver company that is backed by billionaire executive Murray Edwards.

Melbourne-based Newcrest Mining Corp. struck a deal on the weekend for 70 per cent of Imperial’s Red Chris property, a mine that opened three years ago and last year produced 12,000 ounces of gold.

Imperial’s board has been conducting in a strategic review of the business as it tries to get out of financial trouble. In 2014, a catastrophic tailings dam failure forced Imperial to suspend operations at its Mount Polley copper-gold mine in British Columbia for almost a year. Imperial has also dealt with operating problems at Red Chris since it started production in 2015.

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More women in mining ‘matters,’ Sudbury engineer says – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – March 9, 2019)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Samantha Espley will never forget her first day when she joined Falconbridge Limited not long after obtaining an engineering degree from the University of Toronto in 1988. “It was a sea of men,” she recalled, during her breakfast address Friday at the Steelworkers Hall on Brady Street to celebrate International Women’s Day. “I was so shocked. Over the years, I felt self-righteous. ‘How come there’s not enough women?’

“But over my 30 years, I realized there’s no women in the pipeline. There’s no females to draw from. There’s no women for the big companies to hire coming out of the schools and trade schools.”

Espley is the current director of Mining Technology & Innovation for Vale Base Metals, leading a team of highly specialized engineers and scientists providing technical support to Vale’s operating mines and projects in Canada, Brazil, New Caledonia and Indonesia.

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Ford’s rejection of mining plan ‘disappointing’ – by Paul Lefebvre (Sudbury Star – March 10, 2019)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Paul Lefebvre is Member of Parliament for Sudbury and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources.

This past weekend at PDAC 2019 – the international mineral exploration and mining convention – our government joined with our provincial and territorial partners to launch the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan.

I’m very proud of this plan. It covers issues that are key to a successful and modern minerals and metals industry: competitiveness, the participation of Indigenous peoples, community benefits, respect for the environment, scientific and technological innovation, and global leadership.

All of these objectives are familiar to us here in Sudbury and Northern Ontario, where responsible mineral exploration, production and processing have become second nature. These are priorities shared by the key stakeholders in the sector across the country. We know this because we worked extensively with industry organizations, as well as environmental groups, labour organizations, and municipalities to create this plan.

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HISTORY: Museums offer first-hand account of local history – by Karen Bachmann (Timmins Daily Press – March 8, 2019)

https://www.timminspress.com/

Timmins Museum curator Karen Bachmann talks about opportunities to get historic accounts “from the horse’s mouth.”

Three things I learned this week: 1) Never believe them when they say “it’s a done deal”; 2) Never say “yes” when you really mean “no, thank you” and 3) Never, ever, let someone else tell your story.

The first two I already knew – I just needed to be reminded of those principals. The last came as a hard lesson – especially for a curator who should, at the end of the day, know better.

Museums in particular are coming a little late to the party – while we house artifacts and objects and images, that stuff really is nothing without a story that makes it all come to life. I can have people walk through my collections area and look at artifacts, but the “stuff” becomes real for them when I can tell them a story that related to that artifact.

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