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Northern spending pays off, MAC report shows – by Don Wall (Journal of Commerce – April 5, 2019)

Journal of Commerce

Toronto may be the global centre for mining finance but recent statistics on capital development spending in the sector illustrate that the three sparsely populated territories in Canada’s North are also notable heavyweights.

The most recent edition of Facts of Figures of the Canadian Mining Industry, published in March by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), showed that the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut together received 22 per cent, or $570 million, of total 2017 Canadian spending on exploration and the territories also accounted for 13 per cent ($990 million) of total mine complex development expenditures in Canada.

Facts and Figures 2018, prepared by MAC’s vice-president for economic and northern affairs Brendan Marshall, offers ample evidence of the links between permitting certainty, investment climate and the prognosis for future spending on development — and thus how much work constructors hired to build mine infrastructure can look forward to.

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World Diamond Council advocates for Africa’s artisanal diamond miners at international forum – by Staff (Mining.com – April 5, 2019)

http://www.mining.com/

During her opening address at the 6th Forum of the Africa-Belgium Business Week, Marie-Chantal Kaninda, Executive Director of the World Diamond Council, told global leaders that expanding the scope of the Kimberley Process to include issues related to human rights and labor relations will help create conditions in which Sub-Saharan Africa’s artisanal diamond miners can meet their economic potential and support the development of their countries’ economies.

With Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of the Central African Republic, and Charles Michel, Belgium’s Prime Minister sitting in the audience, Kaninda made reference to the peace agreement signed in February by the Touadéra government and 14 rebel groups, aimed at ending the country’s seven-year-long civil war.

In her view, through the implementation of the peace process, the Central African Republic will be able to resume the unrestricted export of rough diamonds, supported by the Kimberley Process Certification System.

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‘Informal’ Gold Mining ‘Now 15%’ of World Output (Bullion Vault – April 5, 2019)

https://www.bullionvault.com/

Artisanal + small-scale mines adds 700 tonnes to decade total…

GOLD MINING output worldwide is running more than 4% higher than previously estimated according to leading analysts, thanks to a boom in so-called “informal” projects across developing economies.

With total world gold mine output recording a 10th consecutive year of growth in 2018, and its 9th new all-time high, specialists analysts Metals Focus this week announced a “fairly substantial revision” to their estimates for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).

These often illegal and highly dangerous projects produced around 550 tonnes of gold in 2018 according to Metals Focus’ new figures, some 15% of total global output.

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China, cobalt and the Congo: Why Xi Jinping is winning the ‘batteries arms race’ – by Felix Todd (Compelo.com – April 4, 2019)

https://www.compelo.com/

Over the past decade, China has established a monopoly over cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the vast majority of the metal resides. In an argent rendition of 1848’s Gold Rush, a single silver-tinged metal has caught the world’s attention: Cobalt.

Critical to the construction of batteries, it has emerged as central to some of the industries set to determine the future. Roughly 10kg of the precious resource is needed to make an electric car, for example, and, without it, the feasibility of grid-scale battery storage is severely compromised.

The vast majority of the planet’s cobalt is located within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a plethora of interested parties are engaged in a frantic contest for control over mining operations.

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Church of England scheme gives ultimatum to mining companies – by Stephanie Hawthorne (Pensions Expert – April 5, 2019)

http://www.pensions-expert.com/

On the go: In the wake of the collapse of the tailings dam in Brumadinho, Brazil, which killed at least 84 people and left hundreds missing, 96 institutional investors have been stirred into action.

In an urgent letter, investors, led by the Church of England Pensions Board, have given mining companies 45 days to provide full disclosure on tailings storage facilities under their control. It requests that companies publish the disclosure on their websites within 45 days and ensure that the disclosure is signed by the company’s chief executive or board chair.

The letter, sent on April 5 to 683 listed extractives companies by the CofE Pensions Board and the Swedish Council on Ethics for the AP Funds, is supported by 96 investors with $10.3tn (£7.9tn) in assets under management, including Aegon, Aviva and Hermes. The engagement is also supported by the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.

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NEWS RELEASE: Towards a mercury-free future in Mongolia and the Philippines (United Nations Environment Program – April 5, 2019)

  • The artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector accounts for 20 per cent of the world’s annual gold production
  • New $60-million initiative will improve conditions for artisanal miners in Mongolia and the Philippines, while slashing harmful mercury emissions
  • As many as 15 million people work in the ASGM sector globally – including 4.5 million women and over 600,000 children
  • The ASGM sector is the single largest source of man-made mercury emissions, responsible for the release of as much as 1,000 tonnes of mercury to the atmosphere annually

Ulaanbaatar, 5 April 2019 – With twenty per cent of the world’s gold supply produced by artisanal and small-scale miners, urgent action is needed to reduce the environmental impact of the sector, as well as to protect the health and wellbeing of the millions of men, women and children working in the industry, according to the backers of a new project to reform the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) sector in Mongolia and the Philippines.

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Indonesia battery-grade nickel plant awaits environmental nod- developer – by Fransiska Nangoy and Wilda Asmarini (Reuters U.S. – April 5, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, April 5 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s first plant to produce battery-grade nickel chemicals is on track to start operations by 2020, though the project still needs an environmental permit that could take up to eight months to be approved, the developer told Reuters.

China’s Tsingshan Group and partners including GEM Co Ltd are building a $700 million high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant at the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, a nickel mining hub.

Ground breaking started in January on the plant, which is due to be completed within 16 to 18 months and will allow Indonesia to export nickel sulphate, a component for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs).

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Canadian copper producers on a tear as metal rallies again – by James Snell (Financial Post – April 5, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Base-metal analysts and tarnished copper miners are optimistic on a potential bull trend in copper amid optimism around U.S.-China trade talks and growing scarcity of the metal that’s offsetting concerns about a Chinese economic slowdown.

Copper hit an all-time high of US$10,190 per ton in 2011, but has been on a roller coaster ever since. The metal, considered a key barometer of the global economy given its various uses, hit a four-year high of US$7,348 last June before plunging to US$5,725 in early January. Since then it has clawed its way back to US$6,426.50 per ton, up 7.7 per cent since the start of the year.

The upturn comes as a relief for the Canadian copper industry, which produces approximately 600,000 tonnes annually — three per cent of global supply. Canadian companies such as Hudbay Minerals Inc. (up 52.61 per cent year-to-date), Imperial Metals Corp. (up 71.88 per cent), Taseko Mines Ltd. (up 10 per cent) and Capstone Mining Corp. (up 6.5 per cent) are among some of the major copper producers riding the latest copper rally.

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THE DRIFT: Miner and designer balances dual roles: Sudbury’s Alicia Woods finds passion in mining industry – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – April 5, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

When Alicia Woods was vying to enter the mining industry, she knew that name recognition would at least get her foot in the door, but it would take hard work to prove she deserved to be there.

Woods is the daughter of Paul Marcotte who, along with his brothers and father, founded Sudbury-based Marcotte Mining Machinery Services in 1979, designing and manufacturing underground utility vehicles.

As a kid, Woods loved hanging around her dad in the shop, and it was her long-time dream to one day work alongside him in the industry. “He never made me feel like it wasn’t an industry for me,” she said. “I never once felt that it wasn’t for girls.”

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Goldcorp shareholders approve US$10-billion acquisition by Newmont – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April 5, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Goldcorp Inc. shareholders have voted decisively in favour of the company’s US$10-billion acquisition by Newmont Mining Corp., removing one more roadblock in what would be one of the biggest deals in the history of the gold sector.

Shareholders met in Vancouver on Thursday with more than 97 per cent voting in favour. The threshold for a successful outcome was at least two thirds of votes cast.

On April 11, Newmont shareholders will weigh in on the transaction in what will be the final major hurdle. Goldcorp shares rose by 1.8 per cent on Thursday to close at $15.63 apiece on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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Exploration funding tight, but mining prospects look bright: Australians making inroads into Northern Ontario mineral properties – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 4, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The road to riches remains a rocky one for junior mining companies. Financing to do mineral exploration continues to be tight for those on the upstream end of the industry.

While money doesn’t appear to be an issue for larger, more advanced exploration plays, it’s the smaller projects at the grassroots stage that are being neglected, according to Garry Clark, executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) in Thunder Bay.

“If I had a project that could sustain a $5-million exploration project, I could raise it. But I would have difficulty raising something south of $1 million.” Commodity prices for base metals remain relatively healthy, but investor interest is veering away from the methodical and calculated risk of exploration mining stocks toward the fast buck and quick fix of the legalized marijuana sector.

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‘Bit of a lark:’ Canadian miner files claim on disputed Arctic island – by Bob Weber (National Post – April 4, 2019)

https://nationalpost.com/

CANADIAN PRESS – A longtime mining geologist and developer has come up with his own solution to Canada’s long-running Arctic sovereignty dispute with Denmark.

John Robins has filed and been granted a mineral exploration claim under Canadian law to Hans Island — a remote pimple of rock between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that lies exactly on the international border.

“It was done on a bit of a lark,” said Robins, who’s involved with a number of Vancouver-based mining companies. “The reason I applied for it is more just to stir the pot a bit.”

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De Beers dreams of building the diamond mine of the future in Nunavut – by John Thompson (Nunatsiaq News – April 4, 2019)

https://nunatsiaq.com/

De Beers Group envisions building a diamond mine on Baffin Island that’s relatively small, moveable and powered by clean energy. It may not even have a road running to it.

Tom Ormsby, De Beers Canada’s head of external and corporate affairs, offered the Nunavut Mining Symposium a glimpse of the company’s brainstorming during a talk on Wednesday, April 3.

In September 2018, De Beers acquired the Chidliak diamond property as part of its purchase of Peregrine Diamonds. The site is about 120 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit and about 200 kilometres south of Pangnirtung.

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West Virginia’s Trying to Revive Coal, but One Miner Isn’t Convinced – by Will Wade (Bloomberg News – April 4, 2019)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

West Virginia is dangling tax incentives for coal miners in an attempt to revive operations in the heart of Coal Country. At least one miner, Contura Energy Inc., isn’t swayed just yet.

Contura runs 23 surface and underground mines in the state, and incentives signed into law last week haven’t yet persuaded the company to open more, Chief Executive Officer Kevin Crutchfield said.

“We’ve got a pretty solid plan for West Virginia as we look ahead with the projects that we’ve already announced,” he said Wednesday in a call with analysts, adding that the company would rather “look at projects on their own merits.”

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How countries are getting tougher with mining companies – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.K. – April 4, 2019)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – A mix of political populism, higher commodity prices and the expectation electrification will spur demand for some raw materials has led resource-holding governments to change the rules for miners operating in their countries.

In most cases, governments are seeking to increase their share of profits, rather than all-out resource nationalism, although Mongolia has been trying to nationalise a stake in a copper mine. The toughness is not universal.

Some governments see the hardened stance of other countries as a chance to lure investment. Ethiopia is rolling out pro-business reforms after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed swept into office last year.

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