Republic of Mining

Vale: Swedish funds cut mining giant from portfolios after dam collapse – by Rachel Fixsen and Nick Reeve (IPE.com – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://www.ipe.com/

Swedish state pension buffer fund AP1 has begun selling SEK407m (€38.6m) worth of equities and bonds of Brazilian mining company Vale, after the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics recommended the exclusion the company from the AP funds’ portfolios.

The recommendation follows the fatal collapse of a tailings dam at one of its mining facilities in Brumadinho, Brazil, last month.

The council said it was recommending AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4 exclude Vale because the council had lost confidence in the firm, adding that it could be linked to violations of three major international conventions.

Column: Coal going from winner to loser in India’s energy future – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – February 20, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s demand for electricity is expected to double in the next two decades, and coal has been long forecast to be the fuel of choice for power generation. But this may no longer be the case.

It’s not that India doesn’t have plentiful reserves of coal. It does, and it is the world’s second-largest producer and importer, following China. It’s not even that India’s reserves are expensive to mine. They aren’t.

It’s not even that transporting coal from where it’s mined to where it’s needed is too difficult. Yes, it is an issue, but this challenge could be overcome with sufficient investment in rail and other infrastructure.

Demand for Congo’s cobalt is on the rise. So is the scrutiny of mining practices. – by Sarah Katz-Lavigne (Washington Post – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

Congo’s contested elections in December resulted in the country’s first electoral transfer of power, 59 years after independence. The outcome — with Félix Tshisekedi defeating the candidate backed by departing president Joseph Kabila — has been much in the news.

Cobalt is making headlines, too, along with questions about how the new president will manage resource governance in the mineral-rich country. Congo accounts for at least 60 percent of worldwide cobalt production and has about 50 percent of known global cobalt reserves.

My research in southeastern Congo suggests cobalt mining will prove an increasingly complex policy hurdle for the new president. Many Congolese rely on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) for their incomes.

Nunavut tables near-balanced budget for 20th-anniversary year (Canadian Press/Globe and Mail – February 20, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

As Nunavut approaches the 20th anniversary of its creation, the territory has tabled a mostly stand-pat budget that plans modest spending increases to fight some of its social problems.

“We look ahead to the next 20 years and beyond with anticipation, hope, motivation and great respect to the people, traditions and innovation that brought us to this point,” Finance Minister George Hickes told the territorial legislature Wednesday.

His budget forecasts a tiny deficit of $12-million on revenues of about $2.2-billion – about 90 per cent of which will come from federal transfers. That makes it the territory’s third red-ink budget in a row.

A big Chinese port bans Australian coal and the dollar falls – by Kirsty Needham and Cole Latimer (Sydney Morning Herald – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

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

Beijing: The Australian dollar fell 1 per cent on Thursday as news broke that a major Chinese port had banned imports of Australian coal, fuelling fears that diplomatic tensions were hitting Australia’s second largest export.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told Senate Estimates on Thursday night there was no evidence to support claims the slow down in coal imports was linked to diplomatic tensions. But he said Australian ambasssador to China Jan Adams had escalated her representations to the Chinese government.

Dalian Port and Dalian Customs declined to comment to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald after Reuters reported that the port had banned Australian thermal coal imports.

Europe’s first lithium mine looks to automakers for investment – by Christiaan Hetzner (Automative News Europe – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://europe.autonews.com/

BOCHUM — Europe’s first lithium mine is looking for investors from the auto industry looking to secure an environmentally-friendly supply of the key battery material for their electric vehicles.

While the 250-million-euro project in Finland will not be enough to make Europe self-sufficient, the company expects it can deliver enough lithium to comprise 25 gigawatt hours of battery cell supply starting at the end of 2021.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual CAR Symposium in Bochum earlier this month, the mine’s operator said automakers are mulling the possibility of owning a stake. Currently a ton of battery-grade lithium hydroxide sells on the open market for about $14,000, but prices can vary considerably.

Copper and Lithium Giant Squeezing Water Rights for Miners – by Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — In a belated response to falling fresh-water levels in desert areas, Chile is moving to protect a natural resource that has been depleted after decades of mining activity.

With complaints from local communities rising and the effects of climate change worsening, the world’s largest copper producer is planning to implement measures that will make it more difficult for miners to pump fresh water.

Chile’s water authority DGA will more than double the number of so-called prohibition areas across the country this year to at least 70 from 30, according to general director Oscar Cristi. No new licenses can be awarded within prohibition zones and any extension to existing permits will need to be approved by environmental authorities.

Glencore auditing 140 slimes dams – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – February 20, 2019)

February 21, 2019

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore is auditing 140 slimes dams, 65 of them active and 75 of them closed.

The company has been undertaking detailed assessments and audits of all material tailings storage facilities (TSFs) over the past three years, after accumulating a TSF significant asset footprint through mergers and acquisitions and organic growth.

Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg made these revelations at a media briefing on Wednesday against the background of last month’s tragic loss of 170 people at Vale’s Córrego do Feijão iron-ore mine in Brazil, which has prompted renewed industry action to ensure that TSFs are not vulnerable to collapse.

Minerals, Mining and the Green Revolution – by Emily King (Geology For Investors – February 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/

While we still remain reliant on fossil fuels, there is tremendous momentum towards renewable energy in many countries. Increasingly, our homes and businesses are powered by solar panels and wind turbines. Nearly every year, new records are set for the amount of renewable energy power capacity added to global power grids.

Similarly, electric vehicles are being adopted rapidly and replacing their gas-powered fore-bearers. Within the next decade, there is expected to be an estimated 125 million electric vehicles on the roads, getting people and materials where they need to go without any gas or oil involved.

However, this green revolution will not run on bamboo; instead, it will require robust supplies of minerals, some of which can be difficult to obtain, to ensure that we can effectively harness the energy we need.

‘Long overdue’: Devon Energy late to the party in selling off oilsands assets – by Geoffrey Morgan (Financial Post – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

CALGARY — American oil giant Devon Energy Corp. is the latest international producer to put its oilsands assets up for sale, but analysts think Canadian producers will be cautious about spending billions to buy the properties.

Oklahoma City-based Devon announced Tuesday that “the timing is now appropriate” to divest from its Canadian assets including the 100,000-barrels-per-day Jackfish thermal oilsands plant and other heavy oil properties, which account for 24 per cent of the company’s total production.

If it is able to find a buyer for the assets, Devon will join a long list of foreign firms that have reduced their exposure to Canadian heavy oil, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ConocoPhillips Co., Murphy Oil Corp., Marathon Oil Corp., Statoil SA and Total SA.

Controversial Alaska gold-copper mine moves step closer to approval – by Yereth Rosen (Reuters U.S. – February 20, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – The world’s biggest undeveloped gold and copper mining project, planned in southwestern Alaska near the largest fishery for sockeye salmon globally, moved a step closer to approval on Wednesday after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft environmental impact statement.

The Pebble Mine would produce 70 million tons of gold, molybdenum and copper ore a year and create a pit 1,970 feet (600 meters) deep. A new road, pipeline and power plant would be built, according to the mine plan.

The site is near Lake Iliamna in southwestern Alaska between the headwaters of two rivers that drain into Bristol Bay. The Corps’ draft statement came after public meetings that began last April to hear views from tribes and local communities about the potential benefits and environmental risks of the project.

‘We’re squandering an opportunity’: CEOs of RBC and Enbridge urge action on energy strategy – by Geoff Zochodne (Financial Post – February 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

The chief executives of Canada’s biggest bank and its largest pipeline company warned Wednesday that the country is at risk of squandering a huge advantage if it does not come together to tap the potential of the energy industry.

Royal Bank of Canada CEO Dave McKay added that business leaders also need to be stronger advocates for the sector to give governments the cover needed to forge ahead with changes.

“They need the support of the business community to take the political risk to move forward with this agenda,” McKay said during a lunchtime interview with Enbridge Inc. CEO Al Monaco.

Every day, U.S. mining sites dump 189-million litres of untreated water tainted with arsenic, lead, other toxins – by Matthew Brown (Associated Press/Globe and Mail – Feburary 21, 2019)

February 21, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Every day, many millions of litres of water loaded with arsenic, lead and other toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the U.S. and into surrounding streams and ponds without being treated, The Associated Press has found. That torrent is poisoning aquatic life and tainting drinking water sources in Montana, California, Colorado, Oklahoma and at least five other states.

The pollution is a legacy of how the mining industry was allowed to operate in the U.S. for more than a century. Companies that built mines for silver, lead, gold and other “hardrock” minerals could move on once they were no longer profitable, leaving behind tainted water that still leaks out of the mines or is cleaned up at taxpayer expense.

Using data from public records requests and independent researchers, the AP examined 43 mining sites under federal oversight, some containing dozens or even hundreds of individual mines.

Palladium Smashes $1,500 as Shortages Ignite Record-Breaking Rally – by Ranjeetha Pakiam (Bloomberg News – February 20, 2019)

February 20, 2019

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Palladium surged above $1,500 an ounce to a record, extending a powerful rally that’s been driven by an acute shortage of supply as car manufacturers scramble to get hold of the material to meet stringent emissions controls.

Spot palladium surged as much as 1.7 percent to $1,505.46 an ounce, and traded at $1,488.20 at 10:08 a.m. in New York. Prices are set for a seventh straight monthly gain. The advance will benefit top suppliers in Russia and South Africa. In other precious metals, gold rallied to a 10-month high, while silver and platinum both climbed.

Palladium, a silvery-white metal used to curb emissions from gasoline-fueled vehicles, has tripled since January 2016. Citigroup Inc. said this month that further gains may be in store, warning the market will only balance with a shock to demand. Prices may hit $1,600, the bank forecasts.

Barrick details proposal to settle Acacia dispute with Tanzania – by John Benny (Reuters Canada – February 20, 2019)

February 20, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Canadian miner Barrick Gold outlined on Wednesday details of a deal it reached with the government of Tanzania to settle its disputes with Acacia Mining, including a $300 million payment to resolve tax claims in the country.

The news sent London-listed shares in Acacia, which is 63.9 percent owned by Barrick, up 6 percent to their highest since October 2017, when an initial framework agreement was announced.

Barrick’s announcement confirms the 2017 deal which called for the creation of a local firm in Tanzania to manage Acacia’s assets, a 50-50 split of economic benefits and a $300 million payment to resolve all outstanding tax claims in the East African country.