Republic of Mining

Likely construction delays will mean Ottawa overpaid for Trans Mountain, PBO says – by Bill Curry (Globe and Mail – February 1, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Parliament’s spending watchdog Yves Giroux warned there is a high risk that delays and cost overruns will mean the Liberal government overpaid when it spent $4.4-billion last year to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline, its related expansion project and other assets.

In a report released Thursday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the value of the Trans Mountain pipeline and the expansion project at between $3.6-billion and $4.6-billion. The PBO’s figure does not include related assets such as pipeline terminals that were included as part of Ottawa’s transaction with Kinder Morgan Inc.

“If it was a car, we’d say they paid sticker price. They didn’t negotiate very much,” Mr. Giroux said. “Should there be a delay in construction costs or an increase in construction costs, then it’s quite clear to us that the government will have overpaid.” Mr. Giroux said those scenarios appear likely.

Global demand for coal rises despite uncertainty – by Kim Cloete (MiningWeekly.com – February 4, 2019)

February 4, 2019

http://www.miningweekly.com/

CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – Despite a move to renewable energy, particularly in Europe, demand for coal globally soared in 2018, led by low calorific value (CV) coal demand. The strongest import markets were China and India, while Indonesia performed extremely strongly on the supply side.

China’s demand for coal strengthened in the first half of 2018, and eased towards the end of the year. This year, however, looks “deeply uncertain”, says IHS Markit research and analysis manager Sareena Patel.

“The situation has changed in China. A lot of local producers are starting to improve their output, which will facilitate local supply. A lot more nuclear power is also coming on line this year in China, making China a little less attractive as an import destination,” Patel told the Southern African Coal Conference, in Cape Town, on Friday.

Sudbury column: Who pays the bill for Ontario’s abandoned mines? – by John Gunn (Sudbury Star – February 2, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Note: This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

John Gunn is the Canada Research Chair in Stressed Aquatic Systems, Laurentian University.

The fate of abandoned mines are a familiar problem for those living in communal spaces, with common rooms and shared kitchens: “Who is going to clean up this mess?” and “Who is going to pay for the damages?”

Public lands have the same problem when people dump trash in the bush to avoid paying landfill fees. But cleaning up industrial brownfields, like the mercury-laden sediments in the English-Wabigoon River near Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwestern Ontario, is a far bigger problem than collecting litter.

We are beginning to see some changes. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that bankrupt oil and gas companies must meet their environmental commitments before they pay off their creditors.

After Freeport, Indonesia eyes 20% of nickel [PT Vale Indonesia] firm’s shares (Jakarta Post – February 4, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.thejakartapost.com/

After gaining control of 51.23 percent shares of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, the government is eyeing to gain a 20 percent stake in publicly listed nickel miner PT Vale Indonesia (INCO).

“We are certainly interested, but we have not assigned a company yet [to represent the government],” the SOEs Ministry’s undersecretary for mining, strategic industries and media affairs, Fajar Harry Sampurno, said in Jakarta on Friday as quoted by kontan.co.id.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s mineral director, Yunus Saefulhak, said the ministry had received INCO’s divestment proposal letter. He added that INCO had submitted its report to the Finance Ministry while sending its offer to the SOEs Ministry.

Ontario may appeal historic ruling on Robinson Huron Treaty annuities case – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 23, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Native leaders in northeastern Ontario say they are disappointed Ontario may appeal a historic ruling in the Robinson Huron Treaty annuities case.

However, they also say they are pleased that both the Ontario and Canadian governments are willing to negotiate a resolution to their claim for more money under the treaty.

In a release Tuesday, the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Committee said the federal government has decided not to appeal Justice Patricia Hennessy’s ruling on Dec. 21. At the same time, the committee said Ontario intends to preserve its right to appeal Justice Hennessy’s decision, including her decision on costs.

After Years in the Doldrums, Gold Miners are Finally Hot Again – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – February 4, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

After years on the sidelines, gold producers are suddenly the mining world’s hottest topic as the industry gathers in Cape Town this week.

For more than half a decade, gold miners have been stuck in the doldrums, shunned by investors following a string of missteps and bogged down by a stagnant bullion price. Then, in September, a surprise mega deal turned the industry on its head.

Barrick Gold Corp.’s $5.4 billion purchase of Randgold Resources Ltd. set off a chain reaction that led to Newmont Mining Corp.’s $10 billion deal for Canada’s Goldcorp Inc. last month. The flurry of activity – which coincided with a late-2018 surge in bullion prices – has re-ignited interest in gold, throwing the whole industry into a thrall of speculation over who might be next.

Sudbury Accent: Huron-Robinson treaty ruling could spur healing – by Darcy Lindberg (Sudbury Star – February 2, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Canadian Press – There is a tired joke, a standard for Indigenous peoples on the Prairies, regarding the five dollar bill. The bill is sometimes referred to as “treaty money,” and a chuckle is shared when it is exchanged. On the Prairies, five dollars is the annual payment “status-Indians” receive in exchange for the Crown taking up lands and accessing resources, among other things.

By all measures, it is quite a deal for Canada in the present day. For Indigenous peoples, it is an old joke, an annual reminder of sharp and unfair historical dealings among the treaty-making that aided the foundation of Canada.

These jokes can provide some comfort, but the recent decision from the Superior Court of Ontario in Restoule v. Canada provides considerably more relief than these small humours.

Andrew Scheer targets carbon tax, muses on northern development at mining conference – by Nelson Bennett (Business in Vancouver/Alaska Highway News – January 31 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/

A Conservative government would implement policies that would make resources industries in Canada very happy, and drive environmentalists apoplectic.

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer vowed Thursday, January 31 that a Conservative government would immediately scrap a national carbon tax. It would also repeal Bill C-69, which replaces the Environmental Assessment Act, open Canada’s north to resource extraction and use carrots, not sticks, in the Conservatives’ yet-to-be-revealed climate change strategy.

Scheer also told Business in Vancouver that the Conservatives are also looking at the question of foreign funding of environmental group in Canada, and hinted they might be excluded from participating in environmental reviews.

European Space Agency has sights set on mining the moon – by Mark R. Whittington (The Hill – February 1, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://thehill.com/

The European Space Agency has partnered with ArianeGroup to study a possible mission to the moon in 2025 to test the mining of lunar regolith, according to Popular Mechanics. Part-Time Scientists, a German group and former Google Lunar XPrize contestant, will also be involved in the study.

The goal is to place a lander on the lunar surface to mine and process regolith for useful materials such as water, oxygen, metals and an isotope called helium-3, which may prove useful for fueling future fusion reactors.

Regolith, according to Universe Today, is a dust-like material that covers the lunar surface and is the result of billions of years of meteor and comet impacts. Future lunar settlers could use the regolith to build habitats for a moon base, or as the Europeans call it, a Moon Village using 3D printers and robotic assemblers.

Lithium Giant’s Landmark Deal Is Big Step to Battery ‘Dream’ – by Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – January 31, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The country holding the world’s largest reserves of lithium says it’s one step closer to becoming a manufacturing hub for rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles.

Chile is hopeful that battery makers such as Samsung SDI and POSCO will start installing lithium processing plants in the country by the end of the year, according to Sebastian Sichel, executive vice president of government development agency Corfo. The agency recently reached a deal with top lithium miner Albemarle Corp. that will give battery makers access to cheaper lithium.

“We want manufacturers to get closer and closer to producing a complete battery in Chile — that’s our dream,” Sichel said in an interview in Santiago. “We don’t know if we’ll ever make vehicles, but we would like to at least see battery parts produced in Chile, maybe even the whole battery.”

Gold mines on market after mergers should interest mid-tier miners – by Nichola Saminather and John Tilak (Reuters U.K. – January 31, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

TORONTO(Reuters) – Mid-tier miners such as Kinross Gold, Iamgold and Agnico Eagle Mines, seeking to bolster production, would likely bid for mines to be sold following two recent gold mega-mergers, investors and bankers said.

Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining said they will focus on the best-performing mines following their respective acquisitions of Randgold Resources and Goldcorp. This has prompted expectations of mine sales around the world over the next few years.

While the two acquisitions have spurred speculation about a pick up in long-dormant gold M&A, the difficulty of raising capital for larger deals makes single-asset transactions more likely, bankers said.

How Brazil’s mining tragedy could shake up Australia’s iron ore market – by Kylie Purcell (Your Money – February 1, 2019)

February 1, 2019

Your Money

Australia’s mining sector saw enormous financial gains this week – but it follows a tragedy that raises serious questions about the operations being run by some of the world’s most powerful mining corporations.

Shares in Australia’s iron ore sector surged Wednesday after news that Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, would close some operations following a dam collapse in Brumadinho that left more than 100 dead and hundreds more missing.

Should the death toll increase, the catastrophe could mark Brazil’s deadliest ever mining accident and the country’s second iron ore mining disaster in recent years.

Geologist who was killed in Burkina Faso died while working job ‘he loved’: son (CTVNews.ca – January 30, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

HALIFAX — Family members of a Canadian mining executive who was kidnapped and killed by gunmen in western Africa said at his funeral Wednesday that his murder was senseless, but they also recognize he died while pursuing the work he was passionate about.

Officials in the Burkina Faso government have said the body of Kirk Woodman of Halifax was found with bullet wounds on Jan. 16 in Oudalan province, in the northern Sahel region.

The exploration geologist with Vancouver-based Progress Minerals Inc. had been kidnapped the night before by armed gunmen who’d entered a mining camp in Tiabongou, some distance away.

Likely construction delays will mean Ottawa overpaid for Trans Mountain, PBO says – by Bill Curry (Globe and Mail – February 1, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Brazil’s Vale knew of risk to area hit by deadly mine disaster: Folha de S.Paulo (Reuters U.S. – February 1, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale (VALE3.SA) knew as recently as last year that some of the areas hit by last week’s deadly mining disaster were at risk if its tailings dam burst, according to an internal Vale study published by a local newspaper on Friday.

The study seen by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo represents a fresh embarrassment for the world’s largest iron ore miner, which has come under intense pressure over the burst tailings dam at its Corrego do Feijao mine last Friday.

With 110 people confirmed dead and another 238 missing, according to a firefighters’ count on Thursday evening, the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho could be Brazil’s deadliest mine disaster.