Republic of Mining

‘Brazil learned nothing’: Another deadly dam collapse raises questions about Bolsonaro’s plans to expand mining – by Stephanie Nolen (Globe and Mail – January 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In November 2015, Brazil experienced a deadly dam collapse at the Samarco mine in Mariana. Nothing was done. Three-and-a-half years later, after another deadly dam collapse, questions remain around regulations for the mining industry

A month after a tailings dam collapsed and killed 19 people in the Brazilian town of Mariana in November, 2015, the legislature in the state of Minas Gerais gathered to consider new mining legislation.

Congress members meeting 100 kilometres from the site of the disaster at the Samarco mine voted to reduce the role given to the Ministerio Publico, a government agency that typically advocates for environmental, Indigenous and public-safety considerations, in approving new mining projects.

Nickel prices must rise to meet battery demand: AABC (Argus Media.com – January 28, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/

Higher nickel prices are required to incentivise supply of nickel sulphate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, particularly given lower cobalt prices, delegates heard today at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) in Strasbourg, France.

Supply of nickel increased by 7pc last year to about 2.19mn t, but demand increased by 8pc to 2.33mn t, increasing the deficit to 147,000t, from 131,000t in 2017, said Denis Sharypin, head of market research at Russian producer Norilsk Nickel.

The battery sector accounted for 124,000t of consumption last year, and while overall nickel demand is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5pc to 2025, demand from the battery sector is estimated to climb at a CAGR of 18pc over the same period.

OPINION: Our national shame: The racism inherent in our First Nations water crisis – by Gary Mason (Globe and Mail – January 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Eight years ago, the state government in Michigan was forced to take over the financial affairs of the city of Flint, which had fallen on hard times and been run into the ground through ineptitude and gross mismanagement.

In what was deemed a cost-saving move, officials decided to build a new pipeline to deliver water from Lake Huron. Meantime, the city turned to the Flint River as its source.

Not long after the switch, residents began noticing something odd with the water: It looked, smelled and tasted funny. It would later be determined that it contained dangerous levels of lead, which can, and did, lead to a plethora of health issues. Twelve people died after more than 80 people were infected with Legionnaires’ disease.

Vale’s Brazil disaster to prompt buyers to take more Australian iron ore – by Melanie Burton and Muyu Xu (Reuters U.S. – January 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE/BEIJING (Reuters) – Vale SA’s catastrophic dam failure in Brazil may knock it off its perch as the biggest iron ore exporter as the resulting rally in high-grade ore prices steers buyers towards rivals offering cheaper ore, industry sources said on Wednesday.

The world’s largest iron ore miner is facing public ire and tougher regulation after the collapse of its tailings dam in the Brazilian region of Brumadinho killed at least 84 in one of the country’s worst ever industrial disasters. Hundreds are still missing and presumed dead.

Vale on Tuesday said it would take up to 10 percent of its output offline as it decommissions a total of 19 dams over three years, a move that would cut up to 40 million tonnes of iron ore production a year.

Feds vowed a watchdog to oversee Canadian businesses abroad. Where is it? – by Jennifer Wells (Toronto Star – January 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.thestar.com/

Doing business the Canadian way. What does that mean precisely? I posed that question a year ago when the federal government announced the creation of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, or CORE.

Ottawa’s new initiative was broadly welcomed. CORE’s predecessor, the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility, went from having no profile and no powers in its early years, to a period of dormancy, to a brief revival during which it had no budget and administrative support for only three months of the year.

In its 2016-17 annual report the office noted it had to request financial support for every event and activity, and that its attempts to open the door to dialogue with industry players in the extractive sector — oil and gas and mining — had met with limited success.

Vale to cut output, shut down dams after Brazil disaster – by Jake Spring and Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – January 29, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BRASILIA/BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Vale SA (VALE3.SA), the world’s largest iron ore miner, on Tuesday vowed to take as much as 10 percent of its ore output offline in order to decommission 10 more dams like the one that burst last week, killing scores of workers and nearby residents.

Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman said it would temporarily paralyze operations using those dams and spend 5 billion reais ($1.3 billion) to decommission them over the next three years.

The move came as prosecutors began arresting Vale executives over the Friday collapse of a tailings dam in the Brazilian town of Brumadinho, which was hit by a torrent of mining waste that killed at least 84 people and left hundreds more missing.

Mongolia, overseas investigators probe Oyu Tolgoi corruption claims as ex-minister re-arrested – by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – January 29, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

ULAANBAATAR/LONDON (Reuters) – Mongolia is working with overseas investigators to look into claims of corruption at its giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, the country’s anti-graft body said on Tuesday, after the re-arrest of a former minister suspected of “abuse of power”.

Bayartsogt Sangajav was first arrested last April and released in June in a probe into 2009 negotiations over the development of the mine, then owned by Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and now managed by Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto. Bayartsogt, a former finance minister, was among the signatories to the investment agreement, approved by Mongolia’s parliament.

Munkhtungalag Tumur, a spokeswoman with the country’s Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC), told Reuters it was now conducting a thorough financial investigation into the allegations that would be international in scope. She did not identify with which other countries the IAAC was collaborating.

In the new lithium ‘Great Game,’ Germany edges out China in Bolivia (Channel News Asia – January 28, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/

When Germany signed a deal last month to help Bolivia exploit its huge lithium reserves, it hailed the venture as a deepening of economic ties with the South American country. But it also gives Germany entry into the new “Great Game”, in which big powers like China are jostling across the globe for access to the prized electric battery metal.

UYUNI, Bolivia/BERLIN: When Germany signed a deal last month to help Bolivia exploit its huge lithium reserves, it hailed the venture as a deepening of economic ties with the South American country.

But it also gives Germany entry into the new “Great Game”, in which big powers like China are jostling across the globe for access to the prized electric battery metal.

NDP renews longstanding call for potash royalty review – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – January 28, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://thestarphoenix.com/

The provincial government, however, is keeping its review, announced in 2015, on pause.

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling out the provincial government for shelving its planned potash royalty review, saying the only way to ensure fairness is to overhaul a complex system that has not undergone significant change in a decade.

Ryan Meili, who first floated the idea late last year, is the latest in a succession of NDP leaders and academics to question whether Saskatchewan potash producers are contributing enough to the provincial treasury.

“You’re going to want to make sure that whatever is happening is to the best interests of Saskatchewan people. It’s unlikely that the right decision would result in less money for us,” Meili said Monday.

Rusal shares soar, aluminum falls as U.S. lifts sanctions – by Patricia Zengerle and Polina Ivanova (Reuters U.S. – January 27, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on the core empire of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, including aluminum giant Rusal and its parent En+, despite a Democrat-led push to maintain them.

The move, which sent the Russian stock index to an all-time high, has watered down the toughest penalties imposed since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, following a lobbying campaign in the United States that lasted almost 10 months.

Hong-Kong listed shares in Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China, hit their highest since April on Monday, rising 9 percent. Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) dropped as much as 1.4 percent after the open. The sanctions had sent London aluminum to a seven-year high when they were announced in April last year amid fears of a supply squeeze.

Can the no-premium Barrick-Randgold deal spark an M&A gold rush? – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 29, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

More Australian gold companies may be active in the M&A space this year, perhaps looking at Canadian companies

After Ian Telfer, chairman of Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc., brokered a $10-billion sale of his company earlier this month to Newmont Mining Inc., he characterized it as one of the first in a series of deals coming to the gold sector.

“It was our sense that the industry was going to consolidate,” said Telfer. “It’s becoming a big company game for people who want exposure to gold.”

His remarks echo those made by a chorus of analysts, bankers and mining executives, who for months have been predicting a wave of mergers and acquisitions is about to hit the gold sector, where too many companies are chasing too few investors.

SNC-Lavalin shares plunge on setbacks tied to Saudi chill, mining woes – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – January 29, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. lost more than a quarter of its market value after revealing a major problem in its mining division and a weak outlook for its energy business, partly because of Canada’s diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia.

The Montreal company said Monday it will write down its oil and gas division by $1.24-billion after-tax, or about $7 a share. The company said its Saudi business is doing worse than expected, and that and volatile oil prices “have led to deterioration in our near-term prospects which we cannot ignore,” creating the accounting charge. SNC shares lost 28 per cent, or nearly $2.4-billion in market capitalization.

The setbacks extend a difficult run for SNC. Until recently, the company seemed to be turning the corner after a multiyear overhaul, but since last summer its shares have taken a beating. It is one of the few Canadian companies with a sizable operation in Saudi Arabia, which accounts for more than 10 per cent of its revenue.

BC exploration tax credits made permanent – by Editor (Mining.com – January 28, 2019)

January 29, 2019

http://www.mining.com/

Exploration in British Columbia hit paydirt on Monday, with the Premier announcing that two investment-friendly tax credits would no longer be evaluated on a year to year basis.

Speaking at Roundup 2019, the annual meet-up organized by AMEBC (Association for Mineral Exploration), Horgan said his government will adopt the recommendations of the Mining Jobs Task Force in making the Mining Flow-Through Share (MFTS) tax credit, and the B.C. Mining Exploration Tax Credit (METC) permanent incentives to support investment in mining.

“We are pleased that the provincial government is living up to their commitment to support the mineral exploration and mining industry and its future in this province,” said AMEBC president and CEO Edie Thome.