Republic of Mining

Bucking trend, Leagold ready for shopping spree as gold prices climb – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 26, 2018)

January 26, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

Conventional wisdom suggests ‘buy low, sell high’ is the best strategy. But as gold prices surge to new peaks daily, and some companies hang back from acquisitions, Leagold Mining Corp.’s chief executive Neil Woodyer believes he’s found a loophole to this age-old adage: In about a one-year timespan, he has built a Latin America-focused intermediate by snapping up assets that larger companies cast aside.

This week, the Vancouver-based company announced an estimated $264-million takeover bid of Brio Gold, which controls a series of mines in Brazil, and which Yamana Gold once owned but has been selling off since 2016.

The deal mimics Leagold’s $350 million acquisition of the Los Filos Mines in Mexico from Goldcorp in April 2017, in that both assets were deemed non-core by more senior mining companies.

Laurentian University researchers put Cobalt camp under the microscope – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 25, 2018)

January 26, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

First Cobalt Mining conducting in-depth study of historic silver district

First Cobalt Mining, the biggest exploration player in the Cobalt camp, is bringing a Laurentian University researcher into the fold to better understand the geology of its properties in northeastern Ontario.

The Toronto company announced it’s embarking on a dedicated research partnership program with the university’s Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) by sponsoring a post-doctoral position to carry out the first detailed study of major structural features in the 110-year-old history of the camp.

“We’re looking at it from a new set of eyes as researchers,” said Ross Sherlock, who oversees MERC’s Metal Earth project. “It’s an unusual geological assemblage.” MERC is the geoscience arm attached to Laurentian’s Harquail School of Earth Sciences, under the umbrella of the Goodman School of Mines.

Ontario Government reluctant to rush Ring of Fire – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 26, 2018)

January 26, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – One of the key people involved in planning for the Ring of Fire mining development said the Ontario Government is working to make sure that project doesn’t make the same mistakes that occurred when the De Beers Victor mine was developed.

The comments came Thursday from Ariane Heisey, one of the keynote speakers at the Mushkegowuk Council Climate Summit that was on in Timmins this week at the Ramada Inn. Heisey is a senior policy advisor for environmental assessments and land use planning with the Ring of Fire Secretariat.

“There is a vision for the Ring of Fire,” Heisey said as she began her presentation. “It is based on the lessons that were learned from the Victor Mine experience, where the mine came on stream before the First Nations in the area were ready.”

Gahcho Kué adds vim to Anglo 2017 output numbers despite cuts – by David McKay (MiningMX – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.miningmx.com/

ANGLO American turned in a robust fourth quarter production performance which took full year production on a copper equivalent basis some 5% higher compared to 2016, largely owing to good numbers at Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers, its 85% subsidiary.

Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American, said the year-on-year improvement was despite cutting platinum and metallurgical coal output. “The ramp up of Gahcho Kué and Grosvenor mines made positive contributions to our production profile in 2017, and a strong performance from Sishen resulted in an 8% increase in production from Kumba Iron Ore,” he said in a statement.

Gahcho Kué is the De Beers’ newly commissioned diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It reached nameplate production in the second quarter of the financial year.

Roundup 2018: Osisko’s Roosen on tackling ‘tough’ markets – by Matthew Keevil (Northern Miner – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.northernminer.com/

VANCOUVER — Sean Roosen’s Osisko group of companies is among a rare breed of mining-focused entrepreneurial firms that have flourished over the past decade despite frigid capital markets and low commodity prices.

The group emerged as a major financial player following the $4.3-billion sale of Osisko Mining’s flagship Canadian Malartic gold mine in mid-2014 and now provides alternate capital funding to explorers and miners via stream financings, equity placements, and related partnership models.

On Jan. 23, Roosen took the stage at thee Association for Mineral Exploration’s (AME) annual Roundup conference to discuss the state of capital markets, and the challenges the mining industry must overcome to combat falling discovery rates and a lack of interest from generalist investors.

America’s Troubling and Growing Reliance on Foreign Minerals – by Mark J. Perry (Inside Sources – January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.insidesources.com/

To grasp the seriousness of America’s heavy reliance on imports of strategically important minerals, consider that many of the metals needed for weapons systems and a wide array of consumer products come from countries that don’t always have our nation’s best interests in mind.

Once the undisputed global leader in minerals production, the U.S. mining industry is now well on its way to second-tier status. Domestic mines have been closing, leading to a 13 percent drop in our nation’s share of global investments in metals mining over the past decade and an increased reliance on minerals imports. Last year, American companies spent more than $7 billion on imported minerals.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. dependence on minerals from abroad has doubled in the last 20 years, and we are now import-dependent on more than half of 50 key mineral commodities and 100 percent import-dependent for 20 of those, including manganese, tantalum and rare earth minerals such as neodymium, samarium and dysprosium, which are crucial in the manufacture of jet fighter engines, antimissile defense systems, night vision goggles and smart bombs, among other advanced weapons systems.

[Pennsylvania Coal Mining History] Molly Maguires Lecture Observes Coal Mining Heritage Month – by Alison Moyer (The Crown – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://crown.kings.edu/

Author and New York Times Senior Editor Mark Balik gave the 8th annual Msgr. John J. Curran Lecture as part of Anthracite Mining Heritage Month. The free public lecture took place on January 18 in the Burke Auditorium. It was co-sponsored by the McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at King’s and the Anthracite Heritage Foundation.

Balik discussed the origin of the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Catholic Irish immigrants in the late 19th century. “The Mollies were among two million Irish who fled from Ireland during the Great Potato Famine, another million died from starvation,” said Balik.

In Ireland, the society had already created a name for itself by using violence to protest evictions from tenant landlords and their agents’ untraditional usage of land. When the Mollies committed their assassinations, they either dressed as women or wore straw outfits. Their faces were painted black and white to conceal their identities.

[FNs Fed Up With Environmental Opposition to Resource Development] Calvin Helin Interview at the AME Roundup 2018 in Vancouver (Resource Works – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

Calvin Helin Interview at the AME Roundup 2018 in Vancouver from Resource Works on Vimeo. http://www.resourceworks.com/ Resource Works communicates with British Columbians about the importance of the province’s resource sectors to their personal well-being. It demonstrates how responsible development of British Columbia’s resources creates jobs and incomes throughout the province, both directly and indirectly, while …

EDITORIAL: In 2018, the pressure’s on: Don’t overlook the demands of responsible mine closure – by Alisha Hiyate (Canadian Mining Journal – January 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Why mine closure matters and why it gets ignored: http://bit.ly/2n8fBQz

In the fall, I moderated a roundtable discussion on mine closure at The Northern Miner’s inaugural Progressive Mine Forum. Unfortunately, about half of the audience got up and left the room just before we started.

It was the last discussion of the day, so one might be tempted to chalk it up to fatigue or an effort to get an early jump on post-conference drinks. But, in reality, it’s not an unusual reaction to the topic of mine closure. It just seems to make miners’ eyes glaze over.

The paradox, however, is that mine closure is actually the subject that the public is most interested in – and the source of a lot of opposition to mining (see Page 29).

UK funds satellite hunt for new minerals – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.K. – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – The British government has handed out 850,000 pounds for research that uses satellites to identify deposits of minerals, including battery metal lithium, as part of efforts to bolster the economy after the exit from the European Union.

The project named the Satellite Applications Catapult is seeking to assess the quality of mineral structures, to ensure exploration spending is focused on the best deposits, by analysing satellite images of geology and vegetation, British miner Cornish Lithium, which is participating, said.

Others involved in the project include the British Geological Survey, the Camborne School of Mines, which is part of Exeter University, and environmental consultancy North Coast Consulting.

Strong Rand Spoiling the Gold Rally for South African Mines – by Felix Njini (Bloomberg News – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — For South African gold miners, it’s both the best and worst of times. The metal started the year with a bang, rising more than 4 percent to the highest since August 2016.

But an equally impressive rally in the rand means that South Africa-focused producers are likely to miss out on the party.

Because mining companies pay most of their expenses in local currency, a stronger rand squeezes profit margins and can render some operations unprofitable. Many of South Africa’s gold mines date back to the 1950s and 1960s and much of the easily accessible metal has been exhausted, while labor-intensive mining methods compound the effect of currency moves.

Prospectors look to technology to help along rebound in B.C. mining exploration – by Derrick Penner (Vancouver Sun – January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://vancouversun.com/

Michael Burns can take a crew of two or three people with one of his company’s drones out to a remote mining claim and in a day do the survey work it would take a crew of four or five a month to do on the ground.

It’s an innovation that didn’t exist three years ago, said Burns, CEO of Vancouver headquartered Global UAV Technologies, during a presentation at the Association for Mineral Exploration B.C.’s annual Roundup conference.

The conference saw more than 6,500 delegates — its best attendance in three years — from dozens of companies, government agencies, suppliers and financiers gather to examine the next best prospects for mining and how to accomplish exploration in context of a renewed focus on reconciliation with First Nations.

COLUMN-What does looming US-China trade showdown mean for aluminium? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – China is awash with aluminium. “Illegal” capacity has been closed and smelters in the region around Beijing are, to varying extents, curtailing output to comply with the winter environmental restrictions.

But stocks registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) continue to build. They surged by 653,411 tonnes last year and were up another 30,000 tonnes at a fresh record high of 783,759 tonnes as of last Friday.

U.S. producer Alcoa told analysts on its Q1 conference call it is forecasting a 1.5-1.7 million tonne surplus in China this year, notwithstanding Beijing’s efforts to restrain capacity. It is also forecasting a bigger deficit of 2.0-2.2 million tonnes in the rest of the world, where visible stocks have been falling for many months.

Ottawa is creating new kangaroo court that will make life a lot harder for Canadian businesses abroad – by Neil Mohindra (Financial Post – January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

It just got riskier and more expensive for Canadian companies to do business outside the country

The federal government announced last week its latest attack on Canada’s investment climate: The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

The CORE will be mandated to investigate allegations of human-rights abuses linked to Canadian corporate activity abroad. While critical details on how the ombudsman will operate were absent from the announcement, it is clear that Canadian companies operating abroad were dealt a major blow.

It just got riskier and more expensive for Canadian companies to do business outside the country. This responsible-business ombudsman’s scope will focus on the mining, oil and gas and garment sectors, with the expectation that it will expand within a year to other business sectors, and replaces the Office of the Extractive Industry CSR Counsellor, which served as a remediation service for complaints against Canadian mining companies.

NEWS RELEASE: Investing in Canada’s clean tech ecosystem will promote effective mining waste management while reducing greenhouse gases (January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2018

NEWS PROVIDED BY: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Minister Bibeau announces $1.2 million to help a Thetford Mines company develop new technologies that will improve mining operations and produce cleaner ore

THETFORD MINES, QC, Jan. 24, 2018 /CNW/ – A more economical and environmentally friendly approach to capturing arsenic waste from mining operations may soon be developed thanks to an investment in new clean technologies from the Government of Canada.

The federal investment of $1.2 million was announced today by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophone and Member of Parliament for Compton–Stanstead, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

Dundee Sustainable Technologies will use the funding to develop a process to separate the arsenic waste commonly produced through mining operations and trap it in stable, non-toxic glass.