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Indigenous backers of Eagle Spirit pipeline launch GoFundMe campaign to sue Ottawa over oil tanker ban – by Claudia Cattaneo (Financial Post – January 25, 2018)

http://business.financialpost.com/

First Nations leaders behind the proposed $16-billion Eagle Spirit pipeline project from Alberta to the British Columbia coast launched a GoFundMe campaign Wednesday to help pay for a court challenge to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s oil tanker ban on Canada’s northern west coast.

In a news release, the project’s chiefs council said the tanker moratorium and the establishment Great Bear Rainforest “were promoted largely through the lobbying of foreign-financed ENGOs and without the consultation and consent of First Nations as required by the Constitution.”

The chiefs, representing more than 30 First Nations in British Columbia and Alberta participating in the project, said they will always put protection of the environment first, but it must be balanced with social welfare, employment, and business opportunities.

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Seen as first step to multi-modal system with a future rail ‘spine’ (North Bay Nugget -January 25, 2018)

http://www.nugget.ca/

Two Ontario rail advocacy groups say the recent expansion of Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) bus service is not only the first sign of hope for Northern public transportation users in many years, but it also paves the way to better rail service in the future.

“Any improvement of our system is welcome, whether that it be rail, bus or any other mode that is applicable and affordable,” says All Aboard Northern Ontario founder Eric Boutilier.

“Northern Ontario has seen nothing but a decline in mobility since January 1990, when the federal government hacked off half of the VIA Rail Canada system. The damage done by those cuts was only made worse by the provincial government’s callous 2012 decision to end the ONTC’s Northlander rail service instead of modernizing it.”

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Congo mining code passes Senate without opposition (Reuters U.S. – January 24, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s new proposed mining code, which the industry has warned will stifle investment in the copper and cobalt-rich nation, sailed through the Senate without opposition late on Wednesday.

A version passed by the National Assembly – Congo’s lower house of parliament – last month would increase taxes and royalties, including potentially more than doubling royalties on cobalt, a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries.

Nearly two-thirds of the world’s cobalt comes from Congo. Demand for the metal has surged due to expected growth in the electric vehicle sector, causing the price on the London Metal Exchange to triple over the last two years.

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Northern communities face threat of climate change – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – January 25, 2018)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – About 120 Indigenous leaders, scientists and government officials are meeting for a conference in Timmins this week to discuss the potential impacts of climate change on First Nation communities within Mushkegowuk region.

The conference, hosted by Mushkegowuk Council, kicked off Wednesday. The prospect of shorter winters is a particular concern to many residents on the James Bay Coast who rely on the ice road to travel south.

Vern Cheechoo, director of lands and resources for Mushkegowuk Council, said if this warming trend continues, it will add to a push for governments to eventually finance an all-season road from the coast. Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon said he has observed changes in climate along the coast within his own lifetime.

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U.S. SEC says Rio Tinto, ex-CEO, ex-CFO must face fraud case – by Jonathan Stempel (Reuters U.S. – January 23, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The top U.S. securities regulator on Tuesday rejected arguments by Rio Tinto Plc and two former top executives that its civil lawsuit claiming they concealed the plunging value of coal assets owned by the big Anglo-Australian mining company should be dismissed.

In letters filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Securities and Exchange Commission said its complaint adequately alleged that fraud occurred, and that Rio Tinto, former Chief Executive Thomas Albanese and former Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott intended to deceive investors.

Rio Tinto responded by referring to its statement in October that it believed the lawsuit was unwarranted and that a court or jury would reject the SEC’s claims.

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The green future of Kirkland Lake gold – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – January 23, 2018)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Pierre Rocque said Kirkland Lake Gold’s plans to be more sustainable are going strong. The vice-president of Canadian operations said among major changes, the company has moved towards having about 80 per cent of their underground operations at their mines battery-powered.

Rocque gave a light-hearted presentation at the monthly meeting of the Sudbury chapter of Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) on Jan. 18 at Dynamic Earth on a few updates on the mine, including the acquisition of Australian properties; progress at their properties in Kirkland Lake, including Taylor and Macassa mines; and the use of battery-powered equipment and biological means to extract gold.

“We’ve come a long way from a junior minor, to a mid-tier with properties around the world,” Rocque said. As a highlight, Rocque announced the company is well on its way to its underground operations being primarily battery-powered.

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Deep sea mining: Charting the risks of a new frontier – by Lars Bevanger(Deutsche Welle – Janaury 24, 2018)

http://www.dw.com/en/

Our growing demand for resources has prompted companies to turn to mining in the depths of the oceans. With help from robots, a team of German scientists is racing to map the potential environmental damage.

The Earth’s oceans hide vast amounts of valuable minerals and metals, and as some onshore deposits run low, mining companies are looking for ways to make deep sea mining both technologically possible and profitable.

This is partly driven by the need for so-called rare earth metals to produce the magnets, batteries and microchips driving our gadgets, electric cars and wind turbines.

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Adani jobs in high demand as Indigenous groups call for a bigger share – by David Chen (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – January 23, 2018)

http://www.abc.net.au/

Traditional owners say they deserve better than Adani’s current promise to hire Indigenous workers for its multi-billion-dollar coal mine in central Queensland.

The Indian mining giant has agreed that at least 7 per cent of its workforce will be made up of Indigenous people. But Jangga elder Colin McLennan said he wanted that figure to be higher.

“If we can get 30 per cent or 100 per cent … we like to try get as many people as we can into the workforce,” he said. With Adani taking over direct control of the project late last year, Mr McLennan said he believed they could convince the company to hire more Indigenous workers.

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Zimbabwe mulls scrapping majority black ownership on diamond, platinum sectors – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 23, 2018)

http://www.mining.com/

Zimbabwe’s new government may soon scrap a 51% requirement of local ownership for foreign investors in the diamond and platinum sectors, in an effort to re-engage international lenders, curb spending and attract investors to revive the country’s battered economy.

The so-called indigenization laws intended to increase black Zimbabweans’ share of the economy, but were opaque and open to abuse.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took the post in November after Robert Mugabe quit under pressure from the military, had already said he would revoke such rule on all other minerals, except from diamonds and platinum.

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Ethiopia could be sitting on one of world’s great untapped gold deposits – by Liam Bullock (The Conversation – January 24, 2018)

https://theconversation.com/

To the west of Ethiopia near the Sudanese border lies a place called the Asosa zone. This may be the location of the oldest gold mine in the world. Dating back some 6,000 years, it provided a key source of gold to the ancient Egyptian empire, whose great wealth was famous throughout the known world. It may even have supplied the Queen of Sheba with her lavish gifts of gold when she visited King Solomon of Israel almost 3,000 years ago.

The excitement in this part of the world is more about the future, however. Some local inhabitants already make a living from prospecting, and several mining companies have been active in the area in recent years, too.

But what comes next could be on a much bigger scale: I have just co-published with my colleague, Owen Morgan, new geological research that suggests that much more treasure might be buried under the surface of this east African country than was previously thought.

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Letter: Sudbury best location for plant – by Marc Serre (Sudbury Star – January 23, 2018)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Marc Serre is the federal MP for Nickel Belt.

As MP for Nickel Belt and a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, I wish to express my support for locating Noront Resources’ ferrochrome production facility in Greater Sudbury. I encourage all residents, regional businesses, community leaders and political figures to do the same.

I wish to commend Mayor Brian Bigger for leading a delegation to Tornio, Finland, to get a first-hand look at Outokumpu, an operating ferrochrome smelter known for its gold standard worldwide. The intent of this trip was to strengthen Greater Sudbury’s bid as Noront Resources has identified the Outokumpu facility as one it would model for best practices.

For more than 100 years, Greater Sudbury’s economy has been entrenched in the mining sector. I am proud of the mining industry and the role the sector has played and the wealth that it has created.

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Copper Inventories Surge Most in 10 Months, Sending Prices Lower – by Susanne Walker Barton and Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – January 23, 2018)

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

Bloomberg) — Copper slumped to a one-month low as a large delivery of metal into exchange warehouses in Asia refocused attention on demand during a seasonally weak period for industrial activity in China.

Prices fell as much as 2.6 percent to $6,885 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as inventories tracked by the bourse jumped by the most in 10 months, continuing a pattern of spikes and drawdowns in LME inventories seen throughout 2017.

The delivery comes as manufacturers in China prepare to dial back output during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday next month, and adds to evidence that copper demand is hitting a soft patch often seen at this time of year, according to Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA.

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Small remains beautiful for gold mining acquisitions – by Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – January 23, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Small, opportunistic deals will dominate the global gold mining sector again this year, analysts said on Tuesday, after Leagold Mining Corp unveiled a $264 million bid for fellow Canadian gold miner Brio Gold Inc.

Six years after the last mining boom ended with billions of dollars in writedowns following over-priced mega-acquisitions, miners remain wary of big purchases, despite a 13 percent rebound in the gold price last year and the need for producers to replace mined-out ounces.

That is captured in falling M&A, with the value of global gold mining deals dropping to a three-year low of $10.6 billion last year, down 14 percent on 2016, according to Thomson Reuters data. The number of deals, however, jumped 70 percent to 648, as miners played it safe with smaller purchases.

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A CANADIAN ERA FOR MINING IN PHILIPPINES (Asian Pacific Post – January 23, 2018)

http://www.asianpacificpost.com/

The Philippines, a global mining hotspot marred by many disasters from toxic leaks to mudslides, will adopt Canada’s mining sustainability standards to improve engagement with civil society and enhance transparency and accountability.

It becomes the first Southeast Asian nation to adopt Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative but the local industry has warned it expects growth to be held back in 2018.

The Philippines’ mining industry was hamstrung by the country’s previous environment secretary Regina Lopez, who implemented a ban on openpit mining and closed or suspended operations on environmental and social grounds during her controversial 10 months in office which ended last May.

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Reconciliation in mining: It’s all about relationships, says Chief Robert Joseph – by Chantelle Bellrichard (CBC News Indigenous – January 23, 2018)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/

If mining companies in Canada want to do their part in reconciling with Indigenous people, they need to focus on relationships, said Chief Dr. Robert Joseph in a sold-out address to some of the country’s leading influencers.

Joseph, the co-founder of Reconciliation Canada and hereditary chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation, addressed the Association for Mineral Exploration annual Roundup conference, the second-largest annual mining conference in Canada.

He said most Canadians have an interest in doing their part in reconciliation. “You’re going to have to learn — as big and little companies — how to re-establish, create new relationships,” he told the audience at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Tuesday.

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