Republic of Mining

[DeBeers Greenhouse] Writer raising funds to build greenhouse in Attawapiskat – by Emma Meldrum (Timmins Daily Press – February 14, 2018)

February 14, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – It’s far from a done deal, but if David Franks has his way, a greenhouse will be built in Attawapiskat First Nation thanks to the proceeds of his book.

Published late last year, 30 Days in Attawapiskat details “the observations and impressions of a once-proud, yet blissfully ignorant Canadian writer who spent a month on the fly-in First Nation reserve,” according to the description on Amazon. Half of net profits from that book will be used to design and build a community greenhouse on the reserve.

Franks was recently back in the community to talk to Chief Ignace Gull. The meeting left the writer “kind of stymied at the moment for where we can build this.” Gull told The Daily Press there simply isn’t space. “We don’t have space in the community for other buildings or structures. Everything has been designated for our housing project,” said the chief. Nearby Potato Island is an option.

Exclusive – London Metal Exchange aims to ban metal sourced with child labour – by Pratima Desai and Tom Daly (Reuters U.K. – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange could remove companies from its list of approved metal suppliers if they fall short of industry standards following an outcry about cobalt mined by children in Africa, three sources said.

The exchange will issue principles for responsible sourcing in coming months and producers will have to show their metal meets industry standards that conform with the new LME guidelines, the sources familiar with the matter said.

“The LME has to be policeman. It can do that by making sure industry standards on child labour and conflict minerals are being met, that there is auditing and certification,” a source on an LME committee said.

Mugabe’s Fall Has Veteran Miners Jockeying for Zimbabwe Comeback – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — Robert Mugabe’s fall as Zimbabwe president is setting the scene for the return of a London mining listing for Andrew Groves and his long-term business partner — and former England cricketer — Phil Edmonds.

Groves is preparing to relist the pair’s Zimbabwe coal, chrome and gold assets in London through the reverse takeover of a cash shell, or dormant company. He sees the ascent to the presidency of Emmerson Mnangagwa, a man who served more than half a century at the side of Mugabe, as beneficial.

“I’d like to build it into a mid-tier mining company,” Groves said, adding that he has a lot of local contacts. “I’ve known Emmerson — the new president Emmerson Mnangagwa — for 15 years. He’s made a huge change already.”

2017 US Holiday Jewelry Sales Rise, Reports Indicate Continued Economic Growth – by Russell Shor (gemological institute of America – January 19, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.gia.edu/

Holiday jewelry sales in the U.S. increased 5.9% in 2017, according to a Mastercard-SpendingPulse survey, and outpaced spending in general, which increased 4.9%. The survey found that jewelry buying was running behind other retail categories until the week before Christmas when sales surged. Mastercard’s survey results are typically a bit higher than others.

A Centurion survey of primarily upscale jewelry retailers found that nearly 60% reported sales increases (one-third of those over 10%), but many noted that the gains came despite decreased customer traffic – fewer buyers were spending more money.

Signet Plc, the largest jewelry chain, turned in a disappointing season, however. Declining traffic at shopping malls and problems with its credit program resulted in a sub-par season: a 5.3% decline in its same store U.S. sales and an 8% decline overall.

‘Curveballs’ force Acacia Mining to ditch dividend, post $700M loss amid Tanzania dispute – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

From the Democratic Republic of Congo to Tanzania, a raft of new laws were passed in 2017 that challenge how mining companies have hewed to previous agreements

Acacia Mining produces gold and copper, both of which are surging in price, so why did the company ditch its dividend and post a $700 million loss?

“We were thrown … a lot of curveballs,” chief executive Peter Geleta said on an investor earnings call on Monday. “In fact, I don’t think many people would have faced what we faced last year in their whole careers.”

He blamed the company’s woes on the Tanzanian government, which wants to renegotiate how it shares in the wealth from minerals extracted inside its borders.

Seabridge dealing with damages from previous mining activities in northern BC – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – February 12, 2018)

February 13, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

The Association of Mineral Exploration in British Columbia recently awarded Seabridge Gold (TSX: SEA)(NYSE:SA) the 2017 Robert R. Hedley Award for excellence in social and environmental responsibility at its KSM project, which the company says is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in the world measured by reserves.

Inspired by the work at KSM, Brent Murphy, Seabridge Vice President of Environmental Affairs, decided to replicate the experience at Iskut, the firm’s second project in northern BC, which was obtained with the closing of Seabridge’s acquisition of SnipGold Corp. in June 2016.

The 29K-hectare property is located some 110 km northwest of Stewart and includes the former high-grade gold Johnny Mountain Mine and the copper-gold Bronson Slope deposit.

Central Asia Metals looks to enter Africa in search of copper project – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters Africa – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://af.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Base metals miner Central Asia Metals (CAML) is on the hunt for a new copper project in Southern Africa for up to $400 million in what would be its first foray into the continent, its chief executive said.

The London-listed company, which has two mines in Kazakhstan and Macedonia, is prepared to spend $300 million-$400 million in countries including Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, CAML’s Nick Clarke told Reuters.

Flush with cash brought on by a recovery in commodity prices, miners are paying dividends again and slowly returning to the search for new assets.

Let’s Make America a Mineral Superpower – by Stephen Moore (Twonhall.com – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://townhall.com/

Why is the United States reliant on China and Russia for strategic minerals when we have more of these valuable resources than both these nations combined? This has nothing to do with geological impediments. It is all politics.

This is an underreported scandal that jeopardizes American security. As recently as 1990, the U.S. was No. 1 in the world in mining output.

But according to the latest data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. is 100 percent import dependent for at least 20 critical and strategic minerals (not including each of the “rare earths”), and between 50 and 99 percent reliant for another group of 30 key minerals. Why aren’t alarm bells ringing?

The search for more responsible rubies – by Joshua Carroll (Frontier Myanmar – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://frontiermyanmar.net/

BEFORE SHE arrived in Mogok, Ms Amber Cernov was wary of the horror stories she’d heard about the secretive ruby mining region. Foreigners are usually denied access to the town in northern Mandalay Region and she had pictured a grim landscape ravaged by military-owned companies, hidden from the world. But when she finally stepped foot in the resource-rich valley she was pleasantly surprised.

“You think it’s going to be Mordor and it’s not,” said Cernov as she sat behind the counter at her small but sleek store in downtown Yangon.

“Mogok is actually a very beautiful town,” she adds. “Yes, you can see the scars from mining… so I’m not saying there’s no negative environmental impact, but I was quite surprised at how much better it looked than my expectations.”

Samsung SDI Can’t Skirt Cobalt’s Crunch – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – February 13, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Demand is rising much faster than supply, used mobile phones or none.

Can recycling save the world from a looming shortage of cobalt? The idea has sound precedent. Lead — an essential ingredient in traditional car batteries, just as cobalt will be for the coming generation of lithium-ion cells — is probably the most extensively recycled industrial raw material on earth.

With cobalt demand from cars, electric buses and utility-scale batteries set to soar over the next decade, mining cobalt from spent batteries rather than the ground could go some way toward keeping the market balanced.

That’s the hope of Samsung SDI Co. The South Korean components company will sign a deal with a cobalt-recycling business to secure supplies from used mobile phones, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, listing American Manganese Inc. and Umicore SA without saying whether either was under consideration for the tie-up.

The long road ahead for the electric-vehicle revolution – by Greg Keenan and Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – February 10, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

While politicians and industry leaders worldwide have created the impression that EVs are on the verge of replacing the internal combustion engine, it is not going to happen overnight

The electric vehicle capital of Canada is a small town in Quebec cottage country, some 95 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

The family-owned dealership of Bourgeois Chevrolet Buick GMC, located in Rawdon, Que., consistently ranks as the top seller of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country – both new and used versions of battery-only models such as the new Chevrolet Bolt and plug-in hybrids such as the Volt, which has a backup gasoline motor.

Last year, fully half the 1,000 cars and trucks that Bourgeois sold were EVs, whereas most Chevy dealerships around the country sell a couple each month on average.

Still No Charges for the Company Behind Canada’s Largest Mining Spill – by Carol Linnitt (Vice.com – February 12, 2018)

February 13, 2018

https://www.vice.com/

Canada has one of the worst records on the planet for making polluters like Imperial Metals pay.

The company responsible for the Mount Polley mine spill—one of the largest environmental disasters in Canadian history—has found out it’s not going to face any charges in British Columbia.

The news likely has billionaire Murray Edwards, owner of Imperial Metals and the Mount Polley mine (and the Calgary Flames) toasting with his rich friends in London (where he lives to avoid paying taxes).

If you’re not in BC, there’s a chance the aerial images of the disaster haven’t already scarred you forever. This is what the collapsed tailings pond at the Mount Polley mine looked like in August 2014.

Rail fight threatens coal giants’ Australian exports – by Sonali Paul (Reuters U.S. – February 12, 2018)

February 12, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s top coal hauler, Aurizon Holdings Ltd, is on course for a showdown with the world’s biggest coal exporters after a regulator capped the revenue it can charge at A$1 billion ($783 million) less than the company sought.

BHP Billiton, Glencore, Anglo American, Peabody Energy and others face cuts of nearly a tenth of their coal export volumes from Queensland state, the country’s biggest coal exporter, after Aurizon said the tough revenue cap would cut throughput on its network.

The expected drop in coal traffic would be worse than last year’s losses after Cyclone Debbie, which cut exports by 16 million tonnes and sent prices for metallurgical coal, used in steel-making, skyrocketing.

18 killed as Venezuela army takes control of wildcat mine – by Pableyas Ostos (ABC News – February 11, 2018)

February 12, 2018

http://abcnews.go.com/

Associated Press: CIUDAD GUAYANA, Venezuela – At least 18 people were killed at an illegal gold mine in southern Venezuela during clashes with security forces looking to take control of the area, an official said Sunday.

The confrontation was confirmed to The Associated Press by an army officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the operation.

He said it broke out Saturday when the army travelled to the Cicapra mine after receiving information that an armed gang was threatening wildcat miners in the remote area. Four assault weapons, grenades and several light firearms were seized.

Ferrochrome smelter bids draw concern from northeastern Ontario communities – by Robin De Angelis (CBC News Sudbury – February 12, 2018)

February 12, 2018

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Noront to select smelter location this spring

As cities across northern Ontario await a decision on the location of Noront’s ferrochrome smelter, some people say they don’t want the site in their backyard.

The former Inco smelter in Coniston was chosen for Sudbury’s bid. If selected, the site would process chromite from Noront’s mining operation in the Ring of Fire. Community members are now mobilizing against the smelter and circulating a petition to “Save Coniston.”

The petition, which has garnered more than 270 signatures, states that “Coniston has long been a place where the earth remained scorched and contaminated from previous industrial processing.”