Republic of Mining

Gemfields transparent, proactive in rebutting rights allegations – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – February 12, 2018)

February 12, 2018

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Coloured gemstones company Gemfields has been transparently proactive in rebutting claims of human rights abuses in Mozambique, where it mines rubies.

“We’ve voluntarily elected to issue this statement,” Gemfields, headed by CEO Sean Gilbertson, commented in a release on Monday about UK-based law firm Leigh Day filing a claim in the High Court of England and Wales against Gemfields and its subsidiary, Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), on behalf of 29 individuals living near the MRM ruby mining licence area in northern Mozambique.

The company stated in the release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online that the court process had not yet commenced on account of the claim filed not yet being served on Gemfields or MRM.

Gold Giant Barrick Faces Grilling After Fall to Bottom of Pack – by Daniel Bochove (February 12, 2018)

February 12, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. executives will have some explaining to do when the company releases full-year results Wednesday.

Even with rising gold prices and a strengthened balance sheet, the world’s largest gold producer left shareholders with the worst returns among its top North American peers last year and the third-worst performance in the 15-company BI Global Senior Gold Valuation Peers index.

That’s a sharp reversal of the heady gains a year earlier when the Toronto-based company appeared unable to put a foot wrong. In 2016, Barrick’s Canadian shares soared 110 percent as it unveiled a sweeping plan to streamline the company. That same year its biggest rival, Newmont Mining Corp., rose 89 percent.

Northern Ontario First Nation awaits ruling over contested mining exploration permit (CBC News Thunder Bay – February 12, 2018)

February 12, 2018

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Eabametoong asking court to overturn Landore Resources Canada’s gold exploration permit to

A northern Ontario First Nation now waits for a court ruling over a contested mining exploration permit in its territory after hearings in Toronto wrapped up last week.

Lawyers representing Eabametoong First Nation were in Ontario divisional court on Feb. 7 and 8. The First Nation wants the panel of judges to overturn a permit issued in its territory by the province to Landore Resources Canada in 2016. Eabametoong has argued the province failed in its duty to consult.

“Our position isn’t really anything new that we’re asking the courts to do, in terms of extending the duty to consult beyond what’s already been established,” said Krista Robertson, a Victoria-based lawyer with JFK Law, and legal counsel to the First Nation.

Nope, Cobalt’s Not A Problem For The EV Revolution Or Tesla (#CleanTechnica Exclusive) – by Zachary Shahan (Clean Technica – February 11, 2018)

February 12, 2018

https://cleantechnica.com/

In the world of life, there are small challenges and there are major, critical, existential challenges. That’s the story for humans, for businesses, and for industries. Limited cobalt supply is being pitched more and more as an existential problem for the electric vehicle revolution (and for Tesla in particular), but it’s really just another cog in the machine that needs to get moving.

The hottest trending hype about what will supposedly stop an electric vehicle revolution — and take down Tesla — has morphed over the years. “It will be X.” Well, no. “It will be Y.” Nope. “It will be Z.” Try again. As these other “death sentences” have been overcome, the naysayers have had to find new concerns to cling to. Because, you know, life is no fun if you aren’t worrying or casting doubt on positive forecasts of the future.

Now, the naysaying world of anti-EV and anti-Tesla commenters is all over cobalt. “There’s not enough of it! Where will people find it! Current suppliers commit human rights abuse!* The price is going to skyrocket! Game over for the EV market — and especially Tesla! (So long and thanks for all the tweets.)”

Mining investment crossroads – Editorial (The Australian – February 12, 2018)

February 12, 2018

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/

The Greens’ irrationality in regard to energy production and mining is beyond redemption. The Labor Party, however, which purports to be the workers’ party, should heed Resources Minister Matt Canavan’s pertinent warning that Australia’s energy markets in Asia are under threat as the US ramps up coal and gas exports.

The US, a net energy importer for 40 years, will be a net exporter by 2022 after ending what Donald Trump branded in his State of the Union address “the war on beautiful, clean coal’’ . The US exports shale gas to Japan and Asian buyers are interested in US coal.

Influenced by anti-fossil fuel activists, especially in the Melbourne seat of Batman where it is struggling to hold off the Greens, Labor is casting increasing doubt over the $16.5 billion Adani coalmine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. Labor has also barred new gas developments in several states.

[Viola MacMillan] IF YOU WANT TO BE POOR . . . (Fat Cat Invest.com – February 11, 2018)

February 12, 2018

http://fatcatinvest.com/

[An Excerpt from Flim Flam: Canada’s Greatest Frauds, Scams, and Con Artists, Bourrie, Mark. Dundurn.]

Viola’s campaign made Canada the prospecting centre of the world and set
the stage for the huge increase in Canadian mining in the 1950s, which in turn, turned Toronto from a financial backwater into a major investment market.

The Viola MacMillan mineral gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa is one of those new – style museum displays that drive people bananas. It’s set up so that people don’t linger. The audio – video equipment is often broken, so many visitors don’t get to see snippets of the National Film Board movie about Viola’s life.

Photos are not labelled. Fat security guards whisper into walkie – talkies and try not to make eye contact with the public. There’s virtually no explanation about the minerals themselves. Some are displayed by colour: blue crystals, green crystals. For the serious mineralogist, the display is an exercise in frustration; for the casual tourist, it’s a display of pretty rocks.

The MacMillan Gallery takes up a tiny portion of the museum’s second floor; the rest of the wing is devoted to a fake Nova Scotia beach, a fake mine, and a fake cave that has been so worn by children’s play that pieces of foam rubber are exposed. Yet the MacMillan Gallery is worth seeing, especially at a time of day when few people are around.

Risk of disappointment for copper bulls as wage deals sealed – by Eric Onstad (Reuters U.S. – February 8, 2018)

February 9, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Copper bulls who are betting on labor strife this year due to a full calendar of contract talks may be disappointed if early wage deals at two copper mines are a signpost for further agreements with mine workers.

Benchmark copper prices rallied 12 percent in December, partly due to fear of shortages if workers go on strike since many major operations in top producers Chile and Peru have contacts expiring this year, including at top mine Escondida.

Chile’s state-owned Codelco said late last month it had struck a contract deal with workers at its Andina copper mine, while workers at the Lomas Bayas mine accepted a contract offer from operator Glencore Plc early in January.

‘Every area of mining ripe for innovation’ – Goldcorp – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – February 9, 2018)

February 9, 2018

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Every conceivable area of mining is in dire need of technological innovation, major miner Goldcorp tells Mining Weekly Online in an interview.

“We are not exactly the most advanced industry in the world, and we’re slow in adopting new technologies. Every area is ripe for innovation,” Goldcorp’s VP for technology Luis Canepari says. According to him, perhaps the most critical area in need of innovation is exploration.

He explains that, these days, across the entire mining industry, the exploration success rate is very low. “Anything that we can do to improve those results have a direct correlation to improving the bottom line. That is why we are spending big on exploration innovation.”

Sudbury Conference makes wide strides for Indigenous business – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – February 8, 2018)

February 9, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Procurement, Employment and Partnerships Conference and Tradeshow highlights progress and lingering issues between Indigenous communities, business and government

There have been great improvements in relationships between Indigenous people, governments and companies, but there’s still more work to be done, say those who attended a first of its kind conference. For many, merely having a conference like this is a giant step in the right direction.

Hundreds packed the conference rooms at the Sudbury Holiday Inn for the inaugural Procurement, Employment and Partnership Conference and Tradeshow on Feb. 6 and 7, to listen to experts talk about their experiences, how things have changed, and what issues still need addressing.

The conference was organized by Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and presented by SNC-Lavalin.

NEWS RELEASE: Input Costs Soar as Confidence and Projected Profits Fall: Ontario Economic Report 2018 – Ontario Chamber of Commerce reveals consequences of a climate that discourages growth (February 7, 2018)

February 9, 2018

TORONTO, February 7, 2018 – Today the North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and other Chambers across the province released the second annual Ontario Economic Report (OER), a comprehensive analysis of data and emerging trends on the economic health of the province.

Original economic research from the report reveals that 77 per cent of Ontario businesses say access to talent remains the largest impact on their competitiveness and nearly half report a lack of confidence in the province’s economy. Meanwhile, a lack of confidence in their own ability to sustain profits continues to decline.

The OER includes data from the OCC’s Business Confidence Survey conducted by Fresh Intelligence, a Business Prosperity Index developed by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA), and a 2018 Economic Outlook prepared by BMO Financial Group.

China companies open next chapter on WA mines – by Dan Wilkie (Australia China Business Review – February 9, 2018)

February 9, 2018

http://www.acbr.com.au/

Western Australia’s mining industry has received a China-backed New Year’s boost, with announcements of progress on deals that could underpin the development of the state’s next iron ore, mineral sands and zinc mines.

In the Pilbara, global iron ore trading house Sinosteel Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding in early January with mining group BCI Minerals to explore a possible joint venture and offtake arrangement over the Buckland iron ore mine and port proposal.

Sinosteel and BCI will also discuss the possibility of Sinosteel Equipment and Engineering Co providing engineering services for the proposal, which comprises mining operations over several deposits, as well as a haul road connecting the mine to a newly developed port at Cape Preston East.

The ugly pipeline war is no accident. It was the plan – by Terence Corcoran (Financial Post – February 9, 2018)

February 9, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

Wake up, Canada. The Trans Mountain constitutional meltdown is the product of an aggressive radical campaign by green extremists to rip up the economy

“The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that fossil
fuels will hold at 80 per cent of U.S. energy consumption through
to 2050. While the U.S.-based green militants and their Canadian
cohorts have successfully promoted the shutdown of Canada’s pipeline
development, American oil production hit record levels in January.”

The Canadian pipeline crisis is developing along the usual constitutional divide and within the tired context of party politics punditry. Will Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government use its federal powers to overrule the unconstitutional moves by B.C.’s NDP government? Will B.C.’s attempt to block the $7.4-billion expansion of the Trans Mountain oilsands pipeline to the West Coast lead to a trade war with Alberta’s NDP?

And what will the Liberals’ new plans, announced Thursday, to gut the National Energy Board’s power and responsibilities, and new environmental rules released this week to protect the lives of fish against human encroachment by pipeline do to the state of the federation?

Wake up, Canada. This is not another political game show about the powers and rights of different levels of government. Nor is it about ritual inter-party rivalries among Liberals, New Democrats and Conservatives. The Trans Mountain constitutional meltdown is the product of an aggressive radical campaign by green extremists to rip up the Canadian economy.

The Tar Sands Campaign Against the Overseas Export of Canadian Oil: Activism or Economic Sabotage? – by Vivian Krause (January 12, 2018)

February 9, 2018

http://fairquestions.typepad.com/rethink_campaigns/

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On the basis of the evidence presented in this report, it is clear that The Northern Gateway pipeline and other proposed pipelines for the overseas export of oil from western Canada have been deliberately sabotaged as part of a multi-million dollar, U.S.-funded effort referred to as “The Tar Sands Campaign.”

This effort aims to stop the export of oil from western Canada by pipeline, tanker and by rail. The absence of a successful response to anti-pipeline activism and other factors have also contributed to pipeline project cancellations.

When the American funding behind The Tar Sands Campaign first came to light in 2010, the strategy of the U.S. funders was not entirely clear. But now it is. In the words of the original director of The Tar Sands Campaign, from the very beginning the strategy was to “land-lock” oil from western Canada within North America so that it could not reach overseas markets where it could attain a higher price per barrel.1

In Duluth, more concern about copper-mining impact – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – February 8, 2018)

February 9, 2018

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Supporters of the proposed PolyMet project won the field Wednesday night in Aurora on the Iron Range, but on Thursday evening in Duluth opponents of Minnesota’s first-ever copper mine made their case.

About 1,500 people attended the public meeting on permits for the proposed mine — about two-to-one against the project — with dozens on both sides speaking at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

It was the second of two meetings held to take public comments on the most important of 21 permits PolyMet needs in hand before it can begin to mine copper, nickel and other valuable metals near Babbitt and process them in an old taconite plant near Hoyt Lakes.

Energy reforms push Trudeau government’s green agenda at expense of oilpatch – by Claudia Cattaneo (Financial Post – February 9, 2018)

February 9, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

Reforms to restore public trust will be pointless if capital moves to fund energy projects elsewhere, leaving nothing to fight over in a weaker economy

While claiming to look for balance between the economy and the environment, the federal Liberal government pushed its climate change agenda forward in major environmental and regulatory reforms of big energy projects announced Thursday.

And in case there was any doubt, the proposed changes reinforce that the Liberal energy priority is about transitioning to a clean energy economy, not supporting investment in oil and gas — a big political and economic gamble while the United States is moving in the opposite direction.

One good thing for Canada’s energy sector: Projects that aren’t dead on arrival because they don’t fit into Canada’s climate change commitments can look forward to — maybe — shorter reviews.