Republic of Mining

Indonesia lays groundwork for transfer of Grasberg mine to local control – by Staff (Reuters U.K. – January 12, 2018)

January 12, 2018

https://uk.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Indonesian regional and central government officials on Friday signed an agreement with state holding company PT Inalum that lays the foundation for the transfer of Freeport-McMoRan Inc’s giant Grasberg copper mine to local control.

Indonesia and Papua have long pushed for greater control over Grasberg and the new ownership structure may ease tensions over spoils from the world’s second-biggest copper mine, which has been a focal point for local separatists.

Indonesia and Freeport agreed in principle in August to set up the U.S. company’s rights to Grasberg under a new mine license system from an existing contract of work, and the American miner said it would divest up to 51 percent of its local unit to “Indonesia interests”.

Queensland mining: Record export figures ‘prove greens wrong’, industry says – by John McCarthy (Brisbane Courier-Mail – January 11, 2018)

January 12, 2018

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

THE world is still turning towards Queensland’s energy resources of LNG and coal with export records broken in 2017, according to the Queensland Resources Council.

The council released figures which it said showed the Queensland economy was underpinned by resources. LNG exports from Queensland in 2017 totalled 20.2 million tonnes, eclipsing last year’s record by 2.7 mt.

“The LNG sector is forecast to continue its record export growth that is being driven by an energy hungry Asia. China was again the largest customer, receiving nearly 11.6 mt, followed by South Korea at 4 mt while Japan imported 2.5 mt,’’ the QRC report said.

One Thing Missing From Copper Boom Is Buyers of Actual Metal – by Mark Burton and Susanne Barton (Bloomberg News – January 11, 2018)

January 12, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The world economy is taking off, factories are humming again and copper futures prices are jumping. The one thing that’s missing is buyers of the actual metal. Evidence of the anomaly can be seen in the premiums that purchasers of physical copper pay over futures prices to cover shipping and other costs.

Typically these rise as demand grows and buyers are willing to pay extra to access supply that’s being used up at a quicker rate. Yet, even with factories running at the fastest in years, premiums have been stuck at a low level.

That’s a disconnect with the optimism in futures markets, where hedge funds have been adding to their bullish bets since the middle of December. Such wagers have helped fuel a rally in prices to their highest since early 2014.

Short-term shutdown at Vale’s Coleman Mine extended (CBC News Sudbury – January 12, 2018)

January 12, 2018

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

Mining company Vale says the Coleman Mine is expected to be back in production in mid-February, after being shut down last year for critical repair work.

The company originally said the repairs would be done in December. The union representing the workers said in December the repair work would continue until the end of January. Now, a spokesperson with the company says — based on recent inspections — the mine won’t re-open in mid-February.

“Some maintenance employees have been recalled to support the repair work to the shaft,” Danica Pagnutti with the company said. “In order to mitigate impacts to our people at Coleman, who have been temporarily laid off, we have recalled and transferred more than 200 production and maintenance employees to temporarily work at Coleman and other mine sites.”

Hype Meets Reality as Electric Car Dreams Run Into Metal Crunch – by Elisabeth Behrmann, Jack Farchy and Sam Dodge (Bloomberg News – January 11, 2018)

January 12, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

When BMW AG revealed it was designing electric versions of its X3 SUV and Mini, the going rate for 21 kilograms of cobalt—the amount of the metal needed to power typical car batteries—was under $600. Only 16 months later, the price tag is approaching $1,700 and climbing by the day.

For carmakers vying to fill their fleets with electric vehicles, the spike has been a rude awakening as to how much their success is riding on the scarce silvery-blue mineral found predominantly in one of the world’s most corrupt and underdeveloped countries.

“It’s gotten more hectic over the past year,” said Markus Duesmann, BMW’s head of procurement, who’s responsible for securing raw materials used in lithium-ion batteries, such as cobalt, manganese and nickel. “We need to keep a close eye, especially on lithium and cobalt, because of the danger of supply scarcity.”

Sudbury mayor to check out Finnish ferrochrome smelter – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 11, 2018)

January 12, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

City’s bid for Ring of Fire processing plant prompts trip to Outokumpu

Since Greater Sudbury is one of the four cities in the hunt for a ferrochrome smelter, Mayor Brian Bigger is heading overseas to Finland on a fact-finding trip to see how one operates for himself.

A Jan. 10 Greater Sudbury news release called the visit to the Outokumpu mine and mill complex “an opportunity to learn from what is considered the best ferrochrome production facility in the world.” The group leaves Jan. 13 and returns on Jan. 18. The Sudbury delegation will also meet with municipal, public health and economic development officials.

Joining Bigger on the trip to Tornio, Finland is Wahnapitae First Nations Chief Ted Roque, city councillor and Sudbury and District Health Unit Board chair René Lapierre, Greater Sudbury Development Corporation executive board member Paul Kusnierczyk, Greater Sudbury Director of Economic Development Ian Wood, and the mayor’s chief of staff Melissa Zanette.

[Timmins Goldcorp] PGM aims to build larger milling facility – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 12, 2018)

January 12, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – The skyline around the Dome Mine property is likely to see a dramatic change. With the recent closure of the Dome underground workings, the company is preparing to remove all the existing infrastructure and familiar surface buildings at that site.

Those changes were part of the presentation revealed to the Timmins Chamber of Commerce lunch event by Marc Lauzier Thursday. Lauzier is the mines general manager for Goldcorp Porcupine Gold Mines (PGM).

The chamber audience consisted mainly of mining supply and service representatives who seemed assured to hear that PGM is still in business as strongly as ever in the Porcupine Camp despite the Dome underground shutdown and especially with the prospect of the new Century Project.

Who Won Kitco’s Mining CEO of The Year? Rob McEwen – CEO, McEwen Mining (Kitco News – January 5, 2018)

January 11, 2018

http://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Kitco News brought back a fan favorite this year in an effort to give YOU, our dedicated readers, a voice!

After a few weeks of voting, we have finally tallied up the results to unveil who our readers and viewers think merits the title of CEO of 2017. After sifting through thousands of responses, and the names of over 100 CEOs you submitted, we have tallied your choice for the mining world’s top commander-in-chief.

For the second year in a row, Kitco readers voted for Rob McEwen – CEO, McEwen Mining (TSE, NYSE: MUX). Rob McEwen McEwen has been behind some of the biggest mining companies in the industry. First founding Goldcorp in the ‘90s –transforming the company from a collection of small companies into a mining powerhouse.

Permit application reveals size of scaled-down Pebble project – by Elwood Brehmer (Alaska Journal of Commerce – January 10, 2018)

January 11, 2018

http://www.alaskajournal.com/

The official Pebble mine plan released Jan. 5 by federal regulators describes a scaled-back project relative to prior concepts, but opponents contend it is a way for the company to get its foot in the door for future expansion.

Published by the Alaska District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the plan details a project that is much more than a mine. According to Pebble’s plan documents, its reach would stretch 187 miles from the mine site north of Iliamna Lake to the edge of the Sterling Highway on the southern Kenai Peninsula.

In between would be a natural gas pipeline up to 12 inches wide traversing the Cook Inlet sea floor for 95 miles from the Anchor Point area to a deepwater port at Amakdedori west of Augustine Island.

Site visit: IDM Mining pursues dual upside at Red Mountain – by Matthew Keevil (Northern Miner – January 11, 2018)

January 11, 2018

Northern Miner

STEWART, B.C. — An aura of history surrounds IDM Mining‘s (TSXV: IDM; US-OTC: RVRCF) Red Mountain gold property, 18 km northeast of the town of Stewart, British Columbia.

That history is especially acute for president and CEO Robert McLeod, who has long-standing family ties to the local community and cut his teeth as an exploration geologist at the project with Lac Minerals back in the early 1990s.

Red Mountain has near-term production potential and exploration upside across a 170 sq. km land package that has seen limited systematic work. The region was abuzz with helicopter activity during The Northern Miner’s visit in September 2016, due to renewed interest in B.C.’s Golden Triangle near the western margin of the Stikine terrain.

Barrick, Premier ink wide-ranging Nevada focused exploration, development pact – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – January 10, 2018)

January 11, 2018

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Gold major Barrick Gold has signed a comprehensive exploration and development agreement with Premier Gold Mines that include toll-milling and exploration earn-in options for both companies at the McCoy-Cove and Rye projects.

Premier announced on Wednesday that, under the terms of the agreement, Barrick will have an option to earn a 60% interest in the exploration portion of its McCoy-Cove property (the joint venture (JV) property) by spending $22.5-million in exploration before June 30, 2022.

Further, Premier will retain 100% ownership over the Cove deposit portion of the McCoy-Cove property, which includes the high-grade Helen, 2201 and CSD/CSD Gap deposits. Premier will also secure a one-time bulk sample processing arrangement for the planned test-mining programme at its 100%-owned portion of the McCoy-Cove property.

Liberty House makes binding offer for Rio Tinto’s French aluminum smelter – by Maytaal Angel (Reuters U.S. – January 10, 2018)

January 11, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Liberty House, the industrial arm of British steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, said on Wednesday it had made a binding offer for miner Rio Tinto’s (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) aluminum smelter in Dunkirk, France, the largest in Europe.

The group said it had chosen to invest in France in part because of a pro-business environment created by French President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

Rio Tinto said in a statement that the offer was worth $500 million ”subject to final adjustments’ and that it expects to complete the sale by the second quarter.

NEWS RELEASE: [California Gold Rush] Exotic animals and the hunt for gold (University of New Mexico – January 8, 2018)

January 11, 2018

http://news.unm.edu/news/

Men, women and their families arrived in large numbers to northern California with the dream of striking it rich during the mid-19th century. What most people don’t know about the California Gold Rush is that exotic animals became as much a part of the experience as the exotic medals.

“During the Gold Rush of the 1850s, gold seekers, or Argonauts as they were known, transported exotic and non-native animals to northern California on a regular basis,” said Cyler Conrad, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at The University of New Mexico. “Argonauts were hungry, and during the early years of the Gold Rush there was simply not enough local food to sustain their massive population.”

Conrad’s findings, recently published in an article in the journal California History, suggest that some of the exotic animals imported for food include Galápagos tortoises, sea turtles, turkeys and Atlantic cod. Other non-native animals imported during the Gold Rush-era served as support for hygiene and entertainment needs.

Prospecting enters the digital age in Ontario – by Adam McDowell (TV Ontario.org – January 9, 2018)

January 10, 2018

https://tvo.org/

Staking a mineral-rights claim will soon be as easy as clicking a mouse — but the new process may end up being hard on small-scale operations

From 1906 until early this morning, the process for staking a mineral-rights claim in Ontario was the same: Starting at the northeast corner of your intended parcel, drive a 10-centimetre-thick wooden stake into the ground, then trudge 400 metres south and do the same.

Continue to move clockwise, heading west to drive the next stake, then north, then east again to complete the square. Record your co-ordinates and report your claim to the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines within 30 days. For the next two years, you enjoyed exclusive mineral rights to a 16-hectare piece of Ontario.

But at 12:01 a.m. on January 9, the old way of calling dibs on Ontario’s mineral deposits became history, as the province took the next step in a long-planned transition to digital claim-staking. After a brief moratorium on all claims, a new online portal will be up and running on April 10. Once it’s in place, anyone with a computer and knowledge of the rules will be able to register a claim by clicking on a digital map.

Mongolian Copper Corp says to fight government stake repurchase – by Barbara Lewis and Terrence Edwards (Reuters U.S. – January 9, 2018)

January 10, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON/ULAANBAATAR, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Mongolian Copper Corporation (MCC) said on Tuesday it will fight a decision by the Mongolian government to repurchase its stake in one of Asia’s biggest copper mines for about $400 million after a failed attempt to nationalise it.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government passed a resolution to buy the 49 percent holding, giving Mongolia full state control of the Erdenet mine, following a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court in December against the nationalisation decided by parliament in February 2017.

MCC said no agreement had been reached with the government and it would fight the decision legally.“We will protect our legal ownership rights locally and internationally,” MCC’s Chairman Munkhbaatar Myagmar told Reuters on Tuesday in London. He was is in the city for talks with law firm Omnia Strategy, which is representing the company.