Republic of Mining

The Canadian company behind this Mongolian mine has avoided half a billion dollars in taxes, report alleges – by Marco Chown Oved (Toronto Star – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.thestar.com/

A Canadian mining company operating in one of the world’s biggest copper deposits has avoided more than half a billion dollars in Canadian tax over the last seven years, according to a report released Wednesday.

By using a complex network of tax haven subsidiaries and lending money to itself at high interest rates, Turquoise Hill Resources has also deprived the government of Mongolia — where the mine is located — of an additional $230 million (U.S.), states the report produced by the Dutch non-profit SOMO.

“It’s shameless tax avoidance,” said Vincent Kiezebrink, one of the report’s authors. “It doesn’t just affect the world poorest, but also regular people in Western countries as well.”

Opposition Fortunes Wane as Tanzania President Rules Supreme – by Omar Mohammed (Bloomberg News – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Two years into his rule, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has some unexpected new fans: his political opponents. His chief rival in the 2015 vote, Edward Lowassa, has praised his reforms and urged others to support them.

Another challenger became one of his regional commissioners, while two opposition lawmakers recently defected to the ruling party and will run as candidates in February by-elections.

These could be signs that Magufuli, who’s nicknamed “the bulldozer,” is finding popular support for his bids to tackle graft and challenge foreign companies like Barrick Gold Corp. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. for more revenue.

LETTER: Disappointed by lack of urgency on Ring of Fire – by Ross Romano (Timmins Daily Press – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

Ross Romano is the MPP for Sault Ste. Marie and Ontario PC Critic for Northern Jobs and the Ring of Fire.

TIMMINS – I was very disappointed to read in your paper that the Wynne Liberal government is continuing to delay getting to work on developing the Ring of Fire. It did not surprise me given their track record of inaction towards this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The timing of this news is increasingly disturbing given that community bid submissions to host the ferrochrome processing facility are due to Noront Resources Inc. by this coming Friday. The Liberals have known about this opportunity for the North and for all of Ontario for more than 10 years now, yet they continue to drag their feet on this project.

There is still a great deal of work that needs to be done before the shovels can break ground on the Ring of Fire road development. Instead of pursuing meaningful consultations and developing positive relationships in the region, the Liberals only seem to be interested in press releases, photo-ops and re-announcements.

Timmins team making final pitch to Noront – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – Team Timmins is in Toronto today hoping to bring good news the top executives of Noront Resources Ltd., the Canadian mining company that has the biggest claim in the Ring of Fire mining development.

Timmins is among four Northern Ontario communities that have responded to an official invitation from Noront on why their communities would be the best to host a new ferrochrome processing facility.

Along with Timmins, the cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Thunder Bay are responding to the same bid. Mayor Steve Black, also a mining engineer, who is part of the Timmins team, said he believes this city’s bid has advantages.

B.C. moves to block Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion – by Shawn McCarthy and Jeff Lewis (Globe and Mail – January 31, 2018)

January 31, 2018

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

British Columbia’s government has thrown a new roadblock in front of Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd.’s planned $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion with proposed oil-spill regulations designed to block the shipment of increased volumes of oil sands crude through the province.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who has argued Ottawa has constitutional jurisdiction over interprovincial pipelines, immediately denounced the B.C. move as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Her spokeswoman, Cheryl Oates, said on Tuesday B.C.’s regulations are still in draft form, but if they proceed, Alberta “would likely take some action against them.” She would not specify what that action could entail, but the Premier indicated the proposed regulations would violate internal trade agreements and federal law.

Mongolia slaps $155M tax bill on Turquoise Hill’s mine; NGO claims company owes more – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. and parent Rio Tinto Group’s ambition to build one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines, called Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, has hit a number of stumbling blocks in recent weeks.

Last week, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, the chief executive of Rio Tinto, flew to Mongolia’s capital city to meet with prime minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsuk about how to build “win-win” partnerships.

One looming dispute is the Mongolian government’s claim that Oyu Tolgoi owes an additional US$155 million in taxes — the mine’s second tax dispute since 2014.

Betting on DRC’s mineral boom – by Gregory Mthembu-Salter (The Africa Report – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

http://www.theafricareport.com/

Kinshasa – Mineral commodity prices are ticking up once more, and the cash-strapped Congolese government is increasingly betting on rising mining revenues to come to its fiscal rescue. Because of the budget deficit and a shortage of foreign exchange, the central bank has been putting pressure on mining companies to repatriate 40% of their export earnings pursuant to a 2007 government decision.

That, and a proposed reform to the mining code, have caused tensions between the Kinshasa government and the country’s mining companies. On the production and price fronts, things are looking up now. Copper prices currently hover around $7,000/tn, sharply up from $4,500 just a year ago. And, improving matters further, the country’s recorded copper exports were 15% higher during the first half of 2017 than during the same period of 2016.

The cobalt price is rising too, buoyed by recent announcements by governments around the world, including the UK and China, of their plans to switch from petrol and diesel vehicles to electric cars. The London Metal Exchange cobalt price was $27/lb in October 2017, up from $13/lb a year earlier.

Premier Gold Mines drops a bundle in the northwest – Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Premier Gold Mines is spending US$83 million this year to explore and develop its properties in Northern Ontario, Nevada, and Mexico.

The biggest expenditure is for one of its tentpole projects near Geraldton in northwestern Ontario. Premier has earmarked $37.9 million to further advance its Hardrock gold deposit in a joint venture it shares with Centerra Gold known as Greenstone Gold.

It represents a “four-fold” increase in annual project spending from the previous year. The first $18.1 million from the budget is devoted to permitting and detailed engineering in order to make a production decision later on.

Exclusive: Vale at work on pioneering Canadian cobalt stream deal – sources – by Barbara Lewis and Clara Denina (Reuters U.S. – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON (Reuters) – Brazilian miner Vale is seeking to sell un-mined cobalt worth hundreds of millions of dollars to investors, as speculation rises over a shortage of the metal needed to make batteries, sources familiar with the matter said.

Such streaming, which allows an investor to make an upfront payment in exchange for future production at a discounted price, has expanded as a form of finance for precious and base metals companies but this deal would be a first for the booming cobalt sector.

Cobalt is a critical component in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and its price has benefited from a push by governments and automakers to promote electric vehicles to cut emissions from diesel and petrol cars.

One of the world’s oldest miners has eyes on Ring of Fire, and set up shop in Sudbury to get there – by Darren MacDonald (Northern Life – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

https://www.sudbury.com/

Thyssen Mining has long history of setting up joint ventures with First Nations, a key to get the Ring of Fire started

Back in October 2017, one of the world’s oldest mining companies set up an in Sudbury. Thyssen Mining’s goal was simple: The company needed a base of operations and with development of the Ring of Fire chromite deposit imminent, they wanted that base to be in a mining hub.

Greater Sudbury seemed the natural choice. “There’s a lot more action going on (at the Ring of Fire) than most people think,” said Tom Reid, who leads Thyssen’s local office. “We have been having meetings — I can’t get into details — but things are moving much better there than people think.

I’m optimistic that a mine will go into construction there no later than 2020. It is still a lot slower than what everybody wants. However, some people thought it was never going to go.”

WHITE GOLD: Tesla may get into the lithium business in Chile as the price of battery ingredients soar – by Michael J. Coren (Quartz.com – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

https://qz.com/

While showing off Tesla’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert last year, its designers showed journalists a curious thing: One side of the factory’s massive wall could be opened up to received lithium ore one day.

Tesla said that the facility had been built with an eye toward receiving raw lithium material on one side and producing a finished battery pack on the other. The only operating lithium mine in the US is about 200 miles away in Clayton Valley, Nevada.

But Tesla is hedging its lithium bets. The Finanical Times reports (paywall) Tesla is in talks with Chile’s largest lithium producer Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) to invest in a processing plant.

A small town in Quebec could power the next wave of electric cars – by Ashley Renders (Vice News – January 30, 2018)

January 31, 2018January 30, 2018

https://news.vice.com/

But Sudol doubts recycling would satisfy the demand for batteries.
The global population is growing and people want cell phones, cars,
urban transportation and a higher standard of living—all of this
is metal intensive, says Sudol. If we can’t dig for these metals
in a place like Quebec, which has strong restoration policies and
labour laws, “then where on Earth are we going to get these metals?”
he asks.

In other words, as long as car companies and cell phone companies
are clamoring for battery metals, Sudol sees only two options:
child miners in the DRC or rule of law in Quebec.

A small town in Northern Quebec could hold the keys to a future where electric vehicles are the norm.

A Toronto-based mining company called RNC Minerals Corporation wants to build a “battery metals” mine near Amos, Quebec, a town of less than 13,000 people that sits on the largest untouched deposit of nickel sulphide and cobalt in the world, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data cited by a company report.

China unveils its Arctic ambitions, declaring it’s a “near Arctic state” – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq News – January 29, 2018)

January 30, 2018

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Policy promotes “Polar Silk Road” for circumpolar shipping

China is ready to take its place at the top of the world, according to the country’s new Arctic policy paper. “China is an active participant, builder and contributor in Arctic affairs who has spared no efforts to contribute its wisdom to the development of the Arctic region,” states the policy white paper, released last Friday, Jan. 26.

In the policy, China says it’s a “Near-Arctic State,” one of the continental states that are closest to the Arctic.

As well, “the natural conditions of the Arctic and their changes have a direct impact on China’s climate system and ecological environment, and, in turn, on its economic interests in agriculture, forestry, fishery, marine industry and other sectors,” the policy paper said.

B.C. turning corner on prolonged resource bear market – by Nelson Bennett (Business Vancouver – January 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

https://biv.com/

The numbers are in, and mining and mineral exploration in Canada are in recovery following a prolonged commodities bear market.

Canada-wide, 101 new mine projects are either under construction or in development, which, if all built, would represent a capital investment of $80 billion, according to Kim Rudd, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Natural Resources Canada.

Mining in B.C. produced an additional $3.9 billion in 2017 compared with 2016, and an additional $46 million was spent on exploration, Gordon Clarke, director of mineral development for the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, said at last week’s annual Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference.

Wood Mackenzie cuts iron ore price outlook as markets fall again – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – Januray 30, 2018)

January 30, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

Despite beginning the year in good shape, the global iron ore industry is starting to experience a fresh drop in prices that has analysts trying to decide whether this is the start of a deeper downtrend or a pull-back.

According to the Metal Bulletin, the price for benchmark 62% fines slipped Tuesday below $73 per tonne, down $1.36 per tonne month-to-date average.

Chinese iron ore futures ticked higher, but kept near one-month lows on Tuesday, as ample supply of the steelmaking raw material countered transport disruptions caused by heavy snow in the country.