Republic of Mining

Robert Friedland tells Frank Holmes why copper is ready to run – by Frank Holmes (U.S. Global Investors – January 29, 2018)

January 29, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

Interview syndicated from Frank Holme’s Frank Talk

Last week the U.S. Global Investors office was visited by a living legend in the junior mining industry, billionaire founder and executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, Robert Friedland. In case you don’t know, back in the mid-1970s, Robert was caretaker of an apple orchard south of Portland that one of his buddies from Reed College would often visit. That buddy’s name was Steve Jobs, who later went on to found a little company he named—what else?—Apple.

Before Robert and Steve Jobs began palling around, Jobs was known as shy and withdrawn. It was Robert who taught him his skills in what’s been described by many as “reality distortion.” Having seen numerous speeches by Robert over the years, I can attest to his masterful ability to utterly command a room of hundreds with his electric charisma.

Some of that charisma must have rubbed off on Jobs, helping the future iPhone innovator evolve into the shrewd, larger-than-life business leader he’s celebrated as today.

China unveils vision for ‘Polar Silk Road’ across Arctic (Reuters Canada – January 26, 2018)

January 26, 2018

https://ca.reuters.com/

BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Friday outlined its ambitions to extend President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming.

Releasing its first official Arctic policy white paper, China said it would encourage enterprises to build infrastructure and conduct commercial trial voyages, paving the way for Arctic shipping routes that would form a “Polar Silk Road”.

“China hopes to work with all parties to build a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through developing the Arctic shipping routes,” the paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, said.

Teck Resources says it will be weeks before Elkview coal mine dryer is fixed – Canadian Press (CBC News B.C. – January 25, 2018)

January 26, 2018

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Vancouver-based company says work is ongoing to assess extent of damage and impact on production

Teck Resources Ltd. says it will take four to six weeks to repair damage at its coal drying complex at its Elkview mine in B.C., following a “significant pressure event” earlier this month.

The incident was described by a union executive as an explosion that workers said resulted in a “fireball” shooting through vents in the sides and roof of the building.

Vancouver-based Teck says repairs will cost less than $10 million and expects lost production to amount to about 200,000 tonnes of clean coal. It says Elkview is producing higher moisture steelmaking coals at approximately 80 per cent of planned production levels.

South African mining seen a winner as Ramaphosa woos investors – by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo (Reuters U.S. – January 26, 2018)

January 26, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 26 (Reuters) – South Africa’s embattled mining industry could be first in line to benefit from a boost in foreign direct investment (FDI) if the new leader of the ruling party Cyril Ramaphosa implements measures seen as vital to draw in more cash, analysts said.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) needs to water down black ownership targets in mining, roll out mobile broadband access and cut red tape in the labour market to revive investor interest, they say.

South Africa has failed in recent years to attract significant direct investment due to slow economic growth, policy uncertainty and higher labour costs.

Cliffs CEO promises continued growth in 2018 – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – January 25, 2018)

January 26, 2018

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Cleveland-Cliffs had a good year mining and selling Minnesota and Michigan iron ore in 2017, the company reported Thursday, and should have an even better year in 2018.

Cliffs nearly doubled net revenue, hitting $371 million in 2017. That’s up from $199 million in 2016 as the company and industry continue to rise out of the global iron ore doldrums of 2015.

The nation’s largest producer of taconite iron ore pellets, used to make steel, had full-year 2017 consolidated revenues of $2.3 billion, compared to the prior year’s revenues of $2.1 billion, although revenue in the fourth quarter was actually down from 2016.

Freeport points to progress in Indonesia permit talks – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.K. – January 25, 2018)

January 26, 2018

https://uk.reuters.com/

TORONTO (Reuters) – Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX.N) said it was edging closer to a permit deal with Indonesia for its massive Grasberg mine, but the world’s second-biggest copper producer cautioned that it has not yet struck any formal agreements.

There has been little sign of progress since last August, when Freeport promised to divest a 51-percent stake in Grasberg, the world’s second-biggest copper mine, to the Indonesian government, in exchange for long-term operating rights.

But negotiations have produced positive results, insisted Chief Executive Richard Adkerson on a conference call with analysts, adding that all parties aim to complete talks in the first half of 2018.

Bucking trend, Leagold ready for shopping spree as gold prices climb – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 26, 2018)

January 26, 2018

http://business.financialpost.com/

Conventional wisdom suggests ‘buy low, sell high’ is the best strategy. But as gold prices surge to new peaks daily, and some companies hang back from acquisitions, Leagold Mining Corp.’s chief executive Neil Woodyer believes he’s found a loophole to this age-old adage: In about a one-year timespan, he has built a Latin America-focused intermediate by snapping up assets that larger companies cast aside.

This week, the Vancouver-based company announced an estimated $264-million takeover bid of Brio Gold, which controls a series of mines in Brazil, and which Yamana Gold once owned but has been selling off since 2016.

The deal mimics Leagold’s $350 million acquisition of the Los Filos Mines in Mexico from Goldcorp in April 2017, in that both assets were deemed non-core by more senior mining companies.

Laurentian University researchers put Cobalt camp under the microscope – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 25, 2018)

January 26, 2018

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

First Cobalt Mining conducting in-depth study of historic silver district

First Cobalt Mining, the biggest exploration player in the Cobalt camp, is bringing a Laurentian University researcher into the fold to better understand the geology of its properties in northeastern Ontario.

The Toronto company announced it’s embarking on a dedicated research partnership program with the university’s Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) by sponsoring a post-doctoral position to carry out the first detailed study of major structural features in the 110-year-old history of the camp.

“We’re looking at it from a new set of eyes as researchers,” said Ross Sherlock, who oversees MERC’s Metal Earth project. “It’s an unusual geological assemblage.” MERC is the geoscience arm attached to Laurentian’s Harquail School of Earth Sciences, under the umbrella of the Goodman School of Mines.

Ontario Government reluctant to rush Ring of Fire – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – January 26, 2018)

January 26, 2018

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – One of the key people involved in planning for the Ring of Fire mining development said the Ontario Government is working to make sure that project doesn’t make the same mistakes that occurred when the De Beers Victor mine was developed.

The comments came Thursday from Ariane Heisey, one of the keynote speakers at the Mushkegowuk Council Climate Summit that was on in Timmins this week at the Ramada Inn. Heisey is a senior policy advisor for environmental assessments and land use planning with the Ring of Fire Secretariat.

“There is a vision for the Ring of Fire,” Heisey said as she began her presentation. “It is based on the lessons that were learned from the Victor Mine experience, where the mine came on stream before the First Nations in the area were ready.”

Gahcho Kué adds vim to Anglo 2017 output numbers despite cuts – by David McKay (MiningMX – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.miningmx.com/

ANGLO American turned in a robust fourth quarter production performance which took full year production on a copper equivalent basis some 5% higher compared to 2016, largely owing to good numbers at Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers, its 85% subsidiary.

Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American, said the year-on-year improvement was despite cutting platinum and metallurgical coal output. “The ramp up of Gahcho Kué and Grosvenor mines made positive contributions to our production profile in 2017, and a strong performance from Sishen resulted in an 8% increase in production from Kumba Iron Ore,” he said in a statement.

Gahcho Kué is the De Beers’ newly commissioned diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. It reached nameplate production in the second quarter of the financial year.

Roundup 2018: Osisko’s Roosen on tackling ‘tough’ markets – by Matthew Keevil (Northern Miner – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.northernminer.com/

VANCOUVER — Sean Roosen’s Osisko group of companies is among a rare breed of mining-focused entrepreneurial firms that have flourished over the past decade despite frigid capital markets and low commodity prices.

The group emerged as a major financial player following the $4.3-billion sale of Osisko Mining’s flagship Canadian Malartic gold mine in mid-2014 and now provides alternate capital funding to explorers and miners via stream financings, equity placements, and related partnership models.

On Jan. 23, Roosen took the stage at thee Association for Mineral Exploration’s (AME) annual Roundup conference to discuss the state of capital markets, and the challenges the mining industry must overcome to combat falling discovery rates and a lack of interest from generalist investors.

America’s Troubling and Growing Reliance on Foreign Minerals – by Mark J. Perry (Inside Sources – January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.insidesources.com/

To grasp the seriousness of America’s heavy reliance on imports of strategically important minerals, consider that many of the metals needed for weapons systems and a wide array of consumer products come from countries that don’t always have our nation’s best interests in mind.

Once the undisputed global leader in minerals production, the U.S. mining industry is now well on its way to second-tier status. Domestic mines have been closing, leading to a 13 percent drop in our nation’s share of global investments in metals mining over the past decade and an increased reliance on minerals imports. Last year, American companies spent more than $7 billion on imported minerals.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. dependence on minerals from abroad has doubled in the last 20 years, and we are now import-dependent on more than half of 50 key mineral commodities and 100 percent import-dependent for 20 of those, including manganese, tantalum and rare earth minerals such as neodymium, samarium and dysprosium, which are crucial in the manufacture of jet fighter engines, antimissile defense systems, night vision goggles and smart bombs, among other advanced weapons systems.

[Pennsylvania Coal Mining History] Molly Maguires Lecture Observes Coal Mining Heritage Month – by Alison Moyer (The Crown – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://crown.kings.edu/

Author and New York Times Senior Editor Mark Balik gave the 8th annual Msgr. John J. Curran Lecture as part of Anthracite Mining Heritage Month. The free public lecture took place on January 18 in the Burke Auditorium. It was co-sponsored by the McGowan Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at King’s and the Anthracite Heritage Foundation.

Balik discussed the origin of the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Catholic Irish immigrants in the late 19th century. “The Mollies were among two million Irish who fled from Ireland during the Great Potato Famine, another million died from starvation,” said Balik.

In Ireland, the society had already created a name for itself by using violence to protest evictions from tenant landlords and their agents’ untraditional usage of land. When the Mollies committed their assassinations, they either dressed as women or wore straw outfits. Their faces were painted black and white to conceal their identities.

[FNs Fed Up With Environmental Opposition to Resource Development] Calvin Helin Interview at the AME Roundup 2018 in Vancouver (Resource Works – January 25, 2018)

January 25, 2018

Calvin Helin Interview at the AME Roundup 2018 in Vancouver from Resource Works on Vimeo. http://www.resourceworks.com/ Resource Works communicates with British Columbians about the importance of the province’s resource sectors to their personal well-being. It demonstrates how responsible development of British Columbia’s resources creates jobs and incomes throughout the province, both directly and indirectly, while …

EDITORIAL: In 2018, the pressure’s on: Don’t overlook the demands of responsible mine closure – by Alisha Hiyate (Canadian Mining Journal – January 2018)

January 25, 2018

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Why mine closure matters and why it gets ignored: http://bit.ly/2n8fBQz

In the fall, I moderated a roundtable discussion on mine closure at The Northern Miner’s inaugural Progressive Mine Forum. Unfortunately, about half of the audience got up and left the room just before we started.

It was the last discussion of the day, so one might be tempted to chalk it up to fatigue or an effort to get an early jump on post-conference drinks. But, in reality, it’s not an unusual reaction to the topic of mine closure. It just seems to make miners’ eyes glaze over.

The paradox, however, is that mine closure is actually the subject that the public is most interested in – and the source of a lot of opposition to mining (see Page 29).