Republic of Mining

Business perspectives of mines and minerals regime – by Manoj Kumar (India Business Law Journal – December 13, 2017)

December 13, 2017

https://www.vantageasia.com/

India is rich in natural resources, with a geological makeup that is similar in many ways to that of countries such as Canada, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Chile and Mexico. With the world’s third-largest mineral reserves, India has the potential to employ about ₹1.2 trillion (US$18.5 billion) in capital, including ₹500 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), in the mining and minerals sector.

FDI in mining, exploration of metallic, non-metallic and permitted precious ores and related sectors including manufacturing of equipment is permitted up to 100%, subject to the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957.

Mining is expected to generate an additional 6 million jobs in India within the next decade, shifting the scales of poverty towards empowerment and accelerating job creation by over 10% apart from saving nearly US$58 billion in foreign exchange on account of spending on imports of minerals including iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal by 2025.

Glencore sees battery minerals powering profit in 2017 and beyond – by Barbara Lewis and Arathy S Nair (Reuters U.K. – December 12, 2017)

December 13, 2017

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Miner and trader Glencore (GLEN.L) said on Tuesday its battery minerals, especially cobalt, should spur profit in 2017 and beyond in an update for investors that also promised to grow the business, especially through partnerships.

It said its marketing, or trading, division’s 2017 EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) would be at the top end of its previous guidance at $2.8 billion, steady from 2016 but effectively an increase given that Glencore sold half of its agriculture business last year.

The company also issued full-year 2018 overall EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) guidance of $16.2 billion, slightly below some analysts forecasts, but higher than Glencore’s guidance for full-year profit this year of $15 billion.

UPDATE 2-France-based Miner AMR starts bauxite production in Guinea – by Saliou Samb (Reuters U.S. – December 12, 2017)

December 13, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

CONAKRY, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Paris-based miner AMR began production at its Guinean bauxite mine on Tuesday, aiming to produce between 6 million and 10 million tonnes a year of the aluminium ore, the company said.

Alliance Miniere Responsable (AMR) was founded by two French businessmen, and major shareholders include former Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon and French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel.

A company statement said the mine’s output will all be sold to Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB), a Guinean company whose main shareholders are Singapore’s privately owned Winning International Group and China’s Shandong Weiqao.

Vale’s reality check for nickel’s electric vehicle dreams – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

Nickel is one of the materials expected to win from the coming electric vehicle (EV) revolution. Electric vehicles will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, which need cobalt and nickel. Indeed, as cobalt’s potentially fragile supply chain comes under ever-increasing scrutiny, battery-makers are likely to try to use less of the stuff in favor of more nickel.

So it might seem strange that the world’s largest nickel producer is actively curtailing capacity at mines and refineries. Yet that is precisely what Brazil’s Vale is doing, removing around 100,000 tonnes of supply over the next two years.

While “everyone knows there are great opportunities” for nickel in the EV sector, “prices are not there”, according to Vale Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman, speaking at an investor event last week.

[IDM Mining] Another jewel in B.C.’s Golden Triangle? – by Nelson Bennett (Business Vancouver – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.biv.com/

High-grade Red Mountain gold project enters environmental review

In 2014, BC Hydro completed the $746 million, 344-kilometre Northwest Transmission Line to electrify the northwest corner of B.C. – known as the Golden Triangle because of all the undeveloped gold and copper deposits in that region.

The first new mine to be built in the Golden Triangle was Imperial Metals’ (TSX:III) Red Chris copper mine. It was followed by Pretium Resources Inc.’s (TSX:PVG) Brucejack gold mine. That’s two down, and about 10 more to go.

So, what is likely to be the next new mine to be built in the Golden Triangle? Although the Seabridge Gold (TSX:SEA) KSM copper-gold mine already has its environmental permits, some industry insiders say the $5.5 billion mine is a “generational” project – something so massive that it might take many years and sustained higher copper prices before it gets financed.

COLUMN-China’s Nov commodity imports confirm trends; copper the outlier – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – December 10, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Dec 11 (Reuters) – The sharp rebound in China’s imports of major commodities in November was more of a return to normal service than any sign of a resurgence in demand in the world’s largest buyer of natural resources.

Certainly, it’s appealing to look at the November numbers and conclude that China’s appetite for commodities is storming ahead, but that ignores the reality that the data was affected by the week-long holidays in early October.

In the past three months, China’s commodity imports were extremely strong in September, with record iron ore purchases, unbelievably weak in October and now roaring back to strength in November.

Copper Giant Chile Gears Up for Busiest Year Ever of Wage Talks – by Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Copper forecasters are reassessing their projections as the top-producing country prepares for its busiest year ever for wage talks just as a new labor code comes into effect and higher prices inflate pay expectations.

Chilean mines will negotiate contracts with 32 unions next year, representing about three-quarters of the country’s copper output, or about one-fifth of world production. Globally, labor negotiations could trigger disruptions at mines producing about 40 percent of supply, according to Barclays Plc, which this week raised its price estimate.

While prospects of slower Chinese demand growth have sent copper back below $7,000 a metric ton in the past few weeks, supply is also constrained after years of cutbacks spurred by low prices.

Making mine inspection safer: North Bay drone company inspecting underground cavities – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Mining companies have been adopting drone technology to survey and map mineral resources above ground, but sending the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) below surface is still an emerging concept.

It’s an area in which SafeSight Exploration believes there’s lots of room for competition, and in which the North Bay company is quickly making a name for itself. The company was the overall winner during a North Bay Pitch event, hosted by the Northern Ontario Angels, in November.

“The idea and the concept and the work towards applying drone technology to an underground setting have been around for a couple of years, but it’s still very much an open space where there is no dominant player,” said SafeSight’s president and founder, Mike Campigotto.

Glencore to Double Cobalt Output on Electric Vehicle Demand – by Thomas Wilson (Bloomberg News – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc will double its production of cobalt in the next two years, tightening its grip on the market for the key battery component of electric vehicles.

The Swiss commodity giant’s Toronto-listed Katanga Mining Ltd. in the Democratic Republic of Congo will produce as much as 34,000 tons in 2019, Katanga said Monday. That compares with the 20,000 tons-a-year guidance Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg gave in August and could give Glencore control of about 40 percent of world supplies, according to current data.

Glencore, which mines products from coal to zinc and trades some 100 raw materials, is zeroing in on cobalt after prices more than doubled this year on demand from automobile and battery manufacturers.

Lithium stocks have had a dazzling year – are there more profits to come? – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Lithium, a lightweight metal essential to the latest generation of high-tech batteries, possesses two features most investments lack.

For one thing, future demand is nearly certain to surge as battery-driven vehicles grab an increasing share of the automotive market. For another, a handful of companies now dominate production of lithium.

Combine growing demand with today’s oligopoly of producers and it’s clear why three major U.S.-listed lithium miners have been among the best non-bitcoin investments of 2017. Shares of Sociedad Quimica Y Minera de Chile, the Chilean giant better known as SQM, have surged 80 per cent since January. Over the same period, Albemarle Corp., up 45 per cent, and FMC Corp., up 53 per cent, have also enjoyed dazzling runs.

Canadian financial companies investing in coal overseas as feds push phase-out – by Mia Rabson (Globe and Mail – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

THE CANADIAN PRESS: Canada’s national pension fund manager is among a group of Canadian companies that are undermining the federal government’s international anti-coal alliance by investing in new coal power plants overseas, an environmental organization says.

Friends of the Earth Canada joined with Germany’s Urgewald to release a report today looking at the top 100 private investors putting money down to expand coal-fired electricity – sometimes in places where there isn’t any coal-generated power at the moment.

The report lists six Canadian financial companies among the top 100 investors in new coal plants in the world. Together, Sun Life, Power Corporation, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Royal Bank of Canada, Manulife Financial and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have pledged $2.9-billion towards building new coal plants overseas.

Congo mines say revised code threatens industry’s future (Reuters U.S. – December 11, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

DAKAR, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Mining companies in Democratic Republic of Congo said on Monday that proposed changes to the mining code adopted by the lower house of parliament last week would do lasting damage to investment in Africa’s top copper producer.

The process of revising the 2002 mining code in Congo has dragged on for over five years but the National Assembly on Friday approved a bill that would increase taxes and royalties and sent it to the upper house Senate for a second vote.

The measure would also increase the state’s minimum unpaid share of new mining projects and require that Congolese investors hold at least 10 percent of shares in large-scale mines.

NEWS RELEASE: Garibaldi nickel drilling results near Eskay Creek prompt comparison with Sudbury deposits (Resource World Magazine – December 11, 2017)

December 12, 2017

http://resourceworld.com/

Shares of Garibaldi Resources Corp. [GGI-TSXV, GGIFF-OTC] retreated Monday December 11 as investors continued to assess drilling results from its 100%-owned E&L Project at the Nickel Mountain property near Eskay Creek in the Golden Triangle region of northwest British Columbia.

On December 8, 2017, the company said Discovery Hole EL-17-14 returned a 40.4-metre mineralized zone, featuring a massive sulphide intersection with rich grades of nickel and copper over 16.75 metres. The company said Hole EL-17-14, was collared 200 metres east of the historic E&L deposit and drilled towards the west-southwest.

It returned 8.3% nickel, and 4.2% copper over 16.75 metres with a broader 40.4-metre section grading 3.9% nickel and 2.3% copper from 100.4 to 140.8 metres (approximate true width). The 16.75-metre massive sulphide intercept also included 6.4 g/t combined platinum-palladium, 0.19% cobalt, 1.1 g/t gold and 11.1 g/t silver.

The starving polar bear raises a question: Is fake news okay for a good cause? – by Margaret Wente (Globe and Mail – December 12, 2017)

December 12, 2017

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The video is shocking. An emaciated polar bear staggers across the tundra. She is nothing more than a bag of bones. It’s clear that she is on her last legs.

“My entire team was pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear,” wrote Paul Nicklen, a National Geographic photographer, on his Instagram post. “It’s a soul-crushing scene that still haunts me, but I know we need to share both the beautiful and the heartbreaking if we are going to break down the walls of apathy.”

Mr. Nicklen’s heartbreaking video, posted a few days ago has now gone viral. It has received more than 1.3 million views, and the story has generated widespread news coverage.

He and his team at the conservation group SeaLegacy have done interviews from around the world.

Noront expects to see roads to Ring of Fire in the new year (CBC News Thunder Bay – December 11, 2017)

December 11, 2017

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

It’s no secret that the Ring of Fire development, located approximately 575 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., is expected to generate a significant amount of minerals, including nickel, copper and chromite.

And while the project has been stalled for some time due to the lack of road access, this past summer Premier Kathleen Wynn announced that the provincial government is ready and willing to work with a handful of nearby communities to develop a year-round road access to the mineral-rich area. Noront President and CEO Alan Coutts said roads are needed in order to move this project forward as “assets are stranded there” otherwise.

He said when the Premier made her announcement in August of 2017, she chose a few nearby communities with road proposals in place — Marten Falls, Webequie, Nibinamik as well as Aroland — to facilitate an all-season road access into the region and connect the communities to Ontario’s highway system.