Republic of Mining

Botswana’s mining sector woes hit an all-time low – by Mpho Tebele (The Southern Times – November 24, 2017)

November 24, 2017

Gaborone – The future of Botswana’s mining sector hangs in the balance as eight mines were closed since 2010, shedding more than 7,500 jobs in the process, according to a report compiled by the Ministry of Mineral Resources.

With a population of less than 2 million, the number of jobs lost in the last seven years is a great concern to the authorities. Botswana is dependent on the mining sector and it earns the bulk of its revenue from the same sector.

Minister of Minerals, Sadique Kebonang, informed Parliament through a report compiled by his ministry that some of the mines are still placed under liquidation while others have been reopened.

German activists lose bid to halt Hambach mine expansion – by Patrick Grobe (Deutsche Welle – November 24, 2017)

November 24, 2017

http://www.dw.com/en/

Cries of protest erupted in the Cologne Administrative Court on Friday after the judge ruled that development plans for the Hambach open-pit mine did not breach environmental legislation and could go ahead as planned. Conservation organization BUND, which filed the lawsuit, vowed to appeal the decision.

“We will continue to pursue all legal and political avenues to stop this irresponsible open-pit mine and to save what remains of the Hambach forest,” BUND’s managing director in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said.

The group argued that NRW authorities should never have approved mine operator BWE’s plans for the 2020-2030 period, saying the upcoming expansion would mean felling trees in the ancient Hambach forest.

Gowest aims to unlock refractory gold potential of legendary Timmins Camp – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – November 14, 2017)

November 24, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Little-known exploration and development company Gowest Gold is preparing to become the newest gold producer in the legendary Timmins Gold Camp, which, since its discovery in the early 1900s, has produced almost half of all the gold mined in Canada.

The TSX-V-listed company is moving its North Timmins gold project – host to the Bradshaw deposit – through the permitting process, with a view to start commercial production during the first quarter of 2019. It expects to ship first ore to a nearby plant before the end of the year as part of a 30 000 t bulk sample.

Gowest CEO Gregory Romain told Mining Weekly Online in an interview that the company is unlocking an opportunity in the Timmins Gold Camp by being one of the first to look into the potential of developing the refractory and sulphide ores in the region, something most other district participants overlooked in their quest for the “low-hanging fruits” that made the region famous.

Indonesia has ‘no clear structure’ for a Freeport deal yet – by Fergus Jensen and Wilda Asmarini (Reuters U.S. – November 23, 2017)

November 24, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, tipped to oversee an acquisition of a majority stake in the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc, has “no clear structure” yet for the deal, a ministry official said on Friday.

Under a framework agreement announced in August, Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport said it would divest 51 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI), but there has been little progress since then.

Freeport, operator of Grasberg, the world’s second-largest copper mine, also agreed to build a second smelter in Indonesia and to invest up to $20 billion in expansions.

Sault mayor confident in Ring of Fire smelter pitch – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 21, 2017)

November 24, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Christian Provenzano harbours no worries that the CCAA process with Essar Steel Algoma will jeopardize his city’s pursuit of a ferrochrome plant.

Sault councillors were given a briefing by city and economic development staff on Nov. 20 on their preparations to provide Ring of Fire developer Noront Resources with a compelling case to select the northeastern Ontario community as the host site for a chromite processing facility.

The Sault, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timmins are the four cities in the running as part of a competitive process staged by Noront. In early November, the Toronto mining company sent out the formal request for information documents for each city to make their best pitch. The proposal deadline is Feb. 2.

Latin America’s Star Pupil Needs Some New Ideas – by Mac Margolis (Bloomberg News – November 24, 2017)

November 24, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The first round of Chile’s presidential elections, which saw a near shoo-in billionaire stumble, has roiled the continent’s traditional pacesetter. The day after conservative former president Sebastian Pinera garnered less than 37 percent of the vote, the stock market took a powder.

Now Pinera faces a December runoff against Alejandro Guillier, a relative political newcomer, who’s bidding to unite the bickering but surprisingly resurgent Chilean left.

Yes, Chileans seem as tired of the same old faces in politics as everyone else in Latin America does. So is the continent’s most business-friendly nation about to bank hard left? Nah. Chileans long ago eschewed ideological extremes for a dull but stabilizing centrism. What’s at stake is whether any government can shake off more than a decade of economic inertia.

What makes Vancouver a good place for mining companies? – by Olivia McCall (Born2Invest.com – November 23, 2017)

November 24, 2017

Vancouver, Toronto, Perth, Sydney, and London are the top five mining-friendly places in the world

Vancouver has been hailed as a mining capital of the world. What makes this place attractive to companies around the world?

According to Mining.com, Vancouver is the undisputed mining capital in the world because of the total miners and juniors that can be found in the city. Only the ones which are considered legit because they are publicly-traded and active until November this year. The list did not mention suppliers, consultancies or private companies.

Also in the list are Toronto (300), Perth (263), Sydney (96), London (92), Calgary (56), Melbourne (37), Montreal (30) and Johannesburg (14). Some cities in the U.S. such as New York, Denver, and Salt Lake City missed the list because the number of miners and juniors in their areas are below 9.

Mikisew Cree and Fort McKay First Nations close $503M deal on oilsands project – by Hilary Bird (CBC News North – November 23, 2017)

November 24, 2017

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

Two northern Alberta First Nations have closed the deal on the purchase of a 49 per cent interest in a Suncor Energy oilsands storage facility for $503 million.

The acquisition by the Mikisew Cree and Fort McKay First Nations was first announced a year ago but was conditional on the First Nations securing funding.

The project, known as the East Tank Farm Development, is located about 30 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta. According to a Suncor news release, the facility is a bitumen storage, blending and cooling operation handling production from the Fort Hills oilsands mining project.

How consumers can leverage change, even in the face of tragedy – by Gerry Chidiac (Troy Media – November 23, 2017)

November 24, 2017

http://troymedia.com/

The extraction and black-market sale of gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten (used in our cellphones and other electronics) fuel the war in the DRC

As the Christmas season approaches, it’s important to be aware of the power we hold in how we spend our money.

As consumers, we invest in products we believe will serve us best. Companies may try to hide information about their products but eventually the truth comes out. Consumer advocacy is powerful in a free-market economy and we’ve all benefited.

American lawyer Ralph Nader, for example, took on the auto industry in the 1960s over the safety of their vehicles. Most buyers were unaware of the often deadly flaws in the products they were buying. This changed as Nader’s movement reached public consciousness. Since then, carmakers have competed to produce the best and safest vehicles possible, because that’s what consumers demand.

VW Hunts for Critical Element Needed in Electric Cars – by Thomas Wilson and Christoph Rauwald (Bloomberg News – November 23, 2017)

November 24, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Volkswagen AG is stepping up its hunt for long-term supplies of battery metals it will need to help power electric cars across its entire range.

The top automaker invited producers and traders of cobalt, one of this year’s best-performing metals, for talks at its German headquarters this week, people familiar with the matter said.

Buying the critical battery component might not be as simple as first thought — after issuing a tender in September, the firm has since relaxed demands for offers at a discounted fixed price, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Notley makes an unlikely champion for pipelines. But she’s sure trying – by Kelly McParland (National Post – November 24, 2017)

November 24, 2017

http://nationalpost.com/

Rachel Notley may no longer be Alberta’s favourite politician or the toast of Canada’s left-wingers, but she delivered a message in Ottawa Tuesday that demonstrated the sort of intelligence and leadership that has been sadly lacking on one of the country’s most crucial issues.

In a speech to the Economic Club of Canada, Notley decried, in blunt terms, the short-sightedness, small-mindedness and self-interest that has come to infest pipeline politics, threatening an industry that backstops Canada’s economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

She left no ox un-gored, from her own supposed friends in the New Democratic Party, to the conspicuous lack of backbone on show from Liberal Ottawa, to the misguided belief on the right that confrontational tactics will somehow help get pipelines built.

RPT-GRAPHIC-Nickel rally stalls, electric car boost some years away – by Pratima Desai and Eric Onstad (Reuters U.S. – November 24, 2017)

November 24, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) – A recognition that electric vehicles (EVs) are unlikely to move the nickel demand dial for some years, slowing demand from China’s stainless steel mills and rising supplies have halted a frenzied price rally and are likely to keep weighing on prices.

Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange soared by 50 percent from mid-June to a two-year peak of $13,030 a tonne on Nov. 1, based largely on expectations of strong demand to make the rechargeable batteries used to power EVs.

Since then the price has eased back to about $12,000. Wood Mackenzie analysts estimate nickel demand in EV batteries will rise to about 220,000 tonnes in 2025 from about 40,000 tonnes last year.

Cobalt Producer to Tackle Child Labor Concerns With Supply Probe – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – November 23, 2017)

November 23, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Chinese cobalt refiner Yantai Cash Industrial Co. will demand suppliers show that their raw materials aren’t produced with child labor after the London Metal Exchange set a deadline for companies that ship to its warehouses to spell out efforts to combat the problem.

Shandong-based Yantai is working with China’s Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters, and shipping services firm RCF Capacity Planners to audit its supply chain, Liu Xiaohan, a manager at the company, said by phone. The producer delivered metal to LME warehouses after gaining an export license in June.

“They will help us set up a responsible supply chain system,” Liu said. ‘‘We are going to set up a code of conduct and we will ask our suppliers to clarify the source of raw materials we buy.”

UPDATE 1-Vale says Brazil iron royalty hike could hurt high-cost mines (Reuters U.S. – November 23, 2017)

November 23, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale SA , the world’s largest iron ore producer, said on Thursday that a hike in the country’s royalty rates for the mineral could compromise its ability to maintain high-cost mines and would hurt its ability to compete.

Congress passed the higher royalties in votes on Wednesday with the bill now moving to President Michel Temer for signature. Vale said in a statement that it hoped Temer would veto some of the changes to the proposal made by Congress.

“Congress has made profound changes to the original text, resulting in a model that affects our competitiveness, especially at a time of depressed prices, as well as compromises the maintenance and operation of high-cost mines,” Vale said in a statement.