Republic of Mining

Layoff at Coleman extended for weeks – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – November 15, 2017)

November 15, 2017

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

It could be a month now before nearly 500 workers at Coleman Mine in Levack can return to work. Last week Vale temporarily suspended operations at the mine to undertake repairs to a ventilation compartment in the shaft.

“Upon further analysis of the work by our maintenance and engineering teams, it is now expected that the repair work will continue into December,” Vale said in an updated statement Tuesday.

That means the mine is now “on short-term shutdown, and our employees at Coleman will be temporarily laid off for the period of the repair,” according to Vale. While the company did not indicate exactly how long that repair work might take, Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said his impression is it could be a month.

Glencore Is Close to Creating a Mining Royalty Company – by Thomas Wilson, Scott Deveau and Jack Farchy (Bloomberg News – November 14, 2017)

November 15, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc is close to finalizing a $700 million deal with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to create a new base-metals royalty company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Swiss commodity giant will bring royalty agreements from about 10 mines, while Ontario Teachers’ will contribute about $350 million in capital to allow the company to buy further royalty streams from other projects.

Glencore and Ontario Teachers’ will each have a 50 percent stake in the new vehicle and the deal is expected to close in the next few weeks, the people said, asking not be to identified as the talks are confidential.

Canada, Britain to tout coal phase-out as U.S. champions fossil fuels – by Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – November 13, 2017)

November 13, 2017

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and her British counterpart, Claire Perry, will launch an international alliance to phase out coal-fired electricity at the Bonn climate summit this week, signalling a sharp contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump’s promotion of coal as an important global energy source.

Ms. McKenna will take the stage at the annual United Nations climate summit to showcase Canada’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including a national carbon pricing plan and federal-provincial moves to shut down traditional coal-fired power by 2030.

As the minister touts Canada’s record at the UN summit, some critics at home argue the Trudeau government is not living up its lofty rhetoric on climate change.

Sherritt formalises restructuring of Ambatovy JV – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – November 10, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian diversified miner Sherritt International has signed a definitive agreement to restructure the Ambatovy Joint Venture (JV), which will see Sherritt transfer its 28% stake in return to eliminate debt from its balance sheet.

Under the terms of the JV restructuring, which was first revealed in May, the Toronto-based company will retain a 12% stake in the Madagascar nickel/cobalt mine, and cancel C$1.3-billion of accrued partner loans from its balance sheet.

Sherritt, which owned a 40% stake in Ambatovy, had for several quarters not been funding capital cash calls by its partners Sumitomo Holding (32.5%) and Korea Resources (Kores) (27.5%), balking against the ‘40 for 12’ issue.

How Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sébastien Jacques learnt the power of social media – by Pilita Clark (Australian Financial Review – November 13, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://www.afr.com/

Of all the chief executives at a FTSE 100 company, the one I am coming to know best is Jean-Sébastien Jacques, the 46-year-old Frenchman appointed to run the Rio Tinto mining group last year.

Mr Jacques has lived in London for more than a decade and was “insanely happy” when he became a British citizen in 2013. He loves rugby. He travels constantly. His wife nicks his socks and he lives around the corner from a French bakery selling bread as good as any you can get in Paris.

I learnt all this from French Yummy Mummy, a blog by a gabby London-based Parisian engineer named Muriel Demarcus who is, I recently discovered, also Mr Jacques’ wife.

Mining has been a core catalyst to Canadian economy – by Peter Caulfield (Journal of Commerce – November 13, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://journalofcommerce.com/

Unlike such relatively recent economic activity as software development, mining has been an important contributor to the Canadian economy for hundreds of years. t has made some entrepreneurs and their investors very rich, and has created well-paying jobs for miners, as well as the people who build the mines that produce the pay-dirt.

Too few Canadians, however, know the history of mineral exploration and mining and their importance to the Canadian economy. Herewith a very brief and partial history.

According to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame’s History of Mining in Canada, the 17th century French explorer Samuel de Champlain wrote of copper mineralization in what is now Quebec’s Gaspé peninsula.

TURNING POINTS: 1958 Springhill mining disaster was a bump heard around the world – by Paul W. Bennett (Halifax Chronicle Herald – November 12, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://thechronicleherald.ca/

On Thursday, Oct. 23, 1958, coal mine No. 2 in Springhill experienced a tremendous bump. At around 8:05 p.m. families in the wooden houses around town were huddled around their new TV sets watching I Love Lucy and laughing at the antics of the show’s star, Lucille Ball. Then, all of a sudden, it hit without warning, and for a 15-mile radius the ground shook and the mine caved in, trapping 174 miners far below the surface.

The only working mine left in Springhill, No. 2, was reputed to be the deepest coal mine in operation in North America. From the pit head to the bottom of the mine was a distance of 4,262 metres, or 2.7 miles, straight down. Having first opened in 1873, the mine was old and that meant that mining operations were carried on at great depth below ground.

Pressure had built up on the mine shafts in No. 2 as coal was removed; gas was being released underground and bumps or violent lurches were becoming increasingly common. Some 525 bumps had occurred before this one.

Canada’s first permanent road to Arctic coast set to open this week – by Bob Weber (Globe and Mail – November 13, 2017)

November 13, 2017

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/

At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, in the arctic cold and darkness of the Mackenzie Delta, Darrel Nasogaluak will fire up his vehicle and head out on Canada’s newest and most exotic road trip.

Nasogaluak, mayor of the Northwest Territories hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, will drive down 120 kilometres of brand-new, two-lane, all-weather gravel to Inuvik. Replacing a seasonal ice road, the new highway is the country’s first permanent link to its Arctic coast.

With apologies to Stan Rogers, travellers will now be able to grasp the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea from the heated comfort of their drivers’ seats.

Osisko’s hybrid model could be the future of gold streaming – by Frik Els (Mining.com – November 11, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Precious metal streaming and royalty companies are the envy of the industry. The relative share price performance over a 10-year period of the largest gold streaming and royalty companies vs the top gold miners is eye-popping (and for those who picked the wrong crowd a decade ago probably eye-watering).

Investors love streamers for their (more) predictable cash flows, minimal GSA overheads, revenues per employee more associated with companies making iPhone apps and low risk profiles. Miners are attracted to streaming deals because it’s not dilutive like equity transaction and easy on balance sheets.

Clearly the kinds of returns shown on the graph will attract competitors and the field has become much more crowded – from micro and small caps like Metalla and Maverix to companies like Sandstorm bent on a billion dollar evaluation. Even the likes of Glencore is toying with the idea of spinning off a streaming company.

The Museum of Mining WA: $100 million plan unveiled – by Kent Acott (Perth Now – November 13, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://www.perthnow.com.au/

A BOLD plan to create the world’s biggest and most interactive mining museum — including an actual mine shaft — has been unveiled. It is former State architect Steve Woodland’s $100 million vision to attract international and interstate tourists to WA and help build on Perth’s personality and uniqueness.

Mr Woodland, who has been an architect for more than 40 years, believes the museum could be built from public and private funds, be housed in the old East Perth power station or on the Burswood Peninsula and be built in time for WA’s bicentenary in 2029.

“The Museum of Mining WA could offer experiences like no other in the world,” Mr Woodland said. “Immersive technologies can transport the visitor into the mining arena, where they can witness the sounds and shocks of a mining explosion, ride a subterranean train into the depths of the earth, be submersed below an oil rig rich in marine life and drive a Haulpak truck by remote control.

One of the World’s Biggest Miners Is About to Go Coal-Free – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – November 10, 2017)

November 13, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Just five years ago it would have been almost unthinkable that one of the world’s biggest mining companies would not dig any coal. It’s now likely to become a reality.

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest miner, has been steadily backtracking from coal to focus on better assets. It’s now looking for buyers for its remaining coal mines in Australia, and a sale will mark a complete exit from the fuel.

Rio’s potential coal-free future is in stark contrast with many of its rivals. Glencore Plc, the world’s top coal shipper, this year increased its exposure by agreeing to pay $1.1 billion plus royalties for a large stake in Australian assets sold by Rio.

Finnish nickel producer, Trafigura tap electric vehicle boom (Reuters – November 10, 2017)

November 13, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s Terrafame nickel mine is planning to start producing material for electric vehicle batteries by 2020, the company said on Friday, after securing $200 million more in funding from commodities trader Trafigura Group.

Trafigura, which will also increase its nickel and cobalt sulphides offtake agreement with Terraframe, is providing the funds with Galena Asset Management and Nordic fund Sampo Plc.

“The new funding package … is a significant factor enabling Terrafame to move from established industrial operations to investing in new business opportunities associated with the electric vehicle battery segment,” Trafigura said in a statement on Friday.

South Africa crucial to global chrome supply, Chromium 2017 hears – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – November 10, 2017)

November 13, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa is an irreplaceable producer of chrome ore, which is, in turn, an irreplaceable component of stainless steel in which China is currently the leading producer, global delegates to this week’s well-attended Chromium 2017 conference heard.

As the dominant global producer, South Africa last year delivered half of the world’s production of chrome ore, half of which was used as feedstock for ferrochrome in South Africa, with the remaining 8.4-million tonnes exported. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).

Seventy-three per cent of China’s chrome imports come from South Africa’s chrome-mining industry, which employs 17 500 people who receive R4.2-billion a year in salaries and wages.

Wawa looks golden, again: Argonaut Gold tabs 17-year mine life for Magino project – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2017)

November 9, 2017

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The emerging Wawa gold camp may be adding another mine. A positive feasibility study released by Toronto’s Argonaut Gold expects its Magino gold project in northeastern Ontario to produce nearly two million ounces of gold over the course of a 17-year mine life.

The company outlined the economics and production for an open-pit mine when it released a feasibility study for the advanced stage gold project, Nov. 8.

The 2,204-hectare property, a former underground gold mine, is located 40 kilometres northeast of Wawa and 14 kilometres southeast of Dubreuilville. The project is close to Richmont’s Island Gold mine.

RPT-COLUMN-Caution needed over weakness in China’s imports of iron ore, coal – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – November 9, 2017)

November 9, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Nov 9 (Reuters) – If the sharp drop in China’s iron ore imports in October looks suspicious, it should be viewed in the light of the record high the previous month and a holiday week.

Preliminary commodity import figures released on Wednesday by China’s General Administration of Customs showed iron ore imports for October slumping to 79.5 million tonnes, down a massive 22.7 percent from September’s all-time high of 102.8 million.

October’s imports were the weakest since February 2016, sparking market concern that China’s cuts to steel output over the winter in order to lower pollution were biting far harder, and faster, than initially anticipated.