February 17, 2012 – Republic of Mining

BlackRock Holds Key to Mining Merger – by Dana Cimilluca (Wall Street Journal – February 17, 2012)

February 17, 2012

This article is from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/home-page

As mining giants Xstrata PLC and Glencore International AG aim to pull off an industry-redefining merger, the deal’s fate depends largely on one investor: BlackRock Inc.

With a 5.8% stake, BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, was Xstrata’s largest shareholder after Glencore as of Feb. 14, according to FactSet. Glencore itself owns 34% of Xstrata.

Under the deal’s current structure, three-quarters of Xstrata shareholders would need to bless the union, which would create a firm with a market capitalization of $90 billion. Given that Xstrata governance rules, intended to protect minority shareholders, bar Glencore from voting its stake, it would be blocked if just over 16% of Xstrata shares are voted against the deal. The fact that opposition from such a small group could nix the deal gives BlackRock tremendous influence.

That sway is only amplified by the fact that several investors have already indicated they will vote against the deal on its current terms.

Ontario can no longer hide from taxes, restraint – by Jeffrey Simpson (Globe and Mail – February 17, 2012)

February 17, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

“There are only hard answers and difficult solutions.” So said Don Drummond and his three fellow commissioners about reforming Ontario’s health-care system. They could have used the same words for the entire government of Ontario.

Ontario’s problem is not that it has big government, per se. If you want to see that, on a per capita basis, head to Alberta or Quebec. As the commission correctly noted, “Ontario runs one of the lowest-cost provincial governments in Canada relative to its GDP and has done so for decades.”

Ontario is at or near the bottom in funding universities. The health-care system is not the most expensive in Canada; the welfare rates are not the most generous. It doesn’t offer $7-a-day daycare, as in Quebec.

No, Ontario’s problem is that the size of its government doesn’t fit its revenues, and hasn’t for a long time. Those revenues have been hit by the slow, steady erosion of Ontario’s competitive position, in the face of which governments kept adding spending for which there were insufficient revenues.

Quebec still favours relaunch of asbestos industry – by Michelle Lalonde (Montreal Gazette – February 16, 2012)

February 17, 2012

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

MONTREAL – The Quebec government continues to favour a relaunch of the asbestos industry – despite a storm of recent controversy, including groundbreaking criminal convictions of two European businessmen for causing thousands of asbestos-related deaths, and far-reaching concerns about the research upon which the province bases its pro-asbestos policy.

Members of the anti-asbestos movement say the Canadian and Quebec governments have long relied on questionable studies produced by researchers at McGill University and elsewhere, funded by the asbestos industry, to promote chrysotile asbestos as relatively harmless if used safely.

McGill is conducting a preliminary review of the research of professor emeritus John Corbett McDonald to determine whether a full investigation should be called into whether some of that research was influenced by the fact it was funded by the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association.

NEOMA vows to fight caribou policy – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – February 17, 2012)

February 17, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Municipal leaders from across Northeastern Ontario are turning up the heat on the provincial government over its caribou protection plan. And if the mountain refuses to come to Mohammed, then Mohammed will go to the mountain. Ideally, they are hoping for visits both ways.

Thursday in Timmins, members of the North Eastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) had a lengthy discussion about beefing up its lobby effort. Plans include holding a special lobby day as a group in Queen’s Park, possibly hiring a professional lobbyist or consultant to help with ongoing efforts, and even calling out provincial leaders to visit the Northeast.

Timmins Coun. Mike Doody said he would like to see Premier Dalton McGuinty and others come North to see first hand the impact government policy has on their communities.

“Why can’t we call a Northern Summit?” Doody asked. “The premier has never been to Timmins or visited NEOMA. But not just the premier, we need the leaders from all the parties here so we can tell them where we stand on these issues.”

The “RING” Revisited: An update on Ontario’s famous “Ring of Fire” district – by D’Arcy Jenish – (Canadian Mining Journal – February/March 2012)

February 17, 2012

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication providing information on Canadian mining and exploration trends, technologies, operations, and industry events.

Richard Fink, Vice President, Technology, with Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources, is a mining industry veteran who knows that discretion is sometimes the better part of valour when it comes to discussing mineral deposits, and the business of putting them into production. Yet, he is eloquent and forceful when describing the potential of the company’s Black Thor chromite deposit and its nearby Big Daddy ore body, both located in northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral district.

“We have a set of major league ore bodies,” says Fink. “The discovery hole on Black Thor was only drilled in September, 2008 so the paint is still wet on this, but you couldn’t ask for a better project. It’s arguably the best open pit chromite deposit in the world in terms of tonnage, grades and mineable widths.”

He also foresees significant socio-economic spinoff if the discoveries can be turned into producing mines. Indeed, Cliffs is looking at estimated capital investments of $3 billion to build a mine and related infrastructure and the projects would create up to 1,250 permanent jobs.

Canada chromite project costs triple: Cliffs Natural Resources – Reporting By Steve James – (Reuters – February 16, 2012)

February 17, 2012

http://ca.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – The cost of developing what may be the largest chromite deposit in North America has tripled from the original $1 billion estimate, a major participant, Cliffs Natural Resources, said on Thursday.
“Initially we did go out with a billion-dollar price tag for this project,” said Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Joseph Carrabba.

“(Now) We’re in about the $3.3 billion range,” he told Wall Street analysts during a conference call, when asked about the status of the Black Thor chromite deposit Cliffs is developing in northern Canada.

Carrabba said the estimate had risen mainly because road construction in the remote Ontario location had not been included in the original estimate. He said there had been a “sharpening of the estimate” as the project moves through the pre-feasibility stage.

“The transportation and the road has gotten more expensive in this segment than we expected and everything else is falling in line with that.”