Four greats to enter Canadian Mining Hall of Fame – by Northern Miner (October 29 – November 04, 2012)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame will welcome four new inductees at its twenty-fifth annual induction dinner on Jan. 10, 2013, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The new inductees are Charles E. Fipke, Gerald W. Grandey, Pierre Lassonde and James C. O’Rourke. The Northern Miner is a sponsor of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. For tickets and more information, visit www.mininghalloffame.ca.

Geologists and prospectors had searched for diamond deposits in North America for more than a century with only teasing hints of success until discovering a cluster of kimberlites in the Northwest Territories that became Ekati, Canada’s first diamond mine. This groundbreaking discovery, synonymous with the name “Charles E. (Chuck) Fipke,” was the culmination of Fipke’s relentless pursuit of elusive diamond indicator minerals for hundreds of kilometres from the Mackenzie River Valley eastward to their source near Lac de Gras. Other key contributors in his quest were his associate, geologist Stewart Blusson, economic geologist Hugo Dummett and University of Cape Town professor John Gurney. The discovery’s epic success — achieved on a shoestring budget through innovative science — sparked a staking rush, inspired other discoveries and created a new industry for Canada.

Born in Edmonton, Alta., Fipke earned a B.Sc. degree in geology from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1970. His adventurous nature took him to Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Brazil and other exotic locales, where he worked for senior companies such as Kennecott and Cominco, and became intrigued with the use of heavy mineral geochemistry as an exploration tool.

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[B.C. coal] Miners Could Have Been Trained Here Easily – by Bill Tieleman (The Tyee.ca – October 29, 2012)

http://thetyee.ca/

Longwall coal mining is hardly the rare, elite skill politicians want us to believe. If you don’t think Chinese miners should be coming to British Columbia as temporary foreign workers in new coal mines, get ready to be really angry.

That’s because the federal Conservative government will ratify a foreign investment agreement this week, ensuring even more Chinese takeovers of Canada’s natural resources — and jobs.

And if you doubt that China-owned coal companies had no choice but to import their own workers to B.C. because no trained, experienced miners are available, prepare to get downright furious.

The reason is simple. Neither the coal companies nor the federal or B.C. governments wanted to train Canadian workers — even though it’s nowhere near as hard as they claim.

“We require temporary foreign workers because we are introducing a highly mechanized form of longwall mining to the province. There’s currently no active long-wall mining going on in Canada or B.C.,” says Jody Shimkus, vice-president of HD Mining International, one of the companies involved in developing up to four coal mines.

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Potash Corp appeals to Israel to allow deal for rival – by Steven Scheer (Reuters Canada – October 31, 2012)

http://ca.reuters.com/

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Potash Corp, the world’s No. 1 fertilizer maker, is ramping up efforts to buy Israel Chemicals Ltd, appealing directly to Israel’s prime minister to back a deal that would rank as the largest foreign takeover of an Israeli company.

Conglomerate Israel Corp, which owns a majority in ICL, said that Potash Chief Executive Bill Doyle has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for a deal, while financial daily Calcalist said Netanyahu has instructed his staff and the finance ministry to examine it.

Potash Corp confirmed on Wednesday it has met with Israeli government officials, and Israel Corp said it was aware of the meetings.

“The company confirms it is aware that Canada’s Potash is in talks with various government agencies that included a meeting with the prime minister regarding examining the possibility of merging ICL with Potash,” Israel Corp said in a statement.

Israel Corp officials declined to comment further. The finance ministry said it had not received any formal request. Potash Corp already has a 13.84 percent stake in ICL, the world’s sixth-largest fertilizer producer. It made its initial investment in 1998.

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Canada economy shrinks in August, clouds outlook – by Louise Egan (Reuters Canada – October 31, 2012)

http://ca.reuters.com/

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian economy shrank in August for the first time in six months, an unexpected contraction that pointed to a sharp slowdown in third-quarter growth and reinforced the Bank of Canada’s message that interest rate hikes are less imminent.

The 0.1 percent contraction from July reflected broad weakness across most industries as well as temporary shutdowns at some oil and mining sites, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.

Analysts revised forecasts lower, noting economic pressures that went beyond oil and mining. The Canadian dollar fell.

The Canadian economy recovered from the global recession more quickly than most, and is expected to grow at slightly more than 2 percent this year, according to forecasts that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday were still valid.

But the outlook is shaky due to the choppy U.S. recovery and the European debt crisis, prompting questions about whether August was a blip or the start of a more serious economic downturn.

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Canadian gov’t investigates foreign worker permits for Chinese miners in B.C. – by James Keller (Vancouver Sun – October 30, 2012)

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

The Canadian Press – VANCOUVER – Ottawa is investigating controversial foreign worker permits that will allow as many as 201 Chinese miners to work a proposed project in northern British Columbia, a government spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.

HD Mining International Ltd. has obtained permits for miners from China to conduct exploration work at its proposed Murray River project near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., located about 200 kilometres west of Grande Prairie, Alta.

The company insists there aren’t any Canadian workers trained in the specialized skills it needs. Details of those permits became public earlier this month, prompting several unions to demand Canadians be hired instead. There have also been allegations that recruiters in China demanded fees for the jobs, which HD Mining has denied.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada is now investigating whether the permit applications met all the necessary requirements, said Alyson Queen, a spokeswoman for Human Resources Minister Diane Finley.

“The government is committed to ensuring that Canadians always have first crack at the jobs available in Canada,” Queen said in an interview Tuesday.

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Centamin’s licence for flagship Sukari mine revoked by Egyptian court – by Peter Koven (National Post – October 31, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

TORONTO – More than 18 months after the revolution, political risk remains a serious concern for companies doing business in Egypt.

Investors in Toronto-listed gold miner Centamin PLC learned this fact first-hand Tuesday, after an administrative court in Egypt ruled the company’s concession on its flagship Sukari mine should be revoked. There was no written judgment to go with the decision and Centamin was unable to get details.

The stock traded briefly in London, and was down 35% Tuesday morning before being suspended. It was halted in Toronto and never opened for trading.

The ruling was made as part of an ongoing case that originates with an Egyptian lawyer named Hamdy El Fakharany. He argues that the licence for Sukari should be revoked because of irregularities with the contract, which dates back to 1994, and because it does not generate enough revenue for Egyptians.

Centamin claims the Sukari concession agreement is valid and that this court has no jurisdiction to overturn it. The company is continuing operations at Sukari as if nothing happened, and analysts believe this issue can be settled at Egypt’s Supreme Court.

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NEWS RELEASE: Bold Ventures Receives Permission From Marten Falls First Nations to Explore on its Koper Lake Project in the Ring of Fire which Contains the Blackhorse Chromium Deposit Optioned From Fancamp Exploration Ltd.

Toronto, Ontario October 31 2012 – Bold Ventures Inc. (BOL:TSX.V) (“Bold” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that in keeping with its policy of positive First Nations relations, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Marten Falls First Nation (“MFFN”). Marten Falls is a First Nation community located proximal to the Company’s Koper Lake project optioned from Fancamp Exploration Ltd. (“FNC”).

The Koper Lake project is located in the Ring of Fire area of the James Bay Lowlands, northeastern Ontario. The MOU outlines an understanding between the parties to compensate MFFN for any impacts created by the project work within MFFN traditional territory. The MOU also provides for local job creation, respectful stewardship of the land and environment as well as the promotion of business partnerships with MFFN and local service providers.

About The Koper Lake Project

The property contains a known occurrence of massive chromite called the Black Horse occurrence. One drill hole intersected massive chromite interpreted to have a true thickness of approximately 35 to 55 m; a second drill hole intersected intercalated chromitite and peridotite beds followed by massive chromite over interpreted true thicknesses of 20 to 25 m. (Please refer to Fancamp press release dated December 27, 2011).

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India emerges as unknown factor for Asia’s iron ore market – by Clyde Russell (Mineweb.com – October 31, 2012)

http://www.mineweb.com/

It’s likely that China will account for the bulk of growth in seaborne iron ore demand, with recession-plagued Europe expected to be steady at best and modest growth likely from the rest of the world.

LONDON (REUTERS) – India is emerging as the unknown factor for Asia’s iron ore market in 2013, which otherwise looks to be in a fair balance between supply and demand.

The key results from a Reuters poll of analysts on Monday showed median forecasts for iron ore prices next year at $120 a tonne and for Chinese import demand to gain 6 percent to 774 million tonnes from an estimated 730 million this year.

The scenario that the poll presents is for solid growth in iron demand from the world’s biggest user and steady prices as well, given Asian spot prices closed Monday at precisely $120 a tonne, near the highest level since late July.

It’s also likely that China will account for the bulk of growth in seaborne iron ore demand, with recession-plagued Europe expected to be steady at best and modest growth likely from the rest of the world.

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Gravelle calls for Westray application [in Vale deaths] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – October 31, 2012)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The Westray provision of the Criminal Code of Canada isn’t a useful law unless it’s applied, says the federal New Democrats’ mining critic, Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle.

If companies know charges are not going to be laid under the bill, “what have they got to lose?” asked Gravelle.

The Westray bill was created as a result of the 1992 Westray coal-mining disaster in Nova Scotia in which 26 miners were killed after methane gas ignited, causing an explosion.

Despite serious safety concerns raised by employees, union officials and government inspectors, the company didn’t make the changes necessary to avoid the tragedy.

That eventually led to the passage of the bill, under which company executives can be criminally charged if employees are injured or killed because of their failure to take action. United Steelworkers Local 6500 called earlier this year for charges to be laid under the Westray provision against Vale Ltd. executives in the June 8, 2011 deaths of two men at Stobie Mine.

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Have Nickel Prices Bottomed? – by Stuart Burns (Metal Miner.com – October 29, 2012)

http://agmetalminer.com/

The supply demand outlook for nickel remains highly uncertain — banks and analysts at least agree on that. Many believe nickel demand, having slumped this year, to have bottomed and that the metal could post a modest upswing next year.

HSBC reports that China posted practically no growth (+1.4%) in stainless steel production (by far the largest market for nickel) in 2012, but is expected to pick up in 2013.

Stainless steel production was actually down in Europe and the Americas this year, but a lower nickel price encourages the use of nickel-bearing steels and in particular austenitic grades, a trend that has seen the ratio of austenitic to total stainless grades increase from 72.1 percent to 73.3 percent during this year.

Although smaller in total demand, the increase in nickel use from non-stainless applications has increased the most rapidly, by 8 percent this year.

Taken as a whole and against the backdrop of slowing global GDP growth, even outright recession in some quarters, nickel demand has held up reasonably well responding to the stainless cycle rather than directly to GDP trends.

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Quebec Mineral Exploration Association (AEMQ) calls on Quebec to play by the rules – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – October 30, 2012)

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Concern is mounting within the industry as the Quebec government mulls a ban on uranium exploration. This news is creating uncertainty in Quebec’s mining industry, particularly with respect to Strateco Resources’ Matoush project in the Otish Mountains roughly 200 km from Chibougamau and Mistissini.

Strateco has been working at Matoush since 2006, and says it is considered one of the highest grade uranium projects in the world. At Dec. 31, 2011, the deposit had an indicated resource of 453,000 tonnes grading 0.78% U3O8, containing 7.78 million lb of yellowcake. There is also an inferred resource of 2.04 million tonnes grading 0.43% U3O8 and containing 19.22 million lb of U3O8 using a cut-off grade of 0.10%.

Between 2008 and 2012, Strateco conducted rigorous studies into the impact of the Matoush project, which have been independently monitored and verified. Following these studies, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) approved an underground exploration program at Matoush earlier this month. The licence is valid until Oct. 31, 2017.

The alarm is being raised by the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association (AEQM).

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BMO adviser Donald Coxe to halt long-running newsletter – by Martin Mittelstaedt (Globe and Mail – October 30, 2012)

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.

Donald Coxe, one of Canada’s best known stock-market prognosticators, plans to cease publishing his market letter.

For the past 20 years, Mr. Coxe has been issuing massive 10,000- to 12,000-word missives outlining his investing views, laced with a healthy dose of his conservative political philosophy. But at 76, he’s decided to hang up his pen to concentrate on investment advice for the funds he helps manage.

December will mark the last issue of his Basic Points newsletter, which has recently been appearing once every two months.

As an investment writer, Mr. Coxe is best known for his view that the financial world is in the middle of a “commodity super cycle.” That’s a long period during which the prices of energy, food, metals and other raw materials rise – in the current instance, driven by the rapid growth of emerging economies.

Mr. Coxe said producing a market letter while also working as an investment strategy adviser at the Bank of Montreal, which distributes his newsletter, has been a strain.

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TransCanada, Chinese firm form pipeline partnership – by Lauren Krugel (Toronto Star – October 30, 2012)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

The Canadian Press – CALGARY—TransCanada Corp. has entered a partnership with a Chinese-owned company to build a new $3-billion oilsands pipeline in Northern Alberta, pushing further into a business that has traditionally been dominated by rival pipeline giant Enbridge Inc.

TransCanada and Phoenix Energy Holdings Ltd., a unit of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., would each own half of the Grand Rapids project, which would carry up to 900,000 barrels of crude per day along with 330,000 barrels per day of diluent, which helps thick oilsands bitumen to flow through pipelines.

The pipeline would run about 500 kilometres between an emerging oilsands area northwest of Fort McMurray, Alta., to the industrial heartland near Edmonton. It’s expected to be in service by early 2017.

“As Alberta crude oil production continues to grow, it’s critical to have the infrastructure in place to move oil to market from emerging developments west of the Athabasca River,” said TransCanada CEO Russ Girling in a release. “This is the first major pipeline project to meet the needs of this fast-growing area.”

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CNOOC’s compelling deal – by David A. McLellan (National Post – October 30, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

David A. McLellan is manager of intellectual property at Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. in Calgary.

Don’t abandon the free market for sinophobia

There has been much vigorous debate about CNOOC’s proposed acquisition of Nexen and the lack of clarity around what the federal government defines as “net benefit” when applying the Investment Canada Act. This is unfortunate and has the potential to cost the Canadian economy many quality jobs, royalties, taxes and subsequently to adversely impact economic growth.

Examining the details of the CNOOC-Nexen deal go a long way to reassure us that Canada will ultimately benefit more from this transaction than we otherwise would without it. Similarly, a review of the facts about Nexen and our oil-sands resources should assuage concerns that we are giving away too much in this particular transaction.

Let’s start with the facts. Approximately 70% of Nexen’s current production is outside Canada, with the U.K. North Sea being the most prolific region in its property portfolio. According to Oilweek, Nexen’s 2011 actual Canadian production averaged a modest 60,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boepd) and this number does not rank it among the 20 largest producers in Canada.

With a 65% interest in the Long Lake project and 7.25% interest in Syncrude, Nexen accounts for perhaps 3% of current oil sands production. In terms of reserves, at 1,544 million boe of proved and probable, Nexen’s Canadian reserves represent less than 1% of Canada’s total. Further, more than half of Nexen’s shares are held outside Canada.

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India thirsts for Canadian energy – by Matthew Fisher (National Post – October 30, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper can expect a warm, even rapturous welcome when he arrives Sunday in India on what is to be an unusually long six-day trip to the subcontinent to drum up business for Canada. Coming with the prime minister are several cabinet ministers and a large group of senior businessmen.

As in so many other areas of foreign trade, Canada was astonishingly late to twig to the opportunities presented by India’s $2-trillion-a-year economy. Canada’s Achilles heel has often been that its governments and business people “thought small.” But Canada was also badly hurt in India because “it was preachy, which made India prickly,” according to Nandan Unnikrishnan, vice-president of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Successive Canadian governments ignored India for decades, except to scold it over its nuclear policies and the human rights of those whom India considered terrorists. Canada’s policy greatly irritated India and achieved nothing except to make a few Canadians feel morally superior while costing the Canadian economy dearly.

The cant over moral issues has almost totally disappeared since Harper’s government won its first majority in May 2011 and made improving Canada’s economy through trade its main international focus. This pragmatic, common-sensical approach to diplomacy and trade was long overdue and has found an eager ear in India.

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