October 4, 2012 – Republic of Mining

Platinum, gold, coal, diamonds, iron ore. No end in sight for SA mine strikes – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – October 4, 2012)

October 4, 2012

www.mineweb.com

The South African mine strikes, and associated intimidation of any who wish to return to work, appear to be continuing to spread – from platinum, to gold and now to other mining sectors as well.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Writing here on Mineweb in mid-August (Platinum mine violence impact – could it spread to gold mines too?) we commented thus on the prospect of the strikes and associated violence then being experienced on the platinum mines spreading to the country’s gold mining sector: “But, the issues which have led to the platinum mining violence are potentially mirrored in South Africa’s gold mines – an even bigger sector (just) – and the government will be hugely worried about the potential spread of mine unrest given the potentially major impact on the South African economy of a mining meltdown.

South Africa may no longer be the world’s largest gold producer – a position it held for nigh on a century, but it still remains one of the world’s biggest and disruption here could have a very negative impact on global mine supply – and again lead to the permanent closure of some of the more marginal operations, which are struggling to stay afloat even at current gold prices. The platinum and gold mines operate in a very similar manner and employ huge workforces by western standards. If the AMCU starts to move into the gold mines in a similar manner the impact could be equally destabilising.”

Australia cuts interest rate as mining slump prompts worries – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – October 3, 2012)

October 4, 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

An unexpected interest rate cut from Australia’s central bank, triggered by fears of a slowing mining sector, offers Canadians a glimpse of what to expect in the event of a prolonged economic slowdown in China.

For years, Australia’s economy has been powered by China’s strong growth. Because the two countries are so close together, China has been a heavy buyer of Australian iron ore and coal, propelling the Commonwealth country’s economy. Australia’s annualized GDP growth rate is 3.7 per cent, and its unemployment rate is only 5.1 per cent.

But lately there have been signs of a slowdown in Australia’s resource sector, which was a prime reason for cutting the country’s key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 per cent on Tuesday. In a statement, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens specifically cited fears about softer resource investments, as miners curtail their expansion plans.

“The peak in resource investment is likely to occur next year, and may be at a lower level than earlier expected,” he wrote. “As this peak approaches, it will be important that the forecast strengthening in some other components of demand starts to occur.”

Commodities Investors Adjust to a Less-Steady China – by Carolyn Cui (Wall Street Journal – October 3, 2012)

October 4, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

For years, commodities investors had it easy–just buy anything that China was buying. Now, with China’s growth slowing and demand for raw materials easing, investors are being forced to work a bit harder.

Some investors have turned away from commodities that are heavily dependent on Chinese demand, such as base metals, cotton and soybeans. Others are searching for areas that will continue to grow no matter what happens in China, such as the U.S. natural gas market. And some are simply getting out of commodities completely.

These moves mark a significant change in the commodities market. China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for raw materials was a crucial driver behind the commodities boom of the past decade, propelling enormous price gains for everything from crude oil to cotton. Now, investors have to figure out which commodities are most vulnerable as the world’s second-largest economy shifts down a gear.

“The strategy of simply buying what China needs is no longer valid,” said Na Liu, a China strategy advisor to Scotia Capital and founder of CNC Asset Management Ltd.

Ontario’s Mining Law changes aim to bring mining regulation into 21st Century – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – October 4, 2012)

October 4, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Key changes under Ontario’s Mining Act come into effect on Nov. 1, 2012, impacting exploration, bulk samples, assessment work credits, aboriginal consultation and mine closure.

RENO (MINEWEB) – The administration of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Wednesday that key changes in Ontario’s Mining Act will come into effect on November 1 that will eventually mandate the filing of exploration plans and permits, Aboriginal consultation, and encourage voluntary mine rehabilitation of mine hazards.

“We’ve brought a 100-year-old piece of legislation into the 21st Century,” said Rick Bartolucci, Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines. “Through these regulations, as well as our ongoing work with industry and Aboriginal communities, we can all ensure Ontario continues to be a leading jurisdiction for mineral exploration investment for decades to come.”

Among the changes are voluntary submission of an exploration plan in order to undertake certain early exploration activities. Any surface rights owners must be notified of the planned exploration activities.

New criteria will help determine sites that are of social, cultural, sacred or ceremonial significance to Aboriginal communities in order to protect those sites from claim staking.

Rebounding gold miners ‘have got religion’ – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – October 4, 2012)

October 4, 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

Buoyed by a new mantra of cost discipline, Canadian gold miners are starting to catch the wave of booming bullion prices after a summer of woe.

From major producers like Barrick Gold Corp., Goldcorp Inc. and Kinross Gold Corp. to junior explorers, gold mining stocks are booming, propelled by a shift in the industry to restrain spending and focus on profits and cash flow, rather than pursue reckless strategies that favoured growth at any cost.

The spot price of gold danced around $1,779 (U.S.) an ounce on Wednesday, or about seven times where it was a decade ago, when central banks were bailing out of the metal. Today, banks are piling back into gold to hedge their U.S. dollar reserves as forecasts for gold prices climb above $2,000 an ounce. And gold stock prices are beginning to catch fire.

Drastic shifts in corporate strategies are helping gold companies and their shares, repairing a disconnect between their valuations and the price of the metal. Risk-weary investors had favoured exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for exposure to gold, rather than shares of the miners themselves.

B.C. teachers’ union defends anti-pipeline teaching materials – by Kathryn Blaze Carlson (National Post – October 4, 2012)

October 4, 2012

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

Calling itself a “social justice union,” the B.C. Teachers’ Federation defended its promotion of anti-pipeline teaching resources on Wednesday, fueling a national debate about whether teachers should tout their own views in the classroom.

The poster features wildlife — a soaring eagle, a bear, seals and killer whales — enjoying a pristine ocean scene, but the bottom-right corner shows a wide-eyed fish lying dead amid black oily sludge along with the faint image of a skull and crossbones. The headline for the poster, published on the federation’s website as part of its “social justice” resources for teachers, is this: “What we stand to lose with pipelines and oil tankers.”

As the controversy percolated on Twitter, Canada’s Natural Resources minister, Joe Oliver, told reporters Wednesday he is concerned that B.C. youth are being subjected to just one side of a critical public issue. “My understanding is [the education resource is] somewhat unbalanced and I think that’s regrettable,” he said.

Vancouver School Board trustee Ken Denicke likened the poster, which comes amid debate over the Northern Gateway Pipeline, to propaganda; he called it “very much one-sided” and deemed it “totally inappropriate to present to young kids.”

Redford demands tougher conditions for Nexen-CNOOC approval: Source – by Theophilos Argitis and Andrew Mayeda (Toronto Star – October 4, 2012)

October 4, 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.

Bloomberg News – Alberta Premier Alison Redford asked the federal government to impose tougher management and employment conditions on CNOOC Ltd.’s $15.1 billion takeover offer of Nexen Inc. before approving the transaction, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Redford wants guarantees that at least 50 percent of Nexen’s board and management positions will be held by Canadians, the person said on condition they not be identified because the discussions are confidential. The request came in a recommendation provided to Industry Minister Christian Paradis and the government’s investment review division.

Alberta’s conditions may impose additional costs and risks for CNOOC at a time when oil-sands producers face a rising supply of North American crude and a lack of pipeline infrastructure threatens to stall sales. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is reviewing the bid under the nation’s foreign takeover law, which specifies transactions need to have a “net benefit” to the country in order to win approval.

Other recommendations made by Redford’s government are for CNOOC to maintain workforce levels for at least five years, to strengthen commitments to keep planned capital spending and to clarify plans for research and development, the person said, adding Alberta’s government has indicated it would not object to the transaction if the conditions were met.

Fresh start needed after Redford and Clark dig in heels over pipeline – Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – October 3, 2012)

October 4, 2012

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

A few years from now, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark’s “frosty” meeting with her Alberta counterpart, Alison Redford, to discuss how to share the benefits of the Northern Gateway oil pipeline could rank right up there in the nation’s lore, alongside late Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed’s threat to turn off Alberta’s oil taps and Calgary mayor Ralph Klein’s infamous line: “Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark.”

This time, though, it’s a B.C. politician who’s dishing it out from Alberta. “I want her to know that if this project has any chance of succeeding, someone, probably her, needs to stand up and be the advocate for it,” a bold Premier Clark told the media on the front steps of McDougall Centre in Calgary on Monday afternoon, following a meeting with Ms. Redford that lasted barely longer than a bathroom break.

“The Enbridge pipeline, I know is very is important to Alberta and important to the country, but frankly in the context of British Columbia, given the risks and benefits, we are not there.”

Then Ms. Clark, looking sharp in her high heels and tailored jacket, launched into a rant about how B.C. has “bigger fish to fry” with its “trillion dollar” natural gas industry, which will rival Alberta’s oil sands in daily output —

Ontario’s McGuinty government modernises Mining Act – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 3, 2012)

October 4, 2012

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Ontario’s provincial government, under the leadership of Premier Dalton McGuinty, on Wednesday said new rules aimed at modernising the provincial Mining Act would come into effect in November.

The Ontario government announced new rules that would impose exploration plans and permits on anyone planning to undertake certain early exploration activities, requiring them to immediately inform private landowners or Aboriginal communities of the expected activity.

Exploration plans and permits would be voluntary from November 1, and become mandatory from April 1, 2013.

“We’ve brought a 100-year-old piece of legislation into the twenty-first century. Through these regulations, as well as our ongoing work with industry and Aboriginal communities, we can all ensure Ontario continues to be a leading jurisdiction for mineral exploration investment for decades to come,” Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said.

An exploration permit would now also be required to take bulk samples of Crown minerals for testing purposes.

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT NEWS RELEASE: More Progress in Mining Act Modernization

October 4, 2012

McGuinty Government Promoting Sustainable Mineral Exploration and Development

October 3, 2012 2:47 PM

Ontario is modernizing the way companies stake and explore their claims to be more respectful of Aboriginal communities and private landowners.

New rules under the province’s Mining Act include:

New requirements for notifying private landowners and consulting with Aboriginal communities potentially affected by proposed exploration activities.
New tools to help protect sites of Aboriginal cultural significance.
An awareness program for prospectors about the Mining Act changes.
More ways to keep mining claims in good standing.
New early exploration requirements to help minimize the impact on the environment.

The rules were developed in close partnership with industry stakeholders and Aboriginal representatives and take effect on Nov. 1, 2012. These changes will help ensure that mineral exploration and development in Ontario continues to occur in a balanced, socially and environmentally responsible manner.