Mining observer questions [Ring of Fire] Cliffs’ mine start-up date – by Thunder Bay CBC Radio (January 8, 2013)

 http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Ring of Fire project will likely be delayed for a variety of reasons, says industry watcher

A mining observer and blogger predicts chromite production in the Ring of Fire may not begin until as late as 2020.

Stan Sudol said he believes the fragile global economy — along with challenges related to infrastructure and First Nations communities — will slow development of the mineral zone. But there’s also an upside to a longer wait, he said.

“It gives us a little bit more time to decide exactly what type of transportation infrastructure would be the best for the Ring of Fire and how both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities could best take advantage of this enormous transformational opportunity,” Sudol said.

Cliffs Natural Resources, the biggest company operating in the Ring of Fire, currently has a target start date of 2016. “Cliffs initially said they’re looking at 2016, but then there were some reports of 2017,” Sudol said. “I think a safer bet would be 2019 [or] 2020.”

Chance of takeover

In an e-mail to CBC News, a spokesperson for Cliffs called Sudol’s prediction about the mine’s start-up timeline and the company’s potential as a takeover target “pure speculation” on his part.

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Inmet faces hard sell in snubbing First Quantum’s $5.1B hostile bid – by Peter Koven (National Post – January 8, 2013)

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

For Inmet Mining Corp., the hard work is about to begin.

With First Quantum Minerals Ltd. expected to file its takeover circular imminently, the pressure will be on Inmet chief executive Jochen Tilk to explain why the $5.1-billion hostile offer for his company is inadequate. Inmet shares have jumped nearly 40% since news of a bid surfaced in November, and are trading roughly in line with the offer price of $72 a share.

It is understood Inmet hired CIBC World Markets as a financial advisor, and the Toronto-based miner is likely to argue the bid is far below fair value for Cobre Panama, one of the world’s largest copper deposits.

Analysts and investors generally agree the offer is low. However, they said Mr. Tilk could have a tough time fighting off First Quantum.

The central issue boils down to a question: Which company is better suited to build Cobre Panama? First Quantum has an outstanding track record of building large projects at lower cost than competitors, and has claimed it can do the same with this one. Mr. Tilk will try to prove Inmet can build the US$6.2-billion mine just as quickly and efficiently, and with no more of the cost inflation that has plagued this project and many others.

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Excerpt from “The History of Mining: The events, technology and people involved in the industry that forged the modern world” – by Michael Coulson

To order a copy of The History of Mining please click here:http://www.harriman-house.com/products/books/23161/business/Michael-Coulson/The-History-of-Mining/

THOMAS FROOD (1837-1916)

Thomas Frood was one of a large number of amateur mineral prospectors who opened up the great Canadian north for mining development. Frood, however, was one of an exclusive group who could claim a major discovery, which in his case was the Sudbury copper and nickel district of central Ontario, the home of Inco and Falconbridge, Canada’s two largest nickel miners.

Frood was born in McNab in Renfrew County, eastern Ontario, in 1837. His parents Thomas and Barbara Frood were immigrants from Scotland and his father farmed in McNab. He was educated, as was the practice then, at home and as a youth also worked on the family farm. He took up teaching himself and for many years taught in a variety of Ontario townships as Canada developed its public school system. He also worked in the army medical corps between 1866 and 1871 during the Fenian raids over the border made by dissident Irishmen resident in the US. Following this, Frood became a chemist and opened his own chemist’s shop in Southampton, a seaside town on Lake Huron. He also married his first wife, Mary, in 1865 and they had two daughters.

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African Barrick Gold/China National Gold deal dead in the water – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – January 8, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

The long running negotiations between Barrick Gold and China National Gold over the former’s African Barrick Gold (ABG) subsidiary have fallen through and ABG’s share price has dived as a result.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Discussions on the sale of African Barrick Gold (ABG) to China National Gold Group Corporation (CNG) appear to have come to nothing after a rigorous examination of ABG’s operations by the Chinese state-owned gold mining company. London-quoted African Barrick’s share price initially dropped sharply on receipt of a statement from ABG confirming its 73.9% owner, Canada’s Barrick Gold, has now ended its discussions with CNG which means that ABG is ‘no longer in an offer period under the Takeover Code’.

The Barrick announcement went on to say “Given the direct nature of the discussions between Barrick and CNG, this has meant an extended period of uncertainty for ABG as well as significant extra work. Throughout this period, our focus has been on ensuring the ongoing integrity and stability of our operations, and our employees have made an important contribution towards achieving this. At the same time, Barrick has made it clear that it sees considerable long-term value in the ABG asset base. Barrick remains committed to supporting ABG in fully realising the potential of the business.”

This has not been a great day for Barrick with the news also coming through that its plans to develop the huge Reko Diq copper/gold project in Pakistan’s Balochistan province have been declared invalid by the Pakistani high court, although given the company’s recent rethinking on its major project programme, coupled with the location of Reko Diq close in a far from stable part of the world, this may actually be perceived as a positive in some eyes!

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Miner Anglo American Picks Head of AngloGold to Succeed CEO Carroll – by Joann S. Lublin and Devon Maylie (Wall Street Journal – January 7, 2013)

http://online.wsj.com/home-page?mod=WSJ_topnav_home_main

Anglo American PLC has chosen Mark Cutifani as chief executive, with an announcement likely within a few days, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Mr. Cutifani, the Australian chief executive of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. would replace Cynthia Carroll, who resigned in October. AngloGold was spun off from Anglo American, the world’s fifth-largest mining company by market capitalization, in 1998.

“The decision has been made,” and Anglo American will announce his selection “on or before mid-January” but probably earlier than that, the person familiar with the matter said. AngloGold declined to comment on behalf of Mr. Cutifani.

As CEO of AngloGold, which has headquarters in Johannesburg and operations in 10 countries, Mr. Cutifani has gained experience lobbying the South African government on behalf of business. While he is well known to Anglo American and its board, as an external candidate Mr. Cutifani is also removed from cost overruns at Anglo American flagship projects and a drop in its share price over the past two years that led to the resignation of Mrs. Carroll. The stock has fallen 17% in the past two years, closing at £20.02, or $32.27, on Monday.

Mr. Cutifani emerged as the strongest contender for the job because Anglo American wanted “someone with relationships and deep knowledge of South Africa,” the person said. “He’s the most qualified to deal with the issues (company officials) have with South Africa,” the person said.

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[Solid Gold Resources] Stretch still waiting for public apology – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – January 8, 2013)

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

A former mining company CEO could take two First Nations leaders to court in January if they do not issue a public apology for alleged slander and defamation.

Darryl Stretch, the former president and CEO of Solid Gold Resources Corporation, gave Dave Babin, chief of the Wahgoshig First Nation, and Harvey Yesno, grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, until Dec. 17 to issue a public apology for comments they made at a Sudbury press conference on Nov. 7.

Both parties did not respond to Stretch’s letter by that date. Jamie Monastyrski, director of communications with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, said they will issue a statement responding to Stretch’s allegations in the new year.

Babin said in the Nov. 7 press conference that his First Nation has only ever had problems dealing with Solid Gold Resources. “We’ve had other companies contacting us saying they want to work with First Nations,” Babin said. “They are learning the rules coming in. They seem to understand our issues. We’re willing to work with them. We’ve proven that with the many companies on our territory.”

In a release on the same day, Babin and Yesno asked the province to withdraw support from what they said were “racist and radical industry representatives, particularly members of the Mining United group and the Ontario Prospectors Association.”

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Six lessons from a brilliant, scathing year-old CBC report on Attawapiskat’s mismanagement – by Jonathan Kay (National Post – January 8, 2013)

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

CBC News made headlines on Monday by publicizing a scathing audit report on Attawapiskat, the impoverished northern Ontario Cree community led by hunger-striking chief Theresa Spence.

Yet you’ll find an even more searing indictment of Attawapiskat’s leadership in a televised report from the CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault. That segment is a year old, but it’s getting a new life on the internet thanks to a Twitter-based resurrection campaign led by blogger Richard Klagsbrun.

Watch the video: It’s shocking how many important lessons from Attawapiskat Ms. Arsenault manages to pack into just eight minutes.

1. The idea that the destitution of far-flung First Nations such as Attawapiskat is a result of Ottawa’s neglect is wrong. Ms. Arsenault’s quick tour of Attawapiskat — a place that then was supposed to have been in a housing crisis — shows a half-dozen well-constructed houses with no one living in them. When questioned about this total waste of resources, Chief Theresa Spence has no real answer.

2. In fact, Ms. Arsenault’s reporting suggests that the real problem in Attawapiskat is Ms. Spence’s own incompetent leadership — in which capacity she is aided by her live-in boyfriend Clayton Kennedy, who serves as the community’s manager. Neither apparently can be bothered to fill out the paperwork required to get needed resources from Ottawa, or even supply basic accounting information.

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Audit nightmare: The RCMP, not Harper, should be meeting with Chief Spence – by Ezra Levant (Toronto Sun – January 8, 2013)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

A new audit of the Attawapiskat Indian reserve was released Monday. It was shocking. The accounting firm of Deloitte randomly chose 505 financial transactions, between April 1, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2011, to review. They found “81% of files did not have adequate supporting documents and over 60% had no documentation of the reason for payment.”

A lot of that money was supposed to go to housing. Attawapiskat is the reserve where some houses have leaky roofs, poor insulation, broken plumbing and are generally unfit for habitation. But Deloitte wrote, “There is no evidence of due diligence in the use of public funds, including the use of funds for housing.”

Deloitte can’t find where the money went. But maybe the long list of people on the band’s rich payroll might know, starting with Theresa Spence, the chief, or her boyfriend, Clayton Kennedy, who just happens to be the town’s financial manager. He bills the band $850 a day to manage their finances.

In fact, there are 21 politicians on the band payroll. Plus plenty of full-time staff. But Deloitte didn’t find that reassuring: “Attawapiskat First Nation did not provide us with any job descriptions for individuals who are involved in the financial management of funding agreements.”

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Israel recruiting ultra-Orthodox for the diamond industry – by Ari Rabinovitch and Tova Cohen (Reuters/Toronto Star – January 6, 2013)

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.

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL —Diamond manufacturing is a dwindling trade in Israel. The country has one of the world’s hottest diamond exchanges, but polishers and cutters of the precious stones have been replaced by cheaper workers in newer hubs like India and China.

Israel wants to bring them back. To do so, it plans on recruiting a legion of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who because of their dedication to prayer and study, have been unable or unwilling to join the work force, putting a heavy weight on the economy.

The job of a diamond polisher, however, is unique, said Bumi Traub, president of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association. It need not disrupt their pious lifestyle.

“The profession is fitting. You deal with the rock, and if you need to go pray, no one will bother you,” he said. The door to Traub’s office requires a fingerprint scan. Security is tight in the four-building exchange where annual turnover of trading reaches $25 billion (U.S.) each year.

About a third of rough diamonds produced in the world each year pass through the Jewish state and diamonds account for more than one-fifth of the country’s industrial exports. It was a natural sector to develop when Israel was founded 64 years ago, since the small stones have been choice merchandise for generations of Jews who had to quickly flee from riots and persecution.

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Reserve squalor isn’t about funding, but where the money goes – by Lorne Gunter (Toronto Sun – January 6, 2013)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

Cash not the answer

Back in the fall of 2011 when Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence was first in the news, Mark Milke of the Fraser Institute produced a fascinating comparison of her reserve’s budget versus budgets for similar-sized non-aboriginal communities across the country.

Milke pointed out that Attawapiskat, a settlement with fewer than 1,600 residents, had an annual operating budget of nearly $32 million. Meanwhile, Atikokan, Ont., near Thunder Bay had almost 3,300 inhabitants — more than double that of Attawapiskat — and yet spent just $8.4 million providing municipal services. That’s one-quarter the budget for a town with twice the population, or $20,140 per capita in Attawapiskat versus $2,550 in Atikokan.

Spence’s complaint back then was that her reserve had too few houses for residents because Ottawa was giving it too little money. Milke’s point was that there was no shortage of funds, so the cause of Attawapiskat’s problems must lie elsewhere.

There are legitimate reasons why a reserve such as Spence’s might have to spend significantly greater amounts providing services.

For instance, while Atikokan is hardly central, Attawapiskat is truly far away from industrial civilization. What’s more, in Attawapiskat much of the employment is based on jobs created by the band government, whereas in Atikokan the private sector is the big employer. Plus the band is nearly the sole source of housing and health care.

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Keystone XL pipeline gets boost from Nebraska report, but real fight remains – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – January 5, 2013)

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

The countdown over the fate of the Keystone XL oil pipeline — the new and improved version — has begun. A report from Nebraska Friday found TransCanada Corp.’s proposed re-route of its Canada-to-United States line avoids many sensitive ecological regions in the state and generally paints a positive picture of the proposal.

The 2,000-page report from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is one of four big hurdles facing the Canadian project on the road to a presidential permit — and the next three could be more politically charged as the debate picks up where it left off before the U.S. presidential election.

The other three are: a final recommendation by Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, to the U.S. government in the next 30 days; a supplemental environmental impact statement by the Department of State, under the new leadership of John Kerry, that will incorporate Mr. Heineman’s recommendation; and a national interest determination by the president, expected to be handed down after the first quarter.

Environmental organizations, Keystone’s dogged opponents, are planning to make the most of it. They are ramping up to defeat the project as part of a bigger climate change agenda, which they hope will regain prominence during Barack Obama’s second term as president. Indeed, they are framing the pipeline as one the most important environmental decision facing his administration.

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