Barrick, China walk away from Africa deal – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – January 9, 2013)

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.

Barrick Gold Corp. has ended months of efforts to sell its African unit to state-owned China National Gold Group (CNGC), unwilling to settle for fire-sale prices even as it struggles to cover massive cost overruns elsewhere.

The assets had been up for sale as part of a revitalization strategy that was launched by the world’s largest gold miner last summer amid a falling stock price and shareholder discontent.

The move leaves Barrick with a high-cost producer in African Barrick Gold PLC at a time when mining on the African continent is losing its shine for shareholders, who are wary of resource nationalism amid months of labour strife in African mines.

The end to the talks also underscores the fiscal discipline of Chinese state-owned mining companies, showing they are careful not to overpay for assets even as the country seeks ownership of mineral resources to feed booming economic growth.

Barrick chief executive officer Jamie Sokalsky, who took the helm of the Toronto-based miner in June after the ouster of predecessor Aaron Regent, engaged the Chinese as one of a series of bold moves to address investor backlash against Barrick, which like others in the sector pursued aggressive growth for years but failed to spark good returns for shareholders.

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OMA NEWS RELEASE: Xstrata Nickel executives recognized as two of Canada’s top business women

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Dominique Dionne, Vice President Corporate Affairs for Ontario Mining Association member Xstrata Nickel, has been recognized as one of Canada’s leading businesswomen along with her colleague Sepanta Dorri, General Manager Business Development at Xstrata Nickel. Ms Dionne received the RBC Champions Award in the 2012 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 program.

Ms Dorri was named to the 2012 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 program in the Trailblazers and Trendsetters category. The OMA joins in congratulating both executives for this achievement. These honours were officially presented at the 10th annual ceremony run by the Womens’s Executive Network (WXN). It recognizes female business leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. WXN started 15 years ago and it has approximately 18,000 members.

“Dominique has relentlessly pursued her goal to develop the next generation of female leaders in the mining sector by championing Xstrata’s support of programs to expand opportunities for women within our industry,” said Ian Pearce, Xstrata Nickel Chief Executive Officer in a letter to staff.

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NEWS RELEASE: MacDonald Mines Readies Drill Program on Butler Property in ‘Ring of Fire,’ James Bay; Provides Background on Current Mining Exploration Environment

January 09, 2013 08:00 ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Jan. 9, 2013) – MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:BMK) (‘MacDonald’ or ‘the Company’) provides a mining industry update and an outline of its drill program scheduled for early 2013 to advance its potential VMS discovery at the highly prospective Butler 3 location (see Figure 3). The Butler property is located 36 kilometres west of Cliffs Natural Resources (‘Cliffs’) Big Daddy Chromite deposit (Click here for map).

Kirk McKinnon, President and CEO of MacDonald Mines comments, “As we enter 2013, MacDonald Mines believes it is important to provide a current backdrop for junior mining exploration companies. We find it extremely ironic that both the Prime Minister and the Ontario Premier have outlined natural resources as a prime catalyst for growth in the country and in the province of Ontario respectively. Specifically, Premier Dalton McGuinty outlined the James Bay Lowlands and Natural Resources as a prime catalyst for growth within the province. With this as a backdrop, we wonder why large trading institutions are allowed to impact junior mining stocks with high frequency trading (as profiled in the Financial Post, October 10, 2012 and the Huffington Post) and also receive trading credits from the TSX in return for placing bids.

We are aware high frequency trading is active in the United States but has been banned in some jurisdictions. It has less impact in the United States because of the sheer critical mass in the number of stocks and the number of shares in their trading jurisdictions. Compounding this, large Canadian national banks have certainly discouraged, and all but disallowed, any trading in junior mining stocks. This makes it extremely difficult for their clients to even consider these stocks as part of their overall portfolio or as opportunities for making money. We realize that exploration stocks are high risk and do require some expertise and insight on the part of shareholders but they can also play a role in a balanced portfolio where it constitutes a small percentage of the total investment.

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Theresa Spence’s hunger strike obscures the key First Nations issue: resource revenue sharing – by John Ivison (National Post – January 8, 2013)

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

There is hope for the future of relations between natives and non-natives in Canada. It is embodied in leaders like Glen Nolan, a former Cree chief from Northern Ontario, who is the president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

He doesn’t support the Idle No More movement because he says he’s never been idle. “There are too many examples of [native] individuals and communities who have broken away from the notion that government is there to look out for them,” he said.

Attempting to get at the truth involves abandoning stereotypes and clichés. That is hard when the subject matter conforms to easily attached labels, like Theresa Spence, the chief of another Cree community in Attawapiskat, who points the finger of blame at Ottawa with one hand, while extending the other for more handouts.

It is a welcome reminder when more sober voices like Mr. Nolan point out that many First Nations reject dependency on transfers from the federal government.

Mr. Nolan, now an executive with a junior mining company developing nickel and copper in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, said his time as chief of the Missanabie Cree First Nation north of Wawa was characterized by building strong support networks to encourage education, work and business creation.

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The real story behind Attawapiskat’s problems – by Thomas Walkom (Toronto Star – January 9, 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.

Making sense of Attawapiskat is not easy. The James Bay native community is synonymous with poverty. But it sits next to a diamond mine. Its chief, Theresa Spence, has become famous across Canada because of the hunger strike she is waging on an island in the Ottawa River.

She insists she’ll only consume liquids until Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with her (which he has agreed to do). But what does Spence want from that meeting? This is less clear. She talks vaguely of a new relationship between aboriginal first nations and the federal government.

We now know, thanks to a detailed audit of Attawapiskat’s finances commissioned by Ottawa, that the first nation’s bookkeeping leaves much to be desired.

Auditors from Deloitte and Touche concluded that roughly 80 per cent of the detailed spending transactions they investigated came with little or no paperwork, making it unclear how the monies were spent.

Yet oddly enough, another auditing firm — this one based in Timmins — has regularly been okaying the band’s annual financial statements, all of which are available on the Attawapiskat website.

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New Anglo American CEO aims to create world’s best mining company – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – January 8, 2013)

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Creating the world’s best mining company is the aim of Mark Cutifani, who takes over the reins of Anglo American as CEO from April 3.

Speaking from London in an international conference call that South African journalists could only enter late as a result of a technical glitch, Cutifani said that the iconic London- and Johannesburg-listed company, which turns 100 in four years, had “the assets, the people and the will” to be the world’s number-one diversified miner, a position BHP Billiton currently holds.

“I’m looking forward to starting with the team in just over two months,” said Cutifani, who has been appointed at a time when Anglo American is seen by some to be poised for potential ascendancy, following its significant streamlining by outgoing CEO Cynthia Carroll, who leaves at the end of April after a six-year stint.

Liberum Capital analyst Ben Davis questioned the amount of traction a turnaround story in Anglo American would gain, however, given the recent company guidance that put 2013 earnings 22% below consensus.

Davis added that the challenges arising from the “structurally defunct” Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and continuing capital cost increases at the Minas Rio iron-ore project in Brazil had no easy solutions.

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14-ton rock killed Coleman miner: Report – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 9, 2013)

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

The Ministry of Labour has three weeks to complete its investigation into the Jan. 29, 2012, death of development miner Stephen Perry at Coleman Mine, and to determine if charges should be laid under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

A joint investigation by Perry’s union, United Steelworkers Local 6500, and Vale showed the 47-year-old miner died after a 14-ton piece of rock broke from the wall, or face, he was working on at the 4,215-foot level of the main ore body at the mine in Levack.

The investigation, which wrapped up last April but was not released publicly, produced 15 recommendations to avert similar tragedies from occurring. The investigation concluded Perry, who had 16 years’ experience, died while operating a piece of machinery to load explosives into holes in the face when the piece of loose rock broke free from the wall and crushed him.

The president of USW Local 6500, Rick Bertrand, said Perry did everything he was supposed to do while working in the area.

Bertrand hasn’t seen the results of the Labour ministry’s investigation, but said Tuesday he doesn’t expect the ministry will lay charges in Perry’s death. It has one year after a fatality to investigate and decide if it will lay charges.

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Rubicon Minerals appoints new operations boss – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 7, 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

Rubicon Minerals has appointed a new vice president of operations and hired a new director of investor relations. “Putting in place a team that can take us to the next level is one of my key priorities,” said Michael Lalonde, Rubicion president and CEO, in a Jan. 7 statement.

Dan Labine is the new operations boss, effective Jan. 21 and Allan Candelario will handle investor relations. Labine has more than 35 years of engineering, mine operation, and project management experience, most recently as Goldcorp’s senior project manager in charge of the construction and development of the Cochenour project in Red Lake.

Rubicon is constructing a gold mine in the Red Lake district. Its Phoenix Gold project is slated for a 2014 startup. Labine supervised the construction of a five-kilometre underground haulage drift between the Cochenour project and its Red Lake mine infrastructure.

Labine previously worked in management for Inco, AMEC Earth and Environmental Ltd. and was a senior project engineer for Nordpro Mine and Project Management Services.

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“One window” consultation [Wabun Tribal Council] provides certainty for miners – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 7, 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Shawn Batise favours the “one window approach” when it comes to doing business with exploration firms. The executive director of the Timmins-based Wabun Tribal Council spearheaded the development of a tried-and-true method that enables six First Nation communites to share in the mineral wealth from Treaty 9.

“Our communities are business-minded and know how to approach a development,” said Batise, a graduate of the Haileybury School of Mines and a former mechanical engineering technologist who worked at Detour Lake mine.

Batise handles the negotiations for mining and hydro-electric agreements on behalf of the six communities that make up the tribal council: Beaver House, Brunswick, Chapleau Ojibwe, Matachewan, Flying Post and Mattagami.

The Wabun traditional territories take in a wide swath of northeastern Ontario that includes the major gold and base metal mining and exploration camps in Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Matachewan and Gogama. Batise said their Wabun Resource Development Model is all about “creating certainty” for both industry and communities.

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Poor managing on reserves hurts the young the most – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – January 8, 2013)

http://www.torontosun.com/

TORONTO – Just when you thought it was safe to stick your toe back into the murky waters of government accountability, along comes Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, all a-Twitter about the leak of an audit report on Attawapiskat.

“Tough love the rallying cry of the cowards who ‘leak’ these ‘audits’. Too much tough not enough love for our aboriginal bothers and sisters,” Duncan tweeted Monday.

Give me a break. Try too much pot calling the kettle black. As a politician, Duncan was part of a government that regularly leaked documents in order to get out their spin. But when the Tories do it, it’s cowardice? It sure explains why this province is in such dire economic straits.

If he really believes it’s acceptable for the band council in Attawapiskat to spend more than $100 million without adequate documentation, then is it any wonder this province is broke?

A scathing audit report by the accounting firm Deloitte found in random audits of transactions from April 1, 2005, and Nov. 30, 2011, 81% of the files didn’t have adequate documentation.

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Gogama mine project shines for IAMGOLD – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – January 8, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Another company is looking to put its stamp on the region’s rich mining history. IAMGOLD hopes its Côté Gold project near Gogama will be up and running by the year 2017. Timmins council voiced its enthusiasm for the welcoming of another gold mine to the region.

Mayor Tom Laughren praised the company for initiating a presentation to city council, as well as its early consultation with local and First Nations communities that has been ongoing since IAMGOLD purchased Trelawney Mining in June 2012. “I think that’s phenomenal for a mining organization to be out there ahead of time,” said Laughren. “Anytime there’s mining in our region, we’re very excited.”

IAMGOLD’s manager of corporate social responsibility, Aaron Steeghs, was among the four project representatives on hand at Monday’s presentation. He began by stating the company’s commitment to “zero harm,” encompassing “health and safety, community and First Nations relations, and environment.”

The Côté Gold project will consist of an open-pit mine, and will include tailing storage, a mill site and camp facilities. Located 25 kilometres Southwest Gogama, 130 kilometres south of Timmins, and 170 kilometres North of Sudbury, the operation promises to offer a significant number of employment opportunities over the mine’s projected 15-year lifespan.

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Shania centre sell-off – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – January 7, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Mayor Tom Laughren said the city is looking to sell the Shania Twain Centre and the land that surrounds it to Goldcorp “for all the right reasons.” On Monday, city council agreed to declare the land and buildings – which includes the Timmins Underground Gold Mine Tour – surplus to kick off a process that would see them sold to the mining company, which operates the nearby Hollinger pit.

In 2001, the Shania Twain Centre opened in a new, multi-million dollar building, which displayed much of the country star’s memorabilia from her early years in the City with a Heart of Gold and beyond.

The number of visitors at the centre peaked in 2002, at 8,400, but soon went into steady decline, dropping 66% to 2,800 visitors in by 2010. During the same timeframe, the Underground Gold Mine Tour’s yearly attendance numbers dropped by 36%, from 6,200 to 4,000 visits. A report prepared by PFK Consulting estimated that the City and taxpayers would be paying approximately $300,000 per year to continue operations for both attractions in the future.

“In today’s economic climate, it’s important to make economically prudent decisions,” stated a city report explaining the potential sale. “There is a great opportunity to continue featuring both our hometown star and our mining heritage in other, more cost effective ways and the city will be working on a comprehensive plan to continue showcasing this city’s proud heritage.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Foundation Signs Agreement with Wahgoshig First Nation

Vancouver, B.C. January, 8, 2013; Foundation Resources Inc. (TSX.V:FDN: “Foundation” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that further to the Company’s press release dated November, 14, 2012, the Waghoshig First Nation (“WFN”) has agreed to amend its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sheltered Oak Resources Corp. allowing Foundation to become a party to the agreement upon the completion of the acquisition of OAK. The agreement is limited to the Kerrs Property, which is also in Lake Abitibi area of Ontario, but does serve as a basic starting point for future negotiations between the parties.

“While this is agreement relates to the Kerrs Property, it contains what most knowledgeable industry participants would consider standard terms, and we believe it demonstrates a desire by WFN to work with mineral exploration companies on mutually respectful terms,” stated Barry Girling Interim CEO of Foundation. “Robert Hanson, Chairman of OAK and I had what can only be described as a very productive meeting with Chief David Babin and we look forward to continuing the strong relationship that has existed between OAK and WFN.”

The Company has also increased its offer to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares Solid Gold Resources Inc (TSX.V:SLD: “SLD”) on the basis of one share of Foundation for each share of SLD (the “FDN Offer”) up from its previous offer of 0.8333 shares of Foundation for each share of SLD (see press release dated November 27, 2012). The proposed terms of the FDN Offer represents a premium of approximately 45% to the 10 day SLD VWAP price of 0.031 per share for the period December 20, 2012 through January 7, 2013. MGI Securities Inc. (“MGI”) is acting as financial advisor to the Company with respect to the FDN Offer.

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