Harry Winston to focus on mining after deal with Swatch – by Pav Jordan, Bertrand Marotte (Globe and Mail – January 15, 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.

TORONTO and MONTREAL – Harry Winston Diamond Corp. is selling its storied luxury retail unit to Switzerland’s Swatch Group Ltd., leaving the company to focus squarely on the business of mining after eight years as a high-end jeweller.

Months after the company said interested parties were circling its diamond jewellery and watch business, Harry Winston said on Monday that it’s selling the operation to Swatch for $750-million (U.S.), giving it a healthy cash injection as it eyes an industry ripe for consolidation.

Including $250 million in assumed net debt, the deal has an enterprise value of $1-billion, worth nearly three times what Harry Winston paid for the assets.

For Swatch, the world’s number one maker of finished watches, the deal fills a gap in the high-end jewellery business after the collapse of a partnership with Tiffany & Co. in 2011. “It’s a match made in heaven,” said Jon Cox, head of Swiss research with Kepler Capital Markets in Geneva.

Once the deal closes, Harry Winston is to be renamed Dominion Diamond Corp., its latest move in recent months to push deeper into diamond mining after agreeing in November to buy a controlling stake in Ekati, Canada’s oldest diamond development, from BHP Billiton Ltd.

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Lake Shore expects continued growth in 2013 – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – January 14, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Preliminary year-end numbers released by Lake Shore Gold indicate that the corporation’s Timmins West Mine has met forecasted expectations for 2012. In addition to meeting expectations, the release indicates the mine and its milling operations are on track to meet predicted 2013 growth.

“We finished 2012 strong with higher production and improved grades during the fourth quarter,” said Lake Shore president and chief executive Tony Makuch in a corporate release. “For the full year, we achieved our production guidance, producing 85,782 ounces and pouring 85,184 ounces.”

Of those total 2012 ounces, 23,738 ounces were extracted from the mine in the fourth quarter, accounting for 24,041 of the ounces poured in 2012.

“Equally important, we met our key mine development and milling expansion objectives, including increasing both our mining and milling capacity by 25% to 2,500 tonnes per day. We remain on track to increase production capacity to 3,000 tonnes per day during the second quarter of this year.”

The original indicators that showed gold quality at 3.9 grams per tonne was increased to 4.4 grams per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2012. “The progress we achieved in 2012 has positioned us for significantly higher production, reduced spending and improved cash operating costs in 2013,” said Makuch. “Production for the year is targeted at between 120,000 and 135,000 ounces of gold.”

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Canada’s energy juggernaut hits a native roadblock – by Linada McQuaig (Toronto Star – January 15, 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.

Those who believe we can freely trash the environment in our quest to make ourselves richer suffer from a serious delusion — a delusion that doesn’t appear to afflict aboriginal people.

Aboriginals tend to live in harmony with Mother Earth. Their approach has long baffled and irritated Canada’s white establishment, which regards it as a needless impediment to unbridled economic growth.

Nowhere is this irritation more palpable than inside Stephen Harper’s government, with its fierce determination to turn Canada into an “energy superpower,” regardless of the environmental consequences. So it’s hardly surprising that the Harper government has ended up in a confrontation with Canada’s First Nations.

Certainly the prime minister has shown a ruthlessness in pursuing his goal of energy superpowerdom. He has gutted long-standing Canadian laws protecting the environment, ramming changes through Parliament last December as part of his controversial omnibus bill. He has thumbed his nose at global efforts to tackle climate change, revoking Canada’s commitment to Kyoto.

And he’s launched a series of witch-hunt audits of environmental groups that dared to challenge the rampant development of Alberta’s oilsands — one of the world’s biggest sources of climate-changing emissions — as well as plans for pipelines through environmentally sensitive areas.

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First Nations leaders, Idle No More activists warn peaceful protests could turn into months-long blockades this spring – by Kathryn Blaze Carlson (National Post – January 15, 2013)

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

First Nations leaders and Idle No More activists have promised only peaceful protests on their national day of action Wednesday, but once the snow melts and warmer weather sets in, key highways — including the main road to Alberta’s Fort McMurray, a major oil production hub — could be blocked for days, weeks or even months, prompting what one chief called “chaos.”

These latest threats of economic upheaval come at a fragile moment in First Nations-Crown relations, especially now that National Chief Shawn Atleo announced on Monday that a regional chief will take over his duties while he takes a “brief” doctor-ordered stress leave.

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said that while there are no plans to shut down Highway 63, the only all-weather road to Fort McMurray, on Wednesday, the government should expect a months-long summer blockade if it does not repeal or amend its recently passed omnibus budget bill that made changes to the Indian Act and the Navigable Waterways Act.

“If we’re going to shut down that highway, we’re going to shut it down completely — and not just for one day,” he said, warning that “every major highway across the country” would fall to a similar fate. “It’s escalated to a point where people’s frustrations are beginning to run out, and when people’s frustrations run out, things happen.”

In Southern Ontario, Grand Chief Gordon Peters of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians warned that Wednesday’s planned disruption along Highway 401 near Windsor is just a taste of what could come if the Harper government does not acquiesce.

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The oil sands’ benefits – by David A. McLellan (National Post – January 15, 2013)

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

Great jobs with environmental issues that are being dealt with

From an economic perspective, Canada currently stands out among its OECD peers. On a relative basis, we have not looked this strong in more than a generation, although it is by no means a given that we will retain this superior economic performance, with so many obstacles facing our historical trading partners.

It will be imperative to capitalize on our natural resource assets in particular, by developing and commercializing advanced technologies to facilitate their development in more economic and environmentally responsible way.

Consider that there is an irrefutable positive correlation between standard of living and energy consumption, proofed by an examination of current global petroleum consumption. The International Energy Agency reported that in 2011, Canadian per-capita annual consumption of petroleum was 24.6 barrels; the U.S. figure was 21.8 barrels, while the Chinese figure was just 2.7 and the Indian figure was a paltry one barrel. It is not unreasonable to assume that the populations of China, India and much of the developing world would be striving to achieve a Western style standard-of-living.

It may be unreasonable to think they will get there soon, given their numerous challenges, but suppose they do get to a point where their per-capita consumption of petroleum rises to a level about one-third of North America’s.

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[IAMGOLD] Co. funds university pit-mine position – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – January 15, 2013)

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

A mining company called IAMGOLD Corporation has donated $1.25 million to Laurentian University to fund Canada’s first research chair in open-pit mining over a five-year period.

IAMGOLD will soon start mining operations at its Cote Gold project, an open-pit gold mine located near Gogama, about 180 km north of Sudbury.

“This is going to be a large mine that is going to require a lot of talent to operate,” said Gordon Stothart, IAMGOLD’s vice-president and chief operating officer. “Part of how we run our operations is to look around locally for who you can start to source talent.”

Laurentian has started a global search to find a suitable candidate for the research chair position, and is expected to make a decision as early as July.

“The main thing is we need someone with experience in open pit mining,” said Ramesh Subramanian, director of Laurentian’s Bharti School of Engineering. The school of engineering will establish the openpit mining research chair and choose the candidate for the position. Subramanian said about 75% of the world’s mines are openpit, but most mines in Canada are underground.

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UPDATE: 14,000 jobs affected as Amplats restructures Rustenburg – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – January 15, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

The platinum miner hopes to extract R3.8bn in cost savings and create 14,000 new jobs through the plan.

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Anglo American Platinum said Tuesday it will, among other things, reconfigure its Rustenburg operations into three mines, sell its Union mine and deliver R3.8bn in cost savings by 2015.

These plans are all the result of a review of its operations undertaken by its parent Anglo American in a bid to return the company to long-term profitability and are expected to affect as many as 14,000 jobs, 13,000 of which will be in the Rustenburg area.

According to a release out on Tuesday morning, the group said, it would restructure its Rustenburg operations into a sustainable 320-350,000oz platinum producer across three operating mines.

As a result, “Four unsustainable, high-cost shafts, namely Khuseleka 1 and 2 and Khomanani 1 and 2, will be put on long-term care and maintenance.” This it says will see the production profile reduced by approximately 400,000oz per annum with a baseline production target of 2.1 – 2.3 million oz per annum.

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Ruling against free-entry claims forces more First Nations consultation – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – January 15, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A December 27 ruling by three justices from the British Columbia (BC) Court of Appeal sitting in Whitehorse, granted an appeal by the Ross River Dena Council and found that allowing claim staking without first consulting First Nations contravenes the Crown’s duty to consult, potentially holding national ramifications for the exploration industry.

The BC First Nations Energy and Mining Council (FNEMC) said the BC government and the mining industry have been given a “blaring wake-up call” in the form of the precedent-setting court ruling against the existing free-entry claims process.

The council said government and industry now have the choice of spending huge sums and possibly several years trying to fight this decision before the Supreme Court of Canada, where First Nations have a winning record, or sitting down with First Nations to finally come up with a better way of doing business.

“This decision will eventually result in significant reforms to the mining industry across British Columbia. For the first time in a mining case the courts have said the duty to consult and accommodate must take place prior to the granting of an exploration interest, including the commencement of activities,” FNEMC board director chief Roland Willson said.

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Laurentian strikes gold with [IAMGOLD] research chair – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – January 14, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

IAMGOLD donates $1.25M to fund position

Thanks to a $1.25-million donation from IAMGOLD Corporation, Laurentian University’s Bharti School of Engineering will soon host the country’s first research chair in open-pit mining. The research chair is also the first at Laurentian funded entirely by private industry.

IAMGOLD Corporation, a 6,000-employee company with operations in Quebec, West Africa and South America, plans to open an open-pit gold mine at its Côté Gold project south of Gogama in 2017.

The company is looking to spend $1.4 billion to develop the mine, which will employ up to 2,000 people during construction and 400 people once up and running.Given these plans, the company thought it was a good idea to sponsor the research chair, said IAMGOLD CEO Stephen Letwin.

He said the company needs employees trained in the area of open-pit mining and sees the contribution as “an investment in the future.”

“I just can’t tell you how pleased we are to be part of the community and be partners with the school and partners with the region,” Letwin said, speaking to Northern Life on Jan. 14 after the position was announced.

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NEWS RELEASE: LAURENTIAN CREATES FIRST RESEARCH CHAIR IN OPEN-PIT MINING – Canadian company IAMGOLD funds position with $1.25M investment

(L to R) Stephanie Fontaine (2nd Year Mining Engineering Student), Ramesh Subramanian (Laurentian University), Gordon Stothart (IAMGOLD), Dave Brown (IAMGOLD), Philip Gaultier (IAMGOLD), Albert Nelmapius (IAMGOLD), Pierre Pelletier (IAMGOLD), Stephen Letwin (IAMGOLD), Tracy MacLeod (Laurentian University), Dominic Giroux (Laurentian University).

SUDBURY, ON (January 14, 2013) – The Bharti School of Engineering at Laurentian University in Sudbury will establish Canada’s first Research Chair in Open-Pit Mining, with the support of a significant investment from Canadian mining firm, IAMGOLD Corporation.

The company’s investment of $1.25M, dedicated to the creation of a Research Chair, was announced by IAMGOLD’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Letwin at a celebration at Laurentian University this afternoon.

“This investment represents a critically-important enhancement of our research capacity at the Bharti School. This new Research Chair will attract more cutting-edge knowledge to our mining engineering programs, and will certainly augment our international reputation in mining,” said Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, Director of the Bharti School of Engineering.

“The future of the mining industry depends on our ability to step up the pace of innovation and this has to start with educational programs and research opportunities specializing in advanced mining techniques,” said Steve Letwin, IAMGOLD’s President and CEO. “Creating Canada’s first Research Chair in the highly specialized field of open-pit mining, positions Laurentian University as a leader in mining research.

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