January 25, 2013 – Republic of Mining

Helping developing countries and the mining business – by Ian Smillie (Ottawa Citizen – January 25, 2013)

January 25, 2013

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

Ian Smillie, Ottawa-based author of Blood on the Stone: Greed, Corruption and War in the Global Diamond Trade, chairs the Board of the Diamond Development Initiative.

Throughout 2012 Canadians were treated to an unedifying debate about whether and why the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) should co-finance development projects with Canadian mining companies abroad. The debate arose when CIDA contributed to projects in Africa and South America run by Canadian NGOs and co-financed by three different Canadian mining companies. The projects have vague connections with mining — mainly with mining-related education. But in truth they do not bear directly on any of the companies’ operations.

“Effective partnerships!” said then CIDA minister Bev Oda, a sentiment echoed by current CIDA Minister Julian Fantino. “Subsidies for mining companies!” said the critics, claiming that CIDA should not be funding activities that fall within the ambit of a company’s own corporate social responsibility. CIDA’s mandate, after all, is to end poverty, not to promote Canadian mining companies abroad.

The criticism of CIDA was shrill, however, and much of it was not very well grounded. One of the Canadian firms in question sold its Ghanaian interests to a Chinese firm in 2010, so whatever the critics might think CIDA is promoting there, it isn’t a Canadian company. Those in the “For” camp contributed to the confusion, saying that foreign direct investment is far superior to aid handouts, and that Canadian mining companies actually purvey considerable amounts of development in their own right. In a Toronto speech, Julian Fantino added to the turmoil, saying that “CIDA is committed to contributing to Canada’s long-term prosperity and security.”

NEWS RELEASE: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. Expects to Include Non-cash Impairment Charges within Its Fourth-quarter Results

January 25, 2013

http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com/EN/Pages/default.aspx

January 24, 2013

· Fourth-quarter 2012 Results Expected to Include $1.4 Billion of Non-cash Impairment Charges and $542 Million of Non-cash Tax Valuation Allowances
· Financial Results for Fourth-quarter and Full-year 2012 to be Released After U.S.-Market Close on Feb.13 and Conference Call on Feb. 14

CLEVELAND, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (Paris: CLF) today announced that as a result of its goodwill impairment test conducted in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company has determined that approximately $1 billion of goodwill related to Cliffs’ 2011 acquisition of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited is impaired. The goodwill impairment charge will be recorded as a non-cash expense for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012. The impairment is primarily driven by the project’s anticipated lower long-term volumes and higher capital and operating costs. The previously announced delay of the Phase II expansion of the Bloom Lake mine also contributed to the impairment. Cliffs also indicated it expects to incur $100 – $150 million of other charges related to its Eastern Canadian Iron Ore business segment.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101104/CLIFFSLOGO)

Additionally, as previously disclosed, Cliffs’ Board of Directors recently authorized the sale of the Company’s 30% interest in Amapa. Based on the pending terms of the sale, Cliffs expects to record a non-cash pretax impairment expense of $365 million within its fourth-quarter results.

James C. O’Rourke (Born 1939) – 2013 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by the late Maurice R. Brown, former editor and publisher of The Northern Miner, as a way to recognize and honour the legendary mine finders and builders of a great Canadian industry. The Hall was established in 1988. For more information about the extraordinary individuals who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, please go to their home website: http://mininghalloffame.ca/

(L to R) James C. O'Rourke and Graham Farquharson — (L to R) James C. O’Rourke and Graham Farquharson

James O’Rourke began his career as a mining engineer working on a new generation of mines being developed by visionary industry leaders during the expansionary post-war decades. This rare experience set the stage for a successful career as a mine-maker, company builder and advocate of progressive industry partnerships. He exemplifies the optimistic spirit of his native British Columbia, where he played leadership roles in the development of the Quinsam coal mine, the Cassiar asbestos mine, the Huckleberry copper mine, and the Similco copper mine, later revived and expanded as Copper Mountain, among other endeavors.

In addition to building companies such as Princeton Mining and Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, he forged strong partnerships with Pacific Rim trading partners, setting a precedent for other companies and industries to follow as part of the Pacific Gateway initiative.

Pierre Lassonde (Born 1947) – 2013 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

March 9, 2018January 25, 2013

http://www.pendaproductions.com/ This video was produced by PENDA Productions, a full service production company specializing in Corporate Communications with a focus on Corporate Responsibility.

(L to R) Pierre Lassonde and Seymour Schulich

Pierre Lassonde has long believed that a nation’s natural resources are not its commodities, but its people. He proved this true during his own exemplary career as a professional engineer, astute investor, innovative financier, etrepreneurial company builder, dedicated philanthropist, and senior statesman of Canada’s mining and investment industries. He also invested in human resources through generous contributions to universities that continue to produce enduring and incalculable returns, including a new generation of industry professionals.

Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Lassonde earned a degree in electrical engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal, followed by a MBA from the University of Utah in 1973. After a stint with Bechtel in San Francisco, he joined Beutel Goodman & Company and managed its successful gold investment fund for more than a decade. He launched Franco-Nevada Mining in 1982, after teaming up with Seymour Schulich.

Gerald W. Grandey (Born 1946) – 2013 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

(L to R) Gerald W. Grandey and Chris Twigge-Molecey

When Gerald Grandey joined Cameco Corporation in 1993, his mandate as senior vice-president of marketing and corporate development was to help the company grow beyond its core Rabbit Lake and Key Lake uranium mines in Saskatchewan. He rose to that challenge and many others after becoming president and CEO in the early 2000s. When he retired in 2011, Cameco accounted for 16% of the world’s uranium with five mines in Canada, the United States and Kazakhstan, and was an integrated nuclear energy company.

But Grandey did more than expand production and increase market capitalization by 350% to $9.6 billion from $2.1 billion. He helped Cameco become Canada’s largest industrial employer of Aboriginal people and a world leader in nuclear safety, played a pivotal role in a global nuclear disarmament agreement, and raised the profile of nuclear power as clean energy.

Charles E. Fipke (Born 1946) – 2013 Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Inductee

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

Geologists and prospectors had searched for diamond deposits in North America for more than a century with only teasing hints of success until the discovery of a cluster of kimberlites in the Northwest Territories that became Ekati, Canada’s first diamond mine. This groundbreaking discovery, synonymous with the name of 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 epic success of this discovery, achieved on a shoestring budget through innovative science, sparked a staking rush, inspired other diamond discoveries and created a new industry for Canada.

Australian Iron Ore Rush – by James Coffman – (The Motley Fool – January 25, 2013)

January 25, 2013

http://beta.fool.com/

The race is on! The iron rush, in the Pilbara iron district of Western Australia, is in full force. Forget about watching the World Series, a horse race, or Monday night football. This race to increase iron ore production keeps me on the edge of my seat. The stakes are high and the profit potential is great.

There are three main players. We have two very large and very diversified companies; namely Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO) at the number one spot, BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) at the number two spot and the underdog nipping at their heals, namely Fortescue Metals Group (NASDAQOTH: FSUMF). All of the players are exposed to the rise and fall of iron ore prices as a result of the vagaries of the big Chinese steel mills and the Chinese economy. RIO and BHP have diversified mineral plays across the globe, but tend to get the largest piece of their profit pie from iron operations.

Both of the big boys have problems from other operations eating up their cash flow: RIO with its $14 billion dollar mistake in Mozambique and BHP’s inability to act in a forward looking direction. In contrast, Fortescue is a pure iron play and well situated to cash in on the current and future iron needs of China, though it sees much larger swings in its share price with changes in iron prices than its competitors.

Fortescue is motivated and determined in their pace of development. They will see the greatest rise in stock value over the next couple of years. FSUMF has just gotten out of the gate and they are the young purebred challenging the old guard resting on their laurels.

Xstrata Copper in Timmins extends support for sturgeon restoration biodiversity initiative

January 25, 2013

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.

Ontario Mining Association member Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Operations in Timmins has committed $21,000 to the Wintergreen Fund in support of the Mattagami River Sturgeon Restoration Project. “We are committed to supporting sustainable environmental projects, such as this one, that address identified needs and bring together community partners with common goals,” said Tom Semadeni, General Manager of Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Operations.

This contribution extends Kidd Operations support of the sturgeon initiative through to 2014. The funding will be used to acquire stationary monitors, nets, transmitters and other fish monitoring equipment. Along with the financial support, Kidd Operations will continue to provide in-kind donations of helicopter and personnel time for sturgeon habitat mapping and monitoring.

The Mattagami River Sturgeon Restoration Project began in 2002 in efforts to re-establish Lake Sturgeon in the local watershed. A once large population of Lake Sturgeon had been reduced significantly due to overfishing, log drives, habitat fragmentation caused by the construction of hydro-electric dams and to a lesser degree pollution. This project’s efforts have provided valuable data on the size and location of the fish population, where they gather to breed and how the river environment can be improved to encourage reproduction.

Lake Sturgeon are descendants of a prehistoric fish going back to the Mesozoic Era (dinosaur age). The fish appear to be much the same today as 100-million-year-old fossils, which have been found.

Diamond drill CAO [Barb Courte] shares success story – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – January 25, 2013)

January 25, 2013

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – It is not easy for a woman to get to the top in a male-dominated industry such as mining. Barb Courte, a big name in the world of diamond drilling, spoke at the Dante Club on Thursday at a Women in Business luncheon hosted by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.

Courte, president and CAO of Northstar Drilling Ltd. and Cobra Diamond Drilling Ltd., said heads are quick to turn when she tells people about her heavy-duty line of work.

“As women, we’re not supposed to be working in the drilling industry,” said Courte, about past experiences, which have led her to work in places like Thunder Bay, Timmins, Sweden and most recently, the Dominican Republic. “I’ll tell you, after some of the things I’ve learned about mechanical stuff and down-the-hole stuff, it’s pretty bad. I have to check if I’m still female once in awhile.”

Courte’s tale in far from conventional. After getting married to Garry, a diamond driller, she never envisioned she’d be the one to eventually call the shots. In fact, at the time, she barely knew what drilling was.

“When I met my husband, I said, ‘What do you do?’ He said, ‘I’m a diamond driller,’ and I said, ‘Oh really!”, remembered Courte, getting one of many laughs from the crowd on the afternoon.

Mining juniors in crisis – gold explorers particularly badly hit – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – January 25, 2013)

January 25, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

The junior gold mining and exploration sector is currently at a very low ebb – but the better juniors will survive regardless and now provide tremendous opportunities for the savvy investor.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Feedback from the Vancouver Resource Investment meeting last week suggests the junior mining crisis is really hitting home and unless there is a turnaround soon a significant number of junior gold explorers in particular will no longer be with us even by mid-year, and certainly not by this time next year.

A conference and exhibition primarily involving junior miners and explorers, and particularly one taking place in Vancouver where the largest proportion of North American juniors are headquartered, is an excellent venue for judging the state of the industry.

And on reviewing this year’s Cambridge House event the junior mining sector is in a precarious state at present with companies finding it difficult, if not impossible, to raise new funds to keep themselves afloat.

Stock prices are so low that new share issues are not really an option, while banks and financial institutions are just not prepared to take the risk of lending to companies in a sector that, even in good times, can prove a risky one for which to provide finance.