March 6, 2013 – Republic of Mining

PDAC – The numbers are there, but the money isn’t – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – March 6, 2013)

March 6, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

This year’s PDAC is seeing plenty of visitors, but a dearth of capital which will lead to serious shortages ahead, and ultimately far higher metal and stock prices.

TORONTO (MINEWEB) – I’ve been attending PDAC meetings since the late 1970s and have seen it through a number of major downturns and subsequent recoveries, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a downbeat convention as it is proving to be this year.

What sets it apart is an underlying feeling that this time the downturn may have longer to run.

Even in 2009, following what may have been an even bigger market crash in Q4 2008, there were already signs that the industry might be pulling out of its fall; this time around that optimism is not at all apparent – and this is within a community which is by its very nature a generally optimistic one. If you’re a prospector or a geologist or a miner you have to be an optimist by definition.

It is interesting viewing the local press in this respect. There were indeed comments leading up to the opening of the event that the situation among the TSX-V juniors in particular was so dire that there were almost certainly going to be a big number of no-shows with the companies not going to be able to afford to send personnel, and put them up at the kind of inflated Toronto hotel prices currently prevailing because of the general influx of visitors for one of the bigger events in the Toronto convention calendar.

PDAC-Mining legend Friedland looks to burnish his image – by Euan Rocha and Rod Nickel (Reuters.com – March 6, 2013)

March 6, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO – (Reuters) – Leave it to the irreverent Robert Friedland to brighten the mood of a mining conference in the throes of a deep, collective depression.

The outspoken financier, known for his talent for picking winners in a risky business, made a rare public appearance on Monday to trumpet his latest venture, Ivanplats Ltd. It was a star turn by a man apparently unburdened by self-doubt or any lack of confidence in the industry’s resilience.

Friedland’s company, one of a handful of initial public offerings in the mining industry last year, owns South Africa’s Platreef, a project rich in platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium, nickel and copper.

Ivanplats owns the “largest mechanizable, ethical precious metal discovery in the world,” Friedland said at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, promising that the geological nature of the deposit would allow for more humane working conditions than those in rival South African mines.

“We’ve discovered something that is very good,” he said, “We’re quite confident that the nickel and copper values are double what we would need to recover, gold, platinum, rhodium and palladium at a negative cost.”

Junior miners in survival mode, bracing for industry-wide culling – by Peter Koven (National Post – March 6, 2013)

March 6, 2013

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

TORONTO — Everyone agrees that junior mining companies are in a severe crisis. The question is: what should they do about it?

It is a theme that has dominated the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference this year. Working capital is whittling away for hundreds and hundreds of Canadian companies, and they have shown little-to-no ability to replenish it. A culling of the TSX Venture Exchange appears imminent, and few people think that is even a bad idea.

But amid the gloom, there are plenty of experts who believe that capable juniors can get back on their feet and emerge from this bear market in a healthier position.

Speaking at a luncheon presentation, hedge fund magnate Eric Sprott said that too many juniors are taking all the cash flow from their producing mines and putting it into the next one.

“Your market cap will go down,” he said. He argued that the ones who can convert their cash flow to dividends will change their fortunes dramatically. And that will allow them to acquire other companies.

Analyst John Kaiser said that the junior market needs to disconnect from the current situation and simply focus on the future. At this point, investors are using any negative sentiment about the mining sector as an excuse to hammer juniors.

Hudak attacks unions and [Ring of Fire] environmentalists – by Richard J. Brennan (Toronto Star – March 6, 2013)

March 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.

Tory Leader Tim Hudak is blaming unions and radical environmentalists for Ontario’s economic woes.

Unions and radical environmentalists are threatening Ontario’s economic progress, Tory Leader Tim Hudak says.

Hudak on Tuesday blamed unions — particularly public sector unions — for stalling Ontario’s economic recovery, and environmentalists for stalling development of the Ring of Fire, a vast northwestern Ontario mineral deposit.

“What the oilsands are to Alberta, what potash is to Saskatchewan, the Ring of Fire could be for the province of Ontario … it’s too bad that the Liberals seem to be captured by radical environmental groups,” Hudak told reporters at Queen’s Park.

Hudak said the Liberal government and the New Democrats are too busy listening to the unions and not the rest of Ontarians.

“The problem that we have is that we have public sector union bosses who are running the government right now. And they seem to have access to the front door to Kathleen Wynne as premier,” he said.

“I think it’s just unfortunate that the NDP and Liberals seem to be so singularly focused on appeasing the public sector union bosses, it’s causing a province to go bankrupt and it is costing us jobs. Nobody is going to invest in a province that has huge debts.”

NEWS RELEASE: Quebec Polls Show Little Public Support for Mining Industry – Canadian Boreal Initiative Calls for Substantive Reform of Mining Practices

March 6, 2013

OTTAWA, March 5, 2013 /CNW/ – In the midst of the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and just in advance of a third attempt at reforming the Quebec’s mining law in the National Assembly, polls by Léger Marketing released today by the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) show that:

the overwhelming majority of Quebec voters disagree with current laws that give the rights of mining companies precedence over rights of private landowners, Aboriginal communities and municipalities, Quebecers feel that protection of the environment, and community and property rights should be prioritized in the mining reform legislation,

a large proportion of voters believe that mining royalties are inadequate; and that a province-wide independent evaluation of the economic, health and environmental impacts of uranium mining should be completed before the province approves any uranium mining proposals.

Suzann Méthot, CBI’s Regional Director in Quebec, said: “These surveys clearly show that that the mining industry needs to take immediate action to bring itself into the 21st century. It can start by ending their defense of the outdated idea that the rights of mining companies should supersede those of individuals, communities, and the environment.”

Poll Highlights

Private Property and Community Rights:

Miners, trades to be in short supply: Report – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – March 6, 2013)

March 6, 2013

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

The mining industry is facing a major human resource problem in the next 10 years as more workers will retire even as fewer students are getting skilled trades training.

Workforce Planning for Sudbury and Manitoulin has released a study that shows the mining industry in and around Sudbury will need more than 21,000 workers to fill vacancies over the next decade. And that’s after taking into consideration the recent slowdown in the industry.

Reggie Caverson, executive director of Workforce Planning for Sudbury and Manitoulin, said many factors are to blame for the projected labour shortfall.

“We’re dealing with the pending retirement of really knowledgeable and skilled people probably within the next five to 10 years and we also find we’re not seeing a lot of people going into the trades, specifically mining. We’re not attracting a lot of local talent to the profession. “When you combine those factors, we may not have enough people at the end of the road who are trained to be able to take over the jobs.”

Caverson says while mining has been in Sudbury for a long time, it still experiences an image problem.

Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Operations launches project to give local birds a wing up

March 6, 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.

Xstrata Copper’s Kidd Operations has launched an avian biodiversity project in partnership with R. Ross Beattie Senior Public School in Timmins. The Raptor Nesting Project is taking flight through the support of a $1,500 donation from the Kidd Operations’ Community Partnership Program to the Technological Studies program at the school. The goal is to enhance the habitat and breeding success of local raptor species such as falcons, ospreys, owls and eagles.

As part of the project, students will construct four nesting platforms for birds of prey, which will be installed at sites near the Kidd Mine and its metallurgical plant. Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Aboriginal traditional knowledge will be involved in the selection of the location of these platforms.

“In line with Xstrata’s Corporate Sustainable Development Policy, Kidd Operations is committed to preserving the long-term health, function and viability of the natural environment around our operations,” said David Yaschyshyn, Superintendent of Environment at Kidd Operations. “The goal of this project, therefore, is to help enhance the unique biodiversity of our region now and in the future once our operations cease.”

“As part of our efforts to encourage the community to participate in sustainable environmental endeavours, we have partnered with R. Ross Beattie Senior Public School and its Technological Studies students to construct these four nesting platforms,” added. Mr. Yaschyshyn. “This will provide students with an opportunity to gain both hands-on woodworking experience and increased knowledge of the biodiversity of the community.”

Press Release: Wabauskang Expects Court of Appeal Decision to Bolster its Case against Ontario and Rubicon

March 6, 2013

Wabauskang First Nation

Treaty 3
March 6, 2013

Wabauskang First Nation expects its lawsuit opposing Rubicon Mineral’s proposed Phoenix Gold Mine Project in Red Lake, Ontario will soon be strengthened by a decision from Ontario’s highest court.

Wabauskang’s lawsuit against Ontario and Rubicon relies on Grassy Narrows First Nation’s victory in the Keewatin decision from 2011. There the Court effectively concluded that only Canada, not Ontario, can issue resource authorizations that affect Treaty rights in Grassy Narrows’ and Wabauskang’s traditional territory, including the Red Lake area. The Keewatin appeal was heard in January and a decision is expected in the next few months.

While attending this week’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto, Wabauskang Chief Leslie Cameron said, “we were heavily involved in the Keewatin appeal and made arguments in support of Grassy Narrows and that support our own case against Rubicon and Ontario. The Court of Appeal seemed really interested in our arguments. We’re expecting to win.”

“If we’re successful, Ontario’s going to have to totally rethink how it treats us and other Treaty 3 First Nations when it comes to mining,” said Chief Cameron. “For a start, we think Rubicon will have to face the writing on the wall and admit they shouldn’t have got their closure plan for the Phoenix Mine. We’re reasonable people.