July 15, 2013 – Republic of Mining

Outlook fails to quell ore appetite – by Arpan Muhkerjee (Dow Jones/The Australian – July 16, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business

DIRE predictions of slumping iron ore prices and warnings of the end of the commodities super-cycle aren’t deterring some deep-pocketed, long-view investors whose appetite for the steelmaking raw material is driving mining-asset mergers and acquisitions activity from Australia to Canada.

The short-term outlook for iron ore isn’t good.Prices have fallen 12 per cent since the start of the year and are down more than 20 per cent from the high of $US158.90 a tonne in February.

Some see iron ore slumping to $US90 a tonne or less due to rising supplies and slowing growth in top consumer China. UBS expects iron ore to average $117 a tonne this year, while Goldman Sachs has forecast $US80 a tonne in 2015.

“People are looking to buy cheap assets, so this is the perfect time when the downside (in prices) is still there,” said Helen Lau, senior analyst at UOB KayHian in Hong Kong. “Investors are able to negotiate even cheaper prices with miners.” Also weighing on prices is likely future iron ore supply rises.

Rio Tinto, Australia’s biggest iron ore exporter by volume, is pushing ahead with an expansion of output in the ore-rich Pilbara region.

Mettle of big miners’ austerity to be tested – by Matt Chambers (The Australian – July 15, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business

THE nation’s biggest resource companies release quarterly reports this week in the first chance for investors to gauge progress in the big miners’ self-proclaimed new era of spending restraint and productivity.

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Woodside Petroleum and Santos will report production, and energy firms revenue, from what has been a weaker quarter than it could have been from the nation’s resource-rich Pilbara in Western Australia. Rio and BHP experienced a very wet dry-season month of June in the Pilbara.

This is understood to have affected production from Rio, which reports tomorrow, and is likely to drag down its regional production, including minority partners’ interests, by a couple of million tonnes from the 61 million analysts had forecast.

Data from Rio’s Dampier and Cape Lambert ports in the Pilbara compiled by Credit Suisse backs this up, showing June exports this year were at their lowest in four years for the traditionally strong month. BHP, which reports on Wednesday, is said to have been hit to some extent.

While any impacts will be unwelcome, they are unlikely to worry investors and will be seen as one-offs that have a good chance of being compensated for over the rest of the calendar year.

1880s saw first ore flow from Johnson Camp Mine east of Tucson – by William Ascarza (Arizona Daily Star – July 15, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://azstarnet.com/

MINE TALES: William Ascarza is an archivist, historian and author of five books, including “Southeastern Arizona Mining Towns” and “Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.” Email him at mining@azstarnet.com

SITE NEAR DRAGOON STILL ACTIVE TODAY, HAS LARGE RESERVES OF ORE

Located 65 miles east of Tucson on the eastern slopes of the Little Dragoon Mountains, the Johnson Camp Mine is a working copper mine in Cochise County. Substantial mining operations didn’t start there until the early 1880s upon the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad through the nearby town of Dragoon, seven miles south of the mine.

The property has been the site for underground mining, open-pit mining and mineral processing. Early smelting operations began with the erection in 1882 of a 30-ton smelter that had an output of 4 tons of copper bullion a day. The ore during that time contained as much as 7.4 percent copper.

Two towns emerged in what became known as the Cochise (Johnson) Mining District. The first was Russellville, which was soon replaced by Johnson.

Taseko Mines praises Ottawa ahead of environmental hearings – by Dene Moore (Canadian Press/CTV New – July 14, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.ctvnews.ca/

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — The company behind a rejected billion-dollar gold and copper mine in the British Columbia Interior has been lobbying for the federal government to change the environmental assessment process that previously rejected the project, documents show.

And Taseko Mines Ltd. likes what it’s heard, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

“I believe that yourself and the government of Canada are showing great leadership by taking an unapologetic approach to the responsible development of this country’s natural resources,” John McManus, senior vice-president of operations for Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO), wrote to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver following a January 2012 meeting in Vancouver.

The proposed New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine was rejected by a federal environmental assessment panel in 2010 over concerns about the environmental impact, specifically the plan to drain a nearby lake for use as a tailings pond. Public hearings before a new panel are to begin this week in Williams Lake, B.C., for a revised mine proposal. The planned site is located about 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake.

Conservative Shuffle A Fresh Start – by James Murray (Netnewsledger.com – July 15, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Prime Minister Harper has shuffled his cabinet. The move offers a fresh start for the Conservative government which has been mired in recent months. “These changes to the Ministry feature both younger Members of Parliament ready for new opportunities, and steady hands that will continue to deliver strong leadership in key portfolios. In particular, I am proud to welcome four new strong and capable women to the Cabinet table,” stated the Prime Minister in announcing his new cabinet. There are four more women into cabinet, and four new men who will now sit at the cabinet table.

The Conservatives are going to seek to put a new face on the government. It is needed. Over the past two years, the Conservatives have started to show their age, and some of the expected exhaustion that the stresses of the job of Minister entail.

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs states, “I am ecstatic at hearing the news that MP Rickford is Minister of Fednor and point person for the Ring of Fire. Minister Rickford is a good personal friend and also knows well the North and Northwest. I look forward to working closely with Greg on issues affecting Thunder Bay and area”.

While however, there are several major shifts, Peter MacKay is now the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Jason Kenney is now the Minister of Public Works. Many of the front bench members remain.

Mining for high risk capital – by Lisa Davis (The Lawyers weekly – July 19, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=main

In a tight market, flow-through share issuers require close scrutiny

If there was ever any doubt that the mining exploration sector is pinched for cash, consider recent reports that more than one-third of the companies listed on the resource-heavy TSX Venture Exchange have less than $200,000 of working capital — barely enough to maintain a public listing — and 70 per cent of them are trading at below 20 cents a share.

For what should be obvious reasons, lawyers acting for flow-through share issuers and intermediaries in this cash-dry environment need to be particularly diligent in ensuring resource-sector issuers fulfil their obligations and that investors get the tax benefits they bargained for.

In order to attract high-risk capital for mineral exploration, early stage resource exploration companies are able to issue flow-through shares entitling investors to a tax deduction equal to the subscription amount (plus additional tax credits specific to surface exploration and provincial incentives).

Under the flow-through regime, funds raised in Year 1 have to be spent by the end of Year 2.

China’s GDP growth slows to 7.5 percent, tests reform push – by Langi Chiang and Jonathan Standing – Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

BEIJING – (Reuters) – China’s GDP growth slowed in the second quarter to 7.5 percent year-on-year as weak overseas demand weighed on output and investment, lining up a test of Beijing’s resolve to revamp the world’s second-biggest economy in the face of deteriorating data.

Other figures showed industrial output in June rising slightly less than forecast compared with a year earlier, but retail sales increasing more than had been expected.

The latest year-on-year economic growth reading compared with the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 7.5 percent and showed the pace of economic activity easing from 7.7 percent annual growth in January-March.

“These figures are not surprising, adding to signs of downward pressure on China’s economy,” said Zhou Hao, an economist at ANZ Bank in Shanghai. The Australian dollar, which is highly sensitive to Chinese demand for Australian raw materials, rose on relief the GDP numbers were not weaker, following last week’s report of a surprise fall in exports in June from a year earlier.

Queen’s Park: Ontario’s economic future out of its hands as Ring of Fire languishes – by Ian Harvey (July 15, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/

Ian Harvey has been a journalist for 35 years writing about a diverse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His e-mail address is ianharvey@rogers.com.

From beaver pelts to the oilsands, Canada’s economy has benefited from a blessed treasure trove of resources. Why else would anyone slog through dense bush while fighting mosquitoes, navigate huge waterways, and pound through granite but for those rich rewards?

Toronto’s financial district owes much to mining, forestry, and energy as a quick glance at the Toronto Stock Exchange attests. Look west and the British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan economies are booming while Ontario’s moribund manufacturing sector struggles with a petro dollar that puts mainstays like the auto makers on alert as labour costs rise.

It wasn’t always like this, of course. Hooked up to cheap hydro electric power, Ontario was the engine that drove the nation. But today, it languishes as a have-not province in Confederation while hamstrung by deficits and a debt that will hover like a thundercloud over successive governments for generations.

What Ontario needs today is money. It needs lots of it and it can’t come soon enough. But the future of Ontario is mired in its past as well as lingering questions over aboriginal rights and which land claims are valid.

Q & A with David de Launay, ADM Ring of Fire – (Onotassiniik Magazine – Summer 2013)

July 15, 2013

Onotassiniik, Wawatay’s Mining Quarterly, sets out to provide knowledge and information about the mining industry in northern Ontario to First Nations communities, individuals and leaders throughout the region.

David de Launay is the Assistant Deputy Minister, Ring of Fire – Community Relations – Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

David de Launay is a member of the Ontario’s Ring of Fire Secretariat. As an assistant deputy minister, de Launay is responsible for “community and government relations.” He replaced Deborah Richardson of Pabineau First Nation on the Secretariat after she announced in January she was taking a two-year leave from the Ontario government. Richardson had filled the position in August when Harvey Yesno left it for his successful bid to become grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation.

Prior to joining the Secretariat, de Launay’s assistant deputy minister duties for the Cabinet Office of Ontario involved reviewing oil and gas pipeline development. He has spent most of his career working within the Ontario government in Aboriginal Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Bryan Phelan, Onotassiniik editor, asked him in March about his important new role with the Ring of Fire Secretariat.

The story hidden in grandfather rocks [Northern Ontario First Nations] – by Andy Fyon (Onotassiniik Magazine – Summer 2013)

July 15, 2013

Andy Fyon is the Director of the Ontario Geological Survey, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

Do you collect rocks? Isn’t it interesting how they’re all so different? Some rocks are round, others have sharp and pointy edges, some are colourful, and others are dull.

When I was a child, I collected rocks. I wondered about the stories they had to tell. Where did they come from? How did they arrive where I was standing? Why were there so many different types of rock in that small area?

That curiosity about rocks always remained with me, so, naturally, I became a geologist – a person who seeks knowledge about the earth: “ahki nanatookiikaenge gay wininii.” I am now the leader of the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines’ Ontario Geological Survey (OGS). We seek to understand the story hidden in the Ontario rocks, soils and landforms.

What is the Ontario Geological Survey?

Marten Falls youth win mining video award – by Christian Quequish (Wawatay News – July 14, 2013)

April 5, 2015July 15, 2013

http://wawataynews.ca/

Youth from Marten Falls First Nation were the recipients of the best overall video award for the Ontario Mining Association’s 2013 So You Think You Know Mining video contest this past June.

The winning youth from Marten Falls were: Christian Peters, Matthew Waboose, Allen Waboose, Jared Peters, Drew Waboose, Craig and Skye Achneepineskum. The filmmakers travelled to Toronto to attend a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) that recognized the winning contestants.

“Visiting Toronto was awesome, I got to meet new people and visit the CN tower,” said Drew Waboose, one of the recipients of the mining video award of $5,000 and a trophy. “My mom was so proud when she found out we won first place. Hearing my group’s name get called I felt happy because we never thought we were going to win.”

Allen Waboose, another one of the filmmakers, said some of the challenges during production were getting a boat to use for the film and climbing on top of the community arena to get a good shot of a helicopter flying in supplies. “It started off with Kaitlyn Ferris (of Noront Resources), it wasn’t all my idea,” said Allen Waboose. “She came to my reserve and I just randomly joined the project.”

Industrial policy is back — except in Ontario – by Eugene Lang (Toronto Star – July 14, 2013)

July 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.

Eugene Lang is BMO Visiting Fellow at the School of Public and International Affairs, Glendon College, York University.

Countries with robust industrial policies — especially in Asia and other emerging markets — have seen superior growth performance post-recession.

Industrial policy — government interventions to grow and improve the competitiveness of select industries — is back in fashion, according to a new paper by John M. Curtis and Dan Ciuriak published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP).

In fact, industrial policies never really went out of style, except in the Anglo-American democracies. For the past three decades governments in the Anglosphere — regardless of the party in power — have shied away from industrial policies and embraced the notion that state interventions to promote specific economic sectors usually do more harm than good. This is allegedly because governments don’t have the necessary information to “pick winners.” The market, according to this view, is always far superior at allocating resources than any government ever could be.

Double Standards (Vale waste spill) – St. John’s Telegram Editorial (July 13, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://www.thetelegram.com/

There’s an old saying about money and moguls: if you owe the bank $10,000 and you can’t pay, you’re in trouble. But if you owe the bank $10 million and you can’t pay, your banker’s in trouble.

It’s got to do with scale: essentially, there’s a point at which your size creates its own kind of motion — or its own kind of inertia — and you end up being treated differently than anyone else might be.

Keep that in mind and ask yourself if it might apply to this question: if Vale/Inco has a problem with toxic waste spilled into Arctic waters, is that really their problem or, given their size, is it a problem for the provincial government?

Because Vale is having a problem — one that they may well be trying very hard to solve, and one that the federal government has recently charged them over. Vale was charged with three charges related to the release of toxic materials into Anaktalak Bay in Labrador.

But just try getting anyone to talk about not only the issues involved in the case, or about Vale’s past record of failing a series of tests on effluent, and you find that everyone is pretty much mum.

Opposition critic Norm Miller says government policies hinder mining – by Greg Klein (Resource Clips – July 12, 2013)

July 15, 2013

http://resourceclips.com/

Ontario: A partisan view

Is Ontario’s Liberal government out of touch with the exploration and mining sector? Certainly there’s been widespread criticism from a range of sources. Early-stage explorers say they’re unfairly burdened by new regulations. A formidable entity like Cliffs Natural Resources took shots at the province when suspending the Ring of Fire’s largest project. Most recently, Northern Graphite TSXV:NGC CEO Gregory Bowes said bureaucratic delays put his company at a competitive disadvantage. On July 12 ResourceClips.com spoke with an admittedly partisan source, Norm Miller, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives’ official opposition critic for Northern Development and Mines.

As a mining jurisdiction, Ontario once held first place in the Fraser Institute survey, Miller says—conveniently for him, when his party was in power and current leader Tim Hudak was minister of Northern Development and Mines. Now the province ranks 16th, down from 13th last year. “I think the delays Northern Graphite faces are part of the reason,” he says.

He’s heard this from other companies. The privately held Ontario Graphite, which says it plans to start mining in Q4, is located in Miller’s riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka. “They had similar challenges getting their permits and it was getting critical for them at one point,” he says. “They came to me as their MPP to try to speed the process up.”

NEWS RELEASE: MEGA PRECIOUS METALS INC. ALLOWED TO CONTINUE WORK AT THE MONUMENT BAY PROJECT

July 15, 2013

Thunder Bay, Ontario (July 12, 2013)

Mega Precious Metals Inc. (MGP-TSX-V) and Rolling Rock Resources Corporation (Mega): Further to the news release of July 4, 2013, the Court of the Queen’s Bench, Manitoba has granted an indefinite extension of the injunction and Mega is able to continue its planned exploration work at its Monument Bay Project.

Mega sought the injunction in response to a “Stop Work Order” and a “Notice of Eviction” Letter delivered to Mega on July 2, 2013 by Chief Leslie Harper of the Red Sucker Lake First Nation (RSLFN).

Glen Kuntz, President and CEO stated “Mega remains interested in exploring further opportunities for collaboration with RSLFN to those already in place.” Mega has been actively engaged with RSLFN since 2010 and believes that it continues to demonstrate respect for RSLFN’ Treaty rights.

Mega Precious Metals has had all of the necessary permits from the Government of Manitoba to operate its camp and to conduct exploration activities on Crown land in the Monument Bay project area since December of 2010. The permits that Mega has received from the Manitoba Government provide for continued engagement with Aboriginal communities to ensure that traditional activities and areas of cultural significance are protected and respected.