Glencore closer to iron ore ambition – by Katrina Manson and Javier Blas (Financial Times – March 30, 2014)

http://www.ft.com/home/us

Glencore has cleared a key hurdle in its ambition to become an iron ore miner, reaching a preliminary deal with the west African country of Mauritania for a $1bn contract for access to railway and port facilities.

The commodities giant is keen to expand into iron ore, a key ingredient of steel and a vital source of profits from rivals Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Vale of Brazil. The trader is seeking to develop three big projects in Mauritania, two in partnership with state-controlled miner Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière, which has exclusively exported the mineral from the country since the 1960s.

The railway contract is one of the three key obstacles to build the remote Askaf mine. Although Mauritania, which relies on iron ore for half its exports and a quarter of its tiny $4bn economy, wants to boost iron ore production, the two parties have spent two years negotiating access to railway.

Initially, SNIM asked Glencore far too high a price for access to its railway for the next 20-25 years, according to people familiar with the negotiations. But recently both sides reached a preliminary deal, pending some final discussions.

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Nationalism takes centre stage in Indonesia’s election campaign – by Rieka Rahadiana (Reuters Canada – March 30, 2014)

http://ca.reuters.com/

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Dressed in the style of Indonesia’s first leader, even using replica 1950s microphones, presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto roared to thousands of supporters at a recent rally in the capital: “Indonesia cannot be bought”.

It is a nationalistic tone that has been on the rise in campaigns by the major political parties ahead of elections to choose a parliament on April 9 and a new president on July 9.

The question of whether Indonesia is souring on the foreign money that helped bankroll much of its growth was thrust into the spotlight this year with a new law that aims to boost the country’s profits by banning the export of minerals unless they have been processed first.

That threatens the fortunes of some of Indonesia’s biggest investors, notably two major U.S. mining companies with large operations in the country – Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining Corp. To continue exporting, mining firms must now either pay 20-25 percent tax from this year, rising to up to 60 percent by the second half of 2016, or invest hundreds of millions of dollars on new smelters.

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Energy Seriousness for Europe – Wall Street Editorial (March 27, 2014)

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Shale gas, not windmills, can free the continent from reliance on Russia. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has at last focused European minds on the need to reduce their dependence on Russian energy. One solution lies right underfoot.

British Prime Minister David Cameron offered what should be an obvious fix: tapping some of the trillions of cubic feet of shale oil and gas that are estimated to be locked under the European surface. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in the Hague, Mr. Cameron called the invasion of Crimea “something of a wake-up call” for Europe. “Energy independence, using all these different sources of energy, should be a tier one political issue from now on, rather than tier five.”

He should know. U.K.-based Cuadrilla Resources first applied for an exploration permit in Lancashire in 2008, under the previous Labour government. Cuadrilla says it has found 200 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place in Lancashire’s Bowland Basin alone. With the U.K. consuming roughly 3.4 trillion cubic feet per year, even a fraction of that gas could make a dramatic difference to energy prices and prospects in Europe.

Since 2008, Cuadrilla has conducted some testing and exploration; met with local land-owners in its prospective drilling sites; prepared more applications for planning and health and safety approval than we can list here; and waited out a string of government-commissioned consultations and studies—all of which have so far concluded that hydraulic fracturing poses no serious risk, albeit with myriad recommended rules governing the process.

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Mine Tales: Silver Bell district yielded millions of pounds of copper – by William Ascarza (Arizona Daily Star – March 31, 2014)

http://azstarnet.com/

The earliest recorded mine in the Silver Bell Mountains was the Old Boot Mine in 1865. The mine, later renamed the Mammoth Mine, was developed by prospectors and financed by a group of Tucson merchants including Zeckendorf and Steinfeld, who were drawn to the heavy, black garnet-stained rock formations in the mountains.

Several small rich pockets of lead silver ores were discovered in the area over the next several decades. Other mines later developed included the Young America Mine, Imperial and El Tiro.

By 1904 the Silver Bell district was mined in earnest by the Imperial Copper Co., whose interest included 61 claims. The Oxide Copper Co. also developed claims.

Mining was challenging due to lack of water and high transportation costs involving ore shipments hauled by mule-drawn wagons to the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Red Rock. From there it was transported to El Paso or the Copper Queen smelter at Douglas.

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Alphonse and Gaston meet the Ring of Fire – by (Troy Media – March 30, 2014)

http://www.troymedia.com/

Frank Dabbs is a veteran business and political journalist, author of three biographies and a contributor, researcher or editor of half a dozen books. Frank worked in print, radio and television in Alberta for 40 years. Since 2006, he has been a print and television freelancer in Ontario. 

None of the players involved in the development of Ontario’s economic salvation is willing to be the first to commit

ANNAN, ON, Mar 30, 2014/ Troy Media/ – Alphonse and Gaston were two newspaper cartoon characters created in the 1920s by Frederick Opper, and the “glacial” progress of Ontario’s Ring of Fire harks back to them.

Alphonse and Gaston were two waiters who never got anything done because they were too polite. “After you Alphonse,” Gaston said. “No, you first, my dear Gaston,” replied Alphonse.

It’s very reminiscent of what is happening with Ontario’s Ring of Fire, a massive planned chromite mining and smeltering development project in the mineral-rich James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario. No one seems willing to be the first to launch the $60 billion mineral discovery in the area.

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Will Anglo American’s investors think the newest boss is really worth £5.3m? – by Louise Armitstead (The Telegram – March 30, 2014)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Mark Cutifani, the no-nonsense Australian, is focusing on the rich seam of problems at the troubled mining giant

Mark Cutifani ought to have his hard hat on. The last two chief executives of Anglo American before him were bulldozed out by angry shareholders and now, almost exactly a year into the job, the new boss has provocatively dumped his £5.3m pay deal in front of them.

The Australian-born Cutifani has the distinct advantage over his immediate predecessor, Cynthia Carroll, of being both a qualified mining engineer and a man. But still, the proposal to extract £2m compensation for the loss of incentives at his previous job, plus £836,000 to cover the move from Johannesburg, is a brave ask.

Last year, investors gave Cutifani a bloody nose after just a few weeks at the FTSE 100 mining giant when 28pc voted against the remuneration report. Now they have the details, what will happen at the annual meeting next month?

“They will vote and we will see,” says the no-nonsense Cutifani. “We’ve made quite a few changes since last year, and I’m good with that.” He accepts the pay deal could have been improved with more performance links.

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Mick Davis is cash heavy and hunting for mining deals – maybe in Canada – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – March 31, 2014)

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.

ROME — The new company set up by Mick Davis and other former Xstrata executives, X2 Resources, has raised $2.5-billion (U.S.) in funds and is set to buy mining assets in the belief that the commodities cycle is set for a revival.

X2 announced Monday that it had secured the commitment from five investors, each of which have contributed $500-million. The same five have have agreed to contribute another $1.25-billion in conditional equity funding, raising the potential total to US$3.75-billion.

The identifies of only two of the five investors, Noble Group and TPG, have been disclosed. Noble Group, based in Hong Kong and listed on the Singapore exchange, is one of the world’s largest commodities trading and infrastructure companies. It competes with Switzerland’s Glencore, the new owner of Xstrata. Mr. Davis was CEO of Xstrata until early last year.

TPG is a private American investment firm, with more than $55-billion in assets under management in a broad range of businesses, from energy to biotechnology.

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Ont. ‘on roadway’ to dialogue on resource extraction – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 31, 2014)

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

A lawyer, who has represented both companies and First Nations in negotiating impact benefit agreements, says he’s encouraged by the regional framework agreement signed last week by the province and the Matawa chiefs for the Ring of Fire.

Bill Gallagher of Waterloo, an experienced strategist in the area of native, government and corporate relations, who has written a book on the subject, says it wouldn’t have been easy to achieve that outcome.

It would have been a challenge for former Ontario New Democrat premier Bob Rae, who represented the nine Matawa councils, and retired Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci, representing the government of Ontario, to reach the deal.

For Rae to get the chiefs working in a cohesive manner would, to some extent, “be like herding cats,” said Gallagher in an interview last week from Winnipeg where he was speaking at a conference along with Rae.

Rae is a lawyer whose clients are giving him instruction, he’s giving them advice and it seems to be working, said Gallagher.

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Social development shortcomings blamed for mining project failures – Danielson – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – March 31, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Although mining’s record on social license to operate is often seen as poor, sustainability expert Luke Danielson is confident mining can “lead the way in pioneering new and more effective social relationships”.

RENO (MINEWEB) – “A large and growing number of project failures are a direct result of the inability to deal successfully with the combination of environment, community and social” concerns, said former Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project administrator, Luke Danielson.

In a speech to the 2014 Mining and Land Resource Institute in Reno, Nevada, attorney Danielson observed, “(Mining) Project failure and conflict resolution resulting from lack of social license is extraordinary expensive.”

“Lengthy conflicts are all too frequent and debilitating” for companies, governments, communities, shareholders and other stakeholders, he said. Danielson, now the president and co-founder of the Sustainable Development Strategies Group highlighted several major mining projects which have had difficulty with issues stemming from social license to operate.

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Tunnel vision: Most Canadian CEOs believe the economy must diversify – by Richard Blackwell (Globe and Mail – March 31, 2014)

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.

Almost two-thirds of Canadian executives say the country is too dependent on resource industries and needs to become more diversified to inject better balance into the economy.

But the latest C-Suite Survey of business executives also shows a deep divide between those in the resource sector and those in other sectors, over the long-standing concentration of Canada’s economic might in mining, oil and gas, and other resources.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents said the downturn in commodities is a reminder that there is too much emphasis on extractive industries, and that there is a need for diversification. About 30 per cent said it makes sense to count on the country’s natural resources – and those executives think the sector will recover as the commodity cycle rebounds.

The results reflect very different views depending on which sector the executives work in. Almost 80 per cent of those in the service industry say Canada is too dependent on resources, while only 44 per cent of executives at the top of mining companies feel that way.

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Canada regulator seeks wiretap powers for insider-trading cases – by Cameron French (Reuters U.S. – March 27, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Canada’s largest capital markets regulator is pushing for an amendment to the country’s Criminal Code that would allow investigators to use wiretaps to investigate insider trading.

Such a step would give Canadian investigators a tool that their U.S. counterparts already have, and one that Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Chairman Howard Wetston said on Thursday is needed to successfully prosecute a crime where proving intent is key.

The OSC is the largest and most influential of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators, and has jurisdiction over the Toronto Stock Exchange. “In my opinion, we are missing a key tool that would assist in more effectively enforcing provisions against insider trading,” he said in a speech to a Toronto business audience.

“Wiretaps would allow us to obtain direct evidence of the intention – I underline intention – to engage in illegal insider trading and tipping,” he said. Tipping refers to the practice of passing along sensitive information that could then be used for trading.

The wiretapping would not be done by the regulator itself, but rather by provincial and federal police that work with regulators to investigate white collar crimes. Wetston said the OSC has been in early-stage talks with police about the issue.

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Barrick to revise executive compensation rules – by Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – March 31, 2014)

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. will unveil pay packages for outgoing chairman Peter Munk and his successor John Thornton, as well as new executive compensation methods, after shareholder uproar over the incoming chair’s signing bonus.

Mr. Thornton’s $11.9-million (U.S.) bonus galvanized the traditionally passive Canadian pension funds to demand changes to how Barrick was governed, triggering the company to overhaul its board of directors late last year.

Barrick’s management proxy circular, to be filed on Monday, will present a new compensation scheme designed to align management’s pay even more closely with the miner’s performance. The company’s plan is expected to require executives to hold their shares until they leave the company.

That would be a departure from the previous arrangements, which allowed management to exercise their stock options at certain dates. “This is coming after they paid Thornton his big bonus. In some respects it’s like shutting the barn door after the horses have left,” said Robert Gill, vice-president and portfolio manager at Lincluden Investment Management, which holds $3.3-billion in assets including Barrick.

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Mine safety worth celebrating – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – March 28, 2014)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Mining has a history of being a profession with risks for workers. Much has changed during a century of mining in Timmins. Progress continues to be made to this day, with technology being applied in new and different ways to ensure the safety of the industry’s most valuable resource: Its workers.

But there is more to safety than high-tech solutions. Sometimes it is just passing down a culture of common sense. Stephane Whissel attributes his impressive mine safety record to his upbringing and lessons his father Maurice taught him.

“It’s something that comes with the culture (in which) I was raised,” Whissel explained prior to the Porcupine Northeastern Ontario Mine Safety Group’s annual awards dinner at the Porcupine Dante Club Thursday night. “See, my father was also in mining and I started with him at a young age and I would go out with him.

“He was working out on diamond drills and I would go out in the bush with him. He would show me the proper way of working and going home safe.”

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The Mines Have Shut Down. The Miners Haven’t.- by Danny Hakimmarch (New York Times – March 29, 2014)

http://www.nytimes.com/

Down a homemade mine shaft in southwestern Poland, a would-be comedian sang in the faint glowing light. The strains of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” in rhythm with a pick ax, rose up from eight yards underground. The song stopped.

“A huge chunk of coal has fallen on my finger!” the miner yelled up the shaft. “Now I can’t pick my nose!”

The sky was black and the stars blazed, especially the constellation Orion. In the nearby city of Walbrzych, the bells had just tolled. It was 9 p.m., the temperature was below freezing, the wind bitter. But for many miners here, in a region known as Lower Silesia, work was just beginning.

The practice of digging coal illegally is often called “rathole mining.” It is better known in places like India, or in South Africa, where illegal mining accidents recently killed five men. But it’s also common in Lower Silesia, near the Czech border.

Poland is Europe’s largest producer of hard coal, and both black and brown coal mines flourish in other parts of the country, from abundant mines in Upper Silesia to the north, to the giant open pit mine in Belchatow, in the east.

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The Fight for Wisconsin’s Soul [iron ore mining] – by Dan Kaufman (New York Times – March 29, 2014)

http://www.nytimes.com/

WISCONSIN has been an environmental leader since 1910, when the state’s voters approved a constitutional amendment promoting forest and water conservation. Decades later, pioneering local environmentalists like Aldo Leopold and Senator Gaylord Nelson, who founded Earth Day in 1970, helped forge the nation’s ecological conscience.

But now, after the recent passage of a bill that would allow for the construction of what could be the world’s largest open-pit iron ore mine, Wisconsin’s admirable history of environmental stewardship is under attack.

The mine, to be built by Gogebic Taconite (GTac), owned by the coal magnate Chris Cline, would be in the Penokee Hills, in the state’s far north — part of a vast, water-rich ecosystem that President John F. Kennedy described in 1963, in a speech he delivered in the area, as “a central and significant portion of the freshwater assets of this country.”

The $1.5 billion mine would initially be close to four miles long, up to a half-mile wide and nearly 1,000 feet deep, but it could be extended as long as 21 miles. In its footprint lie the headwaters of the Bad River, which flows into Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world and by far the cleanest of the Great Lakes. Six miles downstream from the site is the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, whose livelihood is threatened by the mine.

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