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Day: April 9, 2014

UPDATE 2-Russia’s Norilsk sees nickel price recovery in 2014 – by Polina Devitt (Reuters U.S. – April 7, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

MOSCOW, April 7 (Reuters) – Norilsk Nickel, the world’s biggest producer of nickel and palladium, sees nickel prices recovering this year, it said on Monday after reporting a 64 percent drop in net profits due to write-offs.

The Russian firm, part owned by Chief Executive Vladimir Potanin and aluminium giant Rusal, had to trim spending last year and focus on its lucrative Soviet-era operations in Russia’s far north to cope with weak prices for its key metals.

“Last year was a challenging and volatile year in commodity markets with prices for the majority of metals in the Norilsk Nickel portfolio declining that had a clear impact on our top-line performance,” Potanin said in a statement.

The management is cautiously positive on 2014 with improving commodity prices in the beginning of the year but is also concerned over a deteriorating emerging market risk appetite in the global investment community, he added. Norilsk has not been hit by the political tension over Ukraine so far, but all Russian companies would suffer should the situation escalate, its deputy chief executive, Andrei Bougrov, said last week.

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South Africa more competitive than China in ferrochrome: IFL – by Emma Farge (Reuters India – April 9, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

DAKAR – (Reuters) – South Africa should be able to snatch back the top spot in global ferrochrome production from China within five years thanks to cost-cutting, says one of Africa’s biggest producers, International Ferro Metals.

South Africa’s share of world production of the steel feedstock has slumped since 2012 when it fell by 15 percent to 32 percent of the 4.8 million metric tons (5.2911 million tons) produced globally, relegating it to second place behind China.

“South Africa will regain its leading position as top ferrochrome producer in the world. A number of us have reduced our costs so we can place alloy into China cheaper than the Chinese can produce,” said Chris Jordaan, Chief Executive of South Africa-based International Ferro Metals (IFL) (IFL.L).

That could be possible within five years, he said in a telephone interview during the Reuters Africa Summit. “It suddenly makes it much better to smelt material as close to the ore as you can.” A weak South African rand was also helping the country regain competitiveness, he said.

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[Ontario NDP] Andrea Horwath unhappy with mine safety review – by Rick Owen (Kirkland Lake Northern News – April 9, 2014)

http://www.northernnews.ca/

KIRKLAND LAKE – With the death of a miner in Sudbury last week Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the provincial commission investigating mine safety needs the necessary resources to do the job.

It has been 30 years since a provincial commission investigated mine safety. Since then miners in Ontario have been killed and thousands of others have been injured. Last year the premier rejected a public inquiry into mine safety and instead chose a review,” said Horwath.

She continued saying: “But at the first public hearings in Timmins and Kirkland Lake, the government didn’t advertise or even put out so much as a press release or media advisory inviting participation. Does the premier think this is acceptable?”

Concerning media notification the Northern News was sent an email from the Ministry of Labour, informing of the meetings being held in Kirkland Lake. As well the Ministry also made its Chief Prevention Officer available for an interview prior to the meetings with enough time to publish prior to the meetings, and he was very accessible to the media at the meetings. A story did run in the Northern News prior to the meetings in Kirkland Lake and after the meetings.

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“The Next Big Thing” for Canada [Resource Development] – by the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney (Ottawa – April 8, 2014)

CANADA 2020 – http://canada2020.ca/

“Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” is a classic example of our potential and our problem. It has been
described as “the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century”. And yet, despite its
unparalleled potential, the project has been hamstrung for years by uncertainties about aboriginal
concerns, by infrastructure limitations and environmental challenges. If properly developed,
significant deposits of copper, zinc, nickel, platinum, vanadium and gold could contribute more
than $25 billion in economic activity and almost $7 billion in government revenues. What is
desperately needed is a concrete action plan and an enhanced spirit of partnership to bring that
promise to life.” Right Honourable Brian Mulroney (Ottawa – April 8, 2014)

“The Next Big Thing for Canada”

Thank you, John, for your most generous remarks.

Let me also congratulate you and your Government for the forthright position you are taking on the lawless takeover of Crimea. The principles and values we cherish in Canada should be the constant rudder for actions we take on foreign policy. History teaches us eloquently what happens when violations of international law and national sovereignty are ignored in the interest of expediency.

As the first G7 country to recognize the newly independent Ukraine in 1991, Canada should be in the vanguard of those safe-guarding its fundamental freedoms and staunchly supporting those seeking to reinforce that independence. Your invitation tonight presents a great challenge : What is “the next big thing” for Canada?

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NEWS RELEASE: AurCrest Announces Proposed Lac Seul / Cyr Drilling Summer Drill Program

APRIL 9, 2014 (TSXV Symbol: AGO)

Toronto, Ontario April 9, 2014 – AurCrest Gold Inc. (the “Company” or “AurCrest”) (TSX-V: AGO) is pleased to report that it has begun discussions with the Lac Seul First Nation and Cyr Drilling to work out a creative arrangement to train Lac Seul First Nations band members as certified drillers. This solution to the current exploration market would continue the drilling for gold within the ‘Jacquie-Girl’ iron-formation discovered in 2012 on AurCrest’s Richardson Lake Gold project. Due to the difficult market conditions, the Company’s 2013 drill season was cancelled and there has not been any follow-up drilling on the discovery-hole announced in April of 2012 (see the Company’s press release dated April 30, 2012).

The parties have agreed to work towards an arrangement that would commence a summer drill program in June of 2014 at Richardson Lake. A Cyr Drilling drill rig remains on the Richardson Lake Property and will be used to drill the Richardson Lake discovery without the Company incurring any mobilization costs. Equally as important, this will further the drill training, apprenticeship and certification of a number of Lac Seul band members, who have otherwise been unable to find certification/apprenticeship in these markets, and complete their training as qualified drill helpers.

Ian Brodie-Brown, President of AurCrest stated: “We would like to thank Lac Seul for bringing this creative approach to the Company and Cyr Drilling for participating in these talks. We believe these creative discussions will lead to an arrangement that will provide our shareholders with a new opportunity during these very difficult times in the exploration industry.”

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How much longer before the public tires of extremist environmental theatrics? – by Peter Foster (National Post – April 9, 2014)

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

There are signs that some on the more sensitive members of the green left may already sense the ground shifting beneath them

The enemies of fossil fuels were out in the streets of Bucharest and other Rumanian cities this week protesting Chevron’s plans to move the country towards shale gas self-sufficiency. They bore banners sporting such balanced messages as “Chevron US, you can’t just drop in uninvited and leave death in your wake.” Agence France Presse reported one student declaring “We have seen the effects of fracking on the environment in the U.S. and we do not want the same to happen here.”

But what she meant was that she had “seen” the kind of agitprop peddled by the likes of the movie Gaslands. There has been virtually zero impact from fracking in North America, but it has been established as a “cause” for young rebels, thus the facts must not be allowed to intrude on the social media-fuelled Two Minutes Hate.

The question is how much longer the public is going to be sympathetic to such theatrical displays. The more obvious it becomes that radical environmentalism is effectively the ally of regimes such as Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela, the more tolerance for it is likely to decline.

As it becomes clearer that many of those who want to hold up fracking in Europe, or halt the Keystone XL pipeline, are as much enemies of democracy and prosperity as any strongman or caudillo, their inordinate power must wane.

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Why this “greeny” supports pipelines – by Robert McLeman (National Post – April 8, 2014)

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

Robert McLeman is an associate professor of geography and environmental studies at Wilfrid Laurier University.

As a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., I teach introductory environmental studies to hundreds of students each year. I impress upon them the need to use less fossil fuels, to reduce our ecological footprints, and to live with nature and not at its expense.

I train them how to think systematically about environmental problems, and to look for innovative solutions to them, like making urban spaces into oases for pollinators and using backyard rinks to teach people why we should care about global warming.

I practice what I preach: I ride my bike to work in the dead of winter, I buy locally grown foods, and the coffee in my cup is fair trade organic, of course. In short, I am what many of you would call a “greeny.” My politics are less overtly green, but still lean in that direction. (Don’t get me started on how I feel about Revenue Canada auditing the David Suzuki Foundation while our finance minister goads them on.)

It was important to give you the preceding glimpse of where I’m coming from, given the statement I am about to make: I support the building of pipelines.

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Companies unprepared for conflict minerals rule, U.S. court ruling looms – by Sarah N. Lynch (Reuters India – April 9, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON – (Reuters) – Many public companies are on track to miss a May deadline for complying with new rules that require them to file disclosures that tell investors whether their products contain certain “conflict minerals” from a war-torn part of Africa, a new survey has found.

The survey, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, comes at the same time as a U.S. appeals court continues to weigh whether to strike down the conflict minerals rule after industry groups challenged it.

Despite the pending legal challenge, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not granted companies a temporary reprieve from complying with the rule, which kicks in on May 31.

Of 700 companies surveyed across 15 industries, Pricewaterhouse said it found that a mere 4 percent of companies have completed a draft of their SEC conflict minerals filings. (PwC survey: r.reuters.com/vux38v) Another 90 percent are not ready with a substantive draft document, PwC added, noting that conflict minerals compliance “has proven more intensive” than anticipated.

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Copper price expected to fall, possibly test $6 000/t as supply surges – GFMS – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – April 8, 2014)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The global copper market is expected to post a moderate surplus this year, which will result in copper prices remaining under pressure, the fifth instalment of Thomson Reuters’ ‘GFMS Copper Survey 2014’ has found.

The average yearly price was expected to fall below $7 000/t in 2014 for the first time since 2009, with a test of the $6 000/t level deemed likely over the second half, the report states.

Launched on Tuesday during the CESCO/CRU copper conference in the Chilean capital city Santiago, this year’s study noted how copper prices continued to exhibit a downside bias in 2013, as a sharp acceleration in global mine supply and uncertainties over the global economic recovery dented the red metal’s near-term prospects.

GFMS said that the copper market was in a largely balanced position in 2013, despite global mine output rising by 8%, its fastest pace in more than a decade. Robust demand growth, a tight scrap market and delays in processing concentrate into refined metal limited the size of the market oversupply.

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Canada’s North: Infrastructure on mining wishlist – by Saul Chernos (Daily Commercial News – April 9, 2014)

http://dcnonl.com/

Speaking at the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto in March, business representatives from the Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) had a different take as they discussed infrastructure and other challenges they face — and some of their recent achievements.

“The north is often seen as this cold, isolated place but I can tell you it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to,” said Rio Tinto Canada president Virginia Flood. “It is cold, but if we can deal with the infrastructure and the energy side of it I think that will actually spur other people to come up north.”

Flood and fellow colleagues spun tales of the north that harkened back to Yukon’s Gold Rush of the late 1890s. While those frontier days are long gone, prospecting and mine development continue apace for riches as varied as gold, diamonds and iron.

As Flood and other speakers explained, the landscape has changed considerably. “The cost of energy and infrastructure is huge,” Flood said, explaining that Rio Tinto recently spent $33 million building wind turbines to help fuel operations at its Diavik diamond mine 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle in the N.W.T.

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MINE WATER: Tough to share it with drought-stricken communities – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – April 9, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Since most mining operations in arid regions are zero-discharge facilities that don’t produce grey water, chances are slim today’s mining operators can share water with municipalities in times of drought.

In February, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) held its second international symposium on water in mineral processing.

Those mining professionals and consultants in attendance viewed the event as pivotal in focusing miners’ attention on what they believed would emerged as mining’s hottest issue—water management strategies and their critical role in securing mining’s social license in the permitting and operation of mining projects and expansions.

Much was made by those presenting papers to SME that “opportunities abound for mine water reuse,” which can help with community water needs. In the future, mine wastewater could be reused for irrigation, steel manufacturing, hydraulic fracturing, or cooling and power generation, consultants advised.

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MINE WATER: Water stewardship framework unveiled at UN water meeting – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – April 9, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Impacts on water quality and quantity are among the most controversial aspects of mining projects. ICMM hopes well-designed and executed water stewardship strategies will build trust between miners and communities.

The International Council on Mining & Metals launched its new Water stewardship framework Tuesday as Ross Hamilton, ICMM director for environment and climate change, presented the framework at the United Nations CEO Water Mandate meeting in Lima, Peru.

“Water is one of the most significant issues facing the mining and metals industry,” Hamilton said. “It is a critical resource not only for all of our members’ operations but also for other industries, communities and the natural environment.

ICMM’s Water stewardship framework is built around four key elements including: be transparent and accountable’ engage proactively and inclusively; adopt a catchment-based approach; and effective water resource management.

The Water stewardship framework outlines a standardized approach for the mining and metals industry, “recognizing that water connects an operation to the surrounding landscape and communities,” said the ICMM.

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Doyle’s exit from Potash well-timed – for him – by Brian Milner (Globe and Mail – April 9, 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.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan faces a future that is far more complicated than its illustrious recent past. The golden era of buoyant sales, tight supplies and soaring stock values are plainly in the rear-view mirror. And now after a tough year marked by plunging profits and steep cutbacks, the captain is leaving the ship just as it sails into even rougher waters.

Bill Doyle will depart June 30 after 27 years with the company, the last 15 as CEO. Mr. Doyle, who is approaching 64, is certainly entitled to rest on his laurels. But his timing raises concerns about the course that the company intends to chart. And the fact that the board has anointed an outsider, Jochen Tilk, as his successor doesn’t cast a favourable light on Mr. Doyle’s mentoring abilities.

One marker of a successful tenure in the corner office is the ability to foster a coterie of senior executives capable of stepping into the top job. But in Potash’s case, a three-year search brought them to the door of Mr. Tilk, a 30-year mining industry veteran whose main attraction was apparently his “focus on operational excellence and disciplined growth,” in the words of board chairman Dallas Howe. That sounds to me like someone preparing for more heavy cost-cutting of the kind that shuttered some production and lopped off about 18 per cent of the Potash work force in December.

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Mulroney calls on Ottawa to appoint natural resource projects crusader – by Steven Chase and Kathryn Blaze Carlson (Globe and Mail – April 9, 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.

OTTAWA — Former prime minister Brian Mulroney is calling on Ottawa to show greater leadership in getting Canada’s natural resources to world markets, warning this country needs a federal persuader-in-chief to secure support for major projects or risk being outmanoeuvred by foreign rivals.

He said uncertainty over major resource projects is hurting Canada. “Put simply, we cannot market our resources globally if we don’t have the infrastructure, political and industrial, to deliver them to market,” he said.

Mr. Mulroney did not criticize Prime Minister Stephen Harper directly in a speech Tuesday evening to an Ottawa audience that included federal ministers such as John Baird, who introduced the former prime minister, and Peter MacKay, whose father served in Mr. Mulroney’s cabinet. But he argued forcefully that federal leadership should take a more hands-on role in urging major players to support the construction of necessary infrastructure, from pipelines to liquefied natural gas facilities.

He called on Ottawa to create a resource development office, similar to the Trade Negotiations Office he used to build support for both the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement and then the North American free trade deal.

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Brian Mulroney didn’t come to bury Stephen Harper. But he didn’t come to praise him either – by John Ivison (National Post – April 9, 2014)

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

Brian Mulroney didn’t come to Ottawa to bury Stephen Harper. But he didn’t come to praise him either. The former prime minister was in the capital to speak about the “next big thing” for Canada — making the most of its treasure trove of oil, gas and mineral resources.

To do so requires political leadership, Mr. Mulroney said, and he was pretty clear he doesn’t think Mr. Harper has been providing it.“Prime ministers are not chosen to seek popularity, they are chosen to provide leadership,” he told the audience at the Canada 2020 dinner. “Leadership is the process, not only of foreseeing the need for change but making the case for change. Leadership does not consist of imposing unpopular ideas on the public but of making unpopular ideas acceptable to the nation.”

Mr. Mulroney knows about popularity — or lack of it. “Popularity is bad for you. I try to avoid it like the plague and I’ve been reasonably successful,” he said, back in 1992 when his personal numbers dipped to the lowest ever recorded for a prime minister.

But he was expressing a frustration that is becoming a common refrain from visitors to the capital. Jim Prentice, the former Conservative environment minister, made a similar point recently about the need to get pipelines built, develop alternative markets to the United States and beat back state-level fuel standards designed to keep oilsands oil from the American market.

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