October 16, 2014 – Republic of Mining

Canada By Design: A plan to develop the ‘Mid-Canada Corridor’ – Anna Maria Tremonti interviews John van Nostrand (CBC The Current – October 15, 2014)

October 16, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/

Click here for a 27 minute interview: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2014/10/15/canada-by-design-a-plan-to-develop-the-mid-canada-corridor/

We Canadians mostly live in the words of humorist Arthur Black, like weather-stripping along the U.S. border. But North of our Southern metropolises and still South of the treeline lurks an economic sweet spot. Our series By Design considers the Mid-Canada Corridor, home to up to 70 per cent of Canada’s wealth but not a lot of its people.

Humourist Stephen Leacock wrote that he’d likely never go to James Bay, but he’d somehow feel lonely if it wasn’t there. Perhaps its the north that should feel lonely since so few Canadians live there. Today, as part of our ongoing project ;By Design, about design and the impact it has in our lives, we’re taking a look at the possibility of design on a national scale. Most of us Canadians live within a couple hours’ drive of the U.S. border. Vast stretches of Canada — full of resources — remain scarcely populated. John van Nostrand thinks that should change.

Scientists look to mine metals from plants – by Steve Dorsey (Fox News – October 15, 2014)

October 16, 2014

http://www.foxnews.com/?intcmp=logo

Inside a lab at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, soil samples sit under a row of a glowing light bulbs hanging from a track only a short distance above them. In another room, a centrifuge hums as beakers of Nyquil-colored liquids sit on a nearby shelf. Standard white lab coats hang on hooks outside.

This generic-looking lab feels worlds away from the gritty, dusty mines of Australia—but this is where scientists hope to chart a new path for the industry here, and across the world.

If work being done at the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation catches on, it could mean new futures for global communities affected by resource-hungry strip-mining, and new ways for the mining industry to do business.

Australian scientists hope to accomplish this with phytomining—harvesting valuable metals from plants. Essentially, it’s growing plants containing nickel, zinc and cobalt—the bread and butter of the world’s mines, and harvesting the metals above ground, not below.

“We have identified a whole lot of new species which could be used for phytomining which weren’t previously known to science,” said Dr. Peter Erskine, one of the researchers working to make the process suitable for conventional mining companies.

Tin’s price slump seen cutting Indonesian shipments by 30% – by Yoga Rusmana and Eko Listiyorini (Chicago Tribune – October 14, 2014)

October 16, 2014

http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Bloomberg News – JAKARTA, Indonesia — Tin exports from Indonesia, the world’s biggest supplier, will probably plunge this quarter to the lowest in more than a year after prices declined and as the government moves to impose stricter rules on exports.

Overseas sales may drop 30 percent to 16,000 metric tons from 22,825 tons a year earlier, the median of estimates from one analyst and six smelters compiled by Bloomberg showed. That’s the largest decline since the three months to March and the smallest amount since the quarter ended Sept. 30 last year, Trade Ministry data show.

Tin futures have slumped 16 percent from a six-month high in April on concern that slowing economic growth may curb demand in China, the biggest consumer of industrial metals. Prices dropped even as exports from Indonesia declined 16 percent through September from a year earlier. The government tightened rules on trade in August last year to boost exports of higher- value products and smelters have restrained sales in an attempt to counter declining prices.

“Shipments may slow this quarter as prices have dropped to near the cost of production,” said Jabin Sufianto, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tin Exporters in Jakarta. “Prices of about $21,000 are unattractive to some smelters,” he said in a text message on Oct. 9.

Futures fell 9.8 percent this year to $20,150 a ton on the London Metal Exchange Monday. They reached $23,849 on April 24 after the country required all refined tin to be traded through the Indonesia Commodity and Derivatives Exchange starting August last year, seeking to create a benchmark price and challenge the role of the LME.

Matawa First Nations building an Aboriginal workforce – by Rick Garrick (Wawatay News – October 15, 2014)

October 16, 2014

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Matawa First Nations is building an Aboriginal workforce through the Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) training programs.

“(The trainees are aiming for) full-time employment within the mining sector,” said Mary Meshake, RoFATA career development officer. “There’s a lot of future potential developments that are taking place outside our communities and most of the trainees that are in (the KKETS) programs are really excited to be a part of what is going to be happening.”

Eight RoFATA trainees recently completed the 15-week Welding Level 1 program at Grand River Employment and Training in Six Nations while another 10 trainees completed the 10-week Heavy Equipment Operators program at the Operating Engineers Training Institute in Morrisburg in early July.

“We’re currently running our Security program, which started on Aug. 25,” Meshake said, noting there are 13 trainees in the Security program. “We utilized the new (regional) training facility in Neskantaga.”

The four-week theory portion of the Security program was completed on Sept. 19, with the practical portion scheduled for Sept. 22-Oct. 10 in Ginoogaming.