November 17, 2014 – Republic of Mining

Quebec mining giants, Plan Nord promoters meet as industry slumps – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq Online.ca – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Major new mining projects for Nunavik have stalled

Dig below the surface and you may find that hope and fear are the underlying themes at this week’s Quebec mines conference, Nov. 17 to Nov. 20, in Quebec City.

The Quebec mining sector faces sharply decreasing commodity prices at a time when the Quebec government wants to promote resource development, the centre-piece of its long-touted Plan Nord, relaunched in 2014 by the new Liberal government.

But low gold prices and falling demand for nickel and iron in China means the 2,000 delegates expected at the conference, whose sponsors include Quebec’s department of resources and energy, its mining association and other industry players, may end up bemoaning a bust in resource development rather than applauding its boom.

Key major mining projects in Nunavik have already stalled. Oceanic Iron Ore Corp., whose company officials recently accompanied Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on his junket to promote Plan Nord in China is still looking for a Chinese partner for its ambitious Hopes Advance iron ore project near Aupaluk on Nunavik’s Ungava Bay.

The iron mine project, which looked so promising in 2013, has enough resources to produce between 10 million and 20 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore concentrate product every year for up to 48 years.

NEWS RELEASE: French President Hollande inaugurates Koniambo Nickel

November 17, 2014

Baar, Switzerland / Kone, New Caledonia

17 November, 2014 – Glencore is pleased to announce that today French President, François Hollande officially inaugurated the Koniambo Nickel Project (Koniambo) in New Caledonia, a joint venture between Société Minière du Sud Pacifique (SMSP) and Glencore.

President Hollande was joined by Paul Néaoutyine, President of the North Province, Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, André Dang, President of SMSP, Peter Hancock, President of Koniambo Nickel, and Vincent Bouvier, French High Commissioner in New Caledonia.

The construction of Koniambo Nickel commenced in 2007 and represents a $7 billion investment in New Caledonia, majority financed by Glencore. Its state-of-the-art infrastructure and proven nickel smelting technology, along with a world-class ore body, makes Koniambo a leading player in the global nickel market and is transformative for New Caledonia’s nickel industry. At peak production, the mine will provide steady employment for approximately 950 workers, with a focus on local employment, and indirect employment for thousands of others.

Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, commented:

“We are honoured that the French President has recognized Glencore’s ongoing commitment to and investment in New Caledonia by officially opening Koniambo Nickel. This inauguration marks a milestone for our New Caledonian operations and for the country’s nickel industry. We look forward to continuing our well established collaborations with the local community, government and our joint venture partners as we continue the ramp up period to nameplate capacity of 60ktpa.”

Northern Ontario Mining Cluster Maturing into “Four Pillars” – by Dick DeStefano (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 2014)

November 17, 2014

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the November 2014 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

It is quite evident that the Northern Ontario Mining Cluster has developed as a “mature cluster” based on studies by major agencies and institutions who study this concept.

SAMSSA is 11 years old and is now one of the most sophisticated mining supply clusters globally because it continually meets all the established criteria. In many cases it goes beyond the standard definitions.

What is unique is that the model operating in Northern Ontario has four dynamic clusters working in partnership making it viable and distinct.

It all began in 1991 when Paul Krugman took Alfred Marshall’s work of 1890 and then Michael Porter’s of 1990 which popularized his manifesto called The Competitive Advantage of Nations. The concept of cluster development has a long history. SAMSSA took the best parts and implemented their own design.

The distinctiveness of SAMSSA is the four pillars that hold it together. The first pillar is the historical presence of mines that extract, mill and refine. The history of the Sudbury basin along with the gold fields in Timmins in this region have proven to be an asset.

The second cohesive part or pillar is the existence of over 500 mining supply and service companies within the boundaries of Northern Ontario.

‘It’s history, like it or not’: the Significance of Sudbury’s Superstack – by Mike Commito and Kaleigh Bradley (Active History.ca – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://activehistory.ca/

Standing at a height of 1,250 feet, the Sudbury Superstack is the second tallest chimney in the world and runner-up to the CN Tower for the tallest structure in Canada. Until 1987, Sudbury Ontario had the dubious honour of having the world’s tallest smokestack. Today, the Stack is seen by some as a marker for Sudbury’s rich mining heritage but for others, it is also part of a much larger history of health and environmental problems.

Since the nineteenth century, Sudbury’s landscape was ravaged by the effects of the mining industry; over the years the vegetation disappeared with acid rain, and farmers found themselves unable to grow crops in the highly acidic soil. The International Nickel Company (INCO) built the Superstack in 1972 to disperse sulphur dioxide (SO2) and other pollutants away from the area, thereby addressing health and environmental concerns.

The Stack’s construction coincided with a community regreening movement, which has reversed some of the environmental damage. The Superstack redcuced local emission rates in recent years, but one could argue that INCO simply passed the buck, and the dispersion of SO2 became somebody else’s problem. Moreover, the Sudbury area continues to have higher rates of asthma and lung cancer than other parts of Ontario. But, for better or for worse, the Superstack has been a landmark along the Sudbury skyline for over forty years. And when Vale (formerly INCO) recently proposed demolishing the Superstack in the local media, we watched as an interesting public debate about the significance, history, and future of the stack ensued.

On November 3rd 2014, Kelly Strong of Vale announced that the company considered demolishing the Superstack. This news is not surprising and is in keeping with Vale’s ongoing $1 billion Clean AER Project, designed to reduce SO2 emissions.

Low commodity prices a top concern at Mines Quebec – by Robert Gibbens (Montreal Gazette – November 15, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://montrealgazette.com/

he two-year slump in commodity prices may dominate debate at the 2014 Mines Quebec convention in Quebec City next week, but the 2,000 participants will have their sights firmly set on a market upturn within two years.

“Quebec sits on one of the world’s great stores of minerals and the mining industry has navigated many past downcycles,” said Josée Méthot, CEO of the Quebec Mining Association, a lead sponsor.

“Now, large and small producers and explorers are all cutting costs drastically to survive these lean times and be ready to compete when the upturn begins,” she said in an interview.

“Mining is for entrepreneurs and risk-takers and even in a long downturn optimism shines through … we think global demand will catch up and metal prices will rebound,” said Méthot, a chemical engineer and MBA who has worked in industry.

“Our big challenge is distance to market and it won’t go away,” she added. “Technology is moving very rapidly, helping us to boost efficiency and offset distance and long project lead times.”

Andre Gaumond, whose Virginia Mines Inc. sold the rich Éléonore gold property in Northern Quebec to Goldcorp Inc. late in 2005 for $500 million when bullion fetched $531 U.S. an ounce, was more definite.

First Nations in Canada touted as land-management leaders – by Bruce Cheadle (Globe and Mail – November 14, 2014)

November 17, 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 — The Canadian Press – Amid the court challenges, war of words, sit-ins and street protests that have marked First Nations relations with Canada’s resource sector, it might surprise some Canadians that aboriginal land management in this country is being held up as a model to the world.

Members of three remote native communities are in Sydney, Australia, this week, where the World Parks Congress is holding its sixth international summit. They’re part of a global movement showcasing ways to balance aboriginal rights, cultural protection, resource development and environmental stewardship.

“There’s some real leadership happening in Canada,” said Valerie Courtois, director of the Aboriginal Leadership Initiative for the International Boreal Conservation Campaign, before departing for Sydney this week.

Representatives of the Grand Cree of Quebec, the North West Territories’ Lutsel K’e and Manitoba’s Poplar River First Nation have been invited to the congress, which meets every 10 years to discuss biodiversity, conservation and the state of the world’s parks and protected areas.

Anglo recovery linked to Carroll era calls – by David McKay (MiningMX.com – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.miningmx.com/

[miningmx.com] – BRIAN Gilbertson once observed in an interview that perhaps the fates had a larger role to play in the fortunes of the mining sector, and its leaders, than perhaps is generally recognised.

So it was that shareholders sent former Anglo American CEO, Cynthia Carroll, packing for – among other ‘miscalculations’ – having bought the Minas Rio iron ore deposit in Brazil at the top of the market.

At the time, there was pressure on Anglo to look sharp in the race to plug the looming deficit in mineral supply to economies such as China. Minas Rio was an expensive acquisition and then was dogged by logistical and permitting delays.

Certainly there were misjudgements in Anglo’s bid to join the race for iron ore in the same way as Rio Tinto chased coking coal in Mozambique because Vale had set up camp there. It was around this time that Vale nearly bought Xstrata at the top of the market.

Similarly, Mick Davis bought a 24% stake in Lonmin to protect a position in the platinum firm in which his Xstrata never seemed likely to capitalise upon while BHP Billiton’s Marius Kloppers failed in adding potash to the group’s profile such that his successor, Andrew Mackenzie is still unsure whether the commodity has a long-term future for the company.

NEWS RELEASE: Vale announces new Executive Directors for Ferrous Minerals and Base Metals

November 17, 2014

Rio de Janeiro, November 14, 2014 – Vale S.A. (Vale) announces today that Peter Poppinga will assume the position of Executive Director for Ferrous Minerals effective immediately, with the appointment already approved by the Board of Directors. José Carlos Martins, who previously held the position, has left the company to take on new challenges in his successful career. A Brazilian, Peter studied Geology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, and has an undergraduate degree in Applied Geology from the University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany. He also took extension courses in Mining Engineering and Geostatistics.

With more than 20 years of experience in iron ore, Peter began his career in 1984 at Samitri, an iron and manganese mining company, where he held various leadership positions in mine planning, iron ore production and sales and marketing. He also held shared responsibility for sales of pellet production at Samarco and was actively involved in the development of the Chinese iron ore market.

Peter joined Vale in 1999 in the Iron Ore Commercial area, where he held several positions in the company’s foreign sales offices, including Sales Director in New York and Belgium, and CEO of Vale International in Switzerland. In 2007, soon after the acquisition of the Canadian company Inco, he held several corporate positions in Toronto, Canada. In 2009, he returned to operations as COO of Base Metals Operations, Asia & Pacific, based in Australia.

In 2011, he was appointed Executive Director of Base Metals and IT, leading 16 operating sites around the world and driving major transformations and asset base optimization that turned the business around and delivered significantly improved results. During his tenure, Vale’s Base Metals EBITDA increased from US$ 600 million in 2012 to almost US$ 3 billion in 2014, due largely to increased productivity and the removal of 1.4 billion US$ in costs from the business.

Hal Quinn, U.S. mining’s advocate in Washington and beyond – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

U.S. mining has “a world-class resource base, but we’re being shackled by a worst-in-class permitting system,” says Hal Quinn.

RENO (MINEWEB) – Hal P. Quinn, the president and CEO of the National Mining Association, believes the people employed in U.S. mining is the strongest asset the industry possesses.

In a recent interview with Mineweb, Quinn expressed confidence the new Republican-controlled Senate may accord the U.S. mining industry the access, the airing of concerns and the vetting of legislation that the industry has come to rely on in the U.S. House.

Convincing both houses of Congress that streamlining of mining permitting on the federal level is vital to the future of U.S. manufacturing and related industries is one of Quinn’s foremost goals over the next two years as a new U.S. President is chosen in 2016.

Appointed as chief of the National Mining Association in 2008, Attorney Quinn has been working in and around the mining industry for more than 25 years ever since he joined the Mining and Reclamation Council of America as legal counsel in the 1980s, which was subsequently merged into the National Coal Association in 1987, and then merged with the American Mining Congress in 1995, becoming the National Mining Association.

Common misconceptions about the duty to consult – by Bruce McIvor (Troy Media – November , 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.troymedia.com/

Bruce McIvor is principal of First Peoples Law Corporation.

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov 16, 2014/ Troy Media/ – Governments, industry and First Nations still continue to disagree on what it takes to fulfil the duty to consult, resulting in stalled resource development projects and growing public frustration. This is despite the fact that for over 10 years, and culminating in the recent Tsilhqot’in decision, the courts have established and elaborated on the principles underpinning the duty to consult.
If governments, industry and First Nations are going to trust each other and work together, we need to dispel common misconceptions about the duty to consult, agree on basic requirements and outline a path to reconciliation.

First, the duty to consult is qualitatively different than consultation with the general public. It is a constitutional duty owed solely to Aboriginal people. It exists because Indigenous peoples with their own laws and customs controlled the lands and waters now called Canada before non-Indigenous people arrived. European states bent on colonization recognized that, based on their own laws, they could not simply ignore the fact of the original inhabitants: Indigenous and non-Indigenous interests had to be reconciled. The duty to consult is part of this ongoing national project.

While specific obligations vary with the circumstances, the courts have identified minimum requirements for meaningful consultation with First Nations. Consultation must begin at the earliest stages of planning and cannot be postponed.

Florence copper leaching project stalls – by Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services (Arizona Daily Star – November 15, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://tucson.com/

PHOENIX — A state board has blocked construction of a controversial copper leaching operation beneath Florence — at least in the form it was proposed.

The Arizona Water Quality Appeals Board accepted the findings of an administrative law judge, who concluded that the state Department of Environmental Quality’s permit allowing Curis Resources to pump acid into the ground would not adequately protect water quality. The judge’s report found a series of shortcomings.

But board members did not kill the project outright. They rejected Diane Mihalsky’s recommendation that the permit for Florence Copper Inc. be entirely voided, concluding that would place an “unnecessary burden” on both the company and the DEQ. Instead, they agreed to give the state and Curis a chance to change the operating plan — and the conditions DEQ is imposing — to put the proposed mining operation in compliance with state laws and regulations.

DEQ spokesman Mark Shafer defended his agency’s original decision as justified.

“We issued an environmentally protective permit,” he said, but acknowledged the judge disagreed. “Given that, we think the appeals board made the correct decision in remanding the case back to DEQ to take a look at it again.”

UPDATE 6-Australia, China deepen ties with landmark free trade deal – by Matt Siegel (Reuters India – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

Nov 17 (Reuters) – China and Australia on Monday sealed a landmark free trade agreement more than a decade in the making, significantly expanding ties between the world’s second largest economy and one of Washington’s closest allies in Asia.

The deal, which Australia called the best ever between Beijing and a Western country, will open up Chinese markets to Australian farm exporters and the services sector while easing curbs on Chinese investment in resource-rich Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a memorandum of understanding clinching the agreement during a ceremony in parliament in Canberra.

“This has been a 10-year journey, but we have finally made it,” Abbott said. Xi praised the deal in an address to parliament, pledging to deepen cooperation with Australia while reaffirming China’s willingness to resolve territorial disputes with its neighbours through diplomatic means.

“As long as we have our long-term and the larger interests in mind, increase positive factors and remove obstacles we will certainly forge a closer and more comprehensive strategic partnership between us,” he said.

China is already Australia’s top trading partner, with two-way trade of around A$150 billion ($130 billion) in 2013. On Monday they witnessed 14 commercial agreements between companies worth potentially more than A$20 billion ($17.56 billion).

Botswana: Diamonds Cannot Solely Sustain Botswana – by (All Africa.com – November 16, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://allafrica.com/

Gaborone — President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama says diamonds alone cannot carry Botswana forward.

Delivering his 2014 State-of-the Nation Address on Thursday, November 13, President Khama said to achieve greater economic diversification, the country should continue promoting further beneficiation within the minerals sector.

He said growing global demand for gem diamonds had dovetailed with upward estimates of domestic production based on both the ongoing and anticipated opening of new mines and an extension in the life spans of existing mines through new recovery methods.

Together, he said these developments should ensure that “we will remain a leading global producer over the next three decades until at least 2050.”

With the successful migration of the De Beers Global Sight-holder Sales from London to Gaborone, which was completed ahead of schedule, he said Botswana was already realising its goal of becoming a global ‘mines to market’ hub in the case of diamonds.

To date, he said ten sight-holder sales had been successfully held in Botswana, after the first round of local Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sales that took place in November 2013.

Statoil in test case for industry as Canada extends seabed territories – by Alister Doyle (Reuters India – November 17, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

OSLO, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Norway’s Statoil risks millions of dollars in extra costs in Canada – a test case that could spell problems for other oil firms too as coastal states extend their seabed territories far into resource-rich ocean depths.

Coastal nations are using U.N laws to extend and define new limits to their seabed territories, pushing beyond a previously established 200-nautical mile (370 kms) zone for drilling and mining as technology opens new frontiers in finding deepwater oil and gas.

But that extended territory comes with a bill to pay a percentage of future revenues to the U.N. body that monitors the international seabed – something governments are seeking to pass on to oil and mining firms.

The rules – articles of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea – have thus far been irrelevant because the regions beyond the previous limit are so remote they would have cost too much to develop.

But industry advances have lately opened up huge deepsea possibilities from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific: specialist firm Transocean drilled a well in a record 3,174 metres (10,411 feet) of water off India last year.

Gold rush hits in backrooms of Manitoba – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – November 15, 2014)

November 17, 2014

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

With metal prices on the way down virtually across the board and mineral exploration companies scrambling to stay afloat there is a surprising amount of backroom wrangling over a handful of Manitoba properties.

After more than five years of working the four former gold mines at Lynn Lake, Carlisle Goldfields Ltd. now has two suitors keen to sink millions of dollars into the properties.

One of them — a Russian gold mining company called Nordgold — wants to buy the entire company and is willing to pay a 140 per cent premium to Carlisle shareholders right now.

The other deal Carlisle is considering — and has already closed — is a joint venture with AuRico Gold, a Toronto-based mid-tier gold producer with a producing mine called Young-Davidson 60 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake, Ont.

The question now for Carlisle’s board and its shareholders is whether to take the money and run with the Nordgold offer or work through the joint venture with AuRico. The latter deal includes a representation from AuRico it will spend up to $30 million over the course of the next three years to produce a feasibility study for the Lynn Lake property that would be the precursor to a producing gold mine.