January 16, 2015 – Republic of Mining

Mining sector will find reward by addressing risk – by Simon Rees (MiningWeekly.com – January 16, 2015)

January 16, 2015

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Consider the resource supercycle; it was a once-in-a-generation event driven by China becoming the world’s workshop. The country’s demand for commodities seemed insatiable and pushed many metal and mineral prices to historic highs.

The mantra for most mining seniors became “big is beautiful” and their mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity was soon geared towards fulfilling this.

Today, the supercycle is on hiatus and subdued prices are likely to last for some time to come. The industry continues to clean out its Augean Stables and, just like the Herculean labour, the task has been both messy and necessary, with the spate of write-downs, divestments and spin-offs reflecting this.

Compounding matters are the ongoing economic headwinds, the unnerving volatility and the ability for some prices to sink still further. For example, the iron-ore sector continues to struggle after the price plunge during the second half of 2014.

Aside from cutting costs and reducing cash burn, the seniors are also focusing on improving their productivity and their competitive edge. This was identified as the number one issue in multinational professional services firm EY’s ‘Business risks facing mining and metals 2014 to 2015’.

No help from Ottawa as Alberta’s economy devastated by oil collapse – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – January 16, 2015)

January 16, 2015

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

The oil-price crash that is causing a major pullback in energy investment is also stirring plenty of worry in oil-revenue dependent Canadian governments. But while top oil-producing provinces such as Alberta are in full damage-control mode, the federal government is taking the oil shock in stride.

In a speech in Calgary Thursday, federal finance minister Joe Oliver was sympathetic to Alberta’s predicament, noting the price crash is the third-largest in four decades. As for the impact on Canada, he said Ottawa remains on track to balance its budget after years of deficit spending triggered by the global recession. He said there are no plans to increase taxes.

“Lower oil prices will adversely impact our federal government’s fiscal situation, but the decline in oil prices will not prevent our government from achieving the budgetary balance in 2015/16,” Mr. Oliver said in a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, after conducting consultations on the upcoming federal budget.

Because of the high level of instability in the economy, though, he said the budget would not be tabled at least until April.

Tough times in the energy sector are balanced by benefits for consumers at the gasoline pumps, as well as lower energy costs for manufacturers and transport companies that are also getting a boost from a decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, making them more competitive, he said.

Swiss currency cap move spurs gold price – by Collen Goko and Maarten Mittner (Business Day Live – January 16, 2015)

January 16, 2015

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

GOLD received a boost on Thursday, soaring to near four-month highs as risk aversion weighed on the market, following a surprise move by the Swiss National Bank to discard its minimum exchange rate and to further cut its interest rates.

Analysts described the bank’s step as “shocking” and “unexpected” ahead of predicted bond-buying stimulus measures set to be announced next week by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Regenesys Investments CEO Devin Shutte said the Swiss franc is regarded as a safe currency. It strengthened 28% against the euro at one point after the decision was made as the central bank realised it was futile to keep the cap in place.

“But it is sure to cause more volatile markets with the present turbulence harking back to 2008,” Mr Shutte said. In the official statement, the Swiss National Bank said it was discontinuing the minimum exchange rate of CHF1.20/euro. At the same time, it announced it was lowering the interest rate by 0.5% to 0.75%.

The gold index on the JSE immediately traded higher, and ended the day 4.31% higher. The gold price increased 2% and was at $1,254.05 per fine ounce in the late afternoon from Wednesday’s close of $1,230.83.

Anglo American release a video about women in mining – by Vicky Validakis (Australian Mining – January 16, 2015)

January 16, 2015

http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/home

Anglo American has released a video aimed at showing the opportunities open to women at its mining operations. The video features women working at Anglo’s metallurgical coal operations discuss how they made their way into the mining industry.

Gabrielle Horn, an automotive electrical apprentice, said she was working in hospitality when she saw an ad by Anglo in the local newspaper. “My dad encouraged me to apply and I got to choose what position I wanted,” Horn said.

“I love coming to work, things change every day so it’s always a different situation.” Claire Stevens, a technical services superintendent at Grasstree mine, said she actively sought a role in an underground mine because she was fascinated with how it worked.

Sudbury reaches halfway mark in reclamation efforts – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – January 14, 2015)

January 16, 2015

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

If you were a youth in Sudbury, chances are you, or someone you know, spent a summer or two lugging bags of dolomite limestone up the city’s barren hills, prepping the ground for reforestation.

The routine is so ubiquitous, it’s almost become a rite of passage, said Dr. Peter Beckett, a reclamation, restoration and wetland ecologist with Laurentian University who’s dedicated his life’s work to rejuvenating the city’s landscape.

“I’m beginning to think that, by the time we finish this program, everybody in Sudbury will have done this,” Beckett chuckled during his keynote address at a recent meeting of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. “It’s part of growing up in Sudbury, to put lime bags down on the hills.”

Over four decades, the city has spent $28 million planting 9.5 million trees, and life has returned to Sudbury, once pegged as a barren moonscape. Yet despite the decades-long investment, the work is only half done: 3,450 hectares have been reclaimed, but 7,000 altogether need to be done.

That’s still a fraction of the 81,000 hectares impacted by industrial activity, which began with logging in the late 1800s and intensified with the onset of mining when open roasting beds sent high levels of sulphur dioxide into the air, raining down metal particulate, which leached into the soil, impacting the ecosystem.

NEWS RELEASE: KWG Shareholder Loeb Capital Liquidating Holdings

January 16, 2015

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Jan. 16, 2015) -KWG Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KWG)(FRANKFURT:KW6), reports that Loeb King Capital Management advised its clients in a letter dated January 13, 2015 that “the funds will begin an orderly liquidation”. According to a Bloomberg News report issued yesterday Loeb King Capital Management, an investment firm with about $1 billion, is closing after principal Gideon King decided to manage his own money. Loeb Capital Management LLP previously advised KWG management that it held approximately 49 million of KWG’s issued and outstanding shares and yesterday advised that 8 million of those had been sold on the TSX Venture market this week.

“We have appreciated the long term support of Loeb King Capital and its principal Gideon King,” said KWG President Frank Smeenk. “He has believed in our strategy and been with us in the trenches as we navigated the tortuous path to the creation of a new enterprise in Canada. The opportunity for our many smaller shareholders to acquire this equity interest now, at the prices Loeb is prepared to accept, is also welcomed by those of us who will continue. We wish Mr. King well.”

About KWG: KWG has a 30% interest in the Big Daddy chromite deposit and the right to earn 80% of the Black Horse chromite where resources are being defined. KWG has also acquired patent interests, including a method for the direct reduction of chromite to metalized iron and chrome using natural gas. KWG also owns 100% of Canada Chrome Corporation which has staked claims and conducted a $15 million surveying and soil testing program for the engineering and construction of a railroad to the Ring of Fire from Exton, Ontario.

Sudbury letter: Liberals fail to deliver – by Ryan Minor (Sudbury Star – January 16, 2015)

January 16, 2015

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

It is election time in Sudbury. The governing Liberals will be out making new promises and restating old promises. There is a saying that ‘words whisper, actions scream.’ We need to look past the rhetoric and ask: where are the results?

On the Highway 69 file, the minister of Transportation wants us to believe that the government is still committed to finishing the highway by 2017.

There are several troubling facts that cast doubt on this claim. The last contracts for construction of the highway were tendered in 2012. As of now, the MTO has not concluded a single deal with any of the three First Nations to acquire reserve lands. The remaining 82 km have been in federal environmental assessment since at least 2011. The MTO has no federal permits.

The 2014 budget included funding for 11 km of Highway 69 near Nobel and indicated that construction would start this fiscal year (by March 31). According to an email dated Jan. 8, 2015, from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, information to complete the environmental assessment has been outstanding for years, which is surprising since the engineering is done, the project is entirely on Crown land, the project involves adding two more lanes to the existing highway and First Nations legally cannot withhold consultation.

Sudburians need to ask: what is the true construction timetable for the highway? What sort of issues are holding up agreements with the First Nations?

COMMENT: Is BC becoming mining friendly? – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – January 15, 2015)

January 16, 2015

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators.

Two recent news releases point toward removing roadblocks from the Prosperity and Tulsequah Chief projects. With two rulings by the BC Minister of Environment, the province appears to move closer to being a mining friendly place to find a deposit.

First, the Tulsequah Chief base and precious metals project belonging to Chieftain Metals of Toronto was deemed to be “substantially started.” That designation means that the environmental assessment certificate remains in effect for the life of the project.

Second, the government granted a five-year extension to the environmental certificate for developing the Prosperity gold-copper project that belongs to Vancouver-based Taseko Mines.

Both projects have had their share of detractors, primarily First Nations who feel they mines will be environmentally unsound.

The Tulsequah Chief project ran up against a lawsuit filed in December 2013 seeking to void the environmental permit originally granted in 2002 and renewable every five years. When Chieftain purchased the Tulsequah property in 2010, the sale included a valid environmental certificate. With the latest determination that the project is substantially started, there is no basis for revoking the environmental permit.

The Prosperity project was complicated first by environmental concerns and then by aboriginal title to the property.

Penguin ASI Takes Mining Automation to the Next Level – by Robert Spence (Mining Global – November 04, 2014)

May 4, 2015January 16, 2015

http://www.miningglobal.com/

Penguin Automated Systems Inc. is a leading research, development and prototyping company in the field of robotic & Automation solutions. The Company specializes in full service telecommunication enabling the transmission of video, data and voice for control of single or multiple robots and equipment in underground, underwater and space solutions.

First initiated in 2001, Penguin ASI offers a wide range of options in the mining, construction and exploration industries, providing wireless optical networking to underground GPS systems and inertial navigation for positioning. Penguin ASI uses a comprehensive approach to software development, systems integration and field testing to ensure leading edge technologies are supplied to manage all of their client’s needs.

By applying existing technology and inventing new ones, Penguin ASI is able to enable the creation of innovative solutions for challenging projects, allowing the Company to be a leading force in the Telerobotics field.