McCollum seeks ban on new mines in much of northeastern Minnesota – by Devin Henry (Minnesota Post – April 14, 2015)

https://www.minnpost.com/

WASHINGTON — When it comes to controversial mining projects in Minnesota, the headlines go to PolyMet, the proposed copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes that became a touchstone in last year’s elections.

But one group of Minnesotans is taking on a bigger foe — and a bigger mine — miles to the north, and they have found an ally in the state’s congressional delegation.

A group called the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is working to convince the Obama administration, and eventually Congress, to take steps to block the proposed Twin Metals project, and indeed any precious metal mining in a vast swatch around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The group’s director, Becky Rom, was in Washington last month with a group of scientists and a stack of environmental studies, polling data, and economic reports meeting with administrators and members of Congress. Her message: the watershed surrounding the Boundary Waters is territory too precious to allow copper and nickel mining projects that present a set of environmental complications unique to the area.

Congress has previously protected thousands of acres of land surrounding the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park from mining interests, and the Obama administration has the right to do the same on its own, at least temporarily.

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Coal Is Dying and It’s Never Coming Back — by Tim McDonnell (Mother Jones – April 14, 2015)

http://www.motherjones.com/

With or without help from President Obama.

Coal, the No. 1 cause of climate change, is dying. Last year saw a record number of coal plant retirements in the United States, and a study last week from Duke University found that since 2008, the coal industry shed nearly 50,000 jobs, while natural gas and renewable energy added four times that number. Even China, which produces and consumes more coal than the rest of the world put together, is expected to hit peak coal use within a decade, in order to meet its promise to President Barack Obama to reduce its carbon emissions starting in 2030.

According to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), this is all the fault of President Barack Obama’s “war on coal”—specifically the administration’s new limits for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, which probably will force many power companies to burn less coal. If there is a war, McConnell has long been the field marshal of the defending army. His latest maneuver came last month when he called on state lawmakers to simply ignore the administration’s new rules, in order to resist Obama’s “attack on the middle class.”

His logic, apparently, is that if Kentucky can stave off Obama long enough, the coal industry still has a glorious future ahead. That logic is fundamentally flawed. While Obama’s tenure will probably speed up the country’s transition to cleaner energy, the scales had already tipped against coal long before he took office. Kentucky’s coal production peaked in 1990, and coal industry employment peaked all the way back in the 1920s.

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Kelly Strong leaving Vale [Sudbury] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – April 14, 2015)

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

Kelly Strong, Vale’s vice-president of Canada and UK operations, has tendered his resignation to the Brazil-based miner. Vale Sudbury spokeswoman Angie Robson said Tuesday afternoon that Strong has made a decision to leave the company May 1 to pursue another opportunity.

“After almost 14 years with our operations, Kelly has made substantial contributions in the areas of operations, employee engagement and safety, and we wish him all the best,” said Robson in an email.

Conor Spollen, director of Canada and UK Operations and Projects, will assume Strong’s responsibilities until a permanent replacement is chosen. Strong had developed a good working relationship with the union representing production and maintenance workers at Vale’s Sudbury operations.

Last Dec. 10, Strong and USW Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand held a news conference at the Steelworkers’ Hall to announce they were entering into negotiations for a new collective agreement. The current five-year contract, hammered out after a tense year-long strike from July 2009-July 2010, expires May 31.

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Nunavut miners face tough times: Scotiabank commodity expert – by Jane George (Nunatsiaq News – April 14, 2015)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

“Conditions are quite challenging in the mining industry”

Here’s a bleak forecast: this year’s going to be a tough one for the Nunavut mining industry. That was gist of the message from the Scotiabank vice-president and commodity economist, Patricia Mohr, the keynote speaker April 14 at the Nunavut Mining Symposium, now underway in Iqaluit.

“Think and hope” were two words used by Mohr, who spoke in a less optimistic way than in 2013 when she told symposium delegates that the mining industry globally — and in Nunavut — could look ahead to better times by 2015.

“Conditions are quite challenging in the mining industry,” Mohr said at her April 14 talk to delegates meeting at the Frobisher Inn.

These conditions include poor economic growth worldwide, a slowdown in China, rock-bottom oil prices and increased competition in metal and iron ore markets. And these have created challenges, such as low prices for gold, uranium, iron and base metals — copper, zinc, nickel and aluminium.

The price for iron is “extremely low,” Mohr said, which she acknowledged is “very important to Nunavut,” where Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has recently started producing iron ore. As well, there’s “a market-share war in the iron ore business,” Mohr told symposium delegates.

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Citi analysts call the ‘end of the Iron Age’ – by Matt Clinch (CNBC.com – April 13, 2015)

http://www.cnbc.com/

Oversupply and a lack of demand growth has led some market analysts to speculate that iron ore prices will never recover to former levels, and warn of a divergence in different base metals going forward.

The price of iron ore is now just over $47 a ton, according to The Steel Index (TSI), which measures a benchmark of 62-percent ore. This is its lowest level since the TSI started compiling spot market prices in 2008, according to Reuters.

On Monday, analysts at Citi slashed their forecasts for the price of the metal and now expect iron ore to average $45 a ton in 2015 and $40 a ton in 2016. These are downgrades of 23 percent and 36.6 percent, respectively.

“We believe the upside in the sector is now capped, however the downside is being protected by dividend yield. We think it is going to be a tough 1-2 years for the mining sector until we clear surplus capacity in the bulk commodity prices,” Heath Jansen, metals and mining analyst at Citi, said in a note Monday morning.

Another analyst, Colin Hamilton, head of global commodities research at Macquarie, explained that iron prices needed to fall in lower in the short term to clear an oversupply that isn’t prevalent in other commodity markets.

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The mining industry’s best hope for survival has some flaws – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – April 14, 2015)

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.

It has come to this: the largest gold deal in a year is one where no premium is paid and no cash is exchanged.

During the commodity boom, miners of all stripes were scooped up at prices sometimes worth over 50 per cent of their market values. Three years after the bull run ended, Alamos Gold Inc. and AuRico Gold Inc. have proposed merging in a share-for-share deal worth $1.5-billion (U.S.) that contains no takeover premium whatsoever. The motivation is to combine finances and assets to make it through this storm.

To some, the deal is a beacon of hope. ‘Mergers of equals,’ as they are known, have been pitched like crazy for the past few years – multiple investment bankers stressed to me that this very combination has been pitched six ways to Sunday – but for the longest time, no two companies would take the bait. Now that two intermediate miners are finally acting on the idea, Bay Street hopes it will spawn more deals.

You can understand the optimism. Many dealers still hope to drum up business from miners – AuRico alone has 16 research analysts who cover the name – and they are looking for any sign that the tide is turning.

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Norilsk Sees Nickel in Cars Tripling as Tesla Drives Sales – by Yuliya FedorinovaAndrey Lemeshko (Bloomberg News – April 14, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Nickel demand from the auto industry is set to rise as much as threefold in five years as output of electric and hybrid cars gathers pace, according to Russia’s largest producer of the metal.

“Hybrid and electric cars make more demand for nickel,” Anton Berlin, head of strategic marketing at OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, said in an interview in Moscow. “It will rise because many automobile companies, such as Tesla Motors, have very ambitious plans for the future.”

Electric and hybrid vehicles are increasingly becoming a low-cost alternative for consumers as their batteries — which use nickel — get cheaper and more efficient. That may aid a recovery in the market for the metal after prices slumped because of oversupply in the stainless-steel industry.

Tesla Motors Inc., California’s largest automotive employer, is seeking to make electric cars for the masses by adding a battery factory near Reno, Nevada. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said last month that Tesla would also reveal “a major new product line” at the end of April.

Use of nickel in car batteries may rise to more than 100,000 metric tons a year by the end of the decade from 30,000 tons in 2014, according to Norilsk’s Berlin.

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Hellas Gold mining project divides Greek kin on Halkidiki peninsula – by Vassilis Kyriakoulis (Globe and Mail – April 13, 2015)

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.

THESSALONIKI, GREECE — Scrawled on the walls of homes in the village of Megali Panagia in northern Greece are angry slogans that show how much this picturesque community has been torn apart by a controversial gold mining project.

“Gold mines are a curse for every nation,” reads one. Others are more profane. For the past three years, the promise of a huge investment by a Canadian mining company has deeply divided the inhabitants of this spectacular corner of the Halkidiki peninsula, setting neighbours and even family members at each others’ throats.

In Megali Panagia itself, tit-for-tat attacks on shops and cars belonging to rival factions of those for and against Hellas Gold – a subsidiary of Canadian firm Eldorado Gold Corp. – have been going on for years.

Until now, most of the demonstrations were by residents fearing that the project will cause irreversible damage to beautiful forested peninsula, one of Greece’s most popular tourist areas.

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Mining and conservation can co-exist in the Arctic: Oceans North – by Lisa Gregoire (Nunatsiaq News – April 14, 2015)

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

Conservation group urging Ottawa to balance shipping with Lancaster Sound marine park

Now that the Nunavut Planning Commission has deemed Baffinland Iron Mines’ beefed up shipping plan a no-go, Oceans North is hoping Ottawa doesn’t decide to overturn the decision.

That option, along with others, was presented to Baffinland when the NPC issued their non-conformity ruling on April 8, effectively stalling the mining company’s desire to break ice near Pond Inlet and ship ore through the winter ice season.

But Chris Debicki, Oceans North’s Nunavut projects director, is hoping that before Ottawa considers any possible alternatives for shipping through Milne Inlet and Eclipse Sound, that consideration is given to another huge project right next door: the proposed Lancaster Sound Marine Conservation Area.

“These are the biggest land use processes going on in that region that we’ll probably see in a generation. It’s almost as though they’re happening independent of one another,” Debicki said.

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COMMENT: First Nations beating war drums – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – April 13, 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.

I read a couple news releases last week involving complaints by First Nations about being left out of resource development decisions. No one doubts that they must be included. The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent rulings give weight to their claims.

But what is to be gained by opposing Noront’s desire to acquire those lands abandoned by Cliffs Natural Resources?

Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation put it thus: “With Noront’s announcement that it is trying to acquire the Cliffs assets, our First Nations have effectively been denied a real opportunity to benefit from key resources in our lands on our terms. This unilateral move by Noront is unacceptable to our First Nations.”

To say the First Nations have been sidelined already is a bit premature. Unless the chief is intimating that the First Nations have the wherewithal (think money) to buy out Cliffs and stage a multi-billion-dollar resource development themselves.

If the First Nations have a beef with Noront or don’t want to meet the company to work out economic participation, why is that? Again and again Canadian companies have shown that they welcome First Nation participation on many levels.

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Alamos Gold Inc, AuRico to merge their gold businesses in $1.5-billion friendly deal – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 14, 2015)

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

TORONTO – The friendly merger between Alamos Gold Inc. and AuRico Gold Inc. fills needs for both companies: Alamos has money and wants a mine, while AuRico has a mine and needs money.

The two Toronto-based gold miners announced a US$1.5 billion transaction on Monday to create a significant mid-tier gold producer. The all-stock deal is a true “merger of equals” with shareholders of each company owning 50 per cent of the new entity (which will retain the Alamos name).

This is one the rare deals that everyone seemed to like, as Alamos shares jumped 6.6 per cent to $7.90 on Monday, while AuRico’s jumped 8.2 per cent to $4.09. It’s a zero-premium merger, so there is a chance an interloper will jump in with a bid for one or both companies. However, hostile bidding wars have been extremely rare in the gold mining space over the last couple of years as prices have been low and companies have been very cautious.

Alamos and AuRico have talked on and off for years, according to an industry source. This turned out to be the ideal time to strike a deal: Their market values are almost identical, and a merger will help them gain scale and lower their cost of capital to help deal with a rough gold market.

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NEWS RELEASE: Statement by Rob McEwen- Cartel Confusion: Clarification of Statement

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – April 13, 2015) – “Responding to numerous media reports, I want to make it perfectly clear, that neither I nor any member of McEwen Mining’s (NYSE:MUX)(TSX:MUX) management team in Canada or in Mexico have had any regular contact with, or have any relationship with, cartel members.

“On Thursday April 9, 2015 at 11:40 am EST I was interviewed on television by Andrew Bell of Business News Network about the recent gold theft from our El Gallo mine. During the interview, I was asked: ‘Is it a dangerous part of Mexico (at our mine site)?’

“I answered: ‘It hasn’t been. I mean the cartels are active down there. Generally we have a good relationship with them.’

“My answer was related to gaining access to properties we wish to explore. It is our policy to contact all property owners or impacted community members in an area to seek their permission and ascertain the appropriate timing to enter their properties to conduct mineral exploration. We respect their wishes as any good neighbor and responsible miner would.

“Unfortunately, my use of the words, ‘good relationship’, was careless and has created the entirely false impression with Mexican media that we have regular contact with criminal elements in their society. This is simply not true. I wish to apologize sincerely for any misunderstanding my words may have caused.

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North Americans lead chase to buy AngloGold mine – by James Wilson (Financial Times – April 12, 2015)

 http://www.ft.com/intl/companies/mining

North American gold producers are leading the chase to buy an AngloGold Ashanti mine in the US, underlining their desire to retreat to home turf and cut exposure to riskier jurisdictions.

A sale of the Cripple Creek mine in Colorado would be one of the largest of a US gold asset since the price of the precious metal declined sharply in 2013. It could raise up to $1bn to help the South African group cut its debt after a plan for a rights issue failed last year.

Newmont Mining of the US and Canada’s Kinross Gold are among a group of miners conducting second-round talks with AngloGold over a deal for part or all of Cripple Creek, according to people familiar with the sale process. Iamgold and Goldcorp, two other Canadian companies, have also shown interest.

A number of North American miners are expected to be keen to strengthen their holdings close to home to counterbalance riskier assets overseas. It would follow the example of Goldcorp, which only operates in the Americas and has become the world’s largest miner by market capitalisation.

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Freeport Bets Copper’s No Oil With Growth to Grab Top Spot – by Matthew CrazeAgnieszka de Sousa (Bloomberg News – April 12, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Freeport McMoRan Inc. is testing the nerve of the copper industry, and its own investors, with an expansion that has it poised to become the world’s biggest producer at a time of slowing China growth.

The Phoenix-based company will close the gap with current world No. 1 Codelco next year after expanding mines in Peru and the U.S. and as the Chilean state-owned company runs out of profitable ore at a mine in the Atacama Desert.

For those predicting a more precipitous demand slump as China shifts to a consumer-driven economy, Freeport’s growth makes little sense. But for the company — whose 76-year-old Chairman Jim Bob Moffett oversaw the discovery of the world’s biggest copper-gold operation in the jungles of Indonesia 27 years ago — the industry’s aging mines will struggle to keep up with even moderate global demand growth. It’s a view shared by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Macquarie Group Ltd., which predict shortages emerging beginning 2017.

“They are making the right bet,” said Christopher LaFemina, an analyst at Jefferies LLC, who recommends buying Freeport stock. “If you are going to be leveraged to a commodity price, this is the right one. If you compare to iron ore or coal, copper is better.”

As Freeport readies a $4.6 billion expansion at the Cerro Verde mine in Peru, Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson will join a debate on the supply side’s reaction to slowing demand at the industry’s annual get-together in Santiago this week.

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Different Paths – Common Ground The viability of remote First Nations communities – by Peter Andre Globensky (Netnewsledger.com – April 14, 2015)

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – This series of articles on the future viability of remote First Nations communities began with our article on the importance of education to the future of First Nations in Canada. We celebrated the fact that First Nations youth are graduating in ever-increasing numbers. This, despite a troubling paradox: the newly educated, “the brightest and best,” rarely return to their communities of origin as there are so few employment prospects for them. We further suggested that First Nations communities located within an urban ambit or adjacent to major transportation arteries are more likely to provide a future for its members when compared to remote communities accessible only by air or winter roads, and lacking few viable prospects for economic development.

We then named the elephant in the room. There is a creeping reality which has become extremely difficult for most remote First Nations communities to accept. A reality that their traditional subsistence economies have migrated from foundational livelihood to cultural artifact. While central to the Aboriginal worldview and sense of self, traditional survival activities have been supplanted by an ad hoc, impermanent wage-based economy and/or social assistance. Nevertheless, to First Nations peoples these homelands serve to connect “the extremities to the heart,” and home is where the heart is.

But what are the prospects for these communities? What are the chances that remote First Nations will be able to support a vibrant, culturally rich homeland while providing sustainable opportunities for economic growth and development? Development consistent with the Aboriginal respect for the intrinsic value of the land upon which their ancestors thrived and their spiritual connection to it?

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