May 20, 2015 – Republic of Mining

Norman B. Keevil: A lifetime of achievement at Teck – by Anthony Vaccaro (Northern Miner – May 19, 2015)

May 20, 2015

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry.

In 1979 The Northern Miner named Norman B. Keevil its Mining Man of the Year, citing the impressive string of mine constructions he presided over in the 1970s. Since winning that award Dr. Keevil went on to ensure Teck was part of some of the biggest mining projects over the next 30 years, such as Hemlo, Voisey’s Bay and Antamina.

At the same time Dr. Keevil and his team were building Teck into one of the world’s largest producers of metallurgical coal. For this unparalleled track record and for his unchallenged reputation for honesty, fair dealing and supportiveness, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the Miner can find no person more deserving than Dr. Norman B. Keevil to be the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1939, scientists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard sent a letter to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt after three German scientists in Berlin split the atom.

The experiment put the Nazis on a path to building the atomic bomb, and knowing this, Einstein and Szilard compelled Roosevelt to counterpunch — with the Manhattan Project.

The point man for the project was to be Harold Urey, the leading scientist on isotope separation. One of Urey’s first tasks was to assemble a team of leading scientists to help beat the Germans in the race for the atomic bomb.

Protests Force Mining Billionaire German Larrea To Halt $1.4 Billion Copper Project In Peru – by Dolia Estevez (Forbes Magazine – May 20, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://www.forbes.com/

Fifty days of protests against the $1.4 billion Tía María copper mining project in southern Peru forced Grupo Mexico , owned by Mexican mining billionaire German Larrea Mota Velasco, to call for a two-month truce, Peruvian and Mexican media reported.

Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, CEO and President of Southern Copper, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, announced Friday a 60-day “pause” on the Tía María project to allow the parties involved to present “their concerns and fears, identify solutions, agree on a path to move forward and define responsibilities that all must assume in a reasonable time,” EFE reported from Lima.

Carlos Galvez, president of Peru’s National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy (SNMPE), a non-profit business association, supported the truce. “No project can be imposed by force; a truce would be the most appropriate,” said Galvez, according to Mexico’s El Economista.

But the announcement did not stop community and civil groups in seven regions in Southern Peru, the world’s third-biggest copper producer, from calling for a 48-hour stoppage on May 27 and 28 to demand the total annulment of the mining project.

Protests against the Tía María project, controlled by Southern Copper, a Grupo Mexico affiliate, took a turn for the worse in late March when communities in the Arequipa region, not far from Peru’s southern border with Chile, expressed fears that the yearly production of 120,000 tons of copper cathodes will pollute their land and water.

China to bankroll Vale iron ore expansion – by Amanda Saunders (Australian Financial Review – May 20, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://www.afr.com/

China will help to bankroll a major expansion by Brazilian iron ore giant Vale and invest in huge Vale ships that will transport high-quality ore to North Asia – a deal that will reshape the global industry and put more pressure on Fortescue Metals Group.

On a state visit to China with Premier Li Keqiang, Chinese officials agreed to invest in up to eight of Vale’s huge iron ore carriers, known as Valemax ships.

More importantly, China will loan the company up to $US4 billion ($5 billion) to help fund a $US16.5 billion expansion called S11D. The project, which should be finished next year, will produce 90 million tonnes of high-quality iron ore that will be shipped to China at a cost almost as low as that achieved by industry leader Rio Tinto.

While Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest has repeatedly attacked BHP Billiton and Rio for continuing to expand into a weak iron ore market, Brazil’s plans are accelerating.

Vale plans to increase capacity to 450 million tonnes as early as 2018 from 330 million tonnes this year. Its expansion easily eclipses the combined tonnes BHP and Rio will put into the market over the next three to four years.

EU lawmakers seek ban on ‘blood metals’ in surprise vote – by Robin Emmott (Reuters U.K. – May 20 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

BRUSSELS – The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to ban all products that contain “blood metals” sold by African warlords, but the legislation is likely to be blocked by EU governments who fear it would impose an unrealistic burden on business.

The surprise result marked a defeat for the pro-business European People’s Party (EPP), the parliament’s biggest grouping, who need fellow centrist allies to pass laws following last year’s EU elections where protest parties did well.

The European Parliament voted 402 in favour versus 118 against with 171 abstentions on a proposal to require companies, including electronics firms, that buy gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten to certify imports do not finance warlords in Africa.

“Parliament votes for mandatory transparency against conflict minerals. Big success!” tweeted German Green Ska Keller after the vote in Strasbourg as some lawmakers broke out in applause while others stood in huddles, surprised by the result.

The result is set to paralyse the bill because European Union governments say firms across the 28 EU countries cannot track materials from small mines all the way through commodity exchanges to component manufacturers and the final product.

Ukraine’s DTEK says will become coal importer – by Sarah McFarlane (Reuters U.S. – May 19, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

NICE – May 19 Ukraine’s biggest power producer and major coal miner DTEK will become a coal importer due to difficulties in the domestic mining industry, an executive from the company said on Tuesday.

“In a country like Ukraine which typically produces 75 to 80 million tonnes of coal a year, it’s insane to think we’re going to turn into an importer, but there are several factors at work here,” said John Woodham, head of trading at DTEK SA, speaking at the IHS European coal conference.

Woodham said domestic production was in decline due to a combination of the conflict in the east of the country halting production at some mines, while cuts to subsidies for state mines are triggering closures.

DTEK, part of the business empire of Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, accounts for about 29 percent of the country’s thermal power generation and controls about 46 percent of Ukraine’s coal production.

China Grows Its South America Influence After Commodity Bust – by Juan Pablo Spinetto and David Biller (Bloomberg News – May 19, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

China’s interest in Latin American isn’t just about oil and agriculture anymore. As Premier Li Keqiang tours Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile for the first time, China is taking advantage of cheaper prices as the commodities super-cycle ends to fast-track its influence in a region that supplies everything from crude to soybeans and copper.

High on the shopping list? Infrastructure, power and banking — credit-hungry industries that would help promote growth. Among the more than $50 billion in mostly financing deals announced in Brazil Tuesday was a plan by China’s BYD Co. to build a solar-panel factory, while China’s fifth-largest bank is taking over Brazilian lender Banco BBM SA.

“Latin America as a whole has more difficulties while at the same time China has increased capabilities,” said Paulo Vicente, a professor of strategy at Fundacao Dom Cabral business school in Rio de Janeiro. “So the environment is ripe for a wave of Chinese acquisitions or investments.”

Chinese companies announced 37 deals and investments in Latin America in the past 12 months, a 37 percent increase from the previous year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China is looking to step up investment as its demand for Latin American commodities slows.

Friends desert Andrew Forrest on calls for iron ore inquiry – by Paul Garvey and Andrew Burrell (The Australian – May 20, 2015)

May 21, 2015May 20, 2015

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest appears increasingly isolated in his campaign for a parliamentary inquiry into the iron ore market, with even West Australian Premier Colin Barnett, an outspoken critic of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, rejecting the proposal.

In a major blow to the billionaire, Tony Abbott yesterday backed away from his previous support for an inquiry to investigate allegations that the Fortescue Metals Group chairman’s main rivals, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, have driven down the iron ore price and tried to push smaller players out of business by threatening to flood the market with iron ore.

Mr Forrest last night hit out at the major miners’ efforts to derail the inquiry push. “You’d have to say the reaction from BHP and Rio to an inquiry is nothing short of hysterical,” Mr Forrest told The Australian.

“I’ve never seen two sensible, conservative companies work so hard to be less transparent.” The Prime Minister distanced himself from the inquiry calls, four days after he warned of “predator behaviour” that needed examining. Mr Abbott said the government hadn’t made any decision on the inquiry, which had met resistance from Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane and Trade Minister Andrew Robb.

Op-ed: ‘Zombie’ Canadian mining company, Infinito Gold, stalks Costa Rica – by Rick Arnold (Tico Times – May 20, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://www.ticotimes.net/

Rick Arnold is a retired Canadian social activist who has lived and worked in Costa Rica.

Most of us are familiar with zombies featured in scary B movies, otherwise known as the living dead. Now a recent study by Tony Simon, co-founder of the Canadian entity Venture Capital Markets Association, has found that there are some 588 junior resource firms with negative working capital (more dead than alive) listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Exchange (TSXV).

These include Infinito Gold, the Calgary-based mining company that is still fighting over its defunct open-pit gold mine project in Costa Rica.

This appears to be contrary to the Venture Exchange’s continued listing requirements, which stipulate that firms have to be able to show at least 50,000 Canadian dollars ($41,000) in working capital (more alive than dead). Mr. Simon uses the term “zombie company” for corporations bleeding red ink and suggests that the TSXV follow its own rules and de-list them right away (and protect the small investor).

Mr. Simon has Infinito Gold sitting at #587 on his “zombie” list — sporting the second greatest negative working capital, a whopping negative $127 million.

K+S making progress on Bethune potash mine – by Bruce Johnstone (Regina Leader-Post – May 19, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://www.leaderpost.com/index.html

Province’s first in 40 years

The $4.1-billion Legacy solution potash mine being built by K+S Potash Canada on the edge of the Qu’Appelle Valley near Bethune, about 75 km northwest of Regina, is still on track and on budget to meet its goal of producing potash by the end of next year.

“Everything’s according to plan,’ said Sam Farris, vice-president and general manager of operations for K+S’s Legacy project – the first new potash mine in Saskatchewan in 40 years. “It’s an aggressive plan, but we’re managing to hold to the plan.’

K+S Group, the parent company of K+S Potash Canada, which issued its firstquarter results last Tuesday, announced that “K+S is well on the way to commissioning the plant as scheduled from summer 2016 onward and producing the first tonnes of potash fertilizers towards the end of the year, thus meeting the investment budget of $4.1 billion.”

K+S Group, which is Europe’s biggest potash producer, said its total capital budget for 2015 was 1.3 billion euros, or just under $1.8 billion Cdn. “Expenditure connected with the Legacy project accounts for most of this figure,’ the Kassel, Germany-based company said.

Iron ore miners should leave the market if they can’t compete – by Richard Heaney (The Conversation U.S. Pilot – May 19, 2015)

May 20, 2015

http://theconversation.com/us

Richard Heaney is the Winthrop Professor at University of Western Australia

Iron ore prices are plummeting, federal budget tax receipts are shrinking and Fortescue Metals Group chairman, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, reckons he knows who is to blame: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Forrest says these competitors drove down prices by flooding the market with product and has pushed for a federal parliamentary inquiry into their actions – a prospect Prime Minister Tony Abbott is said to be considering.

Forrest told ABC RN Breakfast last week that, “When the chief executives of two of the most important companies to Australia both talk the market down, both say they’re going to oversupply the market there’ll be a lot of collateral damage to the Australian economy, employees by the tens of thousands, companies, and we no longer have a free market.”

On Tuesday, BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie responded by saying his firm has been a “very responsible fair producer” that had already partially slowed production, adding that: