May 22, 2015 – Republic of Mining

Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest maintains iron ore rage – by Paul Garvey (The Australian – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

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

Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest has vowed to continue his calls for greater scrutiny of mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, despite the federal government’s official rejection of an inquiry into the iron ore market.

Joe Hockey yesterday declared that the inquiry — originally supported by Tony Abbott — would not go ahead, drawing an angry response from Mr Forrest.

The billionaire mining entrepreneur, who has been campaigning for months for governments to pressure BHP and Rio over their strategy to continue lifting iron ore production, said the “hysterical” lobbying of multinational mining giants caused the inquiry to stall.

In an opinion piece written for The Australian, Mr Forrest questioned what the mining giants had to fear from an inquiry.

“Those that paint me as an interventionist from behind their Singapore tax shields know the iron ore industry is an oligopoly in which the big three each wield more market power than Saudi Arabia in oil and where the barriers to entry are huge and built on decades of subsidies,” he said.

[Australia iron mining] Friends, countrymen, lend me your ores – by Richard Denniss (Brisbane Times – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

Richard Denniss is an economist and executive director of The Australia Institute.

Australia has a bigger share of the seaborne coal market than Saudi Arabia has of the world oil market. And Australia has a bigger share of the seaborne iron ore market than all of the OPEC counties combined have of the world oil market. Everyone knows that if OPEC doubled their oil supply the world oil price would fall. Yet Australians are being told that our decision to double our iron ore exports between 2007 and 2014 had no impact on the price of iron ore.

Someone is talking crap.

While it’s hard for mere mortals to turn water into wine, it’s easy to turn wine into water. Just take a glass of wine, add a very large quantity of water and, hey presto, you’ve got water. But if you add water, one drip at a time, to a glass of wine, it’s virtually impossible to decide when it stopped becoming wine and started becoming water.

So what’s watery wine got to do with the price of iron ore? Lots.

Between 2005 and 2014 Australia built or expanded almost 400 mines. Not surprisingly, doing so put enormous pressure on the cost of the labour, capital and raw materials need to build them.

The [United States] House just passed a bill about space mining. The future is here. – by Brian Fung (Washington Post – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

For as long as we’ve existed, humans have looked up at the stars — and wondered. What is up there? Who is out there?

Now, to that list of questions we can add: And CAN I HAVE IT?

The United States has already shown its penchant for claiming ownership of space-based things. There are not one, not two, but six U.S. flags on the moon, in case any of you other nations start getting ideas. (Never mind that the flags have all faded to a stateless white by now.)

So it only makes sense that American lawmakers would seek to guarantee property rights for U.S. space corporations. Under the SPACE Act, which just passed the House, businesses that do asteroid mining will be able to keep whatever they dig up:

“Any asteroid resources obtained in outer space are the property of the entity that obtained such resources, which shall be entitled to all property rights thereto, consistent with applicable provisions of Federal law.”

This is how we know commercial space exploration is serious. The opportunity here is so vast that businesses are demanding federal protections for huge, floating objects they haven’t even surveyed yet.

[Saskatchewan mining sector] Reaching out to aboriginals – by Joel Schlesinger (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

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

Lyle Acoose grew up on Ochapowace Cree Nation never realizing PotashCorp operated a major mine only 45 minutes away from his community in southeast Saskatchewan.

That is until he actually began work with the firm a few years back.

“I knew there was a mine in Rocanville, and I played hockey against kids from the community when I was younger, but until I got a summer job I didn’t really know anything about PotashCorp or its impact on the communities in which it operates,” says the human resources specialist with the Saskatoon-based multinational mining firm, the largest producer of potash in the world.

“At the time I didn’t know anybody from my community who worked for the mine, but that certainly has changed.”

Today the company of more than 5,000 employees – mostly in Saskatchewan – pays much more attention to ensuring it has a high profile in the province’s aboriginal communities. And that includes a formalized ambassador program among its First Nation and Métis employees to get out the message that there’s a bright future in the province’s mining industry.

Murray Energy to Lay Off Around 1,800 Workers – by Timothy Puko and John W. Miller (Wall Street Journal – May 21, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/

Move is another blow to the coal mining industry in Appalachia

Coal miner Murray Energy Corp. is set to announce layoffs of around 1,800 workers at nine locations on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter, dealing another blow to the coal-mining industry in Appalachia.

The planned layoffs, which represent about 21% of Murray’s workforce, will come largely at mines in West Virginia and Ohio, a region already reeling from the impact of abundant natural gas and a global coal glut.

Robert Murray, the 75-year-old founder and chief executive of the company, made the decision Wednesday after a 12-hour meeting with operations managers, according to the person familiar with the matter.

The company decided to make much bigger cuts than it had previously been considering because of growing concerns about the slumping market for thermal coal, the person said.

The company plans to send formal notice on Friday to workers at the Monongalia County Coal Co. in West Virginia, the mine that will see the largest layoffs. The mine had been idled earlier this spring, putting several hundred miners out of work.

Gloomy Mining Chiefs See Copper-Tinted Light at End of Tunnel – by Firat Kayakiran, Jesse Riseborough and Agnieszka De Sousa (Bloomberg News – May 21, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The world’s biggest mining companies haven’t agreed on much lately as they argue about how to deal with a glut of iron ore and coal. When the subject turns to copper, however, they’re on the same wavelength.

Executives of BHP Billiton Ltd., Antofagasta Plc, Rio Tinto Group, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Glencore Plc all pointed to copper in comments this month as the one commodity not dogged by oversupply. Demand is proving resilient, according to analysts who cite China’s response to a slowdown in economic growth by sanctioning a number of previously delayed infrastructure projects.

“If you’re looking for a single structural long-term bullish argument for owning a commodity, just look at copper,” said Clive Burstow, who helps manage $44 billion at Baring Asset Management in London.

In an interview last week, the head of the world’s largest mining company painted a gloomy picture for the industry. BHP’s Andrew Mackenzie said that in all the minerals markets in which it operates, any demand increase can too “easily” be met by expanding existing mines. One exception he sees is copper.

Is South Deep SA’s most disappointing mine? – by David McKay (Miningmx.com – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.miningmx.com/

[miningmx.com] – THERE’S a growing suspicion that South Africa’s last great gold mine, the South Deep project on the West Rand, may prove to be its most disappointing after Gold Fields acknowledged it, like the project’s previous owners, would fail to have it deliver on its production promises.

Since its earliest development to its current position now, the deposit has refused to yield its treasures in a way its owners expected and promised. In the process, it has absorbed billions of rands of investment; yet two decades on, ‘the mine’ is still ‘a project’.

JCI, then a limb of a sprawling Anglo American, started South Deep. It was then taken over by the late Brett Kebble when he ran JCI in combination with his Western Areas.

Half of the project was sold to Placer Dome in the hope that North American know-how and capital would help bring South Deep to the 800,000 to 900,000 ounce/year to life. But to no avail.

The asset then switched hands with another North American owner, Barrick Gold, attempting to wrest gold economically from South Deep until it too sold the project to Gold Fields for about $1.5bn in an expensive game of pass the parcel.

Gold Fields Said to Be Among Final Bidders in Barrick Mine Sale – by David Stringer and Brett Foley (Bloomberg News – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold Fields Ltd. is among final bidders competing to acquire a $400 million Australian mine from Barrick Gold Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Johannesburg-based producer and China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. submitted final offers for the Cowal gold mine in New South Wales state, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. They are competing with local suitors Evolution Mining Ltd. and Independence Group NL, which also submitted binding bids, they said.

Barrick, the world’s biggest gold miner, said last month it has fielded interest for mines it’s seeking to divest in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Chile. The Toronto-based company plans to reduce net debt by at least $3 billion this year, partly by selling the assets and cutting staff at its head office.

Zijin Mining has also expressed interest in Barrick’s Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea, the people said. Representatives for Gold Fields, Independence Group and Evolution declined to comment, while spokesmen for Barrick and Zijin didn’t immediately respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment.

GOLD MINING: Arctic discount ‘no longer relevant’ – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

Sabina Gold & Silver also fleshes out smaller mining project it plans to study further.

Bruce McLeod, Sabina Gold & Silver President and CEO, was frank about the prospects of funding a $600 million gold project in Canada’s remote North. He said financing it would be “challenging and dilutive” during a conference call held Thursday to outline the basics of a new feasibility study of the Back River gold project in Nunavut, Canada.

It’s a challenge that is especially true for Arctic mine developers. Indeed McLeod spoke of an Arctic discount owing to other mines or projects in the north that did not, at least initially, live up to expectations.

“The Meadowbank project had a difficult start,” McLeod noted. “Newmont took a significant write down on Hope Bay. And these last two events led to what we believe is a significant arctic discount.”

If that Arctic discount is something of a reality, McLeod acknowledged, it’s unwarranted, he argued. “We also believe these events are no longer relevant,” he said.

Laurentian Exploration and Research: MERC looks to the future – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – May 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.sudburyminingsolutions.com/

The Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) has committed itself to an ambitious, five-year business plan. The mineral exploration research arm of Laurentian University’s Department of Earth Sciences, MERC boasts a global reputation as a centre of excellence for research focused on Precambrian ore deposits.

The five-year business plan will help guide MERC’s growth and allow it to play an even more important role in the global search for mineral deposits.

Completed in November 2014, the business plan sets six key strategic directions, including a greater focus on Precambrian shields around the world, the establishment of a science advisory council, the hiring of research associates to assist with project management, and the recruitment of more corporate members.

With increased financial resources from courses, workshops and membership dues, MERC will allocate $20,000 annually for pre-research investigation and establish a one-year operating reserve to offset shortfalls due to cyclical downturns in the mining industry.

S.Africa’s NUM union wants 84 pct pay increase for gold workers – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters U.S. – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG – May 21 South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will push for an 84 percent rise in basic pay for entry-level gold mining workers, a near 10 percentage-point increase on previous demands, according to documents obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

They show that the NUM, which represents 57 percent of the workforce in the goldmining industry, want employers to pay entry-level workers a basic 10,500 rand ($888) a month.

Entry-level gold diggers currently earn around 5,700 rand per month, not including various allowances structured into their pay packages.

Last month NUM sources had said it would ask for 10,000 rand for entry-level workers. The latest demands have been seen by Reuters in official union documents dated April 30 and sent to mining companies body the South African Chamber of Mines.

The demands, which come as the central bank worries about the economic impact of pay rises above the current 4.8 percent rate of inflation, will set the stage for tough negotiations and a potentially protracted dispute with the gold mining companies.

Vale iron ore deal a ‘reminder’ for Australia: Roy Hill – by Tess Ingram (Sydney Morning Post – May 22, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.smh.com.au/business

Roy Hill chief executive Barry Fitzgerald has said the iron ore expansion deals Brazilian miner Vale inked with China this week are a reminder Australian producers need to remain competitive in the global iron ore market.

Mr Fitzgerald, the man responsible for the development of Gina Rinehart’s $10 billion Roy Hill mine, joined majors BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in warning of the Brazilian iron ore producer’s growing competitiveness with its Australian rivals.

“What it does remind me, and it should remind all of us, that we in the mining industry are in a competitive, international business,” Mr Fitzgerald told a Morgans Financial breakfast in Perth on Friday. “What we do needs to reflect the pressures and the actions of our competitors.”

On Tuesday, China agreed to fund Brazilian iron ore giant Vale’s major S11D expansion and invest in huge ships that will transport high-quality ore from Brazil to Asia for a lower cost.

The project, which should be finished next year, is expected to produce 90 million tonnes of high-quality iron ore at a unit cost of $US11 a tonne. Vale also announced this month it would begin shipping a blended product – Brazilian Blend fines – with an iron content of 63 per cent.

Adventures In Rainbow Country TV Series (Some Mining Themed Episodes: 1970-1971)

May 22, 2015

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

http://www.tvarchive.ca/

Adventures in Rainbow Country – From the Winnipeg Free Press, Sep 19, 1970.

The rugged beauty of Canada’s north country is truly captured for the first time on television in Adventures in Rainbow Country, a new 26-week color film series, centring on the life and escapades of a 14-year-old boy growing up amid the splendor and the challenge of the land around northern Lake Huron, Ont. It begins on CBC television, Sept. 20.

Filmed entirely on location — there is not a single studio sequence — Adventures in Rainbow Country features a large cast of exclusively Canadian actors. Through a unique co-production enterprise, the 30-minute films will be seen on the English television network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; in a dubbed version on the CBC’s French network; and will bring a vivid picture of the real Canadian outdoors to television audiences in Britain, Australia, Germany and a number of other countries.

Congo Miners Warn Growth at Risk Even as Output Increases – by Michael Kavanagh (Bloomberg News – May 21, 2015)

May 22, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Falling metal prices, power shortages and anticipated tax increases are threatening the Democratic of Congo’s mining industry even as copper, gold and cobalt output hit record highs, the country’s main business group said.

“Exploration projects are being wound down or halted, assets are being sold off and vigorous efforts are under way to cut production costs,” the Chamber of Mines at the Federation des Entreprises du Congo said in a report e-mailed Wednesday from the capital, Kinshasa. “This is certain to result in direct and indirect job losses as suppliers and contractors are squeezed.”

The slowdown wasn’t immediately apparent in the industry’s first-quarter results, the FEC report shows, as copper output rose 15 percent from the same period in 2014, while cobalt production jumped 17 percent and gold more than 37 percent.

Amid global price slumps for many metals, the country’s miners are trying to forestall a revision of the 2002 mining code that would increase mineral royalties and taxes and remove several tax exemptions. While legislative debate on the revisions was originally scheduled in the parliamentary calendar for the session ending in June, Congolese Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu said Thursday no date had been set.

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation History (1928 – 1998)

May 22, 2015

For a large selection of corporate histories click: International Directory of Company Histories

As we look ahead, our strategy for growth remains as straightforward as that which brought us to our current record levels. We continue to target opportunities in politically stable countries with historic mining traditions and ample opportunity for developing production and reserves. Through the efforts of our exceptional group of employees, this past year [1996] we secured a number of important stakes on the separate continents to guarantee continued development this year and beyond.

Company History:

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (Coeur) is a global precious metals producer, specializing in the exploration, extraction, and development of both gold and silver resources in its seven active gold and/or silver mines. Directly and through its subsidiaries, the company operates primarily within North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Coeur silver is used in film, jewelry, medicine, batteries, electrical appliances, in high technology defense and scientific applications (where instant bursts of electric power are required), and as a bacteria killer in water–reusable laundry discs using silver can eliminate the need for detergents.

Due to its ability to bind specialized superconductive materials together, silver is expected to play a significant role in a new era of high temperature superconductors–materials that conduct electricity with little or no electrical resistance. Silver and gold are being used to remove frost from automobile and airplane windows, by conducting heat through a nearly invisible layer of silver embedded in the glass.