June 4, 2015 – Republic of Mining

Mining Union President Urges Members to Lobby Against Natural Gas Plants – by Kris Maher (Wall Street Journal – June 3, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/

The United Mine Workers of America is reeling from the loss of coal-mining jobs in Appalachia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts urged his members Wednesday to lobby against new natural gas power plants and rally around other political battles as the union reels from the loss of coal-mining jobs in Appalachia and threats to benefits plans for thousands of retirees.

The coal industry faces unprecedented competition as more natural gas is used to generate electricity, overseas demand has waned and the Obama administration proposes tougher emissions standards for power plants. Companies have laid off waves of miners in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama.

“Our members are being laid off in numbers we haven’t seen in decades,” Mr. Roberts told several hundred union members and retirees clad in United Mine Workers of America shirts and baseball hats. The union called the meeting two days ago amid growing anxiety among its membership.

Mr. Roberts said a priority for the union is halting several gas-fired power plants planned for the region that compete directly with plants using coal. He said the union will oppose any tax breaks for natural gas projects.

We’re not cannibals:Glencore – by Greg Roberts (The West Australian – June 4, 2015)

June 4, 2015

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/

Global miner Glencore has taken a swipe at Australia’s mining giants, saying their mass iron ore and coal expansions had “cannibalised” revenue and hurt the economy.

Glencore itself had been the first to take the responsible path of stopping its own coal expansions, which was good for the Australian mining industry, coal chief Peter Freyberg told a Melbourne Mining Club lunch.

His comments came a day after US coal giant Peabody Energy said it would axe up to 210 jobs and cut production by nearly half at a north Queensland mine as it struggled with falling prices.

Glencore announced it would cut 80 jobs and production from its north Queensland Collinsville coal mine last week.

Mr Freyberg said Glencore was exercising market discipline, cutting mining output, combining some of its NSW coal operations with Peabody’s and putting its $7 billion Queensland Wandoan coal mine project on hold.

Zinc price to struggle as more output, stocks expected – by Eric Onstad (Reuters Africa – June 4, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://af.reuters.com/

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) – Zinc prices are likely to struggle in the short term, weighed down by a more plentiful supply situation than forecast.

More inventories are due to move into LME warehouses while two mine operations will produce more than expected despite well-flagged closures, analysts and industry sources said.

Zinc is one of the best performing metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and has been a favourite of investors in recent years due to the prospect of shortages developing because of the shutdowns of major mines.

Benchmark LME zinc surged by a fifth during the six weeks to May 5, when it hit an eight-month peak of $2,404.50 a tonne, but has since given up about half of those gains.

Some analysts are concerned about more flows of inventories into LME warehouses after 36,400 tonnes arrived in Malaysian depots on May 19, the biggest one-day inflow in over a year.

State of Minnesota lowers mineral royalty for U.S. Steel – by John Myers Duluth News Tribune – June 3, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Minnesota’s top elected officials voted unanimously Wednesday to cut the fees the state charges U.S. Steel Corp. to mine iron ore on state lands on the Iron Range.

The vote is an effort to help the big U.S. steelmaker navigate through tough economic times pushed by a flood of cheap foreign steel and iron ore.

The Executive Council—the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and attorney general—voted to cut the royalty rates for U.S. Steel operations for 15 months, a break that could hit more than $4 million.

Royalties are the fees mining companies pay to whoever owns the mineral rights where they mine, in this case, the state of Minnesota.

The move means less money coming in to the state’s Permanent School Trust Fund and other funds stocked by the mining fees.

New mine in an old pit: Barrick begins mining at Arturo – by Marianne Kobak McKown (Elko Daily Free Press – June 4, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://elkodaily.com/

CARLIN – An old mine site has been reborn.

Barrick Gold Corp. began mining in its Arturo Mine this year. The new operation is located in the former Dee Pit, which is about 45 miles northwest of Elko. Barrick owns 60 percent of the project and Goldcorp owns the other 40 percent.

The Bureau of Land Management issued the mine’s record of decision May 9, 2014 and construction on the project began the end of 2014.

The mine will be mined in three phases, but it is starting in Phase 2 first, said Jerry Johnson, open pit technical services superintendent. Phase 2 is predominantly refractory ore and it will be sent to Goldstrike’s roaster and autoclave.

“It is about 90 percent refractory and about 10 percent oxide mill,” Johnson said. “It’s a smaller pit. It’s about 107 million total tons. It will be about 800 feet deep when we are done with it and about a half a mile in diameter, so significantly smaller than the Goldstrike Pit.”

He said the phases were named before all the drilling was completed, which is why Phase 2 will be mined before Phase 1. Mining with the 4100 shovel started on March 26. “The active shovel bench is just a wee bit of a highwall,” Johnson said.

NEWS RELEASE: AME BC Welcomes Continued Funding of Geoscience BC

June 4, 2015

Vancouver, BC — June 4, 2015 — The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC) today welcomes the announcement by the provincial government to commit $5 million in new funding for Geoscience BC as announced today by the Hon. Bill Bennett, BC Minister of Energy and Mines. AME BC also encourages the government to establish long-term, predictable funding for the not-for-profit organization that was established in 2005 as the result of advocacy led by AME BC.

“We thank the provincial government for its continued funding of Geoscience BC,” says Gavin C. Dirom, President & CEO of AME BC. “Compared to other areas around the world, BC truly has a competitive edge with regard to its publicly available geoscience data that facilitates mineral exploration and development. The continued funding announced today will help maintain the province’s competitive advantage, particularly when commodity and market conditions improve and foster an upswing in mineral exploration.”

“We also congratulate Geoscience BC on ten years of enabling applied research that has helped to reshape the geochemical, geological and geophysical knowledge of BC,” remarks David McLelland, Chair of AME BC. “Looking forward to the next decade, the types of data that Geoscience BC provides will be critical to the success of prospecting and early exploration.

Such early-stage mineral exploration is necessary to sustain the discoveries that lead to the development of new mines that in return provide the metals and minerals that society needs and the resource revenues that British Columbians depend on. In turn, we encourage the provincial government to establish long-term, predictable funding that will allow Geoscience BC to continue the important work of developing information that encourages investment in mineral exploration and development in BC.”

Gold’s Peak Doesn’t Mean New Price Heights – by Helen Thomas (Wall Street Journal – June 4, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/

The industry has been in survival mode, companies warn

Announcing that gold production is approaching its limits can be hazardous. In 2009 Aaron Regent, who shortly after became chief executive of Barrick Gold, said the world had reached “peak gold.” Three years later, Mr. Regent was out of a job and mined gold output was still rising. Indeed, it hit a record 3,133 metric tons last year.

Yet predictions of peak gold are again in vogue. It remains doubtful, however, that this heralds much elevation for the gold price.

Gold production may be plateauing: precious metals consultancy Metals Focus expects a slight fall in output this year. A decadelong rise in the gold price from 2001 fueled indiscriminate investment but miners have slashed spending since 2013. Substantial new mines, like Barrick’s Pascua Lama in Chile, have been halted and exploration efforts scaled back.

The industry has been in survival mode, argues Randgold boss Mark Bristow. Companies have tapped higher-grade resources to boost production, service debt and stay in business. But that hurts long-term production, while efforts to cut costs can also reduce the lifespan of mines.

Coal Giants Left Unscathed by Growing Divestment Campaign – by Thomas Biesheuvel and Jesse Riseborough (Bloomberg News – June 3, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The biggest names in mining have so far found themselves immune to a rapidly expanding campaign that’s seeking to curb the use of the most polluting fossil fuel.

From Norway’s $900 billion sovereign wealth fund to France’s biggest insurer and the Church of England, investors are starting to turn the screw on coal producers by selling down their holdings.

The criteria they use to select candidates for divestment exempts some of the biggest producers, however. That’s because those companies are large, diversified miners and only get a small part of their revenue from coal.

Dodging the divestment bullet, at least for now, are companies such as Glencore Plc, the world’s biggest exporter of coal used in power stations, BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc. Between them they mine more than 350 million tons, about one third of the world’s coal trade.

“There’s a view that if they stop investing in it, or take a stance, that coal will go away,” said Mick Buffier, chairman of the World Coal Association and also an executive at Glencore. “Our view is different. Coal will continue to be needed. It’s going to be used by these developing nations. ”

Commodity prices weigh heavily on top 40 mining giants June 4, 2015 – by Natasha Odendaal (MiningWeekly.com – June 4, 2015)

June 4, 2015

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The tough fight faced by the global mining industry in 2014 would escalate into a brawl this year as mining companies worldwide struggled to emerge from depressed markets, PwC’s Africa Mining Centre of Excellence head Michal Kotze said on Thursday.

Widespread government intervention, significant conflicts surrounding strategy debates and other internal industry conflicts, “huge” competition, weakening commodity prices with increasing short-term volatility and rising shareholder activism had left industry on the ropes.

A reduction in capital spend, somewhat higher production and “unexpected help” from currency devaluations and lower input costs had assisted the mining industry to “manage expectations” during 2014 despite continued headwinds from weak commodity prices, the latest PwC ‘Mine’ report showed.

By April 2015, iron-ore prices had dropped to below 50% of the value recorded in January 2014, while coal and copper prices dropped to below 75% and 80% of their respective price structures during the same period.

First Nations series: Nak’azdli getting cut of resource wealth in traditional territory – by Gordon Hoekstra (Vancouver Sun – June 3, 2015)

June 4, 2015

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

Government, industry reaching out to forge economic benefit deals in the North

It’s a ghostly scene on the Nak’azdli reserve with a cold fog hanging in the March morning air.

Along the Stuart Lake Highway that cuts through the middle of this First Nation community, there is a steady stream of industrial traffic: Huge, mudspattered pickups, flatdeck trailers loaded with heavy equipment, logging trucks with their trailers bunked on the way to pick up logs deep in the forest, and semitrailers carrying supplies or wood chips.

The rattling, incessant traffic is testimony to the resourcebased economy in the Northern Interior. In the past, the First Nations in the area had to fight to get a piece of the action. In 1994, two railway bridges were burned down north of Fort St. James after a First Nations blockade was removed by the RCMP.

The arson was an unusually extreme event – meant to stop the movement of logs by rail – but First Nations often turned to blockades during the ’80s and ’90s to protest timber leaving their traditional territories, which, as they saw it, brought no benefit to their communities.

Exploration: Lundin: Supersizing nickel-copper discovery at Eagle – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – June 4, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

Lundin Mining sinks claws into near-mine nickel copper discovery at Eagle.

Patience and deep wedge-drilling is paying off for Lundin Mining at its Eagle nickel-copper mine in Michigan, US, which recently went into production.

Back in 2013, Lundin bought the near-production project from Rio Tinto for $325 million. It was a project in flux that was not existentially important for Rio Tinto as a small- to medium-sized nickel-copper deposit.

Still, it was half-built and comprised a nickel-copper reserve that would, for Lundin, diversify it far more seriously into the nickel sphere, something it has lacked.

Reserves at the time (and still) were 5.2mt @ 2.93% Ni and 2.49% Cu, with strong gold, PGM and cobalt kickers. On top of the purchase cost Lundin spent about $400 million to get the mine up and running. It shipped first ore mid-last year.

Now, without recent drilling success, the mine stands on its own two feet. It is to produce some 17,000 tonnes of nickel and 17,000 tonnes copper a year over an eight-year life of mine with average C1 cash costs around $2.55/lb nickel, according to Lundin estimates.

First Nations’ report calls for ‘super fund’ to cover mine disasters – by Dirk Meissner – Canadian Press/CTV News Vancouver Island – June 3, 2015)

June 5, 2015June 4, 2015

http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/

VICTORIA – A mining organization representing British Columbia’s First Nations says companies should bankroll an emergency fund to cover the cost of potential mine disasters similar to last summer’s Mount Polley tailings dam collapse.

However, an industry spokeswoman says mine owners are already required by law to pay disaster and cleanup costs.

The B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council released a report Wednesday saying mining operations threaten more than 230 northern aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities and even the drinking water in Prince George, Terrace and Smithers.

Thirty-five tailings ponds at 26 mines and in 48 watersheds could also impact nearly 8,700 kilometres of fish-bearing waters, said the report by the North Vancouver-based council.

Dave Porter, the council’s chief executive officer, said First Nations analyzed and surveyed mine tailings ponds following last year’s Mount Polley mine disaster near Likely, in central B.C.

Porter said the report calls for improved emergency measures, which should involve companies funding a response team during a mining catastrophe.

Terry MacGibbon eyes Nunavut gold riches with TMAC Resources IPO – by Peter Koven (National Post – June 3, 2015)

June 4, 2015

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

TORONTO — Terry MacGibbon is trying to do something that Canada’s battered mining sector hasn’t seen in a long time – a major initial public offering.

Then comes an even trickier proposition: building a remote gold project in the far North that a senior producer gave up on. “It fits right into our wheelhouse,” MacGibbon, 68, said in an interview.

The well-known mining entrepreneur announced plans this week to take TMAC Resources Inc. public. The Toronto-based company, which bears his initials, launched a preliminary prospectus for a $105-million IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It could be worth up to $121 million if demand is strong enough.

There hasn’t been a mining IPO on the TSX since late 2012, according to Bloomberg. Investors have turned away from junior mining plays in droves due to stagnant commodity prices and the fact that other sectors are performing much better. But MacGibbon, TMAC’s executive chairman, has a solid track record and a strong following on Bay Street.

After three decades at Inco Ltd., he left in 1997 and formed FNX Mining Company Inc., a highly successful Sudbury mining firm.

NEWS RELEASE: Agnico Eagle Pledges $1 Million Gift to Historic Cobalt Legacy Fund

June 5, 2015June 4, 2015

(L to R) James D. Nasso, Chairman of Agnico Eagle; Tina Sartoretto, Mayor of Cobalt; Sean Boyd, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Agnico Eagle — (L to R) James D. Nasso, Chairman of Agnico Eagle Mines; Tina Sartoretto, Mayor of Cobalt; Sean Boyd, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Agnico Eagle Mines

http://www.agnicoeagle.com/

Fund to Support the Preservation of Cobalt’s Historical Past and Cultural Heritage

Cobalt, Ontario; June 4, 2015 – Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM; TSX:AEM) (“Agnico Eagle” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has pledged a $1 Million Gift to the Historic Cobalt Legacy Fund. The announcement was made earlier today in the Town of Cobalt at a ceremony honouring former employees of Agnico Eagle’s Cobalt silver division.

Former Agnico Eagle silver division employees gathered in Cobalt, Ontario for a plaque dedication ceremony in honour of all of Agnico’s former silver division employees who helped to transform Agnico Eagle into a leading international gold company.

“We are very pleased to make this contribution in honour of Agnico Eagle’s founder Paul Penna, as well as on behalf of all the men and women whose commitment, perseverance and spirit helped to transform Agnico Eagle into a leading international gold mining company”, said Sean Boyd, Agnico Eagle’s Chief Executive Officer. “Cobalt is the foundation of our Company and as many of our former silver division employees remain in the region, they will continue to benefit from the preservation of these important cultural and community organizations.”

After two years of turmoil, only one company’s left standing in Ontario’s Ring of Fire Share – by John Michael McGrath (The Inside Agenda Blog – June 3, 2015)

June 4, 2015

http://theagenda.tvo.org/

The Ring of Fire is Ontario’s biggest mineral discovery in a century. Strong competition among mining companies for a piece of it would seem inevitable.

Today, however, only one junior mining firm controls almost all of it.

“Essentially, we are the Ring of Fire,” Noront CEO Al Coutts says. “Essentially, in every major discovery in the Ring of Fire we have either 100 per cent or majority control.”

Coutts is exaggerating, but not by much. While a number of other companies looking to exploit the riches of the Ring of Fire, such as KWG, MacDonald, and Black Widow, Noront has rapidly become the largest company in the area, and remains the closest to actually opening an operating mine.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Ring of Fire, located about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has substantial economic potential, with estimates of $50 billion worth of chromite, platinum, palladium, copper, and nickel to be extracted.