June 10, 2015 – Republic of Mining

[Mining Women Who Rock] Hard Hats & High Heels leaves a lasting impression (Northern Miner – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015

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

Innovative. Inspiring. Fun. That’s what the Hard Hats & High Heels fashion show and panel presentation was all about. Organized by Women Who Rock (WWR) and the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA), the cross-sector collaboration featured Judith & Charles’s chic pieces and Alicia Woods’ Covergalls, all modeled by women working in mining.

Shortly before the models graced the runway in front of 300 attendees at the Art Gallery of Ontario on June 8, The Northern Miner’s publisher Anthony Vaccaro moderated a panel on how women working in the field and new graduates can dress for success. Panelists included Fashion Magazine’s contributing fashion editor George Antonopoulos, Holt Renfrew’s vice president of exclusive services Lisa Tant, Kinross Gold’s senior vice president of human resources Gina Jardine, and one of PwC Canada’s partners Marelize Konig.

WWR’s president and founder Elena Mayer notes dress code is something that isn’t being discussed often but vital in corporate settings. “For many — especially taking into consideration it is a male-dominated industry— they think it is a frivolous topic. But us women are tightly connected with the way we dress and self-confidence is connected to that,” she says.

The idea for Hard Hats & High Heels arose when Mayer met CAFA’s founding director Brittney Kuczynski at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in March.

Junior miner confident of progress in Ring of Fire – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 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. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

The head of the leading junior miner in the Ring of Fire feels it’s getting close to obtaining provincial approval to advance to the next phase of developing its nickel-copper deposit in the James Bay lowlands.

Al Coutts, president and CEO of Noront Resources, is expecting good news from the province within a few weeks on the much sought-after terms of reference on its environmental assessment report of its Eagle’s Nest project.

“From my conversations with the province, I think we’re very close to having something that’s going to work for all of us,” said Coutts. The terms of reference outline the purpose and structure of the environmental assessment process.

In late 2013, Noront filed a 4,700-page draft environmental assessment report on its Eagle’s Nest deposit and a proposed west-to-east access road to both federal and provincial authorities as part of a so-called harmonized process. It was designed to avoid unnecessary duplication, delays and uncertainties on development projects.

PolyMet environmental review decision still months away – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – June 9, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

State and federal regulators did not meet their goal to have a revised environmental review document on the proposed PolyMet copper mine near Hoyt Lakes completed by early spring, but it should be ready this summer.

A final decision on whether the environmental review, now underway for nearly a decade, is “adequate” is now expected by the end of 2015.

That was the word this week from Tom Landwehr, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who said state and federal regulatory agencies are “very close” to making the document available to other agencies and, under open records laws, to the public.

The DNR, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Forest Service have been poring over 58,000 public comments made on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement that went public in 2013.

It was by far the most comments ever received on a project in Minnesota, and in some cases the issues raised required the agencies, consultants and PolyMet to rerun computer models and make other technical changes in the proposal.

The Muslim Miners of Mongolia – by Saleem Ali (National Geographic – June 9, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Five years ago I wrote a book called Treasures of the Earth, in which I developed an argument around how redefining our relationship with primary geological resources is the most elemental means of charting a pathway for environmental and social sustainability.

Extracting resources can bring much pain and promise to the people who are involved or impacted by the process. Nevertheless, the advent of extraction has been an essential part of the development of modern society.

The allure of mineral wealth is a common human impulse shared by most global cultures and creeds. Mining rushes are moments of convergence and nowhere is this more apparent these days than Mongolia – that vast land-locked country which once sent hordes of gallant warriors to conquer more than half of Asia.

The country is booming with mining professionals from all over the world as one of the world’s largest forecasted copper mines got approval to move forward with expansion in mid-May.

The history of mining in Mongolia, and the resulting migration of multiple cultures, is certainly not new.

Ghana Urged to Stop Employment of Thousands of Children at Mines – by Pauline Bax (Bloomberg News – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Ghana should better enforce its laws to prevent thousands of children from working at small-scale mines in Africa’s second-largest producer of gold, Human Rights Watch said.

The children work alongside family members or on their own, often to help pay school fees, the New York-based group said on Wednesday in a report based on interviews with mine workers mostly aged 15 to 17 years old. Many said they had been working since the age of 12.

“Ghana’s unlicensed gold mines are very dangerous places where no child should work,” according to the report. “Companies buying gold in Ghana should exert control over their whole supply chain to make sure they’re not benefiting from child labor.”

Small-scale mines employ about 1 million people and account for about 40 percent of total production of gold in Ghana. A majority of the small mines operate without licenses. The work is especially hazardous for children because it involves heavy lifting, sharp tools like shovels and picks, and exposure to mercury, which is poisonous, according to the report.

COLUMN-Can Indonesia save the seaborne coal market? – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, June 10 (Reuters) – The coal industry always seems to be looking for a white knight to rescue it from some crisis, and it is perhaps ironic that Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter, is the next great hope that is to save global miners from the current supply glut.

The theory is that as Indonesia ramps up domestic coal-fired power generation, it will rotate its exports to meet local demand, thereby removing millions of tonnes from the seaborne market and bringing it back into balance.

This sounds fantastic to coal producers, particularly those in Australia, South Africa and Russia, who are looking to boost exports into Asian markets.

But white knights have had a somewhat chequered recent history for coal producers and traders. China was once supposed to be the huge market that would suck up every tonne of coal that could be mined, and for a brief few years it looked like it might just work.

Chinese imports rose steadily from 2009 onwards, and by 2011, some forecasters were saying the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal would import a billion tonnes a year.

BNN Reporter Andrew Bell Interviews Canaccord Analyst Rahul Paul About Detour Gold (June 9, 2015)

November 5, 2015June 10, 2015

http://www.bnn.ca/

(Please Note, Canaccord Analyst Rahul Paul interview starts at 45 second mark!) Toronto-based Business News Network (BNN) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel. BNN airs business and financial programming and analysis. BNN reporter Andrew Bell hosts the Commodities program. From aluminum to zinc and everything in between, BNN highlights the hot world of commodities and the companies that produce them, including interviews with mineral and mining entrepreneurs from Canada and around the globe.

We like to do things on a big scale on our Commodities show and they don’t come much bigger than the Detour Lake mine operated by Detour Gold in northeastern Ontario. Commercial production started in 2013 and the company sees output of around 500,000 ounces this year, making this one of Canada’s biggest gold mines.

Operating problems and balance sheet concerns sent the stock lower in late 2013 but investors are happy that new management have righted the ship. Detour’s shares have jumped almost 60% this year.

BNN Reporter Andrew Bell Interviews John Gravelle, PWC Global Mining Leader (June 9, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://www.bnn.ca/ Toronto-based Business News Network (BNN) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel. BNN airs business and financial programming and analysis. BNN reporter Andrew Bell hosts the Commodities program. From aluminum to zinc and everything in between, BNN highlights the hot world of commodities and the companies that produce them, including interviews with mineral and mining …

Moonscape to greenbelt: Conference celebrates regreening – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – June 9, 2015)

November 5, 2015June 10, 2015

http://www.northernlife.ca/

www2.laurentian.ca/sudbury2015

Sudbury world-renowned for its remediation program

Researchers from as far away as Russia and Norway will gather in Sudbury for the sixth Mining and Environment International Conference at Laurentian University June 20-25.

“The goal this year is to really celebrate the successes of the Sudbury regreening program,” said Graeme Spiers, an associate professor with Laurentian’s faculty of the environment, and one of the conference organizers. “Sudbury is recognized globally for this. The citizens of Sudbury should be really proud of what the city has done.”

The “Sudbury Method,” as some have termed the city’s regreening effort, which began in 1978, has served as a model for jurisdictions around the world to remediate environments damaged by mining, smelting and other industrial activities.

BNN Reporter Andrew Bell Interviews Agnico Eagle CEO Sean Boyd (June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

Five juniors, one deal, with Canadian heavy-hitters – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

Osisko and Dundee factor large in a deal that will see five Canadian juniors join forces.

In a one-stop-shop style merger comprising five Canadian juniors, a group of leading mine developers in Canada hope to replicate past successes in Central Canada.

Five juniors – two struggling to advance existing projects and three with significant cash piles but little by way of exploration assets – are to join forces combining a trio of mid-stage gold projects in Quebec and Ontario and some $50-odd million in cash.

The deal involves Oban Mining taking over four other juniors, Eagle Hill Exploration, Temex Resources, Ryan Gold and Corona Gold.

John Burzynski, who chairs Oban and who also heads up project development for Osisko Royalties, will become the President and CEO of the combined-company, which is tentatively to be called New Oban. Sean Roosen, who heads up Osisko Royalties (formerly Osisko Mining before it was sold to Agnico Eagle and Yamana) and Ned Goodman, behind Dundee, will co-chair New Oban.

The aim of New Oban is “nothing short of creating the next great Canadian mining house,” Burzynski said during a conference call, who evoked Osisko Mining as the future he saw for New Oban.

Iron to Tighten as China Buys More and Sells Less, Vale Says – by Juan Pablo Spinetto (Bloomberg News – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The global iron-ore market is set to tighten in the second half of the year as China imports more and produces less, according to the biggest miner, Vale SA.

Chinese imports of the steel-making ingredient will increase with domestic production down by about 200 million metric tons after prices tumbled 60 percent from a 2013 peak, Vale Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira said at a Rio de Janeiro conference organized by Fundacao Getulio Vargas.

“Several Chinese producers — a higher number than people realize — have already left the business,” Ferreira, 61, said Wednesday. “I think we will have a better second half in China than the first half in terms of steel.”

Since reaching a decade low in April amid supply expansions in Australia and Brazil, iron-ore prices have rallied 39 percent on prospects of a pickup in Chinese steel demand and as high-cost mines close. The benchmark rose 1.7 percent to $65.39 a dry ton on Wednesday, the highest since Jan. 23, according to an index compiled by Metal Bulletin.

Tough times at First Nickel in Sudbury – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015

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

First Nickel had no choice but to stop developing an underground ramp at its Lockerby Mine because of low nickel prices and large worldwide stockpiles of nickel.

Before the end of the year, the company’s board of directors may have other tough decisions to make.

FNI president and chief executive officer Thomas Boehlert said continuing ramp development wasn’t economically viable because the company was spending millions on it. For now, FNI will continue to mine nickel and copper on and above the 6,800-foot level of the mine.

Boehlert expects that ore will be mined out by some point in the third quarter of this year, although he said FNI will prolong that for as long as it can based on nickel prices and the company’s production rate , “with safety being the No. 1 objective, particularly during this period of time.”

It is almost inevitable FNI will have to place the mine on care and maintenance or even close the operation, remove the buildings and reclaim the site. Mining companies are required by law to present plans to government for how they would decommission a mine and how much it will cost to do so before they begin operation.

Joining forces against ‘eco-terrorism’ – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – June 10, 2015)

June 10, 2015

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Mayors from Northern Ontario and Quebec are banding together in a fight against they describe as the “negative impacts from environmental extremism.”

Forestry companies have been targeted by special interest groups like Greenpeace for harvesting within the Boreal Forest which spans across the country including much of Northern Ontario.

Hearst Mayor Roger Sigouin, Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis and Timmins Coun. Mike Doody, who is also chairman of the North Eastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) were among the leaders who attended a recent meeting in Ottawa involving mayors from 22 communities in Ontario and Quebec.

These three along with Timmins Mayor Steve Black held a press conference at city hall Tuesday to discuss their aim to raise awareness of what they feel is an attack on communities that rely on resource-based industries.

Inuit orgs join chorus opposing Nunavut mining exemption (Nunatsiaq News – June 9, 2015)

June 10, 2015

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/

QIA and NTI pen joint letter to federal minister supporting land use plan process

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has proposed to bypass some serious red tape in Nunavut’s regulatory process — but two Inuit organizations are trying to stop the mining company in its tracks.

Baffinland wants to ship 12 million metric tons of iron ore to Europe for 10 months of the year as part of its Phase 2 project proposal — something the Nunavut Planning Commission, said no to last April.

Baffinland has requested an exemption to the NPC’s regulatory process that could be granted by Bernard Valcourt, the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development minister.

The company wants to go straight to the Nunavut Impact Review Board for environmental impact assessment hearings instead. Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna supported that bid in a letter to Valcourt last week.