Republic of Mining

Opinion: Colonial legacy of mining pioneers poses a dilemma for South Africans -by Prince Mashele (Mail and Guardian – January 25, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://mg.co.za/

The Portuguese set foot in South Africa in the 15th century, and the Dutch settled at the “Cape of Storms” in 1652. But the noses of the first interlopers into southern Africa were not sharp enough to fore-smell Kimberley’s hidden diamonds or the Witwatersrand’s entombed gold.

Diamonds were only discovered in 1867 at Kimberley, and, 19 years later, gold on the Witwatersrand.

The group – of mainly Englishmen and Jews – that descended on Kimberley, following the discovery of diamonds was largely the same bunch of money-mongers who flocked to the Witwatersrand when news of gold broke.

By the time the Witwatersrand became the new Mecca of wealth seekers, Kimberley had already produced a diamond cartel led by Cecil John Rhodes –

No unicorns or rainbows for British Columbia’s resource industries – by Justine Hunter ( Globe and Mail – January 24, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

VICTORIA — The last bricks of coal from the Quinsam mines near Campbell River were hauled out of the ground last week. The once-mighty industry, with more than 150 years of history on Vancouver Island, will vanish once the processed ore is shipped out and the mine slips into care and maintenance.

Gary Gould, Quinsam Coal Corp.’s general manager, keeps hearing that the B.C. economy is leading the country and that there are jobs aplenty for skilled workers. “It’s hard to listen to that,” he admits. Brutal, really, when you are busy overseeing the company’s final shifts.

British Columbia’s coal companies have been hammered by sustained low commodity prices and, for the thermal coal producers on Vancouver Island, shrinking markets as the world looks for cleaner fuels.

Let Coal Die. Save Coal Country.- Editorial Board (Bloomberg News – January 25, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.bloombergview.com/

The decline of coal as a source of electric power is inevitable and well under way. This is a good thing, because whether measured by its effect on public health or its contribution to global warming, coal is more harmful than any other widely used source of electricity.

But there’s a human cost to this transition: unemployment in coal country. Over the past five years, as the U.S. coal mining industry has lost 94 percent of its market value, some 15,000 jobs have disappeared in West Virginia and Kentucky alone. West Virginia’s Boone County and Kentucky’s Union County have lost roughly one job for every 24 residents.

Although the pain has been cruelly concentrated, it should be of national concern. That’s not because the government is to blame; more than anything else, the low price of natural gas has undermined the market value of coal-fired power.

Massive Sudbury Vale pollution reduction project half done – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 23, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The director of the largest environmental project ever undertaken in Sudbury wants to clear up any misconception that work on Vale’s Clear AER (atmospheric emissions reduction) project halted in 2013 when the project was revamped.

The Brazil-based mining company scaled back what was to be a $2-billion retrofit of the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex after the decision was made to operate one furnace instead of two.

Dave Marshall told an audience this week that the project is 55 per cent complete, $625 million has been invested in it so far and it is on target for completion by January 2018.

Energy East: The pipeline that could tear Canada apart – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Leonardo DiCaprio, who not long ago mistook an Alberta chinook for “terrifying” evidence of climate change, was preaching to the Armani-shirted in Davos last week about the greed of oil companies at whose feet the destruction of the planet must squarely be laid.

“Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong,” the actor told a crowd that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who spent his week in the Swiss Alps building his own brand – and Canada’s – as a resourceful, rather than resource-full, country.

In the face of this self-congratulation and sycophancy, it takes a certain ballsiness to challenge the notions that the world is on the cusp of a fossil-fuel-free future, that Canada is suddenly a post-resource economy and that all oil extraction is inherently evil, environmentally unpardonable and economically backward.

Gold is back in fashion after $15 trillion global decline -by Luzi Ann Javier (Sydney Morning Herald – January 25, 2016)

January 25, 2016

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

The $US15 trillion rout in global equity markets since May is reawakening the lure of gold for investors seeking safety.

Hedge funds more than doubled their net-long position in bullion last week, just three weeks after they were the most- bearish ever. Investor holdings of gold through exchange-traded products are expanding at the fastest pace in a year, and the value of the ETPs has jumped by $US3 billion in 2016.

Bullion has seen a revival of its appeal as a haven after being mainly ignored last year in the face of the Paris terror attacks in November and the Greek bailout negotiations in July.

This time around, concerns about global markets will support the metal Citigroup analysts led by Ed Morse said last week as they raised their 2016 price forecast.

Moody’s puts big miners, oil patch on downgrade watch – by Lisa Wright (Toronto Star – January 23, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.thestar.com/

“Fundamental shift” in industry warrants ratings changes, agency says

Moody’s Investors Service says it’s eyeing most of the major players in Canada’s mining sector and oil patch for a credit downgrade amid a prolonged and “unprecedented” global commodities meltdown.

Barrick Gold Corp., Goldcorp Inc. and Teck Resources Ltd. are among the dozen miners and 19 oil producers in Canada that are being reviewed by the ratings agency as companies struggle with a steep decline in oil and metals prices driven by oversupply and slowing growth in China.

Moody’s notice Friday for 120 energy companies and 55 miners around the world is its single largest warning of potential corporate downgrades since the 2008 financial crisis.

Canada must focus on innovation economy to thrive in digital age – by Don Tapscott (Toronto Star – January 24, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.thestar.com/

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND—As the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum enters its final quarter, there continues to be a lot of buzz about Canada in General and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in particular.

Trudeau had a hectic day Friday that included meetings with international leaders and a session in the grand Congress Hall on gender equality that included Sheryl Sandberg from Facebook and Melinda Gates from the Gates Foundation.

The annual Canadian cocktail party was jammed and the crowd was nothing less than ebullient. My wife, Ana Lopes, and I must have heard people say half a dozen times something to the effect of “you must be so proud of your prime minister.” Heady times for sure. No doubt the PMO is enjoying it but also fully aware of the concept of a honeymoon.

Dome closure a warning for North – by John R. Hunt (Timmins Daily Press – January 22, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – The impending closure of the Dome Mine in Timmins will be a hard blow for that community which lost two other major mines over the years.

It is also a warning for those concerned with the future of Northern Ontario.

The North depends upon its natural resource industries. Mining and forestry are the backbone of the northern economy. Agriculture is growing and will get bigger if the predictions of global warming are correct.

The dome is rooted in history. According to local legend, it was discovered when a prospector fell down an embankment. His hobnail boots scraped the moss off a mineral vein and the Dome was discovered.

Trudeau digs a hole for himself in Davos – by Andrew Coyne (National Post – January 23, 2016)

January 25, 2016

http://news.nationalpost.com/

Every now and then with Justin Trudeau the mask slips: when that bottomless reservoir of self-assurance of his, which in his best moments presents itself as graciousness and magnanimity, instead bubbles up as arrogance and hubris. For some reason this seems most often to happen when he’s abroad. Remember that post-election boast to the BBC about having left his critics “in my dust”?

This time, it was in the middle of his speech to the annual conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. For the most part the speech was chamber of commerce-stye boosterism, mixed with the usual assortment of buzzwords that festoon most of Trudeau’s speeches: diversity, infrastructure, middle class, etc.

But then there was that line that must have seemed too good to resist. “My predecessor,” he began, “wanted you to know Canada for its resources. I want you to know Canadians for our resourcefulness.”

Vale Port Halt Spurs Iron Rally Amid Trade Disruption Fears – by Yasmine Batista and Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg News – January 22, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The global iron ore trade may be disrupted after Vale SA, the largest producer, was ordered by a Brazilian court to temporarily close one of its main ports following alleged environmental breaches. Prices of the raw material gained along with miners’ shares.

The court in Brazil’s Espirito Santo state ordered a halt to export and import activities through Tubarao after elevated levels of iron ore and coal dust were detected.

Vale received the news from federal police “with surprise” and will use “all appropriate legal measures to ensure the re-establishment of its activities,” its said in a statement Thursday.

Iron ore has plunged over the past three years as the world’s top producers including Vale and rivals BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group in Australia boosted low-cost supply, spurring a glut just as China’s growth cooled.

Chile losing ground as top copper producer as metal price in the pits – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mineweb.com – January 22, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

Resilience in the copper industry, its producers and investors, continues to be tested this year, as the metal price has touched fresh lows, falling last week to $1.95 per pound, a price last seen in May 2009, and analysts don’t see a clear end to China’s slowdown.

Last week, Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco cut again average copper prices for the year to $2.15 and $2.20 per pound in 2017, about 35 cents less than what it predicted in September.

At those prices, companies will likely reduce copper output, said the group. For this year, Cochilco expects an increase in production of only 0.1% more than 2015, which reached 5.76 million tonnes, but for 2017 it expects production to pick up, growing 3.1% to 5.95 million tons.

Barrick Sees Up to $3 Billion in Impairments on Lower Gold – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – January 22, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer of the metal, said it may book as much as $3 billion in impairment charges as a prolonged gold slump forces it to revise its price assumptions for 2016.

A preliminary review shows potential goodwill impairment charges of about $1.8 billion, and asset impairment charges in the range of $1 billion to $1.2 billion, the Toronto-based company said Thursday in a statement. The asset impairments are primarily related to the stalled Pascua-Lama project on the Chile-Argentina border and the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic.

The company lowered its gold price assumption to $1,000 an ounce for 2016 and to $1,200 long term.

The Price Is Wrong? US Mining Giant in Divestment Talks With Indonesia – by Rui Hao Puah (The Diplomat – January 23, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://thediplomat.com/

Freeport McMoRan Inc enters another stage of its contract renegotiation with Jakarta.

Last week, U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc’s Indonesian unit submitted a divestment price to the Indonesian government for an additional stake in one of the world’s biggest copper mines, part of a process to allow the firm to extend its right to operate in the country beyond 2021.

According to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s minerals and coal director general, Bambang Gatot Ariyono, Freeport had valued its Indonesian asset at $16.2 billion, with the divestment offered to the government being valued at $1.7 billion for a 10.46 percent stake.

Some Indonesian officials and lawmakers have already described the $1.7 billion price tag for Freeport’s huge Grasberg copper and gold mine in Papua as too high.

Court Rejects a Bid to Block Coal Plant Regulations – by Coral Davenport (New York Times – January 21, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

In a significant victory for President Obama, a federal appeals panel on Thursday rejected an effort by 27 states and dozens of corporations and industry groups to block the administration’s signature regulation on emissions from coal-fired power plants while a lawsuit moves through the courts.

The rule, issued last summer by the Environmental Protection Agency, is at the heart of Mr. Obama’s efforts to tackle climate change. It would require each state to significantly cut greenhouse gas pollution from electric power plants, the nation’s largest source of such emissions.

Once fully in place, the regulation — which would cut emissions from existing power plants by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 — could transform the electricity system, closing hundreds of heavily polluting coal-fired plants and sharply increasing production of wind and solar powers.