Canada's Supreme Court rules against First Nation on logging |
- Canada's Supreme Court rules against First Nation on logging
- Lundin Mining acquires Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in Chile — report
- Gold near 3.5-month high on Portugal bank worries
- Ohio firm granted rights to shipwreck's gold worth up to $80m
- Africa’s largest iron ore miner hit hard by weak prices
- CME/Thomson Reuters win race to replace London silver fix
| Canada's Supreme Court rules against First Nation on logging Posted: 11 Jul 2014 04:14 PM PDT  First Nations people believed to be of the Ojibway tribe The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that Ontario's government has the right to allow commercial logging on a tract of First Nations' traditional land. A defeat for the Grassy Narrows First Nation, the 7-0 decision means the province does not need Federal permission to take up treaty land for forestry and mining. That bodes well for companies such as Goldcorp Inc (TSX:G) (NYSE:GG), which operates Canada's largest gold mine in the same region as the land in the logging dispute. Resource firms had closely monitored the case in the wake of the court's game-changing ruling in June that recognized the claim of British Columbia's Tsilhqot'in Nation to aboriginal title. A crucial difference is that BC had no treaty with the Tsilhqot'in, whereas Ontario did have one with Grassy Narrows. But Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote in the decision that "Ontario's power to take up lands under Treaty 3 is not unconditional." In a statement, the Assembly of First Nations expressed its disappointment with the decision. "We are dismayed that the Supreme Court failed to recognize the First Nations' understanding of Treaty 3 including First Nations' jurisdiction over this territory," Perry Bellegarde, who holds the treaty portfolio for the AFN, was quoted as saying.  |
| Lundin Mining acquires Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in Chile — report Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:02 PM PDT  Candelaria mine is Freeport's fifth biggest copper mine overall by number of union employees and second biggest in Chile. Canadian Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) is said to have bought Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX) Candelaria copper mine in Chile, in a transaction valued in over $2 billion. According to Chilean newspaper El Mercurio (in Spanish), the mine had been in the market for some time as Freeport is under pressure to reduce its debt from its current level of $20.9 billion. Candelaria —a joint venture between Freeport (80%) and Sumitomo Corp. (20%)— is Freeport's fifth biggest mine overall by number of union employees and second biggest in Chile. It is one of four mines the company owns in South America. The open-pit and 6,000 metric ton-per-day (mtd) underground copper mine, located in Chile's copper-rich north, is adjacent to the Ojos del Salado mine. Combined production from both operation reached 87 million pounds of copper in the first quarter, roughly 9% of total production of the red metal at Freeport's mines. Thanks to these and other copper assets, the Arizona-based company surpassed Chile's state copper producer Codelco in 2013, briefly reaching the status of world's largest copper producer. Freeport could become the world's largest copper miner again, according to El Mercurio, as the firm expects to reach 2.1 million tonnes of copper this year, about 20% more that its estimate for 2014. Codelco, in turn, is only expected to reach 2 million tonnes by 2017. A spokesman for Freeport, the U.S.'s largest miner, with $2.7 billion in profit on $20.9 billion in revenue in 2013, declined to comment on what he called speculation. |
| Gold near 3.5-month high on Portugal bank worries Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:00 PM PDT
 Gold fell for the first time in three days Friday but continued trading near a 3.5-month high with demand steady on investor concern about Portugal's biggest bank. Spot gold changed hands at $1,336.00 an ounce around 2:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, up 70 cents from Thursday's close of $1,335.30. Earlier Thursday it reached $1,345, its highest level since mid-March. Meanwhile on Friday, gold futures for August delivery traded around $1,337 per ounce on New York's COMEX. Gains in European shares following declines Thursday put some downward pressure on the yellow metal. But market participants remain worried about the euro zone's financial health as trading in Banco Espirito Santo's stock has been suspended. In times of political or financial turmoil, investors seek a safe haven in gold, whose price was pushed up sharply during the European debt crisis. Escalating violence in Israel and the US Federal Reserve's benign stance on interest rates are also supporting gold. Indian duty Also Thursday, India maintained a 10% duty on bullion imports. That prompted jewellers awaiting a reduction of the duty to resupply. India raised the duty last year sparking a dramatic increase in gold smuggling, which yesterday's move may exacerbate. Precious metals have outperformed other commodities this year with double digit gains for gold and palladium and a strong performance for silver and platinum. |
| Ohio firm granted rights to shipwreck's gold worth up to $80m Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:50 AM PDT
A US federal judge in Virginia ruled a fugitive treasure hunter's company has not rights to stop deep-sea explorers from bringing up gold and other artifacts from the SS Central America ship, which sank off the South Carolina coast in 1857 and has been the subject of legal disputes for about 30 years. According to The Columbus Dispatch, federal Judge Rebecca Beach Smith declared Wednesday that Ohio-based Recovery Limited Partnership has the rights to the treasure it retrieved from the wreck, as well as to anything else it recovers. Recovery had hired Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ CM:OMEX) to bring treasure from the shipwreck since April. The Florida-based company said in May it had recovered at least 1,000 ounces of gold, but the exact details of the operation have been kept secret under a court seal. The wreck was discovered in 1988 and Odyssey Marine said during the dive, gold bars and other artifacts were clearly visible on the surface of the shipwreck site. The SS Central America, carrying mainly mine workers and bosses returning east from the California gold rush was caught in a hurricane and sank on September 12, 1857 roughly 260 kilometres off the South Carolina coast. 477 passengers, mostly miners and businessmen returning east from California with their personal possessions and fortunes in gold accumulated after years of prospecting during the Gold Rush were on board the steamship during her final voyage.
The five gold ingots were recovered and two $20 Double Eagle coins were also found. The gold bars were stamped with assayer's marks and weights that range from 96.5 to 313.5 troy ounces. Odyssey pegs the remaining passenger and commercial gold cargo at $760,000 in 1857 value. That could be worth more than $80 million in today's money and at today's metal prices, particularly if more of the coins retrieved are Double Eagles. Images courtesy of Odyssey Marine Exploration. |
| Africa’s largest iron ore miner hit hard by weak prices Posted: 11 Jul 2014 09:42 AM PDT  Sishen mine, located in South Africa's Northern Cape Province, is Kumba's flagship operation and one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore, Africa's largest iron-ore miner, warned Friday it expected first-half profit to slide by as much as 19% after prices of the steelmaking ingredient touched rock bottom. Profit excluding one-time items is likely to fall between 19.50 rand (US$1.82) and 21.50 rand a share in the six months through June from 24.13 rand a year earlier, Anglo American's (LON:AAL) division said in an e-mailed statement. "The decrease in earnings is largely attributable to a decrease in export iron ore price," Kumba said. Iron ore prices crashed through $90 last month, the lowest levels since 2012, due to oversupply and weakening Chinese demand growth. The steel-making ingredient is down roughly 33% year to date (now trading at $96.90) and first declined to double digits mid-May. Kumba's earnings for the six months to end June 2014 will be released on July 22. Image by Rogiro, via Flickr Commons |
| CME/Thomson Reuters win race to replace London silver fix Posted: 11 Jul 2014 07:51 AM PDT  The CME Group will provide a price platform and methodology, while Thomson Reuters will be responsible for administration and governance. As anticipated earlier this week, the race to replace the London silver price fix is finally over, as the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has chosen the joint Chicago Mercantile Exchange/Thomson Reuters bid to replace the current 117-year-old price process, which formally ends on August 14. In a statement Friday, the LBMA said the joint tender met the requested criteria, in that it was electronic, auction-based and auditable, while remaining tradeable with an increased number of direct participants. At present, the silver fix is set each day at noon by three large banks, which are Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Scotiabank by way of a daily conference call. The CME Group will provide a price platform and methodology, while Thomson Reuters will be responsible for administration and governance, it added. Thomson Reuters already works with the LBMA to administer Gold Forward Offered Rates (GOFO), a rate used in swap deals. The association will develop a process of accreditation for silver price participants, with the legal aspects of this division of responsibilities to be finalized prior to the new price mechanism going live. Financial benchmarks have come under strong scrutiny from regulators around Europe and the United States since 2012, when it became public that British banks had rigged the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). |
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