Gold price drops as safe haven buying dries up again |
- Gold price drops as safe haven buying dries up again
- PhotoSat Measuring Volume of Mount Polley Mine Tailings Spill from Space
- Canadian firms slow to embrace ‘Internet of Things’
- Mount Polley spurs call for uranium tailings check
- Treasure hunt madness after $20,000 diamond falls from the sky
- Aggressive cost-cutting boosts silver miner Hochschild core profit
| Gold price drops as safe haven buying dries up again Posted: 21 Aug 2014 12:55 AM PDT On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery – the most active contract – came under heavy selling pressure losing more than $20 to $1,274.90 an ounce in pre-open trade Thursday, a two month low. The slide in the price of gold came after minutes of the last US Federal Reserve meeting released yesterday showed the US central bank opting for a more hawkish tone as the country's job picture continues to improve. Short term bond yields – negatively correlated with the gold price as the metal is not income producing – jumped the most since March on expectations that the bank might raise rates a bit sooner than expected. The dollar strengthened further following a 11-month high against a basket of currencies reached yesterday thank to a subdued US inflation outlook as the central bank continues to withdraw stimulus for the US economy. Gold and the US dollar usually move in opposite directions. Chairman Janet Yellen may shed more light on the future of US monetary policy on Friday during a speech at the Fed's annual gathering in Jackson Hole. The oil price has not benefitted much from the turmoil in the Middle-East and Eastern Europe sliding to fresh lows below $95, down from more than $106 a barrel at the end of June. Looking at the ratio between the gold price and the oil price which usually rise in tandem (rising oil prices pushes up inflation increasing demand for gold as a hedge), gold still looks undervalued by comparison. Since 1970 the average ratio – how many barrels of oil can be bought with one ounce of gold – is 15 compared with under 14 now, which suggests that despite the fall in crude and gold's over 6% rise in 2014, the metal remains relatively cheap compared to oil.  |
| PhotoSat Measuring Volume of Mount Polley Mine Tailings Spill from Space Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:00 PM PDT  High resolution satellite photo of Mount Polley mine and tailings dam (CNW Group/PhotoSat Information Ltd) VANCOUVER, Aug. 15, 2014 /CNW/ – PhotoSat announced today that it is in the process of accurately calculating the exact amount of tailings that has left the Mount Polley tailings dam using high resolution stereo satellite photos. On August 4th 2014 Imperial Metals suffered a breach in the retaining wall of their tailings dam at the Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, Canada. This sent millions of cubic meters of water and mine tailings spilling into Hazeltine Creek and the nearby lakes. The failure of a tailings dam is a catastrophic event. PhotoSat is currently generating a highly accurate topographic survey from stereo satellite photos to estimate the volume of material spilled from the Mount Polley tailings dam and examine the structure of the remaining material. "We are uniquely positioned to address the challenge of accurately calculating the amount of material that has left the Mount Polley tailings dam," says PhotoSat President Gerry Mitchell. "Using our 20 cm accuracy satellite topography we can calculate changes in the tailings areas within a few days of the satellite image collection. This will help mine managers and engineers more clearly understand the extent of the breach during the investigation, repair, and remediation. Detailed topographic surveying will show the structure of the tailings that remain in the dam, and PhotoSat technology can monitor future changes." PhotoSat produces engineering quality satellite topography for bi-weekly and monthly monitoring of tailings disposal and storage areas, mine pits, and waste dumps for all of the Alberta Oil Sands mines. The satellite surveying is used for volume measurements and operational and engineering applications. In these applications PhotoSat achieves accuracies better than 15cm. PhotoSat also produces highly accurate satellite surveying for hundreds of other mines around the world. Learn more at www.photosat.ca/blog.php About PhotoSat Learn more at www.photosat.ca |
| Canadian firms slow to embrace ‘Internet of Things’ Posted: 20 Aug 2014 03:35 PM PDT  Recon Instruments CEO Dan Eisenhardt displaying some of his company's IoT technologies | Chung Chow Arrow Transportation Systems workers used to spend hours collecting mechanical data and driver safety information from truck drivers once vehicles arrived back at dispatch centres. When it came time to upgrade the system of data collection seven years ago for its 300-truck fleet, the Vancouver-based company outfitted all its vehicles with mobile SIM cards allowing for instant wireless monitoring. "Transportation is a process optimization business," Arrow chief operating officer Mitchell Zulinick said. "Not having a technological-based solution [is] not an option." In addition to the man-hours saved collecting data, Arrow's "Internet of Things" (IoT) solution – the tech industry's buzzword for its products – cut fuel costs 8%. Zulinick added that the technology paid for itself soon after being implemented. But IoT has yet to penetrate mainstream consciousness the way email or social media has. According to a July IDC survey commissioned by Telus (TSX:T), only 6% of Canadian companies have deployed it. IoT refers to intelligent computer systems that transmit data between each other and respond accordingly in real time based on the information they receive. No human interaction is required. But IoT's significance goes beyond commercial applications like Arrow's. "It's going to bleed into the fabric of our lives – we're not even going to know it's there," said Dealmaker Media CEO Debbie Landa, who has been organizing the annual Grow Conference the past four years. This year's conference hits Whistler August 20 to 23 and is showcasing the myriad consumer uses of IoT. "Because everyone has a phone that connects to the Internet, now [mobile devices] can also connect to all these sensors," Landa said, adding IoT technology can be used to program appliances to turn on and off depending on one's proximity to them. In 2008, Dan Eisenhardt co-founded Vancouver's Recon Instruments, which is one of the B.C. companies appearing at the Grow Conference this year. The sportswear company was the first to develop a wearable heads-up display, or HUD, showing a snowboarder's or cyclist's performance metrics through his or her goggles. "We're not saying that this technology is going to be used [by] everyone. There's a certain path to get to this mass market in wearables," the CEO said. "If we're saying wearables [are] going to be driven through health and fitness, then there's no better place on the planet than Vancouver [to launch Recon]." Eisenhardt added the key is figuring out how soon it will be before IoT devices really hit the mainstream. He pointed out smartphones were originally expensive until they took off and prices dropped. Eisenhardt expects IoT-related technology to have a similar price trajectory. But Tony Olvet, vice-president of research domains at IDC, noted many Canadian business leaders tend to be more risk-averse than their American counterparts when it comes to new ways of thinking. "Sometimes that's a good thing, if you look at financial markets, for instance," he said. "But sometimes that can hold back some innovation." The IDC survey, however, showed IoT deployment is expected to ramp up in Canada with another 7% of companies preparing to implement IoT technologies in 2014. Another 30% are expected to adopt the technologies in the next two years. And IoT spending is projected to grow to $21 billion by 2018 from $5.6 billion in 2013. Jim Senko, Telus' vice-president of small business and emerging markets, acknowledged some companies are reluctant to spend money investing in more technology. But he pointed out IDC's survey shows the adoption rate is rising in Canada. "The hardware, the application, the hosting, the wireless are all prepackaged and bundled together so they're easier to digest." Senko added that a logistics company tracking the movements of its truck fleet could expect to invest between $400 and $500 annually per vehicle for all the hardware and support. The return on investment comes from what the analytics provide the company. "Business leaders need to understand how they [can] make use of data and information that they're gathering in the field that they perhaps wouldn't have been able to capture in the past," Olvet said. "And now that capability exists through sensors and networks." - Tyler Orton |
| Mount Polley spurs call for uranium tailings check Posted: 20 Aug 2014 01:15 PM PDT
 Canada's nuclear watchdog has asked the country's uranium tailings facility operators to ensure their impoundments are safe following the massive spill at B.C.'s Mount Polley mine earlier this month. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission sent the uranium mines and mills it regulates a letter on August 14 requesting they confirm that all operations, inspections and monitoring comply with their licences. The letter asked the seven licensees to review the causes of the tailings pond wall failure at Imperial Metals's (TSX:III) Mount Polley copper and gold mine. The enormous breach released 10 billion litres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of metals-laden fine sand into the wider environment, contaminating several lakes, rivers and creeks in the Cariboo region. "The recent tailings dam breach that occurred at the Mt. Polley mine in British Columbia on August 4, 2014 has raised awareness of issues associated with tailings impoundments," the letter said. "This is a reminder that vigilance must be maintained by ensuring that tailings dams continue to be properly designed, constructed, operated, maintained and monitored to prevent such occurrences." The nuclear regulator gave the seven companies – AREVA (EPA:AREVA), Cameco Corporation (TSE:CCO), Rio Algom Limited, Willet Green Miller Ctr, P.J. Brugger and Associates, EWL Management Ltd. and Denison Mines Inc. (TSE:DML) – until September 15 to respond. CNSC staff will conduct "walk down" inspections of the above-ground tailings facilities to independently verify their safety and may request further action on any issues identified, the letter said. Canada is one of the world's leading and lowest-cost uranium suppliers, with active operations in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin and in Quebec, and a number of closed or decommissioned uranium mines. In the wake of the Mount Polley disaster, B.C. mine minister Bill Bennett on Monday ordered an independent investigation of the circumstances of the breach and inspections of every tailings pond at all permitted mines in the province. Information on uranium mill tailings can be found here. |
| Treasure hunt madness after $20,000 diamond falls from the sky Posted: 20 Aug 2014 11:19 AM PDT
A $20,000 cushion-cut diamond that dropped 100,000 feet from space after being placed inside a helium balloon that popped over a field in the East Midlands region of England has yet to be found.  This is the 1.14 carat gem, worth £12,000 (about $20,000), English are after these days. Credit @77Diamonds | Twitter. The 1.14 carat gem, which went missing earlier this month, is the central element of a PR stunt by London jeweller 77 Diamonds, called #DiamondsIntheSky. And while the marketing strategy seems to have gone terribly wrong, the truth is the best part of it is still to come, because whoever stumbles across the stone gets to keep it, co-founder Tobias Kormind told The Telegraph.  The diamond being launched into space. Credit @77Diamonds | Twitter. And someone will, as inside the box containing the diamond there are two GPS trackers fitted with SIM cards. The jeweller can call the numbers anytime to get an SMS 'pinged' back containing the latitude and longitude of the package. Dropping those coordinates into Google Maps reveals a 500 metre-area where the diamond may be found.
The only catch is the gem landed in a field near the village of Lea in Gainsborough, one of rural England's many phone reception black holes, the newspaper reports. Top image Vasilyev Alexandr |
| Aggressive cost-cutting boosts silver miner Hochschild core profit Posted: 20 Aug 2014 08:46 AM PDT  The firm's flagship Inmaculada gold and silver project is a 20,000 hectare project located in Hochschild's southern Peru cluster. Silver miner Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC) managed to slash its reported interim loss in the first half of the year, as the combined benefits of an aggressive cost-cutting strategy and increased output from its mines in Peru and Argentina began to kick in. The company logged Wednesday a 4% increase in adjusted core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), for the six months ended June 30. Net revenue, however, fell 8.6% to $282 million in the period. Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at Cityindex told MINING.com the results reveal a relatively the company relative stability, "after an unwanted volatile period for shareholders that has seen the firm cancel dividend payouts until its cash position strengthens." Hochschild also delivered a strong operational performance, producing 11.9m silver-equivalent ounces at a much lower overall cost than last year. This was partly thanks to increased production at its Arcata mine in Arequipa, southern Peru, where higher-grade ore bodies have been targeted. The miner intends to raise output by around 70% over the next few years, bringing another mine on stream once its flagship Inmaculada gold and silver project in southern Peru is up and running — probably in the fourth quarter. Image courtesy of Hochschild Mining. |
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