No deal: Areva and Niger miss deal deadline again |
- No deal: Areva and Niger miss deal deadline again
- Northern Dynasty tanks as EPA blocks issuance of key permit
- Norway reconsiders its mining investments
- Cornerstone shares catapulted after sensational Ecuador drill
- The need for commodities is 'as solid as a rock'
- Taseko responds to Government of Canada's decision on New Prosperity project
| No deal: Areva and Niger miss deal deadline again Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:26 PM PST Nuclear energy company Areva and the Niger government have once again missed the deadline to reach an agreement over extraction contracts, adding to negotiations that have dragged on for two years already Niger's mining minister has said that from now on talks will continue without a fixed deadline, the Guardian reported. Areva's 10-year uranium mining contract expired at the end of last year. The major sticking point is the government's wish to increase Areva's royalty payments to between 12% and 15%, as per a 2006 mining law from which Areva believes it should be exempt. Though the company's original contract with Niger is not public, its believed Areva pays about 5.5% of its revenues in royalties. The uranium miner doesn't have much support. Even its own government said earlier this month that Niger's demands were "legitimate." Humanitarian group OXFAM has mounted a campaign against Areva, saying that Somaïr and Cominak's tax exemptions are unfair, especially considering that Niger accounts for 40% of Areva's uranium production. "In France, one out of every three light bulbs is lit thanks to Nigerien uranium," OXFAM notes on its website. "In Niger, nearly 90% of the population has no access to electricity." "It is incomprehensible that Niger, the world's fourth-largest uranium producer and a strategic supplier for Areva and France, is not taking advantage of the revenue from this extraction and remains one of the poorest countries on the planet," OXFAM wrote. Areva has rejected OXFAM's criticisms, saying that it contributes enormously to the Nigerien economy. "In 2013, 90% of direct revenue from the mines went to the State of Niger," the company claimed last week. However, what goes on between the Niger government and Areva is not well known. Although information on the Nigerien government's uranium revenues has been public since 2006, "the current negotiations between Areva and the government are still less than transparent," the Guardian notes. According to a recent report from Reuters, the mines pay no export duties and "no taxes on materials and equipment used in mining operations." Meanwhile Nigeriens have begun to take note of these talks; protesters gather nearly every week to demand a better deal for Niger, according to AllAfrica.  |
| Northern Dynasty tanks as EPA blocks issuance of key permit Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:20 PM PST  EPA fears mining will endanger Bristol Bay's sockeye salmon population Update: Northern Dynasty has issued a response to the EPA's announcement. Read it here. Northern Dynasty's (TSE:NDM) share price dropped 32% on Friday after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will, for the time being, stall the permitting process of the company's proposed Pebble mine in Alaska. The company was trading at $1.12 per share on the Toronto exchange Friday afternoon, a record low. Citing concerns over the Bristol Bay's salmon population, the EPA initiated a process "to identify appropriate options" to protect the fish from the potential mining operation.
Under the Clean Water Act, the US Army Corps of Engineers usually issues permits to dredge or fill material into waterbodies. But under a rarely-used provision the EPA can revoke that right, and today the Agency initiated the first step of that process. During the subsequent steps which include public hearings and consultations with the Army Corps and the company, no permits can be granted. At the request of native Alaskan tribes, the EPA has been looking into the Pebble mine for three years now, sparking a heated debate over whether its actions constitute a "pre-emptive veto" considering that the company behind the project, Northern Dynasty, has yet to submit an official proposal. Last month the agency released its final assessment on how mining would impact the Bristol Bay area and concluded that the activities would put the salmon populations at risk, jeopardizing the livelihoods of tribal communities. "The assessment indicates that the proposed Pebble Mine would likely cause irreversible destruction of streams that support salmon and other important fish species, as well as extensive areas of wetlands, ponds and lakes," the EPA wrote in a news release Friday. The US Geological Survey lists Northern Dynasty's deposit as the most extensive mineralized system in the world, according to the company. Drilling of 1,200 holes has determined that the deposit represents 5.94 billion tonnes of measured and indicated resources. In total $720 million has been invested in the project, though most of that came from Anglo American – the company which dropped out of the Pebble Partnership last year. Northern Dynasty has said that it plans on initiating federal and state permitting in 2014, though it noted that a final decision on permit timing will depend on securing a new project partner. Earlier this month the company brought on a new CEO, Thomas Collier. For what he lacks in mining knowledge, Collier makes up for in political connections: The new CEO is a former chief of staff at the US Department of the Interior during the Clinton era. |
| Norway reconsiders its mining investments Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:33 AM PST Norway, the country that owes much of its wealth to oil, is reconsidering its investments in the mining industry due to environmental concerns. Through its $840 billion sovereign fund, known as the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the nation has cut gold and coal investments and "will review the entire mining sector this year," Reuters reported on Friday. The fund's CEO Yngva Slyngstad was quick to clarify that it did not mean the country was "selling out of the sector." "We are concentrating our investments on the companies that we think are continuing this activity in a more sustainable way," Slyngstad said, as reported by Reuters. GPFG owns about 1% of all global stocks and is the biggest of its kind in the world. Last month the fund made headlines because it theoretically made every Norwegian a millionaire due to a rise in oil prices. The Scandianavian kingdom also revelead on Friday that 2013 was its second-best year, posting a return of 15.9%. In addition to selling its interest in 27 mining companies last year, GPFG has moved away from some European stocks in favour of emerging markets in Asia and South America, Bloomberg reported. Last month the fund announced the exclusion of Sesa Sterlite, a subsidiary of India's Vedanta Resources (LON:VED), from its portfolio due to "unacceptable risk of environmental damage and serious violations of human rights." Sesa Sterlite produces silver, copper, iron ore and a variety of other commodities across Asia ad Africa. According to Reuters, the fund has set up a "set up a panel to examine whether the fund should quit oil, gas and coal firms over their environmental impact." In the past GPFG has dropped its shares in Barrick Gold, Rio Tinto, Madras Aluminium Company, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, and Norilsk Nickel among many others. |
| Cornerstone shares catapulted after sensational Ecuador drill Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:14 PM PST Shares in Cornerstone Capital Resources (CVE:CGP) surged as much as 54% shortly after the open on Thursday in more than 10 times usual volumes after releasing results from drilling at its Cascabel project in northern Ecuador. In afternoon trade the Newfoundland and Labrador-based junior had given up some of those gains, changing hands at $0.20, still 33% for the better on the Toronto Venture Exchange. The small-cap was one of the most active counters on the TSX-V with 2.3 million shares in the $30 million company changing hands. Year to date the company is up a massive 123%. Cornerstone's spectacular high-grade porphyry copper-gold intersections from its Alpala prospect at Cascabel include: Hole CSD-13-005, the fifth hole drilled at the project to date, intersected 324.3 metres grading 1.07% copper and 1.16 g/t gold from a depth of 870 metres. This includes a higher-grade component of 50 metres grading 1.80% copper and 2.26 g/t gold from a downhole depth of 1,096 metres. Cornerstone said assays for the next 136 metres are expected within the next 7 days and noted that strong visual copper mineralization extends below the 1,194 metres of drilling assayed to date. "Significant copper and gold are present over the entire length of the hole, increasing at depth within the potassic altered zone of the porphyry and probably extending further down," the company said in a statement. Brooke Macdonald, Cornerstone's president and CEO stressed that the results that have been obtained in Ecuador took "less than 22 months of exploration from a regional stream sediment anomaly, including all permitting, licensing and social consultation processes:" Cornerstone has been in Ecuador since 2005, believing that the chances of finding world class mineral deposits there are greater than in many other countries, due to under-exploration and a potentially unparalleled geological endowment, and our Cascabel joint venture with SolGold is proof of that. The company feels so positive about Ecuador that it took the opportunity to market its three 100% owned properties available for joint venture in the country: "We believe we are a partner of choice for companies looking to hit the ground running there". Cornerstone has spent $13 million spent on exploration on its Shyri project in the south of the country since 2005 and its Miocene project is targeting epithermal gold-silver and porphyry gold-copper deposits in northern Chile. |
| The need for commodities is 'as solid as a rock' Posted: 27 Feb 2014 12:39 PM PST While the head of the International Council on Mining and Metals doesn't believe anyone will see the big run up in metals we did a few years ago, the miners should be optimistic about the economy. "While there are not fantastic times ahead, there are very positive signals in the world economy," said Dr. Anthony Hodge, who spoke to MINING.com in Vancouver at Roundup 2014. "The growth projections for China are solid at 7% to 7.5%, although we may see a shrinkage in the early part of 2014, but it's almost guaranteed that it will pop back up and China will meet those targets. Hodge expects 3% growth from the US and middling growth from Europe. Put it all together, Hodge says the economy going forward is impressive, and that stronger economy will propel commodities. "The need for those commodities are as solid as a rock: population is growing, urbanization is continuing. The signals for the future are very, very good." Hodge is particularly impressed with Africa, pointing to the Sub-Saharan which he says is really perking along. "Africans are taking a hold of their own future. It's a change of spirit as much as anything. They understand they can do it, and they are doing it. "There is tremendous possibility there, and that is where the excitement stems from. |
| Taseko responds to Government of Canada's decision on New Prosperity project Posted: 27 Feb 2014 12:27 PM PST February 27, 2014, Vancouver, BC – The Government of Canada has announced it will not issue the federal authorizations necessary for Taseko's (TSX: TKO; NYSE MKT: TGB) (the "Company") New Prosperity Project to proceed. The Company fundamentally disagrees with the decision the federal government has made and believes they based their decision on a panel report which contains serious flaws. New Prosperity can be built to a high standard of environmental integrity, including the full protection of Fish Lake. Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko, commented, "We are not alone in our disappointment. Many others, including the Government of British Columbia and the thousands of Cariboo residents who have worked hard to support New Prosperity will be similarly discouraged. We thank each of them for the confidence they have placed in us and wish to assure them that our commitment to the Cariboo remains strong. We will continue to support the excellent work of our 700 employees at Gibraltar, Canada's second largest open pit copper mine and the largest employer in the Cariboo region." Mr. Hallbauer continued, "At the invitation of the federal government in 2010, Taseko committed $300 million to address the concerns from the first panel review and submitted a new proposal. After a second lengthy and costly federal review, the federal government has once again stood in the way of the development of an important project to British Columbia." Taseko will proceed with the federal judicial review which commenced in December. The judicial review challenges certain Panel findings and the Panel's failure to comply with principles of procedural fairness. Taseko will take the necessary steps to protect this valuable asset, but at the same time, will also look at other opportunities to increase shareholder value. Russell Hallbauer |
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