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Rio firms up a pipeline jewel

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:15:47 +0000

While it may only be a formality, Rio Tinto’s $US302 million purchase of another two per cent of Ivanhoe Mines finally cements its control of the group and its prize asset, the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold prospect in Mongolia. By moving to 51 per cent of Ivanhoe, and with anti-dilution rights to protect its position, Rio has finally buried the already-remote prospect that Ivanhoe’s founder, Robert Friedland, might devise yet another plan for preventing Rio from securing absolute control.

See http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Rio-Tinto-Oyu-Tolgoi-Ivanhoe-Friendland-control-sh-pd20120125-QU2BR?opendocument&src=rss.

Mining threatens herders in Mongolia: report

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:14:52 +0000

Mining in southern Mongolia is threatening the livelihoods of herders and straining water supplies, a report said recently, as foreign companies race to exploit the country’s rich mineral deposits. Mongolia has opened up it vast reserves of natural resources to foreign investors in the hope of pulling thousands out of poverty, but activist groups said herders, townspeople and the environment were paying a heavy price. In 2009, Mongolia sealed a long-awaited multi-billion dollar deal with Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto to develop Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s richest copper deposits and a key gold source.

See http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ggU5a5myh4ewO_qJ9P-8EasAa_YQ?docId=CNG.b16557cdf41a87e85d20681fb83362ab.31.

Read the Bankwatch report at http://bankwatch.org/sites/default/files/spirited-away-mongolia-mining.pdf.

See the video at http://bankwatch.org/news-media/blog/video-spirited-away-mongolias-mining-boom-and-people-development-left-behind.

Canadian Rio Tinto lockout nears one month

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:11:40 +0000

On January 1, 2012, Rio Tinto’s aluminium subsidiary Alcan locked out 780 members of United Steelworkers at its smelter and refinery in Alma, Québec. The company refuses to negotiate limits on contract work.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11463&l=1.

See also Rio Tinto’s lockout of Alma workers looks set to drag on,

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page504?oid=144916&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Calling all foreign radicals!

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:04:09 +0000

UK Tar Sands Network comments on the Canadian government’s attack on tar sands opponents as ‘enemies of the state’.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2012/01/calling-all-foreign-radicals/.…
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Huge victory: Obama kills Keystone tarsands pipeline

Richard — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:48:47 +0000

Barack Obama rejected the controversial Keystone tar sands pipeline last Wednesday, making good on a promise not to give in to a Republican ultimatum on the project.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2012/01/huge-victory-obama-kills-keystone/.

Rio Tinto Initiates Lockout in Canada

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:26:07 +0000

Rio Tinto Alcan, an aluminium-production unit of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, locked out about 800 union workers at a Quebec smelter.

See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550304577136533843111036.html.

Rio Tinto wraps up Hathor takeover

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:24:18 +0000

Rio Tinto Ltd has taken complete ownership of Canadian uranium company Hathor Exploration. Rio on Thursday said it had compulsorily acquired a remaining 7.9 million shares not voluntarily offered after it made a $C654 million ($A623 million) takeover bid in October 2011. Hathor, based near western Canada’s Athabasca Basin, supplies about a fifth of the world’s uranium.

See http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Rio-Tinto-completes-Hathor-takeover-QF2E6?opendocument&src=rss.

NGOs Receive Funds from Canadian Government & Mining Companies

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:23:31 +0000

Some NGOs receive funds from Canadian government and mining companies to legitimize and promote mining as a good form of “development”.

•World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is partnered with Rio Tinto Alcan, owned by Rio Tinto

•Plan Canada = IAMGOLD

•World Vision Canada = Barrick Gold

See http://thewrongkindofgreen.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/ngos-receive-funds-from-canadian-government-mining-companies/.

Radicals working against oilsands, Ottawa says

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:21:52 +0000

Environmental and other “radical groups” are trying to block trade and undermine Canada’s economy, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Monday.

Oliver’s comments came one day before federal regulatory hearings began on whether to approve Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, which would deliver crude from Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat, B.C., for shipment to Asia.

See http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/01/09/pol-joe-oliver-radical-groups.html.

IACHR’s lenience towards Goldcorp is criticised by NGOs

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:16:55 +0000

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the western hemisphere’s primary organ for protecting human rights, decided in late December 2011 to modify an earlier order regarding Goldcorp’s controversial Marlin mine in Guatemala. Although subject to an ongoing human rights complaint, IACHR has lifted its recommendation to suspend operations at the mine, while leaving other measures in place.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11419&l=1.

Goldcorp green lights US$3.9bn El Morro project in Chile

Vancouver-based Goldcorp’s board approved the decision to begin construction of the US$3.9bn El Morro copper-gold project in northern Chile’s region III. See http://www.bnamericas.com/news/mining/goldcorp-green-lights-us39bn-el-morro-project/282822928.

Canadian mining projects move ahead in Argentina

Argentina expects two Canadian miners, Pan American Silver and Goldcorp, to start construction on sizeable projects over the next six months as the sector continues to expand, the country’s mining secretary said on Tuesday. See http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE8092EQ20120110.

DRC dispute disentangled: ENRC and FQM agree settlement

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:13:18 +0000

London listed miner, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Plc (ENRC) and Canada’s First Quantum Minerals Ltd (FQM) have resolved a rumble in the jungle with a US$1.25bn settlement for disputed mining assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page36?oid=142586&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Is Greece now desperate enough to allow gold mining?

Richard — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:51:21 +0000

When investors hear the word “Greece” these days, they usually run for cover. But Eldorado Gold Corp. had the opposite reaction, as the austerity and economic misery actually made the country a more attractive place for gold mining. Late Sunday, Eldorado unveiled a $2.5-billion takeover of European Goldfields Ltd., a deal that gives it prized gold assets in Greece. The all-stock deal allows Eldorado to consolidate all the key deposits in the country.

See http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Offer+Goldfields+Greece/5885222/story.html.

European Goldfields is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

See also Eldorado aims to double production with European Goldfields bid, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/eldorado-aims-to-double-production-with-european-goldfields-bid/article2276992/.

Rio wants Canada’s uranium legal controls lifted

Richard — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:29:56 +0000

Rio Tinto’s chief executive Tom Albanese said that he would lobby Canada to ensure it was the operator of the Roughrider uranium project in Saskatchewan, despite legal hurdles, after its successful takeover of Hathor.

At the start of December, Rio emerged the winner after beating out world number one uranium miner, Canada’s Cameco, with a $643 million bid for the explorer.

See http://www.mining.com/2011/12/04/rio-wants-canadas-uranium-legal-controls-lifted/.

See also: Canadian uranium scene sizzles as Rio Tinto enters Athabasca Basin, http://www.prospectingjournal.com/canadian-uranium-scene-sizzles-as-rio-tinto-enters-athabasca-basin20113011/

and Canada says no decision yet on revising uranium policy, http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE7B123820111202.

Patagonia goes Canadian

Richard — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:20:05 +0000

“It has taken about a year, but on Wednesday shares of Patagonia Gold PLC will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange” noted Barry Critchley in the Canadian Financial Post (FP).

But despite having a market capitalization of more than $600-million, it is hard to see how this company could deliver “production”, other than by a small test plant in Lomada de Leiva, Santa Cruz (Bill Humphries, chief executive of the gold company, set a target of 200,000 ounces of production by 2015).

Patagonia Gold has been proudly mentioned as a “national” company by the Mining Secretary of Argentina, Jorge Mayoral. It was formed after Brancote Holdings sold the Esquel project to Meridian Gold in 2002.

According to FP, “another goal of listing on the TSX is to increase the ownership of Patagonia held by North American investors. Currently it’s about 7% but figures can at least triple that”.

(Patagonia Gold is headquartered in London and listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange.)

See http://mining.boellblog.org/2011/12/08/patagonia-goes-canadian/.

Canadian Indigenous Peoples to fight tarsands pipeline

Richard — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:27:39 +0000

Aboriginal groups in the Canadian Pacific province of British Columbia said on Thursday they had formed a united front to oppose all exports of crude oil from the Alberta tar sands through their territories.

See http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-oilsands-idUSTRE7B025I20111201