Mining: SouthGobi fires CEO Molyneux
Vancouver’s SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX:SGQ) has fired president and CEO Alexander Molyneux in what’s being seen as a move by Rio Tinto Ltd. to fix SouthGobi’s soured relationship with the Mongolian government and get the idled Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine restarted.
Rio Tinto recently bought a majority stake in Ivanhoe Mines, now Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX:TRQ), which gave Rio Tinto a majority stake in SouthGobi. Earlier this month, SouthGobi announced the resignation of three directors and the appointment of Turquoise Hill CEO Kay Priestly as new board chairman.
Energy: Western Wind gears up for proxy vote
As Vancouver-based Western Wind Energy Corp. (TSX-V:WND) gears up for a proxy vote, the company is touting the success of its efforts.
Western Wind has been battling with investment manager Savitr Capital LLC, which has been pushing a dissident slate of directors after Western Wind’s sale announcement.
Western Wind said its sale process has “strong momentum,” and that potential buyers include three “leading U.S. utilities.”
Mining: Teck admits to polluting Columbia River
In the midst of legal proceedings, Teck Metals Ltd. (TML) has admitted that its Trail, B.C., operations have polluted the Columbia River in the U.S.
Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.A and TCK.B) announced that TML had agreed to “certain facts” in court, in a bid to avoid “trial over technical issues in the liability phase of the case.”
The agreement stipulates that some of the slag and effluent discharged from Teck’s Trail operations is present in the Upper Columbia River.
Mining: Mining supercycle pausing, not stopping: association
The mining industry in Canada should continue to flourish despite global market volatility, Mining Association of Canada president Pierre Gratton told the Vancouver Board of Trade September 7.
Gratton said despite a slowdown in China, regulatory reform in Canada, investment in infrastructure and improved trade relations with countries like China should keep Canada’s mining sector competitive.
“The mining supercycle is not over – it is taking a pause,” he said. “This is the nature of the mining business, which is cyclical.”
Mining: Canadian mining CEOs’ bonuses drop 31%
Canadian mining CEOs have seen, on average, a 31% drop in bonuses this year, according to the just-released 2012 Mining Industry Salary Survey by Coopers Consulting and PwC.
The survey found that despite little change to salaries, Canadian mining CEOs’ total compensation has dropped an average of 7% since last year to $767,000 due to a drop in volume and magnitude of bonuses paid.
PwC said CEOs are failing to hit performance targets due to softer commodities demand, investor risk aversion, the European debt crisis and slowdown in China’s economy.
