Mining
Unions blast foreign labour use
A B.C. labour group registered “grave concerns” about an announcement that 200 Chinese mine workers have been approved under the temporary foreign worker program to work at the proposed Murray River underground coal mine near Tumbler Ridge, and that more may follow.
In an open letter to Stephen Harper and Christy Clark, the Bargaining Council of BC Building Trade Unions wrote: “We believe this mass importation of labour is completely unnecessary and is simply a strategy to employ lower-paid workers who are compliant with the culture of coal mining in China.”
Energy
Red tape hurting LNG plan: Fraser Institute
B.C.’s plans to create jobs and investment by exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia are threatened by the slow, inefficient regulatory processes and reviews that should be streamlined, says a Fraser Institute report.
“This process is very lucrative for lawyers and consultants, but it’s expensive for the applicants, and inefficient,” said Gerry Angevine, a senior economist with the Fraser Institute’s global resource centre.
He added that the slow process could result in B.C. and Canada missing out on a big share of the market.
Mining
Argonaut Gold to acquire Prodigy Gold
Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX:AR) has entered into a $341 million deal with Vancouver-based Prodigy Gold Inc. (TSX.V:PDG) to buy all of Prodigy’s outstanding common shares.
“[Prodigy’s gold mine] Magino is a highly attractive asset which has shown continued resource growth, and which we believe will provide a longer-term production opportunity,” said Pete Dougherty, president and CEO of Nevada-based Argonaut Gold.
The combined entity will be owned approximately 22% by current Prodigy shareholders and 78% by current Argonaut shareholders.
Mining
Executives optimistic about 2013: survey
Mining executives see more sunny days in 2013 for the sector. In a recent survey, 55% of respondents said they believe their sector will perform better than it did in 2012’s first half.
Despite a volatile year for the sector worldwide, the Mining Recruitment Group survey showed a marked difference on the executives’ perspective over a 12-month period, with 74% thinking their company will outperform the market as a whole.
The survey found that concern about a lack of investment capital in the industry has dropped since June.
Courtesy of MINING.com
Mining
Turquoise Hill refuses Mongolia’s request
Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX: TRQ), formerly Ivanhoe Mines, along with Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi LLC, have rejected a request from the Mongolian government to renegotiate an investment deal for its Oyu Tolgoi project.
This follows a request from Mongolia’s mining minister to renegotiate the agreement, which was signed in October 2009 and became effective in March 2010. The deal gave Mongolia a 34% interest in the project.
“The agreement is mutually beneficial for the Mongolian government and investors,” said CEO Kay Priestly.
