2019 JANUARY IN REVIEW
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Vol:108.No:01
1912-2
019
BOUNDARY WATERS AND MINING
P 14
POLYMET'S COPPER-NICKEL MINE ONE BIG STEP CLOSER P 10
INSIDE STATISTICS
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2 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
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...From the Editorial Desk JANUARY 2019 VOL.108. NO.01
A
nd while one mine doesn't produce a whole new industry, it's a
landmark, stated Frank Ongaro, executive manager of Mining Minnesota. In Babbitt, a mining firm, built the majority of the major buildings, and many of the houses of the city during a 1950s effort to entice workers. The street into Babbitt winds beyond a proud display
of mining machines that is massive , including a truck as big as a home.
Skillings Mining Review publishes comprehensive information on global mining, iron ore markets and critical industry issues via our monthly magazine, weekly E-newsletter, annual mining directory and real time website. PUBLISHER CHARLES PITTS chas.pitts@skillings.net MANAGING EDITOR JOHN EDWARD john.edward@cfxnetwork.com SENIOR SALES MANAGER STAN SALMI stan.salmi@skillings.net SALES REPRESENTATIVE, CANADA RON SANDERSON ron.sanderson@cfxnetwork.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS SARAH HART KATIE SIMS DAVID WILSON CAROLINE DAVIS ART DIRECTOR MO SHINE mo.shine@cfxnetwork.com CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions@skillings.net SALES & MARKETING CHRISTINE MARIE advertising@skillings.net
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In Iron Range cities left for dead from the mining sector's last bust in the 1980s, the sudden recognition that, following decades of contentious debate, PolyMet Mining Corp. might actually start its $1 billion mine has fueled rousing talk. The ripples started flowing on Oct. 31, when the state Department of Natural Resources announced approval of six critical licenses, including PolyMet's permit to mine and approval of a $1 billion"financial assurance" strategy to protect against future pollution problems. The mine is not a done deal: there are pending legal challenges by environmental groups, with much more likely to come, and Many wetland, water and atmosphere permits are excellent. But PolyMet officials said the license announcement already has caused interest to perk up. Chief Executive Jon Cherry explained construction would begin next spring and the project is full steam ahead.
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January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 3
IN THIS ISSUE
IRON WOMEN OF THE RANGE P 06
P 10
P 14
BOUNDARY WATERS AND MINING
POLYMET'S COPPER-NICKEL MINE
ONE BIG STEP CLOSER
COPPER
PolyMet's copper-nickel mine
IRON RANGE REGION
One big step closer..................................................... 10
Runaway BHP train travels 92km
COVERSTORY
with no driver............................................................... 05
Iron Women of the Range........................................... 06
A new memory of an older thought........................... 09
INDUSTRY INSIDER
MINING EQUIPMENT
Minnesota GOP Political Land Grab.......................... 18
Caterpillar in North America Seeks Gains................. 16
IRON ORE
MINING INDUSTRY SHIPPING
Boundary Waters and Mining..................................... 14
$32M To Aging Poe Lock On The Great Lakes.......... 12
Investment dollars flowing into Canada
MINING TECHNOLOGY
for mineral exploration............................................... 20
Tale of medical devices and mining company.......... 13
Statistics................................................................22/23
4 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
Mining People..............................................................21
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IRON RANGE REGION
Runaway BHP train travels 92km with no driver
B
usiness analyst
T im T read -
gold stated the derailment wouldn't have a major impact
on the cash flow or discuss cost of
BHP. Until the driver could get back on board, but the train took off from the siding.
The ATSB has begun an investigation into the episode, and a spokesman said that it had been hoping to interview the “train driver.” "We're talking about a business which deals in the billions of dollars, which might register in the
millions, but almost definitely not in the thousands."The center controls the company operations, including railroad and port facilities. BHP said the derailment was implemented in the Integrated Remote Operations Center. That means the train attained average speeds of about 110 kilometres per hour. "Even when they lost three days of access to the railroad line, which is possible, it is not a major event. BHP said nobody had been hurt in the
derailment and it had suspended all train operations while the investigation has been carried out. Three locomotives carried around 28,000 tonnes of iron ore over 280 kilometres from Rio Tinto's mining operations to the port of Cape Lambert at Tom Price. The load has been tracked remotely from the Operations Centre in Perth of Rio Tinto, more than 1,500 kilometres off. BHP Billiton control center derails train. 92 kilometres traveled in about 50 minutes, until it was derailed at a set of things around 120 kilometres from Port Hedland. The incident comes amid a push for driverless train technologies, together with fellow miner Rio Tinto producing its autonomous iron ore delivery in July.
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commodities since 1961. • Whether transloading chrome ore from Montana to European customers, bentonite from Wyoming to iron ore plants in Quebec or bringing limestone from Michigan for Minnesota’s sugar beet industry—we stand ready to meet your needs.
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Located at the head of the St. Lawrence Seaway system, we serve customers worldwide
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Our liquid storage tanks have 2.1 million gallon capacity
We have two docks with seaway draft capacity, and a third surface transloading facility
We’ve been efficiently handling and delivering a wide variety of products for nearly five decades
January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 5
COVERSTORY COVERSTORY
6 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
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Our women's meeting left us wondering: What if women were those imagining and creating the upcoming Iron Range? Ladies emphasize and frame things. They speak in more complex, conflicted terms about mining and the future. And they carry lots of stories about things that don't make it into the mainstream narratives of campaigns that are pro- or anti-mining.
What's the price for talking out? Women's work today is this and more. We heard stories of compromise. Complexities are being wrestled with by women and smoothing tensions. They look between the embattled camps to express their hopes for the future. Where markets and farms might help keep economic power locally we heard that a vision for food sufficiency for the Range. As Cities-based scholars and activists, we have found ourselves deeply determined by what role mining needs to play in Minnesota's future. We began ago to better understand the controversies by listening to people whose lifestyles and landscapes are at stake and spending time on the Iron Range assembly.
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It's striking that while the nation observes the political advance of young, diverse girls, the 8th District success has been about white men holding down the status quo. The big swath of red on the political map exerts a lot women that are divided are about the future of exploration. The Minnesota 8 th Congressional District's flip from DFL into hands a week has been the talk of the nation, with over $13 million. Girls have always lurks, but are rarely remembered, on the scope. Belonging matters for whose voices have counted and whose thoughts about change resonate. We've heard it is
hard to attract new people spend and to live in the Range. Nevertheless it might be that those new people, and the ideas they bring as traffic and/or inhabitants, can spark a economic future. Only weeks before the election, we drew together a group of women who reside on the Iron Range, most for multiple generations, for an evening of storytelling in Virginia, Minnesota. We asked them to help us understand how mining matters for them. They had been encouraged to attract. Girls we met told us that they or their family members might pay a high cost for outspokenness. To complicate this further, we heard a defensiveness and desire to protect the Range from those
January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 7
COVERSTORY
who misunderstand what it means to make a lifetime. This is particularly directed at urbanites like us who have a lot to say about how the land ought to be used and secure however lived encounter with the realities. Women fix matters. This wasn't the first conversation like this we have had with Range inhabitants. Over the previous three decades, we have performed a series of listening sessions across the area. We've met with staunch supporters and enemies of mining. 1 thing has become obvious to us: There are a lot more people wading through the middle than campaigns or the media let on. Talking about mining's place in the economy means speaking simultaneously about the past, present and future. Yet, it seems simpler to talk about the past though we're all concerned about the future, both in terms of change that is unwanted that is impending and longing for a change that heals and reconnects.
like to give your experiences from the midst of exploration. Our longerterm objective is to curate an exhibit to be shared throughout the state about the voices and stories missed over the future in Minnesota of mining.
sense that changes will be still coming. They view economic change climate change, and change on the horizon.
The women we met shared objects with us that represented how women are abandoned, though they played a really important role in life on the Range. 1 image that struck us was an older picture turned to. Back in 1912, her neighborhood appointed her an election clerk resolved that she receive the"same pay as the others" given her stature. We also held a dusty, old cookbook cherished by a granddaughter who recalled the sense of love she felt in this kitchen.
Women's stories of their mothers and grandmothers were often about rehabilitation and repair -- care for others and their places. All this fixing, mending and tending are part of sustaining the Range, of the overlooked labor.
They desire to comprehend this change, which isn't the story you hear about those who reside on the Iron Range, on the exterior. As a woman told us,"Gaping wounds in the land that may still be beautiful. Pits are beautiful." Acknowledging repair damage and recovery seems a very important step in shaping the future.
Women told us that a individual's family history and individuality as a Ranger remains essential to being heard and noticed. Even those who have dwelt on the Range for 20-plus years have been quick to say,"I'm not from here."
The girls we met talked about the creative, resilient women who left the Range. These were the grandmothers, laborers, and practitioners that retained families intact despite the booms and busts of mining.
Below we reflect on three themes we discovered from our recent women's gathering. Our job gathering stories proceeds. Please reach out to one of us if you'd
Above all else, we all heard an awareness of incompleteness from the"mining affirms us" narrative. There's more to the story, while mining is undeniably important. The women we met
We heard stories about heartbreak - the heartbreak of restricted choice, sacrifices moving unnoticed, and claims for education, pensions and liberty not kept.
8 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
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IRON RANGE REGION
A new memory of an older thought Suburban Republicans say that they moved from Republicans for reasons which range from President Donald Trump's personality into the party's positions on gun safety and health care. About the Iron Range, longtime Democrats said the party now ignores the lifeblood of the communities.
V
oters who changed sides in
2018 provide a roadmap: they say they want candidates who
Hibbing Community College instructor who runs the local political site Minnesota Brown.
represent their unique districts and use a motivational message. he grew up in a
Cuffe said Democratic household
and never considered other candidates until
2012. He and three Iron Range
mayors supported the Republican candidate for Congress, this past year. It was the very first time Cuffe had publicly endorsed a Republican.
Consequently, a few of the state's eight congressional districts changed sides. Democrats and Republicans each gained and lost two chairs, together with Democrats flipping districts and Republicans winning in southern and
northern Minnesota. Cuffe said the Democratic party favors environmental regulations over the mining market. Minnesota voters from both sides s ay t h e i r p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s h ave abandoned them causing them to cross party lines and one-hundred years of political tradition in the election of this month. Both parties will confront the same question in 20 2 0 : h o w c a n t h e y keep the seats they've just won, w h i l e w i n n i n g t h e o n e s they've historically held?
"Mining is your bread and butter of the Iron Range," he said, sitting within his office at Virginia City Hall. "It's the engine that runs our economy here." Stauber became the second Republican to acquire Minnesota's eighth congressional district in 70 decades. His margin of success comes after Democrats won the seat by 2 percentage points in 2014 and one percent in 2016. Mining is now a political issue in a neighborhood in which a 85-foot statue of an iron miner stands on the side of U.S. 169 close Hibbing. Not far from the statue, a roadside sign thanked for imposing tariffs on imported steel, President Trump. Together, the seven Range counties voted for Stauber's opponent, Democrat Joe Radinovich, but a lot of social conservatives are more willing to vote for Republicans,'' said Aaron Brown, a
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January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 9
IRON RANGE REGION STEEL
PolyMet's copper-nickel mine
One big step closer The $74 million the company has put aside - that will rise to over $1 billion at the peak of mining - is a way to make sure that taxpayers are not left footing the bill in case something goes wrong.
I
ron
R ange
northern
leaders as well as
M i n n e s o ta
mining
supporters, responded to the news
Thursday that the state Department Natural Resources had issued that the PolyMet Mining company a permit beyond the town of Babbitt, has been an obvious sign of future renewal. of
PolyMet submitted its initial plans for a copper-nickel mine outside Babbitt and a processing plant near Hoyt
Lakes 14 decades ago. Since then, the proposal has been redesigned, and wound its way through the permitting and environmental review processes needed to open a mine that is brand-new. And now, with state regulators' approval, PolyMet needs just a couple of further permits -- from local, state and federal governments -- until it can start implementing its own plan.
10 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
A new Type of mine for Minnesota The $945-million job would operate for two decades in a site bordering a working taconite mine on one side, and the Superior National Forest on the other. The ore sent 7 miles west to the former LTV Steel iron ore processing plant and could be set near Hoyt Lakes, which closed in 2001. The question of whether Minnesota should exploit its vast mineral resources beyond iron ore has smoldered as one of the most contentious environmental debates in the country for over a decade. In addition, they assert, financial protections are in place if something goes wrong.
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In awarding PolyMet a permit to mine, the DNR said it's confident the company may dig a massive open pit mine; procedure 32,000 tons of ore every day for 20 years; safely store the waste; and close and reclaim the mine, all while meeting the state's environmental criteria.
When she discovered the news, Andrea Zupancich cried: Minnesota is one step closer to breaking ground on its original copper-nickel mine. To these, it means hundreds of occupations, new households and renewed economic vitality in a region that has suffered from a slow decline of employment in the iron mining industry. Babbitt's population has dropped in its peak to 1,500 people over the past few years from 3,500 now, as iron ore mines have closed or downsized. The proposed mine would extract copper, nickel and precious metals out of what is known as the NorthMet Deposit, a little part of the Duluth Complex, considered among the largest untapped copper-nickel deposits on earth. It stretches from roughly 150 miles north of Duluth all the way.
"The incumbent thing for us is to make sure the state holds the project [and] the company to the standards that are in state law, that is the best we could do," DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr said Thursday. "We're just regulators to state standards. I think, to the extent that I'm anxious, I am much comforted by the fact that we've got that strong framework in place" But to environmentalists, outdoors enthusiasts and water-rights activists, Thursday's announcement signals a move toward the profound unknown impacts of a business that has so far been unproven in the state, one they dread could hamper the water and destroy the environment of an iconic corner of Minnesota.
"For everyone on the Iron Range, it is a terrific, awesome win," Andrea Zupancich said. For to the ore comprising the minerals, PolyMet plans to blast and drill in the deposit. However, the copper, nickel and other metals are nestled. When that ore is subjected to water and atmosphere, it generates an acid which may leach heavy metals to groundwater and nearby waterways. But in awarding PolyMet a permit to mine, the DNR said it's confident the company may dig a massive open pit mine; procedure 32,000 tons of ore every day for 20 years; safely store the waste; and close and reclaim the mine, all while meeting the state's environmental criteria. The project's supporters say contemporary mining is a different ballgame compared to the jobs of the past. PolyMet submitted its initial plans for a copper-nickel mine outside Babbitt and a processing plant near Hoyt Lakes 14 decades ago.
PolyMet's strategy -- and the DNR's license to mine -- lays out how the business plans to run its proposed mine, control pollution and eventually close the mine following its planned 20-year lifespan. Additionally, it contains details on financial assurance protections, even if PolyMet were to declare bankruptcy and the state had to intervene and close the mine and take on the responsibility of long-term water therapy -- something that has happened at elderly mines in the western United States.
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January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 11
MINING INDUSTRY SHIPPING
$32M To Aging Poe Lock On The Great Lakes
the aging Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie can manage 1,000-foot ships that haul iron ore and other cargo from the Twin Ports to the lower lakes, according to Adele Yorde with all the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. The lock was updated and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. But a 2015 Department of Homeland Security report said failure of the lock for six months through the shipping season may put 11 million individuals out of work.
Aging Poe Lock Could Be The Only One That Could Handle Thousand-Foot Ships. Lake Carriers Association President Jim Weakley estimated the $32 million in funding could be combined with $52 million being put aside for the job in the state of Michigan.
I
'm
just very excited and really
thankful .
It
is going to be a
Thanksgiving and it's going N orth American manufacturing," he said. "That is what this is about is making certain, God forbid, there's a problem somewhere because Soo Lock chain happy
to add resiliency into the
which we're able to offer the steel, that the coal, the construction rock that keeps the production basis of North America moving ahead."
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is placing $32 million in the design and building of a new lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Shipping industry advocates say that another lock is critical to improving the resilience of the wonderful Lakes economy. "Each year that goes by, the aging infrastruc-
ture that is there, the Corps does a superb job of maintenance every winter once we're in winter layup season, but we all hold our breath that the gates endure for the entire next season to be certain that there's no disturbance in that service," she said. The Army Corps of Engineers said the cash will go toward deepening the upstream channel. "In future years, we are expecting that we get funds for design and building of the system walls, which is where the boats kind of line up and come in to the lock," said deputy district engineer Scott Thieme together with the Detroit District. "Subsequently, there would be design and construction of the actual lock chamber itself." Just
12 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
Weakley stated the capital from the Corps supports 10 years of job. Approximately 35 million tons of cargo moves throughout the Twin Ports each year on average, Yorde stated. Iron ore constitutes nearly 60 percent of their freight heading down into the lower lakes. The Duluth Port Authority explained the financing from the Corps' financial 2019 work plan is a huge first step in the ideal direction. "All of the coal from the Midwest Energy dock (at Superior) goes out on thousand-footers primarily, probably 95 percent is about the thousand-footers... The same may be said for the iron ore that goes out from both ore docks here in Duluth." "If you put in the federal money to the country cash, we're roughly $84 million and that is sufficient to complete the design work and begin dredging and doing any construction work," said Weakley. "It's really the very greatest possible scenario." The project is anticipated to cost around $1 billion and take at least seven years to construct.
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MINING TECHNOLOGY
Tale of medical devices and mining company By legal agreement, family members can't participate in managing the business -- the company's founder, John Munro Longyear, had seven kids and now they have about 50 descendants who own the organization. It is run independently, with Stephen Hicks its own CEO and president.
T
N ational R egister Historic Places in 2004 and is based in the Longyear Building in downtown Marquette, which was built in 1916. Surrounded by history, the company runs with an eye to the future. Included in Longyear's portfohe business added to the of
Michigan Economic Development Corp.. It is, he says, an ideal metaphor for the rebirth of town, a fast-growing medical-device startup owned by means of a fortune. The company continues to create wealth for the elongated family that possesses it. It operates a large lumber mill called Northern Hardwoods on 120 acres of land near Ontonagon from the american U.P. that mills 20 million board feet of wood annually; possesses 164,000 acres of timberland, extending from east of Toronto to across the U.P.; also has 200,000 ferrous and non-ferrous mineral rights during the Great Lakes, with the biggest concentration in Michigan. It directly employs about 140 with countless contractors.
a year ago in Marquette known as Able Medical Devices, a manufacturer of medical devices with a concentration on the spinal column. It is well capitalized and has a seasoned management team whose average tenure in the industry is 23 years, a number of them recruited a Marquette firm that was purchased by a Florida firm, from RTI Surgical.
lio is a medical-device firm launched
"Rather than Frontier spending time looking over its shoulder to get money, we could spend all our time working on products," said Hicks. Able, which has 15 employees, is developing its own product pipeline, does prototype manufacturing of its devices and prototypes for many others through contract manufacturing. Gov. Rick Snyder -- a former owner of medical devices himself, even when he possessed the Ann Arbor venture capital company of Ardesta LLC at the early 2000s -- spent an hour and a half in Able's facility during a tour of Marquette past August. J.M. Longyear LLC is a 145-year-old Marquette company with a storied history. It generated fabulous wealth for its East Coast backers huge deposits of iron and copper ore and riches that flowed to be lumbered. "That such a rich heritage of natural resources is currently getting into medical apparatus and diversifying says a lot about what is going from Marquette," said Jeff Mason, the CEO of the
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January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 13
IRON ORE
Boundary Waters and Mining The Twin Cities-based Center of the American Idol produced the advertisement. The group is spending more than $270,000 about the effort, which also contains a report predicting that copper, nickel and other precious metals mining could give a $3.7 billion annual economic boost to the state.
T
he Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is one of two ecological groups behind
the advertisement. It is the very first
TV
spot the group has affirmed in
its history.
But it could be a trickier issue for Democrats, especially those running statewide, said Schultz, who have to appeal to pro-mining union workers in northern Minnesota and environmentalists, mainly in the Twin Cities.
"The Democrats, for reasons, [and for] coalition-building, have to determine ways of trying to bring together both teams." Johnson says that he thinks Minnesota can have copper-nickel mining and protect the environment, also says he will be an urge in transferring those mining projects ahead. The controversy has also been inflamed with a current Trump management decision to cancel an ecological study on mining near the Boundary
14 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
Waters. Life was breathed by the movement into a project proposed by a mining company named Twin Metals, which will be chasing a potential mine on federal forest land inside the Boundary Waters watershed. The firm allowed Paulsen to distance himself from President Trump and to showcase his support to the Boundary Waters, stated Hamline University political scientist David Schultz. From the 8th District race Stauber says he
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outdoor recreation-based economy. The TV commercial supports Tim Walz, Democratic candidate for governor. And it opposes the proposed Twin Metals mine outside Ely, just south of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Democratic candidates such as Walz in the governor's race and Radinovich from the 8th District both say they encourage mining, but only as long as the proposed jobs prove they can meet all environmental standards. "We're involved in it today because the stakes cannot be any greater at this time; the danger to the Boundary Waters is direct and immediate; and time is of the essence right now," said executive director Chris Knopf. alone offers unwavering support for mining:"My opponent changes his stance depending on the audience he's in front of." And, he contended that can be achieved while also protecting Minnesota's environment. "A big theme of our job is that mining is significant not simply to northern Minnesota, but also for all of Minnesota, and developing such nutrient resources will be of fantastic benefit to the entire state," said the team's president, John Hinderaker. His competitor, Radinovich, states he alone would hold mining companies accountable:"I simply don't feel that Pete has the credibility to make sure that he's asking the hard questions of those businesses and make certain they are following the laws and regulations about the book." Knopf and a lot of his fellow environmentalists are concerned that mining on the edge of the Boundary Waters risks polluting a treasured wilderness area and threatens the area's
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Copper-nickel mining continues to be a key political issue for the past several years in northern Minnesota, but it's taken on new, wider prominence this season as the state inches closer to starting a proposed mine on the Iron Range, also as concerns over the ecological dangers of copper-nickel mining continue to percolate.
The controversy has also been inflamed with a current Trump management decision to cancel an ecological study on mining near the Boundary Waters. But come Tuesday, mining and other issues may not be exactly what wind up ultimately swaying most Republicans. The question on the ballot, Schultz said, could go much beyond the Boundary Waters and mining much broader. When it comes to mining and
Minnesota politics, the gaps among candidates frequently come down to nuances. Meanwhile, another advertisement that has been airing since Labor Day trumpets the financial potential of copper-nickel mining in Minnesota. Nuance in the Core of the mining question "When President Trump attempted to take away important environmental protections for the Boundary Waters, I said no way. I'm for mining, simply not there, it's too unique, too important a place," Paulsen stated in the ad. The nuance can be found in the specifics. Subsequently, in the conclusion, retired professional basketball star, former Timberwolves trainer, and Hibbing, Minn., native Kevin McHale says,"we support mining in Minnesota since it is going to be a slam dunk for all Minnesotans." Most Democrats running in Minnesota have opposed the Trump administration's move closer toward mining close to the Boundary Waters, such as Walz in the Senate race and Joe Radinovich from the 8th Congressional District - which covers the Boundary Waters and also the nation's Iron Range. Their Republican opponents - Jeff Johnson from the governor's race, and Pete Stauber at the 8th District state basically the same thing."Modern mining can be done and is being done in an environmentally friendly manner," Hinderaker said. Lots of candidates, both Republican and Democrat, say they support coppernickel mining jobs, but only in case the proposals pass muster with both state and federal environmental regulators.
January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 15
MINING EQUIPMENT
Caterpillar in North America Seeks Gains The 798 AC Comes with a 372-tonne payload and combines the mechanical-drive Cat 797F from the 400-short-tonne size course. Based Jeff Castleman, responsible for new product introduction from the mining trucks array, Caterpillar managed to move to creation of their 798 AC in 1 year.
J
im
Grooss,
trucks expert, said
clients ask about autonomous trucks .
T he executive noted that the 796 AC was anticipated to act as a substitute for its 795 AC, which will not be provided in Tier 4 Last configuration. Tier 4 standards
offerings, with the aim of creating its complete large mining truck course autonomy-ready. Including 798 AC and the drive 796 AC haul trucks.
business has revised profit projections and earnings up as revenue reports have overco m e o n a n a l y s t s a n d Caterpillar's' predictions. To date this season the equipment maker has posted quarterly profit amounts in all three reports.
as petrol equipment enforced Canada in the United States and, most recently, in India and China.
Ever since that time, Caterpillar has been operating on growing its own offering, particularly in the underground department, in Addition to filling some gaps Concerning trucks dimensions.
The gear giant, which will be shifting its mining branch from Peoria Illinois into Tucson, Arizona, starting in the next quarter of 2019, stated the decision to incorporate the new versions for its float was founded on offering clients more choices at the Maximum end of its payload scale to both electrical and mechanical drive.
Something that based on Savage gear manufacturers do not offer. Caterpillar can be stepping up efforts to offer better and more autonomous
Revenue of giant yellowish machines began climbing a year ago, after steep declines between 2012 and 2016 that pushed a Significant restructuring. The
The transfer towards producing all its mining trucks autonomy-ready is a manifestation of what clients are requesting, Savage stated, as mining
refers to discounts in exhaust gases such
16 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
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operators are recognizing that they could continue to achieve production targets with smaller machines compared to formerly utilized in manned operations. The firm, which just tapped to the autonomous tendency five Decades ago, currently has seven driverless haul fleets Around the World, Sudhanshu Singh, Global Product Manager of Trucks said. "Five from our 10 most common underground gear are either brand new or have been updated in the p r e v i o u s t wo d e c a d e s , " S u s a n Gaugush, industrial director for underground machines, stated. W h e n Ko m a t s u o b t a i n e d J oy Global at 2016, the Western company expanded its portfolio from top to underground mining gear, getting the most powerful competition in the North American marketplace for Caterpillar, the world's No.1 heavy machines manufacturer. With the debut of the Cat 798 AC, its own mining truck lineup expands to provide clients the flexibility. A current head-to-head study and several field trials reveal that the R1700 surpasses its payload benefit in quicker truck
loading and much more effective load-and-carry surgeries, while providing 21 percent less fuel consumption per hour, Gaugush explained. The Cat R1700 Underground Mining Loader currently has an entirely new layout, which has shown its high efficacy and productivity in prolonged field trials and in manufacturing research. Caterpillar measures up sport to maintain direction in North America One of the newest additions to Cat's mining supplying, introduced to trade press in the Organization's test grounds in Arizona, is the R1700, first introduced in MINExpo 2016 and eventu-
NORTH AMERICAN MARKET (LTU) Company
At the past two Decades, Caterpillar has been operating on growing its own offering, particularly in the underground department, in Addition to filling some gaps Concerning trucks dimensions.
IRON ORE PRICE REPORT
Ore Type
Pellets, FOB Michigan Mines Pellets, FOB Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Minnesota Upper Lakes Port Source: CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
ally coming into the marketplace next year. And as the mining industry has ways to go Concerning Purchasing new machines Rather than just upgrading present fleets, Sudhanshu Singh said the majority of their earnings growth is coming out of the aluminum and iron ore businesses -- and -- more -- out of coal manufacturers, given the increasing number of expansion projects and new greenfield developments.
Per Iron Unit
Per Gross Ton at 64%
Per Ton at 64% Reporting Date
$1.28
$81.92
12/31/17
$1.42
$90.88
12/31/17
We thrive on challenges golder.com
www.skillings.net
January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 17
INDUSTRY INSIDER
Minnesota gop Political Land Grab The problem persisted, nevertheless, and also an evaluation by the Department of Commerce released earlier this year urged the president execute tariffs to attempt to improve the circumstance. Trump declared tariffs about 25 percent on gas imports in March on steel imports and 10%, and the sector has already begun to feel the outcomes.
W
compelled him to resign, this season.
Only a couple of decades back, but the condition known to be authentic blue virtually went for President Trump. Greater than two points split the GOP nominee an outcome, out of Hillary Clinton that a number of analysts say needed to do Evan McMullin's existence on the ballot. This call might have been the very first time Minnesota was transported by a presidential candidate .
Scandal failed to stop Democrats from keeping control of the chair of the attorney general, together with Keith Ellison.
Though the leaders of this nation's large labor unions stay faithful to the DFL,'' Ross stated rank-and-file employees don't feel the exact same affinity.
hy is this area a sore point for
Democrats is the
region's political tendency
runs counter to the country as a whole.
Democrats retained control of
the governor's mansion and the Senate seats, including the election to the seat vacated by
Al Franken
follow-
ing allegations of sexual misconduct
18 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
He explained 2016 was a demonstration of these changes among building union associates and building: Trump won the area with a 16 percent points. Trump's place on steel tariffs and valuable metals mining has endeared him into a region that has been experiencing economic problem even as the rest of the country appeared to be about the constant incline. The iron ore business achieved for aid to the Obama government as mines throughout the area sat idle as a result of foreign steel being imported. Iron ore is a component in steel manufacturing and business leaders state the area was visited by Obama officials but required actions that is minimal. "Fundamentally, the result was that it has stabilized a bit and the requirement for our iron has significantly improved,
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particularly within the national marketplace," said Kelsey Johnson, president of the Iron Mining Association. "What that seems like about the Iron Range is that everybody is working at capacity. A good deal of building. He explained that he sees Republican gains in the rural areas as more renewable as it is a trend he has been visiting at the neighborhood level for the last couple of cycles. Democrats' power in the suburbs is fresh, but Peppin did state that if Democrats make profits that are additional there cycle that the outcomes could be lasting. "Following 2020, if this gets solidified longer, then, yes, I believe that may be ships passing in the night," he explained. This reduction is more important since the district sought by 2 things in 2016 for Trump. This improved economic activity solidified the opinion that Republicans were more concerned with strengthening blue-collar trades. By choosing Radinovich as their own candidate, Democrats attempted to counter this perception. He climbed up in the region and has voiced an affinity for mining, but solicitude didn't interpret at the polls a week when Stauber -that hailed his"unwavering" service for mining - succeeded.
president" DFL Chairman Ken Martin recognized the difficulty because of his party and stated before the most recent election that Clinton gave a great deal of farmers and labour union employees anxiety in 2016, such as members of his family. "We were not doing anything for a celebration at large to actually tackle lots of these worries and anxiety those people have," he advised RCP a month. "This is a battle at this time and the 8th District is a microcosm of what is happening across the nation." Republicans also picked up a different rural district at the southern portion of the country. Republican Jim Hagedorn -- that lost in 2016 to Walz -- conquered Democrat Dan Feehan, providing his party two seats in the nation. The hardening of those divides between the rural and suburban regions is not unique to Minnesota, but the country neatly encapsulates what is occurring across the nation. Trump appeared to oppose
this change, bringing voters that had been feeling ignored while alienating many voters -- pupils and particularly girls. This really is a trend line with as they seem to 2020, parties might need to compete. By retiring Democrat Rick Nolan, the seat was held because 2012. This was a reduction Democrats anticipated, however with changing demographics at the celebration. However one GOP strategist said it is too soon to ascertain if the parties could win a few back or if the party split is permanent. In the instance of deficits, there's some expectation that the negative consequences of this year are based on antipathy for Donald Trump. For the last couple of elections, a criticism in Rust Belt communities was the Democratic Party has abandoned Americans behind in favor of the liberals who populate both coasts. The criticism filtered down to the state parties, this season.
Nevertheless Republican gains were offset by reductions in the suburban regions around Minneapolis, for instance, 3rd Congressional District which has been in Republican hands since 1960. The district went with a perimeter in 2016 for Hillary Clinton. "I believe... they felt just like some of those individuals did not stand up to
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January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 19
IRON ORE
Investment dollars flowing into Canada for mineral exploration "A whirlpool plateau has been problematic from the start," he further added. "Mineral exploration is a lengthy procedure, maybe not too many men and women find a mine at their first summer of effort "
I
have been in this industry since
1978... and that I do not believe I have ever noticed the opinion that this awful," said Bruce McLeod, chief executive of Sabina Gold and Silver Corp, that will be building a gold mine in Nunavut. The government is targeting mining businesses, both big and small, by expanding the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit -- that permits companies looking for new mineral deposits to maneuver tax credits for their investors - by 1 year to five years; also, another supply permits mining companies to instantly take bigger tax write offs on big capital investments in machines and equipment. 'Canada only got much more appealing ' And when we are not discovering anything, then the horizon of mines is not there, and if this occurs, then we are really in trouble" "Now for the very first time, we've got a last-minute horizon," said Glenn Mullan, president of the PDAC. "That is very great for its most junior companies since they're able to do more strategic and financial preparation than previously." Total, the amount of mining companies listed on
the TSX and TSX-Venture market has dropped to 1,195 at current from over 1,400 in 2008. Founded in 2000, the METC is intended to promote investment in mineral exploration by enabling organizations to pass tax credits . It's died yearly, making lasting deals hard. The Accelerated Investment Incentive, which raises the tax write offs that mining companies can carry on big capital costs to 45 percent from 15 percent, and supplies 100 percent write offs for fresh technician, will also create a massive gap, Pierre Gratton, of the Mining Association of Canada said.
The Canadian mining industr y applauded the most recent funding update, which offers tax incentives and credits in a time once the business is fighting. While lots of the particulars of those incentives are still being analyzed,
20 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
Gratton said that his first impression is that the mining industry will discover a lot of pleasant surprises. For example, he explained Finance Minister Bill Morneau's financial update Wednesday restores the funding of Canada's Trade Commissioner Service, which aids the mining industry, amongst others, locate overseas clients for its goods. Meanwhile, the Canada's junior mining business -- or businesses looking for new mineral deposits -- is just now emerging from a decade old apartment to tepid expansion in the very years, and also sharp downturns in the worst decades. On exchanges united, mining companies have increased $5.2 billion in equity during the first nine months of 2018, maybe not quite on rate for its $8.2 billion increased in most of 2008. "In case you are contemplating your investments across the Earth, Canada only got much more appealing," said Gratton. The fantastic news is at a time when commerce pressure between the U.S. and China have throw doubt on international economic expansion, creating headwinds for several commodities, stifling gains and which makes it hard for mining companies to increase cash. Based on Mullan, two-thirds of mineral mining in Canada is financed through METC investments. He pointed out that numerous mining companies are searching for new ways to use fresh technologies: Goldcorp Inc. is constructing a completely electric mine in Ontario, and Agnico Eagle Ltd. is considering building a solar or wind farm for surgeries in Nunavut.
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January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 21
STATISTICS
March 2018 Crude Steel Production By John Edward, Associate Publisher
W
steel, up by 1.0% on March 2017. France produced 1.4 Mt of crude steel, up by 1.5% compared to March 2017. Spain
orld crude steel produc-
quarter of 2017. North America’s crude
produced 1.3 Mt of crude steel, down by
64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 148.3 million tonnes (Mt) in March 2018, a 4.0% increase compared to M arch 2017. W orld crude steel production was 426.6 Mt in the first three months of 2018, up by 4.1%
steel production in the first three months
4.1% on March 2017. Turkey’s crude steel
of 2018 was 29.5 Mt, an increase of 1.9%
production for March 2018 was 3.4 Mt, up
compared to the first quarter of 2017.
by 7.6% on March 2017. The US produced
to the same period in 2017.
tion for the
compared
7.3 Mt of crude steel in March 2018, an China’s crude steel production for
increase of 5.3% compared to March 2017.
March 2018 was 74.0 Mt, an increase
Brazil’s crude steel production for March
of 4.5% compared to March 2017. India
2018 was 3.1 Mt, up by 7.6% on March
produced 9.2 Mt of crude steel in March
2017. The crude steel capacity utilisation
2018, up 5.3% on March 2017. Japan
ratio of the 64 countries in March 2018 was
produced 9.1 Mt of crude steel in March
74.5%. This is 2.2 percentage points higher
Asia produced 294.1 Mt of c rude
2018, an increase of 2.2% compared to
steel, an increase of 4.6% over the first
March 2017. South Korea’s crude steel
than March 2017. Compared to February 2018, it is 0.9 percentage points higher.
quarter of 2017. The EU produced 43.1
production was 6.1 Mt in March 2018,
Mt of crude steel in the first quarter of
an increase of 4.7% on March 2017. In
2018, up by 0.9% compared to the same
the EU, Italy produced 2.3 Mt of crude
Statistics based on World Steel Association Report released on April 25, 2018.
Preliminary USGS Iron Ore Statistics for November 2017 By John Edward, Associate Publisher
A
U.S. G eological S urvey (USGS) report by Mineral Commodity Specialist Christopher A. Tuck, U.S. mine production and shipments of iron ore in November 2017 were 4.47 million metric tons (Mt) and 4.33 Mt respectively. Average daily production of iron ore was 149,000 metric tons (t), 7% greater than that of October and ccording to the
27 % greater than that of November 2016. Average daily shipments of iron ore were 144,000 t, slightly less than those in October and 3% greater than those in November 2016. Mine stocks at the end of November 2017 were slightly greater than those held at the end of October 2017 and slightly less than those held at the end of November 2016. U.S. exports of iron ore totaled 943,000 t in November 2017, 9% less than those in October 2017 and 27% less than those in November 2016. U.S. imports of iron ore totaled 320,000 t in November 2017, 45% greater than those in October and 11% greater than those in November 2016.
22 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW January 2019
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CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION, MARCH 2018. Source – World Steel Association MARCH 2017
% CHANGE MARCH – 18/17
1,030 e
1,175
4.7
20 e
15 e
16
25.0
El Salvador
10 e
5e
8
Guatemala
25e
25 e
1,750 e
MARCH 2018
FEB 2018
1,230 e
Cuba
13,354
15,038
0.5
Total - Other Europe
3,645
3,290
3,425
6.4
33.3
Total - C.I.S. (6)
8,101
7,675
8,621
-6.0
22
12.6
Total (64 countries)
148,330 131,791 142,681
4.0
1,535 e
1,701
2.9
-
-
-
-
7,261
6,446
6,894
5.3
e – estimate | r – revised Monthly Crude Steel Production in the 67 Countries included in the report, in thousands of metric tons. The 67 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 99% of total world crude steel production in 2017.
10,296
9,056
9,816
4.9
U.S. RAW STEEL PRODUCTION
474
417
392
20.8
Brazil
3,065
2,714
2,848
7.6
Chile
110 e
85 e
109
0.7
Colombia
125 e
90 e
117
7.0
Production
% CHANGE MARCH – 18/17
Capability Utilization Rate
MARCH 2017
15,111
Ecuador
55 e
45 e
46
19.6
April 28, 2017
1,754
-1.9
74.8
29,723
1.6
75.5
Paraguay
1e
2e
1
66.7
Previous Year
1,721
1.9
73.8
29,252
-
74.4
115 e
100 e
104
10.4
April 21, 2017
5e
5e
4
25.0
1,788
0.2
76.3
27,969
1.6
75.6
40 e
25 e
49
-17.9
Previous Year
1,721
3.9
73.8
27,531
-
74.4
Total - South America
3,990
3,483
3,669
8.7
April 14, 2017
1,784
- 1.2
76.1
26,181
1.4
75.5
Egypt
650 e
583
528
23.1
Previous Year
1,721
3.7
73.8
25,810
-
74.4
Libya
30
48
49
-39.3
April 7, 2017
1,805
1.6
77.0
24,397
1.3
75.5
-
-
-
-
Previous Year
1,721
4.9
73.8
24,089
-
74.4
South Africa
527 e
491 e
545
-3.1
Total - Africa
1,207
1,122
1,122
7.6
2,350 e
2,120 e
1,635
43.7
239
152
240
-0.4
Saudi Arabia (HADEED only)
425 e
385
376
13.0
Total - Middle East
3,262
2,859
2,534
28.7
73,980 64,930 e
70,800
4.5
Trinidad and Tobago United States Total - North America Argentina
Peru Uruguay Venezuela
Morocco
Iran Qatar
China
WEEK ENDING
DISTRICT
4/7
North East
207
214
213
218
4.7
Great Lakes
657
667
685
683
2,000
0.0
Midwest
163
165
159
166
90,475
97,979
4.3
Southern
652
666
653
660
482
90,475
429
12.3
Western
75
76
74
78
47
52
47
0.5
1,754
1,788
1,784
1,805
529
477
476
11.1
8,764
5.3
Japan
9,082
8,296
8,888
2.2
South Korea
6,095
5,415
5,823
Taiwan, China
2,000 e
1,810 e
Total - Asia
102,190
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WEEKLY U.S. RAW STEEL PRODUCTION BY DISTRICT 4/14
8,434
Total - Oceania
In thousands of Net Tons – Source - American Iron and Steel Institute * Percent Change is a comparison between a given week and the previous week. The % change figure in the previous year row refers to the change from a given week compared with the corresponding week of the previous year. AISI’s estimates are based on reports from companies representing about 50% of the Industry’s Raw Steel Capability and include revisions for previous months.
4/21
9,227
New Zealand
WEEK ENDING
Year-to-Date Production
4/28
India
Australia
Weekly Production
Percent Change*
Mexico
Total - European Union (28)
FEB 2018
Percent Change*
Canada
MARCH 2018
COUNTRY
Production
COUNTRY
Total
In thousands of Net Tons – Source – American Iron & Steel Institute.
January 2019 SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW | 23