Canada and Panama explore possibility of FTA

During his Latin American tour (Mexico, Panama and Ecuador) Canadian Minister of Trade, Michael Fortier, discussed the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement with Panamanian President Martín Torrijos.  If it came to fuition, said agreement would considerably strengthen Canada-Panama relations to both their benefit.

Panama is host to several Canadian companies such as Scotiabank, Teck Cominco, Inmet Mining and SNC Lavalin, and educational entities like McGill University, St. Clair College and Durham College.  These entities hire locals and thus vitalize their economy.

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The race has begun – 5 weeks out a new Constitution in Ecuador

The race has officially begun!  The campaign to support the proposed new Constitution drafted by the Government was kicked off last Saturday.  The Government enlisted the support of about 100K Ecuadorians to launch its campaign for the YES.  Rumor has it that some of the folks in attendance were promised not only a good time, but also some cash incentive to participate.  On the other hand, the NO supporters have also launched their efforts through media campaign designed to highlight the risks of a YES and pinpoint why they feel that their country will be better off with the NO.

Some say that the YES is losing ground, but the road is still ahead and anything can happen between now and September 28th.  This brings about questions about what will be the future of mining if the referendum gets a green light vs if it gets banned?  The Government has announced that the new mining law will be approved shortly after the September 28th election. No matter what, this is a frenzied time for investors in Ecuador and I’m sure time cannot fly fast enough for them to find out what’s really going to happen. How will their investments fair to this crisis and what will happen to the thousands of workers they laid-off last May when the Mining Mandate took effect.

Ecuador’s mining future

The new mining law of Ecuador will significantly change the rules of the game for extractive companies.   According to article 410 of the proposed constitution, if approved, Ecuador’s new constitution will cause mining companies to share a minimum 65 percent of its profit with the state:
“The State’s participation in the profits arising from the utilization of these (non-renewable) natural resources shall not be less than that of the company exploiting them.”

What would be interesting is to see how will this affect previous and future investments in that country.  How will that change the mining scenario for the existent investors who entered the scene under different rules, and how will that cause them to seek greener pastures elsewhere?

Full article

Miners make 100K vs. 42K in B.C.

Given the choice, who wouldn’t prefer to make 100k instead of 42K a year?  I’d say that anyone that’s not officially nuts would rather get paid more than less, right?  Well, in the British Columbia area, thanks to 20 ongoing mining  projects people get to make  a living earning more than double what the average person earns in a year.  I learned about this by reading a wonderful piece by Jack Caldwell.  To read it, click here.

 

Canadian Mining fattens government purse

 This is a great example of how socially and environmentally responsible mining can also be a huge contributor to its local economy.  Take a close look at the tax dollars brought in through the mining industry and also the jobs created.  That’s the kind of boost to the economy that we need to see here in the States and in L.A.  Tree huggers need to realize that real people need to feed their families and strengthen their home economy first.  See the article below. 

The minerals industry is a significant contributor to government, paying nearly $11 billion in taxes in 2006. This is the conclusion of a new study prepared by ENTRANS for the MINING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (MAC).

The Canadian mining industry consists of approximately 180 producing mines in Canada, with an important focus upon metals such as gold, copper and nickel and non-metals such as coal, potash, diamonds and oil sands. The industry also comprises 38 non-ferrous smelters and refineries producing refined aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc and other metals. The industry directly employs about 180,000 people.

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Job opportunities in AZ threatened by tree huggers

In the midst of an unemployment crisis, the story below demonstrates how sometimes people take their beliefs to the extreme.  In Tucson a community is divided between taking a chance for more jobs and fighting NIMBYs.

It was a case of two gatherings, same location, same subject — but with different views on what the ultimate impact a copper mine would have on the region.

Monday night, hundreds of opponents of the proposed 4,400-acre Rosemont copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains gathered for the third hearing in two months to make their case against the project.

They said the mine would use too much water, create too much truck traffic and disfigure too much beautiful land. (…) The crowd at the 500-seat auditorium, about two-thirds full, was heavily tilted against the mine. (…) But two days earlier, hundreds of laid-off workers and others looking for better jobs gathered in another meeting room at the same school to make the case for why they deserve to be hired by Rosemont and other mining companies.

Full story

Light at the end of the tunnel in Ecuador

These are the key points of the Mining Mandate

· “Revocation of exploration and mining concessions where investment has not been made as of December 31, 2007; environmental impact studies are not current; royalties and taxes are unpaid; mining concessions are within protected natural areas, forests and protective buffer zones; of those affecting source of water. All revocations are without any financial compensation.”

 

· Revocation of mining concessions where greater than three have been granted to a single entity or affiliated parties.

 

· Immediately suspend all metallic mining activities on concessions that remain until the adoption of a new legal framework to regulate the activity. Single concession metallic operations are excluded from the moratorium.

 

· “Small-scale, artisanal and subsistence mining activities are not suspended as long as they are not within protected natural areas, forests and protective buffer zones, or those affecting sources of water.”

 

· Commits to complete the new Mining Law within 180 days of the enactment of the proposal or by October 15, 2008.

 

· Creates a national mining company under the auspices of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

 

Full article

Workers’ strike in Peru affects copper production

LIMA, June 18 (Reuters) – A labor strike is severely cutting output at Southern Copper’s (SPC.LM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (PCU.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Cuajone mine in Peru, a company officer said on Wednesday, as the union said it would extend the walkout to demand better benefits.

 

The strike started on Tuesday at the mine of Southern Copper, Peru’s biggest copper producer. Cuajone, located in Moquegua province, churned out 148,936 tonnes of the red metal last year. It came as there was another strike going on at a Peruvian mine of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

 

“We have some minimal labor help, but this (strike) is greatly affecting production,” Alberto Giles, the company’s chief of human resources, told Reuters.

 

He said the company has asked the government of Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer, to declare the strike illegal and prod workers to return to work.

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Copper prices go up, while unemployment worsens

(Updates with closing prices)

By Anna Stablum and Humeyra Pamuk

 LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) – Industrial metals rose on Friday, with copper prices jumping more than 3 percent to the highest in a week and aluminium up around 2 percent as the dollar lost ground after U.S. jobs data.

Copper for three-months delivery MCU3 on the London Metal Exchange rallied to $8,075 per tonne, its highest level since May 29 and settled at $8,000, up $190 or 2.4 percent from Thursday’s close.

U.S. employers shed jobs for a fifth straight month in May and the unemployment rate jumped to its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, a Labor Department report showed. [ID:nN05349665]

Analysts say the data itself may not necessarily be good for base metals as it might mean further weakness for the U.S. economy and softer demand for industrial metals.

However, the dollar decline pushed metals prices higher. “The sharply lower dollar has helped metals,” said analyst Mich

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