Editorial: Top stories of 2019

The mining industry had its share of tragedy this year starting in January with the murder of Canadian geologist Kirk Woodman in Burkina Faso and Vale’s tailings dam disaster in Brazil. The bad news continued into the second half of the year with the attack near Semafo’s Boungou mine in Burkina Faso that killed 39 employees and contractors. The year had bright spots, too, however, with a torrent of M&A deals that injected energy into the sector. Here is our choice of the most important stories of 2019:

Vale’s tailings dam failure: Dam 1 of Vale’s Feijao iron ore mine in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state collapsed on Jan. 25, killing 270 people (257 bodies were identified and 13 are still missing). About 11.7 million cubic metres of mining waste buried several Vale buildings — including a cafeteria where employees were eating lunch — and then inundated part of the small southeastern city of Brumadinho. The 86-metre-high dam was built in 1976 using the “upstream method.”

The collapsed Dam 1 at Vale’s Feijao iron ore mine in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Credit: Tweet by John O’Leary @OLjohnel.

Kirk Woodman: Kirk Woodman, vice-president of exploration for Vancouver-based private gold explorer Progress Minerals, was found dead on Jan. 16 after being abducted a day earlier. He was kidnapped near the village of Tiabongou in Burkina Faso and his body was found in Gorom-Gorom, within the Sahel Reserve in the country’s northeasternmost area near the borders with Mali and Niger.

Ambush near Semafo’s Boungou mine: An attack on a convoy of five buses carrying workers to Semafo’s Boungou mine in southeastern Burkina Faso killed 39 people and injured 60. Of those killed, 19 were employees of Australian mining services provider Perenti Global and two worked for Geodrill. The convoy, escorted by military personnel, came under fire on a public road about 40 km from the mine site.

The power plant at Semafo’s Boungou mine in southeastern Burkina Faso. Credit: Semafo.

Barrick and Newmont form Nevada JV: Barrick Gold abandoned its hostile takeover bid for Newmont Mining in March and the two miners formed a joint venture on their Nevada assets called Nevada Gold Mines. Barrick is operator and owns 61.5% of the joint venture and Newmont (now Newmont Goldcorp) owns the other 38.5%. The joint venture includes Barrick’s Goldstrike, Cortez, Turquoise Ridge and Goldrush, and Newmont’s Carlin, Twin Creeks, Phoenix and Long Canyon projects. The joint venture is expected to capture US$500 million in average annual pre-tax synergies in the first five years.

A worker pours gold at Barrick Gold’s refinery at the Goldstrike gold mine in Nevada. Credit: Barrick Gold

M&A mania: A dizzying array of deals swept the sector. The highlights, in chronological order: Newmont acquires Goldcorp; Newcrest buys 70% of Imperial Metals’ Red Chris mine; Lundin Mining acquires Yamana’s Chapada mine; St Barbara acquires Atlantic Gold; Pala Investments buys Cobalt 27; Kinross buys N-Mining’s Chulbatkan; Osisko Gold Royalties acquires Barkerville Gold Mines; Impala Platinum bids for North American Palladium; Zijin Mining buys Continental Gold; Newmont Goldcorp sells Red Lake to Evolution Mining; Kirkland Lake Gold bids for Detour Gold; Endeavour Mining bids for Centamin; Teranga acquires Barrick’s Massawa; Cleveland-Cliffs takes AK Steel; Northern Star Resources buys Newmont Goldcorp’s half of the Kalgoorlie Super Pit; and Equinox Gold to merge with Leagold Mining.

U.S.–China trade war: U.S. President Donald Trump picks a fight with China’s Xi Jinping and threatens billions of dollars of tariffs on Chinese goods — unsettling markets and confounding businesses. The saga proved positive for gold, sending prices for the safe haven asset to US$1,550 per oz. in August — a six-year high.

Chile protests: Chilean President Sebastian Pinera declared a state of emergency, imposed a curfew and sent troops into Santiago after protests against a US4¢ rise in peak hour fares on the metro in early October snowballed into broader anger over everything from low pensions and rising living costs to the poor state of public hospitals and schools. At last count, 26 people were killed, 13,500 injured and scores blinded by rubber bullets and tear gas canisters. Chile will hold a referendum on a new constitution in April 2020.

Protesters march in Plaza Baquedano in Chile’s capital Santiago in October 2019.
Credit: Hugo Morales/WikiMedia Commons.

Argentina court upholds glacier protection law: In a landmark ruling in June, Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld the country’s 2012 glacier protection law.

Lundin Gold ships gold from Fruta del Norte: Lundin Gold exported the first gold concentrate and doré bars from its Fruta del Norte mine in southeastern Ecuador. The inaugural shipment of 180 tonnes of concentrate was sent to Boliden’s smelting facility in Finland and the first doré bars were shipped to a Swiss refinery. Commercial production is expected in the second quarter of 2020.

Stornoway’s creditors keep Renard diamond mine on life support: Stornoway Diamond and its creditors reached a deal that will see the Renard diamond mine in Quebec operate during corporate restructuring, after the company’s failure to generate positive free cash flow in 2019. Renard is the first diamond mine in Quebec and one of only six in Canada.

Underground at Stornoway Diamond’s Renard mine in Quebec. Credit: Stornoway Diamond.

Notable mentions: Five coal companies filed for bankruptcy; Indonesia advances nickel export ban; Glencore mothballs Mutanda cobalt-copper mine in the DRC; clashes after disputed presidential elections in Bolivia leave more than 20 people dead, and Evo Morales resigns; Banro calls for force majeure in the DRC; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removes proposed restrictions on mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay; and Nemaska Lithium files for creditor protection.