At the SME we heard lot about China and mining.  Here is a report we did not hear about from  Metal Minings News,  an interesting blog.  This proposal surely sets a new baseline for mining?

China’s biggest aluminum company, Chinalco, plans to buy up all the houses in a Peruvian mountain town and relocate 5,000 people to make space for its giant Toromocho copper project in the Andes Mountains, officials said.

Chinalco, or Aluminium Corp of China Ltd is promising to build a new house for each family it relocates and install water and sewage systems in the new town. The existing town of Morococha, situated near old mines, lacks clean water and is polluted, officials said.

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Back in Vancouver after Salt Lake City and the SME meeting, and to a lunch of the Vancouver branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)–a presentation on Hard Creek Nickel and why their share price has plummeted in the past twelve months.   And back to the strangeness of the news and the pronouncements of politicians on issues that may affect mining.  The news item that most alarmed me opens thus:

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday the United States should not reopen talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement as the two U.S. Democratic presidential hopefuls have proposed.  Harper warned that renewed talks would give Canada the chance to renegotiate the pact so that it is more favorable to his country.  “If any American government chose to make the mistake of reopening that we would have some things we would want to talk about as well,” Harper said.  Trade minister David Emerson said Wednesday it would be unwise for the U.S. to renegotiate NAFTA because the US has a good deal when it comes to access to Canada’s oil.

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