Shutdowns at Biggest Mines Extend Copper’s Best Rally in 5 Years
Shutdowns at Biggest Mines Extend Copper’s Best Rally in 5 Years
Copper is extending the best start to a year since 2012 after the world’s two biggest mines halted some operations.
The metal has rallied 11 percent this year, helped ongoing problems at Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s Grasberg complex in Indonesia and BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Escondida mine in Chile. Futures for March delivery climbed 0.5 percent to $2.783 a pound at 1:18 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after earlier touching $2.823, the highest since May 2015.
“Copper’s been leading the way, but everything’s moved higher in a broad allocation back into metals,” Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA, said by phone from London. “We’ve had supply-side concerns which have boosted the market no end.”
Freeport-McMoRan suspended copper concentrate output at its giant Grasberg complex in Indonesia as the company continues to negotiate with the government over the terms of its mining permit.
Local unit PT Freeport Indonesia halted output at its copper mill Friday, Tri Puspital, a member of the industrial relations department at Grasberg’s labor union, said by phone Monday. The shutdown came after Freeport ran out of space to store copper that has been backing up at the site since last month, when its permit to export expired.
Read more about Freeport’s copper concentrate suspension at Grasberg.
An indefinite strike at BHP Billiton’s Escondida mine in Chile has also led the company to stop production and declare force majeure on its shipments. Over the weekend, a group of more than 300 people entered the mine site during the strike and forced some contractors to abandon the compound, BHP said.
“After the force majeure at Escondida on Friday, the market took off like a rocket,” Bhar said.
A 20-day stoppage at Escondida and a one-month delay to exports at Grasberg would result in an output loss of almost 100,000 tons, including 64,000 tons from the Chilean mine, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said a note dated Feb. 8.
Macquarie Group Ltd. expects the BHP strike to last up to three weeks, London-based analyst Vivienne Lloyd said by e-mail. The dispute at Grasberg could be tougher to resolve, she said.
Copper rallied 5.5 percent last week in London and ranks third this year among the best-performing contracts tracked by the Bloomberg Commodity Index. Gains this year also come amid President Donald Trump’s promise to spend $1 trillion in infrastructure over the next 10 years.
“Definitely if copper output is at all sidelined with the talk about all this new spending in the U.S. and building we’re going to see an extension upwards, it could get pretty ugly,” Phil Streible, a senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago, said in a telephone interview.
Mining stocks also advanced on Monday, with Teck Resources Ltd. gaining more than 3 percent
Money managers who cut their record bullish bet in copper last week missed out on the rally. Hedge funds and other large speculators lowered the net-long position in copper futures and options contracts by 15 percent, the most since October, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released Friday.
- Published in Blog, Deep South Resources Inc., Mining
Tetra Bio-Pharma (TBP:CSE) Moves Closer to Clinical Trials
Tetra Bio-Pharma Moves Closer to Clinical Trials
By: Ryan Allway – February 14th, 2017
View Original: CFN Media Group
Medical marijuana may be legal for roughly 60{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of the U.S. population, but the cost of the drug remains prohibitive for many patients in need. Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (CSE: TBP) (OTC: GRPOF) aims to undergo FDA-sanctioned clinical trials for dried medical marijuana to secure prescription drug coverage from insurance companies. If successful, the company could potentially reach a large patient population with a unique option.
CFN Media recently spoke with Chief Science Officer Dr. Guy Chamberland about the company’s progress:
Click Here for Video Interview
In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the company’s recent milestones and why investors may want to consider the stock for their portfolios.
FDA Clears Way for Phase I Trials
Tetra Bio-Pharma held a pre-Investigational New Drug (“IND”) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in late January to advance its PPP001 clinical trial. During the meeting, the FDA provided all the necessary guidance on the design of a Phase I clinical trial on healthy volunteers and its overall development program. The meeting further demonstrates the agency’s willingness to continue the clinical trial to develop a dried marijuana prescription drug.
“We could not be more pleased, as the FDA guidance gave us a clear path to progress from early to late phase clinical development,” said Dr. Chamberland, M.Sc., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Regulatory Affairs. “Adhering to the U.S. FDA regulations is part of Tetra Bio-Pharma’s dedication to the commercialization of cannabis as a prescription controlled drug and the corporation’s plan to seek reimbursement by insurers for patients.”
PPP001 is a dried cannabis product with 9.5{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) and 2{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} cannabidiol (“CBD”) that is being developed as a prescription drug that will meet the FDA’s high bar for quality and manufacturing. The company’s goal is to be the first to achieve reimbursement from insurance companies for the cost of the prescription, which could prove to be a game-changer for would-be medical marijuana patients that cannot afford the drug.
Enhancing the Odds of Success
Tetra Bio-Pharma recently partnered with Sante Cannabis in Montreal to assist in developing its clinical trials. As a leading private medical marijuana clinic, the organization has years of experience in educating patients and ensuring the optimal benefits. The company aims to leverage this expertise to ensure that its clinical trials are properly designed to achieve desired outcomes while helping achieve the organization’s goal of lowering costs for patients.
“Our clinic has provided services to almost 2,000 patients referred by over 1,500 physicians across Québec,” said Erin Prosk, Director of Santé Cannabis. “It is clear that both the medical community and the Quebec patient population are in desperate need of information about the potential benefits and risks of medical cannabis treatments … Of the 2,000 patients that we have seen, there is not one who is not burdened by [the cost of medical marijuana].”
These efforts are supported by an exceptional Scientific Advisory Board comprised of experts in clinical research, pain management, cancer, and neurological product drug development. Recently, the company expanded the board to include Dr. Gilles Chamberland, MD,FRCPC (no relation to Dr. Guy Chamberland) who will provide critical guidance on PPP’s clinical development program with regards to the safety of cannabis drug products and the potential mental health risks associated with marijuana.
Looking Ahead
Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (CSE: TBP) (OTC: GRPOF) continues to advance towards clinical trials for its PPP001, which aims to become the first dried marijuana prescription drug. After a successful pre-IND meeting and new partnership with the Sante Cannabis clinic, the company has assembled the right conditions to properly execute a clinical trial, significantly lower the cost of medical marijuana for patients, and unlock significant value for shareholders.
For more information, visit the company’s website
- Published in Bio technology, Blog, Tetra Bio Pharma
Top 3 Most Attractive Investment Subsets Of The Cannabis Industry
Top 3 Most Attractive Investment Subsets Of The Cannabis Industry
The cannabis industry is expected to reach $50 billion in size by 2026, according to Cowen & Co., making it one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Not surprisingly, cannabis stocks have handily outperformed the market with the Marijuana Index more than doubling over the past year compared to just 24{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} for the S&P 500 index. Investors have taken a growing interest in the industry as legalization has spread across North America.
In this article, we will look at three subsets of the cannabis industry that investors may want to consider for the best risk-adjusted returns.
Licensed Producers
Canada has legalized both medical and recreational cannabis on a federal level. Under the so-called AMCPR, licensed producers have the unique right to legally grow and process dried medical marijuana, cannabis oils, edibles, and other derivatives. These products are sold to registered patients and customers through a mail order process, which makes these companies the most pure-play opportunities for investors in the cannabis industry.
The largest licensed producer is Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: CGC) (OTC: TWMJF), but emerging producers like Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: EMH) (OTC: TBQBF) are well-positioned to capture a piece of the market. The latter recently signed a letter of intent to lease up to 32 acres of land in Metro Vancouver, BC, while completing a 100,000 square foot expansion in two phases that will increase its capacity to about 10,000 kilograms per year.
Finally, aspiring licensed producers like Maple Leaf Green World Inc. (CSE: ML) (OTC: MPEFF) and Invictus MD Strategies Inc. (OTC: IVITF) represent opportunities for investors to gain exposure to Canada’s cannabis industry at lower valuations. Maple Leaf also provides investors with exposure to California’s medical marijuana market, while Invictus MD Strategies owns several related businesses that provide diverse exposure to the industry.
Pharma- & Nutraceuticals
Pharmaceutical companies are notorious for generating hefty profits with high barriers to entry for direct competition. The federal government may consider cannabis a Schedule I Controlled Substance with ‘no currently accepted medical use’, but a growing body of research suggests that components of the plant could be helpful in treating everything from childhood epilepsy to pain and nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.
GW Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ: GWPH) may be the most popular name in the cannabis-related pharmaceuticals space, but GB Sciences Inc. (OTC: GBLX), InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: IN) (OTC: IMLFF), and Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (OTC: GRPOF) are among a handful of other companies with an established presence in the space. These companies are taking various unique approaches to unlock real value for investors.
Other companies are focused on over-the-counter versions of cannabinoid therapies. For example, Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTC: MJNA) provide pure over-the-counter cannabidiol (“CBD”) hemp oils to consumers around the world. The company’s 100{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} hemp-based, THC-free CBD oil products have enabled it to obtain regulatory approvals for importation into countries like Mexico and Brazil, along with the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
Functional Foods
Functional foods represent a third industry subset that may be attractive to investors given the increasing interest in energy shots, protein powders, and related products. Cannabis may seem incompatible with these types of products on the surface, but hemp has many attributes that make it an exceptional ingredient for functional foods. For example, the substance is high in protein, provides many antioxidants, and contains potentially-beneficial CBDs.
Lexaria Biosciences Inc. (OTC: LXRP) and NutraFuels Corp. (OTC: NTFU) have focused on increasing the bioavailability of CBDs in functional foods and supplements. Lexaria’s lipid encapsulation technology helps ensure that CBDs are fully digested, while NutraFuels’ oral sprays help CBDs immediately reach the bloodstream through the mouth. These companies are developing many CBD-based products through partnerships and licensing agreements.
Laguna Blends Inc. (OTC: LAGBF) is another company that’s working closely with Isodiol – a private company focused on manufacturing hemp-based CBD oils – to develop a line of CBD-based functional foods and beverages.
Looking Ahead
The cannabis industry has evolved over the past couple of years to include companies in many different sectors. Consulting firms and grow light providers may be the most obvious plays, but investors may want to consider licensed producers, pharmaceutical companies, and functional food makers as alternatives in the space. These companies could offer investors unique opportunities to capitalize on a market projected to be worth $50 billion by 2026.
By Kelly Weimar
- Published in Blog, Medical Marijuana, News Home, Tetra Bio Pharma
How smart cities are building the future
How smart cities are building the future
Smart cities are coming.
Municipal governments around the globe are employing big data and Internet-of-Things applications to improve many aspects of daily life. Major tech companies like IBM, Cisco and Microsoft are in on the trend, and are battling for a slice of the $15 billion that’s projected to be spent on software by 2021, according to Juniper Research.
Urban residents accounted for 54 percent of the total global population in 2014, according to the World Health Organization, and that figure was projected to grow nearly 2 percent each year until 2020.
That growth means that cities are facing increasing challenges, including congested transport and the need to supply sufficient energy to meet demands of growing populations.
Juniper Research noted a city’s ability to provide renewable energy, alongside its means to efficiently manage energy storage will be increasingly important.
“Right now North America and China are leading the way, although Trump is likely to dampen what is already slowing U.S. investment,” Steffen Sorrell, principal analyst at Juniper Research said.
President Donald Trump has supported fossil fuel production and repeatedly denied climate change.
“Who would have thought 10 to 15 years ago, that the Far East and China would be leading the globe in smart energy efforts by 2020?” Sorrell said.
Still, many challenges remain for cities on their way to becoming “smart.” Major upfront costs for both infrastructure and software are propelling many governments to turn to public-private partnerships.
CNBC looks at three cities working on becoming “smart”:
Singapore
The city-state might be the “smart” gold-standard for its extensive effort to collect data on daily living. Its Smart Nation program was launched in 2014 and collects data on many facets of life.
Data is collected in a platform, Virtual Singapore, which helps the government understand how the city is functioning in real-time and potentially predict how crowds might react in an explosion or how infectious disease might spread.
Dubai
As part of the Smart Dubai initiative, the government has rolled out more than 50 smart services from 22 government entities. It allows people to access everything on one app, Dubai Now.
App users can do everything from pay a speeding ticket, pay an electric bill, renew vehicle registration and track the status of a visa.
Barcelona
The Spanish city is working to rethink its energy costs, with a goal of saving billions of dollars in the process, according to Juniper.
Using motion sensors, Barcelona has implemented smart lighting in its street lights which dims and brightens depending on activity by cars or pedestrians. The city offers systems that allow drivers to know exactly where free public parking spots are available at any given time.
- Published in Blog, Imex Systems, News Home, Technology
Stakeholder Alignment – A Predictor of Success in Green Technologies
Stakeholder Alignment – A Predictor of Success in Green Technologies
Pundits and prognosticators should take notice. The evidence points to an emerging reality that is leading the so-called green technology revolution. Futurists and visionaries may be looking for some incredible and revolutionary breakthrough, but a variety of compelling new technologies are already being commercialized.
Green energy technologies are those that either harness power from renewable, sustainable sources or aim to reduce adverse human impact on the environment. For new sources of energy to be widely implemented, investors, technologists, and policymakers must understand their potential impact and the path to market that will ensure their commercial viability. Many new technologies can be successful if they are deployed according to sound business principles.
While some allegedly green technologies are struggling to gain traction with businesses and consumers, others are quietly changing the world and addressing the need for responsible and functional solutions to complex environmental challenges.
So, where are these technologies, who is behind them and why are they quietly seizing momentum in the marketplace? The answers are remarkably simple. Like most advances over the course of history, they are conceptually simple, relatively inexpensive and only modestly disruptive.
The automobile is an example of change that occurred at the onset of the 20th century. It harnessed an older technology of propulsion but applied it in a different format. With the advent of mass production, overall costs per unit were reduced and the technology became widely affordable. Additionally, it did not usher in an entirely new mode of transport. It only eliminated the need for an animal to provide propulsion and made travel a modest amount more rapid and marginally more reliable.
As we head towards the conclusion of the first 20 years of the 21st century, the keen observer will be able to identify technologies that have moved from ideas to commercial reality and are quickly going mainstream. Several may be below the radar at the moment, but they won’t stay there for long.
Green technologies are not immune from the ordinary laws that govern business success. The idea that some “better mouse trap” will sell itself is as false as it is comedic. The business success comes from being well capitalized, having a superior value proposition and ensuring that business leadership is equipped and motivated to execute against objectives in a disciplined and systematic manner. If the product or service is ground breaking, wonderful. Who doesn’t love something that is groundbreaking? But does it deliver what I want?
This raises the important principle of stakeholder alignment. If a new technology can align the interests of several disparate interested parties in an industry sector, it has a particularly good chance for success. Stakeholder alignment creates unstoppable momentum for green technologies. In most instances, being more eco-friendly, while desirable, isn’t the primary motivator of change. However, when a number of constituencies all experience a simultaneous benefit that is both measurable and meaningful, change proceeds and the adoption of the new technology is perceived as essential rather than optional.
An example of stakeholder alignment is a fast-growing Hawaiian enterprise called Elevate Structure. It was launched in 2012 by a team of residential engineers in with a dream to develop profitable spaces for living by building eco-friendly structures. The portable spaces are elevated above ground and, therefore, utilize 6-20 times more usable space while minimizing the overall footprint on the ground. This uses less than desirable land, gives consumers the flexibility to expand or relocate their green homes and provides municipalities with new incremental tax revenues without adding infrastructure.
Another good example of stakeholder alignment is International Wastewater Systems of Vancouver, Canada, http://www.sewageheatrecovery.com. Employing a simple idea and proprietary technology, IWS has pioneered the concept of turning the energy contained in warm waste water into heat that is processed, reclaimed and reused. With an ingenious idea and a scalable solution, the company is poised for success internationally as its solutions are increasingly in demand. The success of the endeavour isn’t exclusively due to the green technology. It is because the technology has been able to address diverse needs among a broad group that includes energy providers, builders and building owners. The company’s solutions, green technology and ease of implementation presents and unassailable value proposition to anyone who wants to reduce the heating and cooling costs of buildings. The eco-story is largely secondary. The “green argument” involves saving large amounts of money!
Investors that are considering taking a position in new green technologies are advised to look beyond the excitement of a product or process. A company’s financial state is always a consideration. What have they sold and what projects are well underway? As important as these fundamentals are, it is also critical to examine the “alignment factor” of the product or service to properly evaluate the scope of its potential.
- Published in Blog, Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems
The 2017 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes: an update from the ADA
The 2017 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes: an update from the ADA
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has released the 2017 update to its Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (Standards).1 The document is reviewed each year by a multidisciplinary committee of experts in diabetes care, which examines relevant research that informs the revisions.
“The most recent update to the ADA Standards of Medical Care addresses many new and important issues regarding the management of patients with diabetes,” said Kevin M. Pantalone, DO, staff endocrinologist and director of clinical research at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The 2017 Standards contain the usual guidelines pertaining to type 2 diabetes prevention and the diagnosis and treatment of type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Additionally, Dr Pantalone identified several of the most notable updates.
One recommendation suggests considering metabolic surgery for patients with obesity and uncontrolled type 2 diabetes who have a body mass index (BMI) as low as 30 kg/m2 (27.5 kg/m2for Asian Americans). This update is based on a growing body of research showing that metabolic surgery — previously referred to as bariatric surgery — leads to improved glycemic control and reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in this patient population compared with other medical and lifestyle interventions.2 The committee also noted that the safety of metabolic surgery has significantly improved in the past 2 decades: Related mortality rates are 0.1{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} to 0.5{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce}, which are similar to the rates associated with hysterectomy or cholecystectomy.2
Another update recommends considering 2 specific glucose-lowering therapies (glucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1] receptor agonists or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 [SGLT2] inhibitors) for high-risk patients with CVD who have type 2 diabetes, which is in line with the findings of recently published clinical trials, including the EMPA-REG OUTCOME (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01131676) and LEADER (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01179048) trials.
The EMPA-REG OUTCOME study examined the effects of the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin vs placebo and usual care in high-risk patients with CVD who have diabetes.3 The findings show that the drug led to a 14{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} reduction in the composite outcome of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, and a 38{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} reduction in CV death over a median follow-up period of 3.1 years.3 As a result, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added a new indication for empagliflozin to reduce CV mortality risk in adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease.4 In a similar manner, results from the LEADER trial showed that the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide resulted in fewer MI, stroke, or CV deaths compared with placebo (13{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} vs 14.9{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce}) over a median follow-up period of 3.8 years.5
The committee also sought to further define hypoglycemia. The update indicates that a level of lower than 54 mg/dL (3.0 mmol/L) should be considered serious, clinically important hypoglycemia, even in the absence of symptoms. It is recommended that values below this level be reported in clinical trials and practice. Previous recommendations defined hypoglycemia in hospitalized patients as blood glucose levels <70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) and severe hypoglycemia as levels <40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L). Severe hypoglycemia is now defined as “that associated with severe cognitive impairment regardless of blood glucose level,” and a level ≤70 mg/dL “is considered an alert value and may be used as a threshold for further titration of insulin regimens,” according to the Standards.
“Also, and perhaps most important, is the Standards’ acknowledgment and addressing of the socioeconomic aspects of diabetes management: medication cost and self-management support,” Dr Pantalone added. “These areas had been inadequately addressed by earlier versions of the guideline.”
The new version includes 2 detailed tables that provide the estimated monthly cost of various glucose-lowering medications, and the section on reducing disparities in diabetes care states that community health workers, peers, and lay leaders can facilitate the delivery of diabetes self-management education (DSME) and support services. “Strong social support leads to improved clinical outcomes, a reduction in psychosocial issues, and adoption of healthier lifestyles,” the committee noted.
Other notable additions include recommendations pertaining to screening and mental health referrals for patients with depression, anxiety, diabetes distress, eating disorders, and other psychological issues; greater emphasis on assessing comorbidities in patients with diabetes, and an expanded list of such comorbidities, including mental disorders as well as autoimmune disease and HIV; a new physical activity recommendation to break up sedentary behavior every 30 minutes to reduce associated behaviors illuminated by recent research; and increased options for both glucose management and hypertension treatment.
“The ADA has done a fantastic job of remaining on top of the new advances in diabetes management, incorporating new findings and recommendations into the guidelines in a timely manner, but doing so only after a thorough and vigorous review of the recently published medical literature,” said Dr Pantalone.
References
- American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes–2017. Diabetes Care. 2017;40(Suppl. 1):S6-S10.
- Rubino F, Nathan DM, Eckel RH, et al. Metabolic surgery in the treatment algorithm for type 2 diabetes: a joint statement by international diabetes organizations. Diabetes Care. 2016;39(6):861-77.
- Zinman B, Wanner C, Lachin JM, et al; EMPA-REG OUTCOME Investigators. Empagliflozin, cardiovascular outcomes, and mortality in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2015; 373:2117-2128.
- FDA approves Jardiance to reduce cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes [news release]. Silver Spring, MD: FDA; December 2, 2016. www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm531517.htm. Accessed January 18, 2017.
- Marso SP, Daniels GH, Brown-Frandsen K, et al.; LEADER Steering Committee; LEADER Trial Investigators. Liraglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2016;375:311-322.
- Published in Bio technology, Blog, Life Sciences, Sirona Biochem
Canadian Diamond Exploration Companies Have Reason for Optimism
Canadian Diamond Exploration Companies Have Reason for Optimism
Diamonds are associated with fine jewelry, but they are also the hardest natural minerals on earth. This property makes them highly prized for industrial cutting and polishing functions. Approximately 26,000 kilograms of them are mined worldwide annually. Whether they are found in Africa, Australia or in Canada, all of the world’s diamonds were born in exactly the same fashion.
How Diamonds were Formed
The circumstances leading up to the birth of the stones we call diamonds started about 3.2 billion years ago. At that time continents were forming on the Earth’s surface. Hundreds of kilometers below the surface, however, conditions were quite different. At pressures 50,000 times higher than the surface atmospheric conditions and temperatures reaching up to 1,300°C, new crystals with a lattice structure began to take shape.
The diamonds were formed in molten rock found between 125-200 kilometres below the surface. Some of the rarer stones originated at levels up to 400 kilometers down. When volcanic eruptions pushed magma up through the earth’s mantle toward the surface, the process was too rapid for the diamond’s crystal structure to degrade into graphite. As the volcanoes cooled over time, the diamonds remained locked inside immense cones of kimberlite (solid magma).
Diamond Exploration and Drilling
Kimberlites are relatively small (they generally have a surface area of less than 12 hectares), making them challenging to find. Their molten rock picks up other minerals along with diamonds. These kimberlitic indicator minerals rise to the surface and provide clues to the presence of diamonds.
Once kimberlite is located, tons of rock is collected from the top of the pipe and processed. Extracting this material to look for diamonds from the ground is not an easy process, since kimberlite tends to wear down more quickly than most of the rock surrounding it. As a result this creates depressions over the kimberlite pipes. The pipes fill up with water and glacial debris, which makes it difficult to get to the kimberlite.
If kimberlite is located, however, further diamond drilling and analysis must be conducted to learn about the extent of the deposit and its diamond content.
Diamond Mining in Canada
Canada is the fourth-largest diamond producer in the world. The country has active mines in the Northwest Territories and in Northern Ontario.
- The Diavik Mine is located about 190 miles north of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Rio Tinto owns a 60 percent interest in, and operates the mine, which produces between six and seven million carats of large, “Gem-quality” diamonds annually. Harry Winston Diamond Mines owns the other 40 percent of the operation.
- The Ekati Mine has the distinction of being Canada’s first surface and underground mine. It is located in the Northwest Territories’ Lac de Gras region, about 300 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife. The mine has a reputation for producing high-quality gem diamonds. Its total cumulative production to January 2016 was approximately 63 million carats.
- The Victor Mine is located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, approximately 90 kilometers from the community of Attawapiskat First Nation. This open pit mine is Ontario’s first diamond mine and produces 600,000 carats annually.
- Gahcho Kué is situated 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and is Canada’s newest mine. One of the 10 largest mines in the world, it is expected to produce 4.5 million carats annually.
Canadian Diamond Exploration and Development
Currently, Canadian exploration companies are actively pursuing several projects. In January 2017, Kennady Diamonds announced diamond recovery results of 2.18 carats per tonne of kimberlite from its Kennady North Project in the Northwest Territories. The property is situated immediately adjacent to the Gahcho Kué mine.
DeBeers Canada announced that it will continue its search for diamonds in northern Saskatchewan in the fall of 2016. The company is involved in exploring a site north of the decommissioned Cluff Lake uranium mine. It optioned the site in May 2016 and can invest up to $20.4 million in four stages over a seven-year period. If the company completes all of the stages, it could earn a 90 percent stake in the property. The next step is to drill for targets on the 43,000-acre Northwest Athabasca Project site. The drill team is expected to work through the fall and winter months collecting samples.
Buddy Doyle (VP Exploration, Director at Arctic Star Exploration (ADD:tsxv) has 25 years experience in mineral exploration. He worked for Rio Tinto PLC for over 23 years, most recently he was Exploration Manager/Vice President of Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc. (owned by Rio Tinto), in charge of diamond exploration in North America. He was a key member of the Kennecott Exploration Australia team that discovered the multi-million ounce Minifie gold deposits at Lihir in 1987-1988 and led the team which discovered the Diavik diamond deposits in 1994-1995. Few geologists have seen 2 projects from discovery through to decision to mine. Arctic Star’s Diagras Property might prove to be his next world class discovery.
From Arctic Star’s website, “The Diagras Property consists of 23 contiguous claims staked by Arctic Star, with an area of 18,699 hectares. The property is in joint venture with Margaret Lake Diamonds whereby Margaret Lake has earned a 60{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} interest. The property is located in the north-eastern part of the prolific Lac de Gras kimberlite field, 22km NNE of the Diavik diamond mine and 36km east of the Ekati diamond mine in NWT Canada. The Company has verified through research and compilation that the property hosts over a dozen kimberlites, most of them diamondiferous. Arctic Star’s research and compilation of historical data in the public domain confirms that Diagras is a property of merit that deserves additional exploration.” For more information, click here
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Blog, Mining
How Much Will a Bad Hire Cost your Company?
How Much Will a Bad Hire Cost your Company?
Hiring employees is an important part of expanding your business. When you hire the right person for a position in your company, it helps your company thrive and grow. If you make the wrong choice and make a bad hire, it spells bad news for your company that can end up being a very expensive decision.
The hiring process itself takes up time and resources for your company. You may need to advertise for the available position. Depending on the level of the position you wish to fill, you may decide to work with an agency or a professional recruiter to fill the position. Someone within your organization must take time to review resumes and application materials received from candidates.
If the position is left unfilled for a time, you may be dealing with lost productivity. The morale in your company may suffer until you can fill the available position, especially if your existing employees are being expected to shoulder a higher-than-usual workload until you can find a replacement.
Bad Hire Will Cost your Company Thousands
A lot is riding on finding the right person to fill a position with your company, and you need to get it right. According to the results of a survey released by CareerBuilder, a bad hire could cost your company $11,000.00 if you have 500 employees or less. As your company increases in size, the financial hit of a bad hire also increases; for a company of more than 500 employees, it could cost you approximately $22,000.00. For a business employing more than 1,000 workers, the cost of a bad hire reaches about $24,000.00.
What Makes an Employee a Bad Hire
The CareerBuilder survey also asked employers to report on what they thought made a new employee a “bad hire” for their company. The respondents identified a number of issues that stood out for them:
- Employees who didn’t produce acceptable quality of work 58 percent
- Employees who demonstrated a “negative” attitude 52 percent
- Employees who didn’t work well with their new coworkers 51 percent
- Employees skills didn’t match what they claimed they
- could do on their resumes 49 percent
- New employee had attendance issues immediately on
- being hired 45 percent
- Customers complained about the new employee 38 percent
The survey results also revealed that 20 percent of employers knew very quickly (within the first week) after hiring a new employee) whether or not they had made a good decision. More than half of the employers knew within three weeks whether a new hire was going to be an asset to their organization.
Thorough Hiring Process Lowers Risk of Making Bad Hiring Decisions
Making a hiring decision involves more than simply placing a person into a “spot” in your organization. The person who is selected to fill a position must also fit in well with your team. If you make a bad hire, you will need to start over and repeat the process again, spending several thousands of dollars in the process.
A candidate’s resume lists their education and experience. You owe it to yourself, your organization and your team members to use all of the tools at your disposal to ensure that whoever you bring into your existing team is going to not only be a good fit, but will also be an asset. This involves digging deeper when evaluating candidates and performing further testing.
Psychometric Testing for Job Candidates a Tool to Make Better Hiring Decisions
Psychometric testing is a way for employers to learn more about candidates who are interested in open positions. Atman’s Psychometric Test measures traits that don’t appear on a resume and can’t be calibrated in an interview. This test can show you how candidates stack up in important areas, such as motivation, sociability, leadership, dealing with stress, and more.
The results of the testing can’t make the decision for you about which candidate to hire. They are meant to provide you with more information about the candidates so that you can make an informed decision.
As an employer, you know that an employee who demonstrates a positive attitude and who is coachable can be trained in procedures. The results of the psychometric tests can help you to feel more comfortable that you have made the right choice when you extend an offer of employment to a candidate. There’s a lot riding on that decision, and you want to make sure that you get it right, for your company and your team.
From Grey Water to Green Energy
From Grey Water to Green Energy
On average, 10,000 people in the developed world will generate 1,000,000 gallons of warm waste water per day. That is a lot of warm water. It is typically sent to water treatment plants or discharged into lakes, rivers and oceans. Does this seem reasonable? Or does it sound like an opportunity for improvement?
International Wastewater Systems Ltd. (CNSX:IWS) CEO Lynn Mueller likes to suggest jokingly that people are hesitant to shake his hand when they learn that he is in the sewage business. Nonetheless, when they discover that he can help them save money by recovering energy from waste water that is headed down the drain and transform it into green energy they often change their minds and shake hands with enthusiasm.
The underlying principle is so simple that anyone can grasp it. It takes a lot less energy to heat warm water than it does to heat cold water. When waste water from sinks, showers, toilets or laundry leaves a building, it is usually slightly below the ambient room temperature. In a large production plant, the temperature of the water can be even higher. Ultimately, if the energy from effluent can be captured and reused, then the cost of supplying energy to homes, hospitals, sports complexes, university campuses or large scale plants can be significantly reduced.
A great deal of the green energy movement has focused on reducing consumption. This a noble endeavour that will likely continue. Reduced usage and more efficient usage of energy are always desirable, but conservation alone isn’t a complete answer because, as an economy grows, there will continue to be a need for additional quantities of energy.
That’s why most of the emphasis in the search for a different approach to energy has been directed towards finding clean, alternate sources of energy generation. Up to this point in time, the search for better and greener energy sources has been fraught with problems. Either the cost was prohibitive or the technology suboptimal. In some cases, alternative energy generation like windmills and solar power generation have encountered ancillary environmental issues. Sure, they may not pollute in the classic sense, but not many people want large wind-farms or thousands of solar panels in their backyards.
Mr. Mueller, the founder of IWS, took an entirely different approach to the problem. In essence, assessed the typical assumptions related to the costs and benefits of “greener” energy by framing the challenge in a different way and applying an atypical thought process. Rather than trying to find a unique solution at the input phase, why not consider how to make use of existing heat that might be available, but was being overlooked? An evaluation of the entire cycle of energy usage led directly to considering energy recapture alternatives for the warm water in most sewage discharge. Conventional wisdom was that it would be too costly and too messy to process effluent in an efficient way.
Lynn Mueller’s ingenious solution was to use existing technology, coupled with a proprietary filtration process, to separate waste from grey water and extract the heat from it so that the energy could be recycled. The company, International Wastewater Systems http://www.sewageheatrecovery.com, has successfully developed, commercialized and installed the technology. The products called “Sharc” and “Piranha” are being recognized all over the world.
The company has become a success rather rapidly. Mr. Mueller commented; “We quickly went from being a local, small company to a worldwide operation. We’ve seen markets around the world demanding the product”. Mueller has also disclosed that the firm has over $80 million worth of projects in the works.
Recently, the company was recognized with the AHR Expo 2016 award for innovation. Even CNN deemed the company newsworthy and published coverage of IWS on the network’s financial channel at CNNMoney.com on May 24.
The technology has been proven to be cost-effective and easy to install and maintain. The upfront investment varies depending on the size of the installation. Frequently, grants are available in local jurisdictions to cover capital costs. For example, the $1.1 million system installed at Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority in New Jersey benefited from a clean energy grant that covered more than 90{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of the cost.
More importantly, the return on investment is easy to calculate. Andy Kricun, the executive director of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, said they’ll recoup their investment in two years. The IWS Sharc technology has a lifespan of approximately 40 years, which means the savings to this utility could ultimately be as much as $2 million.
- Published in Blog, Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems
Is Big Ganja The Next Big Pharma?
Is Big Ganja The Next Big Pharma?
2016 brought the demise of Bowie, the rise of the alt-right and the surprise election of a Cheeto as President of the United States.
The 420 front was one of few sectors growing by leaps and bounds. Last year may have been the biggest ever for marijuana reform, with three additional states giving the nod to medical pot and four to recreational use.
Cannabis research firm The ArcView Group predicts a staggering $22 billion in legal marijuana sales by 2020. Unwilling to let grass grow under their feet, tech giants are prepared to spend big for a place in the race to become the Google of cannabis.
Marijuana and tech conspired in a big way in 2016. Microsoft and Oracle Corporation backed seed-to-sale software helping medical cannabis companies transact in compliance with regulations.
However, the year’s fresh crop of cannabis hardware is the real talking point; 2016 introduced marijuana tech products of a novel strain. These innovations expertly blur boundaries between medical technology and consumer goods. One such gadget is LEAF, an automated home growing system managed via smartphone app.
“I’ve been using [medical cannabis] since I got out of the [Israeli] military in 2010,” says LEAF CEO Yoni Ofir. His Colorado-based company offers plug ‘n plant technology that automates every conceivable factor in the growing process, such as nutrition, temperature and humidity regulation. “You can use data and sensors to make everything accurate and increase the chance of a great crop,” says Ofir.
With LEAF on their side, medical marijuana patients and recreational users alike can grow their own cannabis with minimal physical input. “It’s basically a medical-grade lab,” says Ofir. Besides helping stoners get the best from their bud, LEAF could be a lifeline for patients with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Conserving time, money and effort makes it much simpler to maintain treatment plans.
From an aesthetic perspective, LEAF’s sleek device would look perfectly at home in an Apple store. “Design leads everything that we do at our company,” says Ofir. “It should be important for any upcoming marijuana tech company.”
The past year’s other marijuana tech innovations mirror LEAF’s preoccupation with both automation and aesthetics. Tel Aviv-based Syqe (pronounced ‘Psyche’) Medical’s pocket-sized cannabis inhaler delivers precision dosing through preloaded cartridges. The device’s current incarnation features chic white casing reminiscent of a Fujifilm Instax camera.
Photo courtesy of Syqe Medical
LEAF’s hefty price tag makes it near inaccessible to those who could benefit most from automated growing. The LEAF system itself will set consumers back a cool $2,990. Filters and nutrient packs required for a single grow cost $39 a pop. Once launched in the U.S., Syqe’s inhaler could also come at a similarly high buying cost with comparable long-term maintenance expenses.
Even though it’s usually cheaper than recreational pot, medical marijuana still isn’t cheap, and can cost around $40 for an eighth of an ounce, according to a user generated data bank called PriceOfWeed.com that’s on the low end of the spectrum. Investing in LEAF would certainly cut costs in the long run, it’s simply a case of spending money now to save money in the future. Investment buys are out of reach for many patients prescribed medicinal Mary Jane, whether we’re talking about a medical device or a Rolex.
If cannabis tech becomes user experience-focused at the expense of accessibility, essential innovations could be limited to the recreational market. Marijuana tech companies are ultimately profit-driven businesses, but there’s plenty that can be done on both company practice and federal policy levels.
“With technology, the more units being sold, the cheaper the price,” says Ofir. “Medical users have a lot to gain, because it just happens to be the same plant that the recreational users want.” However, companies have more socially responsible options available than developing a device and letting the free market decide its accessibility.
Price breaks from marijuana tech companies could offer a practical solution to increased accessibility. Several New Jersey dispensaries offer discounts to low-income patients, military veterans, senior citizens and minors. If cannabis companies applied this approach to their retail policy, medical users could have increased access to vital treatment tools without compromising on profitability.
In contrast with the inaccessibility of some medical marijuana hardware, accessible advances can and do exist in the realm of software. Releaf, a free app for Android and iOS helps patients manage cannabis dosing and gather treatment data for doctors. This sleek, intuitive app holds a five-star average rating across platforms.
Although currently unmonetized, Releaf offers ample opportunity for future monetization models such as in-app purchases and sponsorships. The only limit is developer Automata Studios’ creativity.
Photo courtesy of LEAF
A major shift in federal policy is also key to ensure widespread marijuana tech accessibility for medical users. The Controlled Substances Act classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug without medicinal value, although policy at state levels often differs. Health insurance companies, whether funded privately or via social welfare programs, steer clear of this murky territory to the detriment of patients.
Medical marijuana patients are almost always forced to pay out of pocket for prescribed expenses. Marijuana Policy Project state policies director Karen O’Keefe blames bureaucratic obstacles for this lack of assistance. “In our experience, the vast majority of health insurance companies have not been willing to cover medical marijuana,” says O’Keefe. “Most or all medical marijuana laws explicitly say [insurance companies] are not required to cover the costs of medical cannabis.”
Without policy reform to facilitate coverage, technological bells and whistles like LEAF will remain inaccessible to those who could benefit from them most. “The passage of the CARERS Act, which would change federal law to formally recognize state medical marijuana programs, or the outright de-scheduling of marijuana are the most important,” says O’Keefe.
It’s too soon to tell what the incoming Trump administration could mean for medical marijuana policy. However, cannabis tech companies certainly hold sway in ensuring more immediate access to innovations for medical users. Rather than relying on trickle-down of treatment tools via recreational consumers, targeted price breaks and placing pressure on insurance providers could make the world of difference for patients without tarnishing turnover.
- Published in Blog, Medical Marijuana, Namaste Technologies, Tetra Bio Pharma