Gemfields says unrest could disrupt Mozambique ruby mine
Gemfields said in a statement that "groups associated with the illegal mining and trading of rubies have taken advantage of the political unrest".
Canada’s economy shrank in the second quarter of the year touching levels not seen since 2009, when the country was in the midst of a global financial crisis, mostly due to the wildfires that wrecked parts of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the heart of the oil sands industry.
Canada’s economy shrank by 1.6% in the second quarter — the largest quarterly decline in gross domestic product since the second quarter of 2009.
Data from Statistics Canada shows the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the three-month period to June, the largest quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2009.
The contraction compares with growth at an annual pace of 2.5% in the first quarter, which was revised higher from an initial reading of 2.4%.
About a million barrels per day of oil sands crude production were shut down as a precaution and because of disruptions to regional pipelines due to the devastating wildfires that hit Fort McMurray this spring. Much of that production remained offline for weeks after the May fires.
Stats Canada’s data contradicts the Conference Board of Canada’s May report in which they claimed the outages were not going to have a significant impact on the country’s economic growth.
The agency said that excluding the large drop in crude oil output, which was the main cause of the 4.5% drop in exports during the period, Canada’s GDP would have increased by 0.1% (0.4% annualized).
2 Comments
Tom
Yep, as some say we are not resource economy… sure we are not… we just appear that way to everyone 😉
Barney Biggs
And you note that much if not most of that oil was destined for the US which shows just how dependent we are on the US market and economy. Then we read this morning how Trudeau is slapping the US in the face by applying to the Asia Development Bank (which the US has been fighting) for membership.
With the US election coming up and considering who the candidates are with long vindictive memories we may be in for some interesting times. We also have been fighting pipelines which (if approved) would allow us to diversify our energy markets.
Bright???????