Police say no further incidents have been reported at Lonmin’s violence-stricken Marikana mine in the North West, where 10 people have been killed. “Police have been monitoring the situation at the mine throughout Tuesday night,” Captain Dennis Adriao said on Wednesday morning. “We have not received any reports of violence or deaths.”
Violence erupted when about 3 000 Lonmin rock drill operators started an illegal work stoppage and protest march on Friday at the company’s Western Platinum mine. It was the deadliest violence yet in a union membership turf war between the dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the newer Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
A tenth body was found on Tuesday. A South African Press Association reporter who was on the scene said the body was lying face upwards 100m away from a hilltop where workers gathered earlier on Tuesday. The man was wearing khaki clothes.
Nine other people – two police officers, two security guards, three protesters and two other men – have been killed in the violent protests since Friday.
Africa Mining
Days of drilling and blasting coming to an end -AngloGold – by Christy Filen (Mineweb.com – August 7, 2012)
AngloGold has forced itself to think differently about deep level mining and this, they are hoping, will spawn an operating section employing the new technology by end 2013.
JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) – When Apple launched the iPad, it didn’t just alter the numbers spinning about on its profit line, it changed the technology industry.
And if AngloGold Ashanti executive vice president of business strategy, Canadian engineer, Mike MacFarlane is to be believed the gold digger is looking to do something similar to deep level gold mining.
Since 2010, the group has been looking for ways to leverage old technology in new ways to mine gold even deeper than the current depths around 4kms. And, it is now aiming to introduce a new operating section at AngloGold by the end of 2013 that moves away from the conventional drill and blast methodology to one where the ore bearing reef is extracted with modified raise bore drills.
The raise bore drill, called an Amtek, is currently undergoing testing and is sourced locally in South Africa from a company called Atlantis.
Q&A with ‘Anti-Bono’ Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo [China resource competition] – by Rick Westhead (Toronto Star – July 29, 2012)
The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.
Q: How long did you research and report your book?
A: It took me about three years. I did probably 80 interviews with hedge funds, policy makers. Of those, probably 30 interviews were with Chinese officials. I spend about 80 per cent of my time in developing markets. I’m in Africa once a quarter and China two or three times a year. So over the course of writing the book, I probably spend three or four months in China. I felt like I had a good connection with people. I’ve seen Chinese mines, been on their oil rigs.
Q: China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said that without reforms China could face another Cultural Revolution. It’s very strong language from such as prominent leader. Did you get a sense from your time in China of what kind of opposition the government faces?
A: Not in the way you or I think about it, but there’s been a lot of transformation in China’s political system while we haven’t been watching. We are all sort of hyper-focused on issues like: are they going to have democratic elections where every Chinese stands in a line, queues around the block and elects a president? While we’ve been focused on that, there have been a whole lot of reforms going on.
SEC conflict minerals rule foot-dragging a nightmare-GAO – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – July 24, 2012)
The longer the SEC delays adoption of a final conflict minerals rule, the worse the situation becomes for global manufacturers voluntarily trying to keep conflict minerals out of supply chains.
RENO (MINEWEB) – A performance audit by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has found the continued delay of the SEC to issue a final conflict minerals rule has contributed to “a lingering uncertainty among industry and other stakeholders” who have tried to implement voluntary conflict minerals supply chain initiatives.
In a recent report to the U.S. Congress, the GAO noted “the uncertainty regarding SEC’s reporting and due diligence requirements” has complicated the efforts of industry associations, multilateral organizations, and others who have developed global and in-region sourcing initiatives to help companies comply with future rules regarding conflict minerals.
Congress has pressured the SEC on two fronts to adopt rules relating to conflict minerals and resource extraction. In a June 22 letter to the SEC, 58 members of Congress urged the commission to implement Sections 1502 and 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which require public companies to make disclosures relating to the use of conflict minerals and payments made for mining of resources.
Swansong of a sunset industry or the rise of an SA gold mid-tier? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – July 17, 2012)
Just like the landscape of Johannesburg, South Africa’s gold mining sector is undergoing a dramatic change, the question is: what will it end up looking like?
GRONINGEN (Mineweb) – Mine dumps loomed large over my childhood. Growing up in the east rand of Johannesburg, a stone’s throw away from the ERPM mine operations, they were a part of my skyline. When we were kids we went to the drive-in on top of them and, later on, tried to “dune board” down them. But, in the last few years they have gradually begun to disappear.
As the gold price has risen and mines have got deeper, so many of these dumps have been re-drilled and reprocessed but, it is not just the landscape that is changing – the industry that gave birth to Africa’s “city of gold” is changing right along with it.
“The cynical among us might describe it as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” says Bernard Swanepoel, Joint CEO of Village Main Reef, one of the new class of junior gold miners coming up in South Africa at the moment.
South Africa’s ANC to debate 50% mining tax – by Mike Cohen and Andres R. Martinez (Mineweb.com – June 26, 2012)
ANC delegates will this week debate proposals for a mining windfall tax of 50% as an alternative to nationalising mines in the world’s largest producer of platinum, chrome and manganese.
(BLOOMBERG) – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress may endorse plans to raise mining taxes and increase state control over the economy as President Jacob Zuma shores up grassroots support ahead of a party election.
ANC delegates will this week debate proposals for a mining windfall tax of 50 percent as an alternative to nationalizing mines in the world’s largest producer of platinum, chrome and manganese. The plans are contained in draft policy documents to be discussed at a four-day conference in Johannesburg from today. The ANC controls 66 percent of the seats in Parliament.
Zuma, 70, who is seeking a second five-year term at a party election in December, is under pressure from his labor union allies and a growing number of jobless young people to do more to combat poverty and unemployment in Africa’s largest economy. Any attempt to extract more revenue from mining companies such as Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Lonmin Plc risks undermining an industry battered by rising labor costs, electricity shortages and a global economic slowdown.
SA doesn’t just need dirt diggers – by Christy Filen (Mineweb.com – June 25, 2012)
According to Dr. Paul Jourdan, South Africa would do better leaving its minerals in the ground if it can’t better link its mining sector to the broader economy
JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) – Dr Paul Jourdan, who was part of the research team that compiled the ANC’s State Intervention in the Minerals Sector (SIMS) report, has said that South Africa needs more than just dirt diggers in its mining industry and that if the sector does not make the linkages as envisaged in the report then it would be better to leave the minerals in the ground.
“If you say I’m just a dirt digger and this is my core competence then fine, go to Australia. I’m not sure that we want companies that are just going to dig holes. I think that we want companies that are going to make those linkages and build our economy for the future, post mining” said Jourdan.
Speaking at the AngloGold Ashanti and Motjoli Resources Mining for Change breakfast in Johannesburg today, Jourdan described Australia as suffering from the Dutch disease where he said that the current minerals boom is causing de-industrialisation in other parts of their economy.
South African mining at a cross roads – Carroll – by Christy Filen (Mineweb.com – June 7, 2012)
According to Anglo American CEO, Cynthia Carroll, South Africa’s policy choices over the coming weeks will profoundly impact not just the mining industry but also the country as a whole.
JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) – CEO of Anglo American, Cynthia Carroll, has said that South Africa’s policy choices over the coming weeks will profoundly impact not only the future of the mining industry but also the country.
“Those choices must be made wisely. We are at a crossroads. There is a clear path that will lead to prosperity and there are blind alleys that we must avoid” Carroll said to delegates at the Mining Lekgotla gala dinner last night.
Carroll has been clear in her opposition to one of these “blind alleys”, nationalisation, on many occasions, along with its promise of a “miracle cure for all ills” said the CEO. With voices waning on the nationalisation issue, Carroll moved on to address the ANC’s State Intervention in Mining Sector report (SIMS) where proposals were put forward for a mineral resource rent tax.
How First Quantum settled with ENRC for compensation over Congolese mine – by Matthew McClearn (Canadian Business Magazine – June 05, 2012)
Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-publishing business magazine in Canada.
It’s a bit like discovering your spouse’s name on a marriage certificate—to somebody else. Written in French and bearing official-looking stamps in red and black ink, the 56-page contract detailed a joint venture between a collection of mysterious shell companies and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The happy new partners had agreed to harvest a valuable collection of mining scrap heaps called the Kolwezi Tailings. But for executives at First Quantum Minerals, the implication seemed clear: its crown jewel had just been stolen.
This was not entirely unexpected. Founded in the mid-1990s, Vancouver-based First Quantum developed a reputation for mining in difficult frontier countries. The Congo is the frontier of frontiers, where one either takes or is taken. Since Belgium’s King Leopold II ran the country as a private fiefdom in the late 19th century, a dominant theme of Congolese history has been plunder of this abundant natural endowment by those in power.
Beneath its soils lie some of the world’s richest reserves of copper, cobalt, uranium, gold, diamonds and other resources. First Quantum coveted the copper- and cobalt-rich scrap heaps; it invested years and billions of dollars building the necessary infrastructure to harvest them. But then its relationship with the Congolese government went to hell. Losing its mining licence to someone else was just a formality.
AngloGold Ashanti plans for a mining renaissance – by Dick DeStefano (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – June 1, 2012)
Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the June, 2012 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.
“The future of mining underground will change dramatically in the next few years and suppliers need to be ready for the shift”
SAMSSA Members were recently treated to a special strategic plan regarding the mine of the future by Michael MacFarlane who is a Senior Vice President with AngloGold Ashanti which is a leading gold mining company, headquartered in Johannesburg, with a portfolio of 21 operations spanning 10 countries. Born and educated in Canada, Michael holds a Bachelor of Engineer degree in Mining. He previously worked for Vale Inco for 16 years in Canada where he was Director for Mining and Milling for their Canadian operations. He became Senior Vice President with AngloGold Ashanti in 2010.
Mike was asked a number of key questions about this evolving mining event worldwide.
1. What is the key assumption you are using as a premise for the mine of the future?
Our specific view is what I had presented to SAMSSA members and addresses our deep gold mining issues in South Africa. We are working to unlock more than 70 million ounces of ultra deep resource. The problem we are solving is how to mine all the gold – only the gold, all the time. My presentation was specific to technology to address these main value drivers.
Anvil acquisition helps Minmetals turn the corner in Congo – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – May 30, 2012)
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.
KINSEVERE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – Three months after a $1.3-billion takeover, the new owners of Anvil Mining Ltd. have posted an ambitious business plan on the wall of their Congo mining office.
At the top of the list: “savvy acquisitions” – with the goal of becoming one of the world’s three biggest mid-tier miners and creating a $20-billion global player. And the former Canadian-owned copper mine in Congo is crucial to the strategy.
Anvil’s acquirer, China Minmetals Corp., has learned its Canadian lessons well. Eight years ago, the state-owned company ignited a firestorm of controversy in Canada with its clumsy bid for Noranda Inc., sparking fierce criticism from Canadian politicians and leading to the eventual failure of the bid.
This time its expansion drive is shrewd and carefully planned. Anvil will become the springboard for Minmetals’ aggressive growth plan, which is focused primarily on Africa – especially the risky but mineral-rich terrain of Congo.
Kinross, gold producers vow to fight back as shares tumble despite rising prices – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – May 10, 2012)
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.
Canada’s big gold miners are under siege in the markets, their shares tumbling even as bullion rides high, and they’re vowing to fight back.
“I’m a shareholder and my family is a shareholder, and we’re determined to change that around,” Tye Burt, chief executive officer of Kinross Gold Corp., declared Wednesday, referring to the company’s languishing stock price.
Mr. Burt and others in the industry are lamenting the gap between the value of gold stocks and the price of bullion, which is holding near-record highs after a surge that is almost a decade old now.
Kinross shares are down 60 per cent in the past eight months. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX-T37.650.942.56%), the world’s biggest producer, has seen its stock sink 34 per cent since September, while smaller rivals such as Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI-T13.750.332.46%) and Iamgold Corp. (IMG-T10.80-0.07-0.64%) have suffered declines of 27 per cent and 55 per cent respectively from their 52-week highs.
Kinross Gold’s Mauritanian desert storm -by Nicolas Johnson (Globe and Mail – May 8, 2012)
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.
The Tasiast gold mine in the Mauritanian desert was the biggest acquisition in Kinross Gold Corp.’s 19-year existence and one of the biggest takeovers in the history of the gold industry.
It was to have been the centrepiece of the Kinross portfolio, transforming the Toronto-based company into one of the fastest-growing gold miners in the world.
Instead, the $7.1-billion acquisition of Red Back Mining Inc. has bludgeoned Kinross’s stock and balance sheet. The company took a $2.49-billion writedown in February, angering investors and leaving the company’s chief executive officer battling to retain his credibility. Shares of the miner have lost about half their value since the August, 2010, deal.
On Wednesday morning, at Kinross’s annual meeting in Toronto, president and CEO Tye Burt will get another chance to convince shareholders that the biggest bet of his career will pay off. The miner reports earnings a day earlier, on Tuesday.
Iamgold takes aim at the gold mining big leagues – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – April 20, 2012)
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.
Steve Letwin, chief executive officer of midtier gold miner Iamgold Corp., practically rubs his hands in glee as he talks about plans to propel the company into the major leagues in as little as five years.
With his Toronto-based company sitting on $1.4-billion in cash and with zero debt on the balance sheets, Mr. Letwin lays out a plan to nearly double production by 2017 from the current 850,000 ounces, with most of that to come from acquisitions, including one in coming months that will likely be worth between $400-million and $500-million.
“If we can’t pull the trigger on something in the next three months that makes sense for our shareholders we haven’t done our job,” said Mr. Letwin, a 30-year resource industry veteran who has broken ground from Canada to Colombia to deepest Africa.
“And if we’re going to buy, we’re going to buy now. These equities are ridiculously cheap, some of them.”
Ivanhoe CEO Loses in Rio ‘Chess Game’ Over Mongolia Mine – by Christopher Donville and Liezel Hill (Bloomberg.com 0 April 19, 2012)
Twelve years after beginning his quest to build a copper mine in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, it’s checkmate for Robert Friedland.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. said yesterday the billionaire investor resigned as chief executive officer, along with other top executives at the Vancouver-based company. It said Rio Tinto Group agreed to ensure funding of the $6 billion Oyu Tolgoi project’s construction. The accord means Rio is free to appoint Ivanhoe’s management, cementing control of the company three months after increasing its stake to 51 percent.
“Friedland’s lost the chess game with Rio,” John Stephenson, a fund manager in Toronto who oversees about $2.7 billion at First Asset Investment Management, said in an interview.
Oyu Tolgoi — which means “turquoise hill” in Mongolian – – is just the latest of several chapters in the often controversial career of Friedland, who holds a 14 percent stake in Ivanhoe. A one-time mentor to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, Friedland, 61, has raised funds for mines in North America and Asia since the mid-1980s and led the C$4.3 billion ($4.3 billion) sale of the Voisey’s Bay nickel deposit in Canada in 1996. His next adventure may be developing mines in Africa.