Africa Mining – Page 198 – Republic of Mining

Shooting Gold Diggers at [Barrick Gold] African Mine Seen Amid Record Prices – by Cam Simpson (Bloomberg Markets Magazine – April 2011)

May 13, 2011

Bloomberg Markets magazine brings the inside view of professional investing with unparalleled access to the most influential people in global business and finance.

Security guards and federal police have allegedly shot and killed people scavenging the waste rock at Barrick Gold’s North Mara mine in Tanzania

(Bloomberg) — Barrick Gold Corp.’s North Mara mine near the Tanzanian border with Kenya disgorges millions of pounds of waste rock each week, piled high around communities where almost half the people live on less than 33 cents a day.

Children in school uniforms scurry across the rubble to reach their classes. Women with water pails atop their heads skirt past the heaps. The piles grow as the longest bull market for gold in at least 90 years pushes Barrick, the world’s largest miner of the precious metal, to increase production.

Villagers, too, are hunting the ore on the North Mara land that their ancestors worked for decades, sometimes paying with their lives.

Security guards and federal police allegedly have shot and killed people scavenging the gold-laced rocks to sell for small amounts of cash, according to interviews with 28 people, including victims’ relatives, witnesses, local officials and human-rights workers.

The Chinese in Africa: Trying to pull together – (The Economist – April 23, 2011)

May 9, 2011

The Economist is one of the most globally respected English-language weekly news publications, focusing on international politics, business and opinion.

Africans are asking whether China is making their lunch or eating it

ZHU LIANGXIU gulps down Kenyan lager in a bar in Nairobi and recites a Chinese aphorism: “One cannot step into the same river twice.” Mr Zhu, a shoemaker from Foshan, near Hong Kong, is on his second trip to Africa. Though he says he has come to love the place, you can hear disappointment in his voice.

On his first trip three years ago Mr Zhu filled a whole notebook with orders and was surprised that Africans not only wanted to trade with him but also enjoyed his company. “I have been to many continents and nowhere was the welcome as warm,” he says. Strangers congratulated him on his homeland’s high-octane engagement with developing countries. China is Africa’s biggest trading partner and buys more than one-third of its oil from the continent. Its money has paid for countless new schools and hospitals. Locals proudly told Mr Zhu that China had done more to end poverty than any other country.

He still finds business is good, perhaps even better than last time. But African attitudes have changed. His partners say he is ripping them off. Chinese goods are held up as examples of shoddy work. Politics has crept into encounters. The word “colonial” is bandied about. Children jeer and their parents whisper about street dogs disappearing into cooking pots.

Rumble in the jungle – Africa and China – (The Economist – April 23, 2011)

May 9, 2011

The Economist is one of the most globally respected English-language weekly news publications, focusing on international politics, business and opinion.

CHINA has a competitive advantage that is rare among economic powers investing in faraway developing countries: a lack of ancient hostility. In the past decade Chinese investors have been welcomed with open arms in places where Western colonial powers once misbehaved and their descendants sometimes still arouse suspicion.

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese have comfortably set up shop in Africa, bringing with them economic growth and useful technical skills. Their government, eager to loosen constraints on resources and industrial expansion at home, supports them with abundant loans. Africa now supplies 35% of China’s oil. Two-way trade grew by 39% last year.

China deserves credit for engaging a continent that desperately needs investment. Millions of Africans are using roads, schools and hospitals built by Chinese companies or financed with fees from resources they extracted. Not surprisingly, many African leaders have embraced the Chinese, especially when offered vast loans for infrastructure projects. By contrast, the leaders say, Western governments these days offer little more than lectures on good governance.

Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll – Speech to the Mining Indaba, Cape Town, 8 February 2011 – “Partnership for Success”

February 9, 2011

Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies focusing on platinum group metals, diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal. www.angloamerican.com

Mining Indaba attracts mining analysts, fund managers, investment specialists and financiers from around the world. Corporate presentations on the newest and most successful projects provide the foundation for institutional portfolio growth and asset diversification. Government and agency presentations update policies and incentives for potential partners. (Mining Indaba LLC website)

Check against delivery

Partnership for Success

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to be with you at this year’s Mining Indaba. I’d like to thank Minister Shabangu for her welcome remarks, as well as her very positive announcement yesterday. Thank you also to Professor Ferguson for his extremely interesting speech, which had thought-provoking insights for all of us.

My theme this morning is partnership. I would like to share with you Anglo American’s belief in the crucial importance of partnership between all stakeholders in the mining sector – a belief reflected in our ambition to be The Partner of Choice.

I am extremely optimistic about the future of our industry. After the severe distress of the financial crisis and a painful recession, the global economy has rebounded, thanks to particularly strong growth in the emerging economies. Even in the turbulent markets of 2010, China delivered GDP growth of 10.3%. And the IMF’s latest forecasts for the years ahead suggest continued recovery in the mature economies and further robust growth in emerging markets, ranging from 9.5% in China to 8% in India to around 5% in Brazil.

Susan Shabangu – South African Minister of Mineral Resources – 2011 African Mining Indaba Conference Speech

February 9, 2011February 9, 2011

South African Minister of Mineral Resources – Susan Shabangu – 2011 African Mining Indaba Conference Speech – Cape Town, South Africa (February 8, 2011)

Honourable Ministers present
Captains of industry

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Programme director

This forum continues to grow every year and brings together the best and the biggest in the mining industry. This year is no exception. Most of you have come from far and wide in search not only of opportunities but also for clarity. I hope I will do justice to your expectations this morning.

When I delivered this address last year, the world was just emerging from a deep recession. The resultant recession cut deep into the mining industry, however the economic recovery seems to have begun in earnest, with growth forecasts being constantly revised upward in the past few quarters. It is expected that the global GDP will grow at levels in excess of 4% by next year, with emerging economies being the fulcrum of this growth.

The expected economic growth is essentially driven by fiscal spending plans, mainly on infrastructure programmes in emerging economies, as well as increased household consumption, both of which are demand drivers for minerals.

It is for this reason that the mining industry is expected to grow at an average 4-7% in volumes terms during 2011, recovering to the levels preceding the crisis. The mining industry’s absorptive capacity of jobs to meet the demand and availability of expertise to respond to the emerging growth in mineral demand is currently in place, as a result of which it is expected that the 40 000 jobs that were lost during the crisis will be created during the course of this year.

Anglo American Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart Speech to the Leadership Conference on Global Corporate Citizenship in New York (January, 29, 2009)

August 10, 2010August 8, 2010

This speech by Anglo American Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart is an excellent example of the mining sector’s corporate social responsibility initiatives throughout Africa – Stan Sudol

Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies focusing on platinum group metals, diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal. For more info about their corporate social responsibility initiatives, go to: http://www.angloamerican.co.uk/aal/siteware/docs/sd-report-2009.pdf

Anglo American Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart

Mining companies don’t normally get much publicity and when we do, it tends not to be particularly positive. Nor are our products well-known
brands – for good reason. We don’t sell at JC Penney or Wal-Mart. Unlike our colleagues in the oil and gas sector, we don’t sell at the gas station. We produce commodities that are vital for modern society in a whole host of ways. But I confess I’ve never heard a dinner-table conversation revolve around whether someone’s home electrics are built with Anglo American copper, or their car’s catalytic converter with Anglo American platinum.

Both are possible: indeed the latter is quite likely, since Anglo American is the world’s leading primary producer of platinum, and platinum is a key element in cleaning exhaust emissions. Our other core businesses include base metals – copper, nickel, zinc; iron ore; coal; and diamonds – we are the largest shareholder in De Beers.

We are present in about 45 countries around the world, and employ some 190,000 people. Speaking here in New York, I guess I owe you a word of explanation about our name. We do not have major operations in America. But the United States did play a vital part in our history, alongside the United Kingdom, as these two countries were the source of the original capital that was raised by our founder Sir Ernest Oppenheimer to establish the company, over 90 years ago now, in 1917 in South Africa.

Despite being one of the largest mining companies in the world, with operations in so many countries, the reality of our business is that we sell
into bulk commodity markets. Commodity markets care a great deal about quality of the product; but quality aside, they don’t really care who
produces the metals. The result? We are not known as a brand by the general public.

Canadian Women In Mining Townships Project Offers Choice of Three Mining Moguls – by Marilyn Scales

May 4, 2015February 16, 2009

Marilyn Scales is a field editor for the Canadian Mining Journal, Canada’s first mining publication. She is one of Canada’s most senior mining commentators. What do Eric Sprott, Rob McEwen and Frank Guistra have in common? They have volunteered to be the prizes in a draw of people who donate to The Townships Project, a …

Honourable Buyelwa Sonjica – South Africa Minister of Minerals & Energy – 10th China Mining Conference, Beijing, China

May 15, 2010November 16, 2008

10 November 2008

Programme director,
Minister of Land and Resources of the People’s Republic of China, Minister Xu Shaoshi,
Captains of the mining industry from South Africa, People’s Republic of China and elsewhere in the world,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to extend a warm welcome to you this morning to the South African Mining Seminar here in China. As South Africa celebrates the 10th successive year of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, depicting the political will of the respective countries to co-operate on various areas on common interest, we deemed it appropriate to assemble a multi-stakeholder platform, with particular emphasis on reciprocal investment prospects between the two countries.

The seminar is intended to focus on existing opportunities for Chinese and other foreign companies here present to partner with South African companies and communities in the mining industry. Notwithstanding the current financial challenge, which we project will have a limited shelf life, I believe that the relationships envisaged between our respective companies are intended for long-term periods.

One of the oldest Chinese proverbs has never been more applicable than today, namely: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. We all should remember that when former President Mandela announced South Africa’s intention to recognise the People’s Republic of China ten years ago, that was indeed a small step. In this context I believe South Africa’s journey with the People’s Republic of China has progressed remarkably towards its intended objective of increasing bi-national trade.

Is China Buying Africa? – by Paul Stothart

December 9, 2010September 20, 2008

Paul Stothart is vice president, economic affairs of the Mining Association of Canada. He is responsible for advancing the industry’s interests regarding federal tax, trade, investment, transport and energy issues.

In a recent column, I noted that China remains the prime driver of world mineral prices. In building a domestic infrastructure for 1.3 billion people, while expanding its role as the world’s factory, China simply cannot meet its burgeoning demand for copper, zinc, nickel, and other raw materials. In response to this growing gap, China now imports $100 billion worth of base metals annually, buying 25 per cent of the world’s supply today versus a 5 per cent share in the 1980s. As a specific example, China’s share of world consumption of zinc has tripled from 10 to 28 per cent in a mere decade, while the US share has fallen from 16 to 10 per cent.

This dramatic growth in raw material demand is one of the central factors leading to a second, equally significant development; namely that China is becoming an important catalyst to the growth of Africa—a continent that offers untapped raw material supply and market demand potential. In decades past, few observers of global economic development would have envisioned the emergence of such a linkage. Few thought beyond the traditional model, where aid flows from the west would supposedly some day pull Africa to a more advanced state of development.

Planning For the End of the Mine, Right From the Beginning by Paul Hollesen – AngloGold Ashanti

May 15, 2010July 2, 2008

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) is a CEO-led industry group that addresses key priorities and emerging issues within the minerals sector. The following article came from the ICMM newsletter.

Planning for mine closure should be a core part of the business, involving local communities and other stakeholders. AngloGold Ashanti’s Paul Hollesen introduces a new ICMM guide on the topic and makes the case for a more integrated approach.

Paul Hollesen

ICMM’s soon-to-be published Planning for Integrated Mine Closure offers valuable guidance for a key challenge in the mining sector: closing a mine in a sustainable manner. After all, what happens at a site after it is closed is what ultimately defines its long-term environmental impact and a significant part of its contribution to an area’s social, economic and institutional development.

One catalyst for the new guide was the 2002 report of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project. This noted that “the planning and development of any mining project needs to be aimed at creating durable benefits on a number of scales” and that the social and economic dimensions of closure planning frequently receive insufficient attention.

Further Improvement Required

In 2006 ICMM conducted a survey of the status of integrated mine closure planning within the industry. This study found numerous examples of leading practices but also a number of areas that required further improvement. It was clear that more consistent implementation of good practices is required throughout the mining sector and the guide is designed to support this goal.

Honourable Buyelwa Sonjica – South Africa Minister of Minerals & Energy – Mining Indaba Conference Speech in Cape Town

May 15, 2010June 19, 2008

Introduction

Programme director
Honourable Ministers
Distinguished guests
Senior Government Officials

Ladies and gentlemen

On behalf of the people of South Africa, I extend to you all a warm and hearty welcome as we convene for the 13th annual Mining Indaba Conference here in Cape Town. It is apt for me to congratulate the organisers of this conference, the IIC, for continuing to successfully facilitate this level of knowledge and information exchange among stakeholders in the mining industry. I am pleased to see my counterparts from other parts of the continent as well as local and international participants at this critical juncture in the mining industry.

The past few weeks have been characterised by global economic instability, which is being underpinned by news of the looming economic recession in the USA. The mining industry has not been immune to this development, although we view this development as a short-term correction and believe the fundamentals remain in place for a prolonged demand growth for the bulk of the mineral commodities.

The African Economic Reforms

Since the late 1970s, the African countries have been in search of a policy framework to guide a continent wide fundamental socio-economic transformation that would enable them to overcome the pervasive structural weaknesses. It was not until the last decade or so, that African countries undertook economic reforms to invigorate their respective economies through positive development philosophy.

Honourable Buyelwa Sonjica South Africa Minister of Minerals & Energy – An Introduction

May 15, 2010June 19, 2008

Buyelwa Patience Sonjica was appointed to the high-profile position of South Africa’s Minister of Minerals and Energy on May 22, 2006, after serving as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry from April 2004 to May 2006. Before that post, she served as Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. Ms. Sonjica’s interesting and extensive …

Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll – Amsterdam GRI Conference Speech – Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Reporting – A Business Perspective

May 15, 2010June 12, 2008

It is an honour to address such an assembly – and to be able to contribute to the debate about the future of company reporting of our non-financial impacts on the societies in which we work.

I would like today to look at various aspects surrounding sustainable development from a business perspective as the head of Anglo American plc.

I will start by introducing the company and will then move on to issues that concern us all, which include:

• the sustainable development challenge for the natural-resource industry;
• the problems surrounding water;
• the world’s future energy demands;
• Anglo American’s ‘clean’ initiatives and what we are doing to stay in the forefront of the sustainable development field
• the need for greater transparency in our SD partnerships and SD reporting.

Anglo American is one of the world’s top five mining groups and occupies a position in the top ten of the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 Index. It has a market capitalisation of about 90 billion dollars.

We have a presence in 45 countries, stretching from Alaska to Australia and from Chile to China. Outside of the oil and gas sector, we are Africa’s leading investor.