Asia Mining – Page 107 – Republic of Mining

China’s deep-sea crewed submersible heads for Indian Ocean mining mission (GB Times – February 7, 2017)

February 7, 2017

China’s deep-sea manned Jiaolong submersible has embarked on a journey to conduct the country’s 38th oceanic scientific mission in preparation for potential mining of the sea bed.

Carried by the advanced expedition ship Xiangyanghong 09, the craft departed from the port city of Qingdao in east Shandong Province on Monday morning.

Jiaolong will be used to explore the polymetallic sulphides in a deep-sea rift in northwest Indian Ocean, with the mission anticipated to pave the way for China’s upcoming application to the International Seabed Authority for mining rights in that area of the seabed.

COLUMN-Nickel market doubles up on political uncertainty – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – February 7, 2017)

February 7, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Feb 7 Last month Indonesia rocked the nickel market. This month it is the turn of the Philippines. Indonesia’s decision to allow the partial resumption of exports of nickel ore sent the London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel price spiralling to a six-month low of $9,350 per tonne.

What Indonesia giveth, the Philippines apparently taketh away. The country’s eco-warrior-turned-mining-minister Regina Lopez has ordered the closure of 23 mines and the suspension of five others, most of them nickel producers.

In London the price shot up to a three-week high of $10,500 on the news and is currently trading around $10,400. Over the coming weeks nickel’s fortunes are likely to be beholden to the uncertain implications of government policy in both countries.

Team advised Philippine mine suspensions, not closures: sources – by Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.K. – February 6, 2017)

February 6, 2017

http://uk.reuters.com/

A team that reviewed an audit of Philippine mines recommended suspension of operations and payment of fines for environmental violations, rather than the closure of 23 mines ordered by the minister overseeing the process, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez on Thursday ordered the mines shut, saying many were operating in watersheds. The mines to be closed account for half of nickel ore output by the world’s top supplier of the metal. Another five mines were suspended.

The decision has angered the country’s mining industry, with miners saying the shutdowns will affect 1.2 million people and some vowing to overturn the ruling.

Philippine miners say closures to hit 1.2 million people, vow to fight back – by Enrico Dela Cruz and Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.S. – February 3, 2017)

February 3, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – The planned closure of 23 Philippine mines, mostly nickel producers, and the suspension of five others will affect about 1.2 million people, miners said, as some vowed to take legal action to contest the decision.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez ordered the closures and suspensions on Thursday as she announced the results of a months-long audit on the country’s 41 mines aimed at halting mining operations judged to have harmed the environment.

Artemio Disini, chairman of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, told a briefing that the first option for affected miners would be to appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte “before going to the courts”.

China’s war on smog not seen as a game-changer for aluminum market – by Pratima Desai and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – February 2, 2017)

February 3, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – Top aluminum producer China’s battle against pollution has raised the prospect of output cuts, causing prices to rise to 20-month highs, but the rally might have gone too far as oversupply remains a problem.

The market excitement was sparked by a Chinese government document proposing that about a third of aluminum capacity in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hebei and Shanxi should be shut over the winter months.

That would aid Beijing’s war on noxious smog, partly created by firms burning thermal coal to produce electricity, which in China could account for between 25 and 40 percent of the costs of producing aluminum.

China iron ore imports off to strong start; support rally – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – February 1, 2017)

February 2, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – There is fundamental justification for the strong start to 2017 for iron ore prices, with imports by top buyer China remaining robust and showing no signs of easing. A total of 86.6 million tonnes was reported as discharged at Chinese ports in January, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain and Commodity Forecasts.

The risk is that this figure may actually rise in coming days as the ship-tracking and port data indicates that a further 13.2 million tonnes was due to have arrived at Chinese ports by Jan. 31.

If some of these cargoes were discharged before the end of month it could push total imports for January to close to 90 million tonnes, which would be the strongest monthly outcome since the record of 96.26 million in December 2015.

India to Deploy Flying Camera Drones to Track Illegal Miners – by Swansy Afonso and Archana Chaudhary (Bloomberg News – February 1, 2017)

February 2, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Desperate to develop its own mineral deposits, resource-hungry India is trying to revive investment by taking aim at illegal miners like the sand mafia — from a few hundred feet in the air.

The government will deploy flying camera drones to track renegades who for years have been extracting everything from sand to coal to iron ore without permits. Unsanctioned diggers pay no tax, violate the mineral rights of others and employ rudimentary methods blamed for widespread environmental damage. They’re also hard to catch, working in remote areas and sometimes getting help from corrupt officials.

“What happens in most of the cases is that when we reach those areas, people get a whiff of it and they run away, they remove their workers, they remove everything,” said Piyush Sharma, technical secretary at Indian Bureau of Mines in Nagpur, about 810 kilometers (500 miles) east of Mumbai in the center of the country. “Drones will be effective in a way that we will have pictures, which can be used as evidence.”

China plans to destroy an ancient Buddhist city to get the copper buried there – by Mariam Amini (CNBC News – February 1, 2017)

February 2, 2017

http://www.cnbc.com/

Two Chinese state-owned mining companies plan to destroy an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan in order to get the copper underneath it, according to a new documentary

According to the film “Saving Mes Aynak,” Metallurgical Group Corp. (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper are in the initial stages of building an open-pit copper mine 25 miles southeast of Kabul. The location is home to a walled Buddhist city that dates back 5,000 years.

According to the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the site is also home to the world’s second-largest copper deposit. China is an importer of copper and a major global refiner of the industrial metal.

Company in focus: Antam faces a test as Indonesia shifts mining policy – by Erwida Maulia (Asia Nikkei – February 2, 2017)

February 2, 2017

http://asia.nikkei.com/

End to minerals export ban benefits state nickel producer

JAKARTA Indonesia’s surprise decision on the evening of Jan. 12, after the markets closed, to ease its mineral export ban sent ripples through Asia’s nickel industry. Shares of nickel producers in the region plummeted the day after the announcement on fears of a sudden supply surge.

Vale Indonesia, the country’s largest nickel producer and the local unit of Brazilian mining giant Vale, saw its share price plunge more than 15%, while Philippine miner Nickel Asia tumbled more than 10% at one point. Australia’s Western Areas fell nearly 20%, prompting one Australian media report to describe Jakarta’s decision as a “Black Friday blow.”

One company, though, stood out in the crowd. Indonesian state miner Aneka Tambang saw its shares jump 6%. That was because the government decided to allow exports of low-grade nickel ore — defined as ore containing less than 1.7% nickel — to resume, raising hopes that Antam, as the company is better known, will be able to reap benefits from the decision.

Philippines to shut half of mines, mostly nickel, in environmental clampdown – by Enrico Dela Cruz and Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.K. – February 2, 2017)

February 2, 2017

http://uk.reuters.com/

MANILA – The Philippines ordered the closure on Thursday of 23 mines, mainly nickel producers that account for about half of output in the world’s top nickel ore supplier, in a government campaign to fight environmental degradation by the industry.

Manila also suspended operations at another five mines, including the country’s top gold mine operated by Australia’s Oceanagold Corp, as Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez vowed to put the public’s welfare above mining revenues.

“My issue here is not about mining, my issue here is social justice,” Lopez, a staunch environmentalist, said at a briefing that showed footage of damage from mining to an audience including priests and residents of mining communities.

Nickel price picked as 2017 winner – by Frik Els (Mining.com – January 30, 2017)

January 31, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Nickel fell to a 13-year low of $7,725 a tonne ($3.50 a pound ) in February last year; then rallied to more than $11,700 by mid-November only to fall back nearly 20% to trade at a six-month low on Friday.

Nickel, mainly used as an anti-corrosive in steel alloys, rallied in 2016 on the back of a clampdown on mines in the Philippines which took over as the main supplier to China following an ore export ban in Indonesia in place since 2014.

The market was rocked earlier this month when Indonesia abruptly announced a partial lifting of the ban allowing exports of up to 5.2 million tonnes of nickel ore this year.

Indonesia to temporarily exempt Freeport from some new mining rules: official – by Wilda Asmarini (Reuters U.S. – January 31, 2017)

January 31, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA – Indonesia will temporarily exempt the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc from some new rules while processing its application for new mining rights, a ministry official said, potentially allowing for the resumption of copper concentrate exports.

Freeport (FCX.N) has warned that the halt to its shipments since the new mining rules took effect on Jan. 12 could lead to a sharp drop in output at its Grasberg mine.

“While their special mining license is not definitive, we cannot apply (these rules) fully,” coal and minerals director general Bambang Gatot told Reuters on Tuesday, when asked about the fiscal and other requirements of Freeport’s special mining license.

Coal India losing interest in underground mining – by Ajoy K Das (MiningWeekly.com – January 30, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Underground mining is increasingly falling off the map of major producer Coal India Limited (CIL), despite the company planning to add an estimated 182-million tons a year to its production profile by 2020.

Higher capital costs, the geological parameters of new reserves and the group’s inability to stop production from underground mines falling have compelled the miner to plan future incremental production entirely from opencut mines.

Production from CIL’s underground mines had been steadily declining from 9% of its total output in 2012 to below 6% in 2016.

These 10 mines have the world’s most valuable ore – by Vladimir Basov (Mining.com – January 30, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Have you ever wondered which mines are blasting, shovelling and hauling the most expensive ore? While the world’s highest-value minerals are well known – this list includes precious metals and gemstones – it is more practical for mining industry stakeholders to estimate the value of minerals by looking through the lens of a mining operation. Simply put, what is the worth of an excavator/ loader bucket at a particular open pit or underground mine compared to its peers in the industry?

InfoMine’s IntelligenceMine database has a powerful tool that allows users to get a quick reserves/resources valuation based on the most recent estimates of reserves/resources and commodity prices updated on a daily basis.

The following analysis covers those currently active mining operations throughout the world that are separate reporting units and which have most recent reserves evaluation figures disclosed by the owners/operators after December 31, 2014.

China helps put miners back in the winners’ circle – by Elizabeth Knight (Sydney Morning Herald – January 30, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://www.smh.com.au/

In the next couple of weeks, investors will see real evidence of the fact that the Australian corporate earnings drought has broken. After two years of falling profits, they are now expected to rise about 6 to 7 per cent. For this significant turnaround we need have only one source for gratitude: China.

This is a China-led Australian earnings recovery based on increased prices it is paying for a number of our mineral resources, most specifically coal and iron ore.

Thus the real gains in earnings will come from resource companies such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue, whose earnings in the previous couple of years had fallen off a cliff and taken the aggregate Australian market profits with them.