Asia Mining – Page 108 – Republic of Mining

Gina Lopez to bare fate of 30 mining firms – by Dona Z. Pazzibugan (Philippine Daily Inquirer – January 30, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez will announce on Thursday her final decision whether to close down 30 mining operations that failed their initial audit a few months ago.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reviewed the audit results made known on Sept. 27, which “ordered suspended” 10 mining operations and “recommended for suspension” the operations of 20 others.

The audit team reportedly found that the mining operations violated the terms and conditions of their environmental compliance certificate (ECC), the DENR rules on mine safety and health standards, and implementing rules of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Dodging rumour and insurgency: the hunt for Burmese amber goes to the heart of Myanmar’s turbulent north – by Sam Cooley (Financial Post – January 30, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

MYITKYINA, MYANMAR — The discovery of the world’s first preserved dinosaur tail embedded inside a chunk of amber made headlines in newspapers across the planet last month. Nicknamed Eva, this small piece of fossilized tree sap is fast becoming a scientific phenomenon due to the intact chemical structure of the organism inside.

The exceedingly rare and highly valuable Cretaceous-era tail ended up in the hands of a paleontologist named Lida Xing, whose group obtained the 99-million-year-old stone during a 2015 trip to Kachin State in Northern Myanmar, the origin of some of the world’s best amber inclusions, the flora and fauna found inside the gems.

A dinosaur tail blows every other inclusion out of the water and is a big deal for gem dealers around the world, some of whom can sell a single spider inclusion for US$1,000. Eva could easily fetch US$100,000.

Antam faces test as Indonesia shifts mining policy – by Erwida Maulia (Asia Nikkei – January 19, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://asia.nikkei.com/

Resumption of nickel exports may upend corporate plans

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, Indonesia’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, can reap benefits from the decision.

China has a shocking plan for the moon – by Dan Taylor (Morning Ticker – January 29, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://www.morningticker.com/

Watch out, moon, China is coming for you, and they have big plans for what lies beneath your surface. China is getting involved in the new space race this time, and their plans include being the first to mine the moon for its precious resources.

A mission set for later this year would involve gathering samples from the moon and laying the groundwork for a future mining operation on the lunar surface, which holds all sorts of precious minerals and other resources that are difficult for us humans to access, to say the least.

China’s Chang’e 5 mission will be the program’s first major effort to get on the moon. It will involve sending a robotic probe that will land on the lunar surface and retrieve a sample that it will take back to Earth for study. That mission is set for this November, and would be China’s first ever sample retrieval mission in space.

Aluminum’s dangerous dependency on China’s smelter sector – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – January 26, 2017)

January 30, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – China produced 31.6 million tonnes of aluminum last year. National output in both November and December was running at an annualized 34 million tonnes, a fresh record.

The country’s share of global output last month was more than 56 percent, according to figures from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Ten years ago it was around 30 percent.

The build-out of capacity in the intervening decade has been explosive and is continuing, a new generation of smelters rising out of the deserts of the northwestern province of Xinjiang. China’s increasing dominance of the global supply chain has fueled resentment among other producing nations.

Illegal mining eating into Panna, India’s only diamond producing region – by Neeraj Santoshi (Hindustan Times – January 27, 2017)

January 27, 2017

http://www.hindustantimes.com/

Ask anybody in Panna about diamond mining and the response will be: “Number 2 or Number 1?” For locals, the former is illegal and the latter legal.

In the country’s only diamond producing region, situated nearly 400 km from Bhopal in northeastern Madhya Pradesh, illegal mining is rampant, with even Gond tribals, besides other locals, being involved in the trade.

Extending 240 km along the Vindhya ranges in Bundelkhand region, diamond deposits can be found in forests, farms and government land.

India mulls reviving colonial-era gold mines with $2 billion reserves – by By Neha Dasgupta (Reuters U.S. – January 25, 2017)

January 26, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI – India is planning to revive a cluster of colonial-era gold mines – shut for 15 years but with an estimated $2.1 billion worth of deposits left – as the world’s second-largest importer of the metal looks for ways to cut its trade deficit, officials said.

State-run Mineral Exploration Corp Ltd has started exploring the reserves at Kolar Gold Fields, in the southern state of Karnataka, to get a better estimate of the deposits, according to three government officials and a briefing document prepared by the federal mines ministry that was seen by Reuters.

The ministry has also appointed investment bank SBI Capital to assess the finances of the defunct state-run Bharat Gold Mines Ltd, which controls the mines, and the dues the company owes to workers and the authorities, said the officials, who are involved in the process.

China’s Australia Coal Deal Snags Access to Energy-Hungry World – by Ben Sharples (Bloomberg News – January 25, 2017)

January 25, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

China isn’t just buying Australia’s coal assets, it’s also expanding access to the limited infrastructure needed to ship it globally.

Yancoal Australia Ltd.’s $2.45 billion purchase of the biggest slice of Rio Tinto Group’s coal operations will double the Chinese-owned miner’s output in the country. The deal also includes a 36.5 percent stake in Port Waratah Coal Services Ltd., the owner of two terminals at the port of Newcastle, Australia’s main conduit for thermal coal. The amount Yancoal will be permitted to ship will double.

“The Rio operations are long life, so they have plenty of reserves, and Yancoal will benefit from increased port capacity at Newcastle,” said Matthew Boyle, a Sydney-based industry consultant at CRU Group. “This is a definite game changer and Yancoal suddenly becomes a rather large player.”

Rough deal: Panna’s biggest diamond auction means nothing for its miners – by Neeraj Santoshi (Hindustan Times – January 25, 2017)

January 25, 2017

http://www.hindustantimes.com/

Panna, India – Gond tribal Jaggu ‘Adivasi’ is not losing his sleep over a 2 carat diamond he found in the gravel of Panna in November last year. It is out of his hands and will be among the diamonds that would go for lakhs of rupees at a government auction in the Panna collectorate on January 30. Jaggu, who seems to be in his 30s but looks much older, has been paid his wages. It is unlikely he will ever know how much the 2 carat (1 carat= 0.2 gram) diamond went for.

The January 30 auction is the biggest in the history of Panna’s shallow diamond mines and bids would be made for nearly 594 rough diamonds weighing around 476 carats. “Normally diamonds worth Rs 40 lakh to Rs 60 lakh are sold at each auction (four such auctions are held in a year).

Though we don’t reveal the price of individual diamonds, collectively we are hoping to get Rs 1 crore in the auction on January 30,” said Ratnesh Dixit, the diamond officer of Panna.

Freeport-McMoRan shares slump on earnings miss, Indonesia woes – by Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – January 25, 2016)

January 25, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX.N), the world’s biggest publicly-listed copper miner, warned on Wednesday that it would need to start slashing output and jobs at its Indonesia mine by mid-February if it fails to get an export permit from the government.

The Phoenix, Arizona-based miner also reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and cut its 2017 copper and gold production forecasts because it expects lower output at its massive Grasberg mine in Indonesia, sending its shares tumbling.

Freeport’s exports of copper concentrate from Indonesia have been halted since Jan. 12 when a ban on shipping semi-processed ore out of the Southeast Asian country came into effect to boost the local smelter industry.

Canada needs a free trade deal with China, says Teck Resources CEO – by Michael McCullough (Canadian Business – January 25, 2017)

January 25, 2017

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/

Amid the uncertainty around Canadian companies’ access to the U.S. market, Teck Resources CEO Don Lindsay has added his voice to those calling for a free trade agreement between Canada and China. Speaking at a mining exploration conference in Vancouver this week, he pointed to Australia’s bilateral pact with China, which came into effect a year ago, as a model.

“Australia has successfully completed a trade deal that has eliminated 95% of trade tariffs between the two countries,” Lindsay said. “Meanwhile we have duties on our coal.”

Whereas U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed spending US$1 trillion on infrastructure over 10 years, Lindsay noted, “China spends a trillion on infrastructure in about 11 months.”

WHY JAKARTA NEEDS TO READ UP ON 15TH-CENTURY ENGLAND – by Tom Holland (South China Morning Post – January 23, 2017)

January 23, 2017

http://www.scmp.com/

Indonesia wants to build processing plants to add value to the nation’s copper, nickel and bauxite resources, but mining companies are not cooperating

Earlier this month the Indonesian government announced it would relax its ban on the export of raw mineral ores. Despite appearances to the contrary, officials claim they are not retreating from their hardline policy of resource nationalism.

Restricting the export of unprocessed commodities, they continue to insist, will create high-value jobs and spur Indonesia’s economic growth. Critics of the policy are less sure.

The reasoning behind the export ban, which was proposed in 2009 and came into partial effect three years ago, is simple enough. Indonesia is rich in deposits of minerals including copper, nickel and bauxite, the ore of aluminium.

China Moly to help BHR acquire stake in Congo’s Tenke copper mine (Reuters U.S. – January 22, 2017)

January 23, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) said on Sunday it had signed an agreement with Chinese private equity firm BHR to support BHR’s acquisition of a 24 percent stake in Democratic Republic of Congo’s massive Tenke copper mine.

Congo’s mining minister Martin Kabwelulu, meanwhile, confirmed CMOC had become the majority owner of Tenke after state miner Gecamines dropped its objections to CMOC’s purchase in May of a 56 percent stake from Freeport McMoRan Inc for $2.65 billion.

Gecamines, which holds a 20 percent stake in Tenke, one of the world’s largest copper mines, also dropped its objections to BHR’s purchase of a minority stake from Canada’s Lundin Mining in November for about $1.14 billion, Kabwelulu told Reuters.

COLUMN-Might China come to the rescue of the beleaguered London tin market? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – January 18, 2017)

January 19, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Jan 18, 2017 – The London tin market remains a tight and crowded space. True, stocks of the soldering metal registered with the London Metal Exchange (LME) have rebuilt from November’s low of 2,895 tonnes to a current 4,160 tonnes.

And true, the tightness in the nearby spread structure appears to have correspondingly eased to the point that the benchmark cash-to-three-months period CMSN0-3 actually flipped into small contango last week for the first time since September.

But stocks are still low by any historical standard and spreads are still stressed, that cash-to-3s period ending Tuesday valued at $10 per tonne backwardation. The underlying problem seems to be a lack of deliverable metal, even with the persistent cash incentive presented by the backwardation, which flexed out as wide as $270 per tonne last month.

King Solomon’s mines: Israeli archaeologists say fortified trading post a sign of his wealth, power – by Jamie Seidel (News Corp Australia Network – January 18, 2017)

January 18, 2017

http://www.news.com.au/

ARE these the gates to King Solomon’s mines? Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered a fortified trading post dating to the earliest days of the ancient Jewish state. Researchers from Tel Aviv University have uncovered what they call an ‘advanced’ military fortification in the Timna Valley, in Israel’s south.

It’s a site that’s long been associated with the legend of King Solomon’s mines. Dating techniques indicate the structure, and the cluster of copper smelting camps it protects, is about 3000 years old. That puts it squarely in the era of stories attribute to Solomon’s and King David’s reign.

Biblical archaeologists are elated: “The historical accuracy of the Old Testament accounts is debated, but archeology can no longer be used to contradict them,” says archaeologist Dr Erez Ben-Yosef, one of the research teams’ leaders. “On the contrary, our new discoveries are in complete accordance with the description of military conflicts against a hierarchical and centralised society located south of the Dead Sea.”