Asia Mining – Page 111 – Republic of Mining

RPT-COLUMN-China’s commodity trading crackdown has long-term consequences – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – December 7, 2016)

December 7, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Dec 7 Is there a longer-term cost to be paid by China for its ongoing efforts to curb what the authorities in Beijing see as unjustified price spikes in commodity prices on the country’s futures exchanges?

Certainly it is becoming clear that the authorities are continuing to ramp up their campaign against the so-called hot money pumping up commodity prices, with new measures designed to cool price action in iron ore, steel and coal among others.

In recent weeks the Dalian and Zhengzhou commodity exchanges and the Shanghai Futures Exchange have all toughened trading requirements several times. The measures imposed include raising trading margins, hiking transaction fees and imposing trading limits.

De Beers invests $5m to expand Surat diamond grading unit (Times of India – December 6, 2016)

December 7, 2016

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

SURAT: De Beers, a member of the Anglo American group, today said it has invested US $5 million in expansion of its diamond grading and testing centre at Surat in Gujarat.

The move follows the Group’s initial investment of US $10 million in 2015, to establish the facility, which has the capacity to process over US $500 million of diamonds annually.

The facility represents a world-leading resource for India’s diamond cutting and polishing sector, providing polished diamond grading services, diamond verification services and melee (small diamond) testing and screening, International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) President Jonathan Kendall told reporters here.

China’s Virtue Dragon joins Indonesian nickel rush – by Jack Hewson (Asia Nikkei.com – December 7, 2016)

December 7, 2016

http://asia.nikkei.com/

Top executive confident policy will continue to support investment

JAKARTA — Andrew Zhu admits that when he arrived in Indonesia in 2014, he was a little headstrong. He had come in a hurry to set up local operations for Chinese metals producer Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry, founded by Dai Guofang, his father-in-law.

At 29, Zhu is notably young to be president director of Virtue Dragon Nickel Industries, a company managing a $1 billion dollar investment. He is also refreshingly candid.

“You know it was brave for our company to come here, and slightly reckless,” he told Nikkei Asian Review in his office in downtown Jakarta. “We just didn’t have time to conduct thorough due diligence.”

7 dead in latest China mine blast; 60 miners killed in week (Victoria Times Colonist – December 6, 2016)

December 7, 2016

http://www.timescolonist.com/

The Associated Press – BEIJING, China – Seven coal miners are dead and another four still missing after a gas explosion in a central province in the latest deadly accident to strike China’s mining industry, authorities said Wednesday.

Rescuers were still trying to reach miners trapped underground after the Monday night blast in Hubei province, according to a statement from the local propaganda department. Rescue workers are pumping air into the mine shaft to aid the rescue effort.

Five miners were able to escape immediately after the blast. It was the third major mining accident in one week, causing a total of 60 deaths. China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal. Deadly workplace events occur frequently despite a stated public commitment to improving worker safety.

Philippines third quarter nickel ore output drops 16 percent as Duterte’s green clampdown bites – by Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.S. – December 5, 2016)

December 5, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – The Philippines’ output of nickel ore fell 16 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, government data showed on Monday, after the world’s top supplier of the metal suspended some mines in a clampdown on environmental violations.

The Southeast Asian nation has already stopped work at 10 of its 41 mines in a campaign, backed by President Rodrigo Duterte, against what the government says is irresponsible mining. A group of a further 20 more faces possible suspension.

Output of nickel ore for direct shipping fell to 9.34 million tonnes in July-September from 11.09 million tonnes in the same period last year, data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showed.

China slaps new fees on Mongolian exporters amid Dalai Lama row (Reuters U.S. – December 1, 2016)

December 2, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

A major border crossing between China and Mongolia has imposed new fees on commodity shipments between the two countries, amid a diplomatic row sparked by the visit to Ulaanbaatar of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama last week.

The Dalai Lama is cherished as a spiritual leader in predominantly Buddhist Mongolia, but China regards him as a dangerous separatist and warned the visit could damage bilateral relations.

The crossing at Gashuun Sukhait is used to export copper from the giant Oyu Tolgoi mine run by Rio Tinto, as well as coal from the Tavan Tolgoi mine, which China’s state-owned Shenhua Group is currently in the running to develop.

UPDATE 2-More Philippine mine suspensions on the way in boost for nickel – by Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.S. – December 2, 2016)

December 2, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA, Dec 2 The Philippine government will suspend more mines in a fight against environmental degradation, the minister in charge of mining said, a move that could put future supply from the world’s top exporter at risk and lift nickel prices.

Nickel on the London Metal Exchange recovered nearly 1 percent from Friday’s lows on the potential for supply disruption after the minister’s comments.

The Southeast Asian nation has already halted 10 of its 41 mines in a campaign backed by President Rodrigo Duterte against what the government says is irresponsible mining. Twenty more are facing possible suspension and the agency in charge of the review may issue a ruling next week.

Rio seeks iron ore premium from China mills in likely pricing war revival: sources – by Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters U.S. – November 29, 2016)

November 29, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – Australian miner Rio Tinto is asking Chinese steel mills to pay a premium for its highest grade iron ore product for the first time since an annual pricing system collapsed in 2010, two sources familiar with the situation said.

The demand by the world’s No. 2 iron ore miner comes as Chinese steel producers recover from years of losses, buoying demand for the steelmaking raw material, but could revive tensions between miners and mills over pricing that they seemed to have ditched six years ago.

Rio is seeking up to $1 per ton more than the index price for its Pilbara iron ore product, or PB fines, from Chinese mills on long-term contracts for 2017, the sources said, in a break from a years-long trend of pricing at spot values. Previously, Rio was selling the ore at a premium only to traders.

Not all foreign investment is in Canada’s national interest – by Sean Speer and Shuvaloy Majumdar (Globe and Mail – November 28, 2016)

November 28, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Let us be precise: Chinese SOEs are controlled and influenced by
the Chinese government and are plainly agents of the Chinese state.
Former senior CSIS official Ray Boisvert has said: “state-owned
enterprises have the same marching orders or essentially the same
mandate or mission” as the broader Chinese state. These companies
have non-market objectives including corporate espionage, the
acquisition of strategic resources and geopolitical calculations.

New reports that Ottawa may relax restrictions on foreign investment in previously protected sectors such as broadcasting and telecommunications is welcome news. It’s the type of structural reform that could provide a long-term boost to the Canadian economy. The Trudeau government has already signalled progress on opening up the aviation sector and will deserve considerable credit if it maintains such ambition across other parts of the economy.

But such a liberalization should not be executed unthinkingly. Federal investment policy should be prepared to distinguish between state-owned enterprise (SOE) investment and investment from different sources – and maintain the capacity to exclude investments that aren’t in the national interest.

China’s iron ore imports on track to top 1 billion tonnes; India shipments surge – by Manolo Serapio Jr (Reuters India – November 25, 2016)

November 25, 2016

http://in.reuters.com/

MANILA – China’s iron ore imports from India surged in October and purchases from Australia grew slightly, data showed on Friday, with total shipments to the world’s top buyer of the steelmaking commodity on course to top 1 billion tonnes this year.

Shipments from Australia, which account for nearly two-thirds of China’s imports, rose 3 percent to 49.89 million tonnes last month, according to China’s official customs data. Shipments from No. 2 supplier Brazil increased 17 percent to 17.88 million tonnes.

China’s total iron ore imports were 80.8 million tonnes in October, the lowest since February, but the biggest volume ever for the month of October.

Barrick mulls Kalgoorlie bid of roughly $1.3 billion by China’s Minjar: sources – by John Tilak and Susan Taylor (Reuters Canada – November 24, 2016)

November 25, 2016

http://ca.reuters.com/

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barrick Gold is reviewing the financial backing behind an approximately $1.3 billion bid for its stake in Australia’s Kalgoorlie mine by Minjar Gold, a unit of Shanghai-listed Shandong Tyan Home, two sources told Reuters.

Toronto-based Barrick, the world’s largest gold producer, is studying the offer for the 50 percent stake to ensure Minjar has adequate resources and support to complete the transaction, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the matter is private. Barrick declined to comment.

Little-known Minjar has trumped offers by Australian, Chinese and Canadian companies for the asset, the sources said.Newmont Mining, Barrick’s joint venture partner at Kalgoorlie and mine operator, has said it was interested in buying the remaining stake, but price has been a sticking a point.

UPDATE 2-Indonesia to cut royalty for processed nickel to 2 pct -official – by Wilda Asmarini (Reuters U.S. – November 22, 2016)

November 22, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Nov 22, 2016 – Indonesia will cut the royalty charged on sales of processed and refined nickel to 2 percent, a mining ministry official said on Tuesday, part of a revision of government rules on non-tax revenue from the coal and minerals sector.

The revision is needed to encourage more miners to develop smelters, said Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot, referring to a government drive to develop downstream industries and increase returns from Indonesia’s mineral resources.

The royalty, paid by miners to the government, is currently 4 percent of each sale. “If it’s 4 percent it’s as if it gives no incentive for processing and refining. It gives no stimulus to companies to (build smelters),” Gatot told parliament.

What do Chinese millennials want? De Beers hopes to boost market for N.W.T. diamonds – by Mitch Wiles (CBC News North – November 17, 2016)

November 18, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

With slower economic growth in China and millennials marrying later in life, the diamond industry is looking closer at what millennials want, how they purchase, and why. According to the 2016 Diamond Insight Report from De Beers, total global diamond jewelry sales fell from $81 billion US in 2014, to $79 billion US in 2015.

The report defines millennials as people born between 1981 and 2000. Chinese millennials represented 68 per cent of that country’s total diamond jewelry purchases. There are 421 million millennials living in China.

Tom Ormsby, head of external and corporate affairs for De Beers Canada, highlighted findings of the report in Yellowknife on Tuesday, at the 44th Annual Geoscience Forum. De Beers operates the Gahcho Kue diamond mine 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

Aluminium in Iran – can the potential be realised? – by Ken Stanford (Aluminum Insider – November 18, 2016)

November 18, 2016

http://aluminiuminsider.com/

Following the relaxation of sanctions, Iran, which has for many years been marred by political issues and civil unrest now has plans for fresh development of its infrastructure and industry – and the country’s aluminium sector in particular has been targeted for key support. However, the prospects for realising the considerable potential will be impacted by various challenges.

Aluminium is the world’s fastest growing industrial metal and Iran has the potential to be a major player in this accelerating, profitable sector, according to a recent presentation made in Iran by the London-based Commodities Research Unit Group (CRU). CRU’s raw materials expert, Michael Insulan, was speaking at a seminar staged at the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO), headquartered in Tehran.

According to Insulan, demand for aluminium has been growing at a fast pace. In order to consider Iran’s potential, it is useful to take a look at the regional and global context. The metal recorded a nearly 6% compound annual demand growth rate for the 2000-15 period – even topping iron ore, the global commodity market’s most sought-after material.

World’s Top Miner Expects Iron Ore, Coal Price Surge to Cool – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – November 17, 2016)

November 17, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, expects soaring prices of iron ore and coking coal to moderate even as China pushes ahead with efforts to restructure its steel sector.

Prices have been supported in recent months by restocking and short-term supply disruptions, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie told reporters Thursday in Brisbane following the company’s annual meeting. Iron ore has jumped 66 percent this year to rebound from three straight annual declines, while coking coal has surged about 295 percent.

China’s determination to push through with restructuring in its steel and coal sectors, and the nation’s increasing willingness to favor imports over domestic material, has buoyed prices alongside other short-term catalysts, according to Mackenzie.