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UPDATE 1-Philippines suspends seventh nickel miner in environmental crackdown – by Manolo Serapio Jr and Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – August 4, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA, Aug 4 – The Philippine government has suspended the operations of a seventh nickel miner, Claver Mineral Development Corp, a minister said on Thursday, deepening an environmental crackdown that has caused jitters in global nickel markets.

The Philippines is the biggest supplier of nickel ore to top market China and the suspension of some mines and the risk of more closures sent global nickel prices to an 11-month high of $10,900 a tonne on July 21.

“Today we are suspending Claver Mineral. We will audit all the mine sites of Mindanao,” Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez said, referring to the nickel-rich southern Philippine island. Claver runs a mine in the Surigao del Norte province in Mindanao.

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Duterte on mining firms: I am fighting a monster – by Christina M. Mendez (Philippine Star – August 4, 2016)

http://www.philstar.com/

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED 7:26 p.m.) — President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at the oligarchs who exploit the country’s natural resources particularly, those in the mining and fisheries industry.

“I am fighting a monster. Believe me, I will destroy their clutches on our nation,” he said at an environment summit at Ateneo de Davao University. Duterte vowed anew to go after mining firms which continue to practice environmentally destructive open-pit methods and corporations which are granted mining permits through money, influence and sheer greed.

The president scored the reckless grant of permits solely on the basis that a mining firm can afford it.

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Thomson Reuters Foundation Investigation | Child workers trapped in mica mines – by Nita Bhalla, Anuradha Nagaraj and Rina Chandran (Thomson Reuters Foundation/Hindustan Times – August 3, 2016)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/

In the depths of India’s illegal mica mines, where children as young as five work alongside adults, lurks a dark, hidden secret — the cover-up of child deaths with seven killed in the past two months, a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation has revealed.

Investigations over three months in the major mica producing states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh found child labour rife, with small hands ideal to pick and sort the valued mineral that puts the sparkle in cosmetics and car paint.

But interviews with workers and local communities discovered children were not only risking their health by working in abandoned “ghost” mines off official radars, but they were dying in the unregulated, crumbling mines, with seven killed since June.

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Mining firms take up Duterte’s challenge – by Louise Maureen Simeon (Philippine Star – August 3, 2016)

http://www.philstar.com/

MANILA, Philippines — The mining industry has taken President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent warning as a challenge to continue keeping up with the standards of responsible mining in the country.

“We continue to take the President’s statements as a challenge for us to step up our efforts and practices in adhering to the tenets of responsible mining,” the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said.

On Monday, Duterte issued a stern warning to mining firms as he vowed to be tough on businesses that are destroying the environment and violating government standards.

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Philippines’ Duterte says nation can survive without mining companies – by Manola Serapio Jr. and Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – August 1, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday warned mining companies to strictly follow tighter environmental rules or shut down, saying the Southeast Asian nation could survive without a mining industry.

“We will survive as a nation without you,” Duterte told a media briefing, referring to the country’s miners. “Either you follow strictly government standards or you close down.”

It was the boldest statement yet from Duterte against domestic miners that he warned in the weeks before he took office on June 30 to “shape up” and to “stop spoiling the land.” The Philippines has so far suspended the operations of seven domestic nickel mines for failure to comply with environmental regulations.

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Kazakhstan: Privatization Versus Control – by Eimear O’Casey and Alexander Batchilo (Forbes Magazine – July 28, 2016)

http://www.forbes.com/

LONDON — Like oil and gas exporters across the globe, Kazakhstan has been hit hard by the sharp drop in global hydrocarbon prices since late 2014. Exports are down, budget revenues have been squeezed, and the Central Bank was forced to carry out a de-facto devaluation in August 2015 that rendered the Kazakh tenge the world’s most volatile currency last year.

In response, the government has emphatically embarked on an anti-crisis plan. At its center is a major privatization drive, announced in January. In total, 65 state-owned companies and 175 of their subsidiaries are to be transferred partially or entirely to the private sector via a combination of negotiations, auctions and initial public offerings (IPOs) by 2020.

Among the biggest prizes on offer are stakes of up to 25% in the state oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz, national airline Air Astana, state railways Temir Zholy and holdings in the nuclear, mining and electricity sectors. The government is strongly encouraging foreign companies to bid for these.

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UPDATE 1-Philippines will not allow Tampakan mine to operate as open-pit -minister (Reuters U.K. – July 27, 2016)

http://uk.reuters.com/

The Philippine minister in charge of mining said she will not allow the $5.9 billion Tampakan gold and copper mine in southern Mindanao island to operate as an open-pit site and vowed to shut more operations causing environmental destruction.

The Tampakan project is the biggest stalled mining venture in the Southeast Asian country, failing to take off after the province where it is located banned open-pit mining in 2010. Commodities giant Glencore Plc quit the project last year.

“I will not allow the Tampakan project,” Regina Lopez told reporters, as long as it is planned as an open-pit mine. She said all permits given to the project will be reviewed “but we will observe due process”. Officials at Sagittarius Mines Inc, owned by local investor Alcantara Group, which has control of Tampakan, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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More mining firms to undergo review over alleged violations – by Louise Maureen Simeon (PhilStar.com – July 26, 2016)

http://www.philstar.com/

MANILA, Philippines — Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has bared a new list of mining companies that would undergo extensive review following complaints from the indigenous people of Mindanao.

Lopez had a dialogue with the Lumads of Mindanao Sunday afternoon to hear their sentiments. “I met with them and they wanted to stop large-scale mining in their provinces. And they were very explicit to the names [of the companies],” she said.

In a phone interview with The STAR, Lopez said the Lumads revealed eight mining firms that are allegedly committing environmental and social violations. One of which is Canadian-owned TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. in Zamboanga del Norte which is being reviewed over alleged “human rights violation causing demolition and forced evacuation.”

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Chinese miners call for anti-dumping probe into iron ore imports – by Ruby Lian and David Stanway (Reuters U.S. – Juy 26, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

SHANGHAI – Chinese iron ore miners have called for an anti-dumping investigation into imports of the steelmaking raw material from top suppliers Australia and Brazil.

More than 20 Chinese miners in a statement on the Metallurgical Miners’ Association of China website said “a huge volume of low-priced imported iron ore has had a severe impact on the domestic mining industry and even posed a big challenge for the security of steel production”.

“The capacity of major iron ore miners has continued to grow and requires a massive Chinese market to absorb their great excess,” the statement posted on Tuesday said. Australia’s BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, along with Brazil’s Vale, have embarked on massive expansion programs in recent years to supply the Chinese market.

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Chinese firms back on the hunt for mining treasure as majors offload assets – by Eric Ng (South China Morning Post – July 25, 2016)

http://www.scmp.com/

Study shows domestic firms snap up US$4.49b worth of overseas mining interests in the first six months, an 18.2pc rise

Resurgent Chinese interest in overseas mining acquisitions is expected to remain strong, amid expectations that metal prices may be bottoming out and as international mining majors look to improve their portfolios by selling assets.

Domestic firms snapped up US$4.49 billion worth of overseas mining assets in the first six months of the year, an 18.2 per cent rise on the US$3.8 billion in the same period last year, according to data collated by Mergermarket which has co-published a report on the findings with international law firm Baker & McKenzie.

“In the past, China’s demand [for overseas assets] has been driven by central [government] policy, [but now] we are seeing more opportunistic buying,” said John Mollard, global head of mining at Baker & McKenzie.

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Philippines’ House Speaker wants Congress to license new miners (Reuters U.K. – July 25, 2016)

http://uk.reuters.com/

The Philippines’ newly elected House Speaker said on Monday he wants new mining companies to get a legislative license before they are allowed to operate in the country as part of efforts to protect the environment.

Pantaleon Alvarez, a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, also said he will revive a proposed measure that will require miners to process their ores locally before they are shipped overseas to help create jobs domestically.

“Their activities would be subject to legislative oversight and their franchises can be revoked by the oversight body… if they violate the terms and conditions (of the franchise),” Alvarez said in a speech after he was elected speaker on Monday.

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India needs to mine 12 critical minerals to up its manufacturing capabilities says new study – by Aradhna Wal (BNA India.com – July 21, 2016)

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/

For India’s manufacturing sector to grow and for the country to transition to from a low to middle technology manufacturer to a high-tech one, twelve ‘critical, non-fuel minerals’ could play a key a role, said a new government funded report.

Released by the Centre for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), it focused on upping India’s manufacturing capabilities, by 2030, in a “range of industries and modern applications” such as “aerospace, automobiles, cameras, defece, entertainment systems, laptops, medical imaging, nuclear energy, and smartphones.”

Some of the critical minerals are beryllium, germanium, rare earths (heavy and light), rhenium, tantalum.

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UPDATE 1-Philippine minister asks Nickel Asia to halt Manicani ore exports to China – by Enrico dela Cruz and Julian Elona (Reuters U.S. – July 20, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

MANILA, July 20 The Philippine mining minister said on Wednesday she has asked Nickel Asia Corp to stop shipping nickel ore to China, citing environmental concerns at the company’s mine on an island along the country’s eastern central edge.

The move follows a government audit of Nickel Asia’s operations on Manicani island, where the country’s top nickel producer has stockpiled an estimated 1.4 million tonnes of ore from a closed mine.

The audit found that Nickel Asia was taking out too much soil in its Manicani hauling operations and shipping it to China along with the ore, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez told reporters after speaking at a business forum.

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Philippines flips the pig nickel finger at China – by Robert Gottliebsen (The Australian – July 20, 2016)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

We are now seeing the first repercussions of the fact that the disputes between China and the Philippines extend beyond the South China Sea — the nickel price is on the rise following nickel mine shutdowns ordered by the Philippine government.

Last night, nickel edged up to a one-year peak of $US4.81 a pound. While last night’s price is a far cry from the heady days when nickel was above $US10 a pound, it still represents a rise of almost 15 per cent from the $US4.20-a-pound level where nickel traded just a month ago.

While the outlook for all the base metals is improving, the shut down of key nickel mines in the Philippines has given a real boost to the nickel market at the expense of China.

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Only India, South Korea have active technology for deep sea mining (The Hans India.com – July 19, 2016)

http://www.thehansindia.com/

New Delhi:The ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague on the South China Sea dispute in favour of the Philippines may have come as a setback for China but it will not stop Beijing from continuing with its quest for maritime hegemony in the region.

“The reaction of China on the court’s ruling was on expected lines,” Prashant Kumar Singh, Associate Fellow in the East Asia Centre of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), told IANS.

“In the immediate term, it might adopt aggressive posturing and show a defiant face to other claimants to the dispute and also to the US which is a security provider for many of the claimants, including the Philippines,” he said.

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