Asia Mining – Page 120 – Republic of Mining

Bauxite mining politicised; I would like to break that jinx: Tom Albanese – by Kunal Bose (Business Standard – April 18, 2016)

April 18, 2016

Interview with Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Resources

The right place to build aluminium smelters is where bauxite, coal and capital are available, Vedanta Resources Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese tells Kunal Bose. Ideally, there should also be an expanding local market for the metal. Albanese says India has it all. Edited excerpts:

Your chairman, Anil Agarwal, says India has abundant natural resources and demand potential to lift annual aluminium smelting capacity to 20 mt from 4.1 mt. Is he not too optimistic, since a lot of local capacity now remains idle?

The question is, will demand be there in future to support that kind of capacity build-up? For local demand of 20 mt, we have to have a very long-term perspective, pitched on multiple decades of eight per cent annual gross domestic product growth. Now, the issue is: From where will India get that big a volume of aluminium?

Afghan Mineral Wealth Being Looted by Strongmen, Experts Say (New York Times – April 14, 2016)

April 14, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – KABUL, Afghanistan — The brilliant blue stone lapis lazuli, prized for millennia, is almost uniquely found in Afghanistan, a key part of the extensive mineral wealth that is seen as the best hope for funding development of one of the world’s poorest nations.

Instead, lapis has become a source of income for the Taliban, smugglers and local warlords, emblematic of the central government’s struggle to gain control over the resources and rein in corruption.

Afghanistan is missing out in millions of dollars in revenues from lapis as illegal miners extract thousands of tons from the mines in northeastern Badakhshan province, according to experts and officials. A local police commander named Abdul Malik has control over a major mine, charges illegal miners to use it and pays the Taliban to allow him to operate, according to an internal memo to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani from his top adviser on mines, seen by The Associated Press, and a top official.

India mulls restricted window for atomic mineral mining – by Ajoy K Das (MiningWeekly.com – April 14, 2016)

April 14, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – The Indian government has proposed tweaking the atomic mineral concession rules, which would offer limited leeway to provincial governments to undertake mining of atomic minerals, subject to conditions.

Currently, mining of atomic minerals was under the sole purview of the federal government’s agencies under the scrutiny of the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, within the purview of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

However, once the new concession rules kicked in, provincial governments would be permitted to undertake mining of such minerals, subject to atomic mineral content being lower than a pre-determined threshold.

Indonesia businessman asks court to block sale of local company’s Newmont stake – by Eveline Danubrata and Yuddy Cahya (Reuters U.S. – April 12, 2016)

April 13, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

JAKARTA, April 12 An Indonesian businessman has filed a request to a Jakarta court to put on hold any deal that would involve transferring ownership of a nearly 18 percent stake held by a local company in Newmont Mining Corp’s Indonesian operations.

Gustaaf Merukh, who owns a stake in the local company PT Pukuafu Indah, is suing other shareholders in Pukuafu, including his own relatives, according to court documents dated Feb. 5 seen by Reuters and an interview with his spokesman.

Merukh says these shareholders faked his consent to use Pukuafu’s 17.8 percent stake in Newmont’s local unit, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, as collateral to get a $600 million loan in 2012 from the U.S. parent, Choky Simanjuntak, head of Merukh’s legal and public relations team, told Reuters by phone.

India launches space technology to tackle illegal mining – by Sharon Masige (Australian Mining – April 12, 2016)

April 12, 2016

https://australianmining.com.au/

Rising levels of illegal mining in India is seeing the government implement space technologies in an effort combat the issue. Each state was also asked to gather information on past illegal mining activities and methods used to check them.

According to the Economic Times, Balvinder Kumar, India’s mines secretary, said mapping of mines by satellite will begin with major metals such as gold and iron ore, gradually expanding to include sand and limestone – where the problem is more prevalent.

In September 2015 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the use of space technology to prevent illegal mining activities. “Once fully implemented, the move will bring about transformation in the Indian mining industry. We have identified large chunks of illegal mining in many areas,” Kumar said.

Decline and fall: the broken dreams of a Chinese coal-mining city struggling to address industrial overcapacity – by Zhou Xin (South China Morning Post – April 12, 2016)

April 12, 2016

http://www.scmp.com/

A grim, uncertain future hangs over the 1.7 million residents of Datong in the heart of China’s dusty, windswept coal-mining country about 350km west of Beijing. Amid the imminent threat of massive lay-offs, the city’s coal workers are battling for back-pay and timely salaries just so they can feed their families.

In another area of the city the local government’s boom-and-bust redevelopment plans lie unfinished. A multimillion-dollar “white elephant” sports stadium is slowly being reclaimed by the dust.

Elsewhere, the ruins of the partially built replica ancient walled city are a monument to the failed plans of the city’s former mayor – nicknamed “Demolition Geng” – who dreamed of remaking an “ancient walled city” in the urban centre, but who is long gone.

Australia-India consortium wants to restart historic gold mine – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – April 11, 2016)

April 11, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – An Australian-Indian consortium wants to restart gold mining in a district that helped symbolize former British rule in India and produced some 25 million ounces over 150 years before being abandoned due to low bullion prices.

Mining in the Kolar gold field in Karnataka state in Southern India ended in 2001 as gold prices slumped. But a government tender could lead to mining leases held by Bharat Gold Mines Ltd sold to the highest bidder and operations resume.

A restart would come amid resurgent gold prices and steps by India to monetize some of the estimated 20,000 tonnes of gold held by its citizens and slow imports to free up capital to strengthen its economy.

China Goes Prospecting for World’s Gold Mines – by Biman Mukherji (Wall Street Journal – April 10, 2016)

April 11, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Hunt by Chinese companies for overseas deals could make China an even bigger player in the global gold market

Chinese gold miners are aggressively scouting for overseas acquisitions, encouraged by historically low gold prices that could help them scoop up assets cheaply.

Though gold prices have risen by more than 16% since hitting a six-year low last December, prices are still trading close to levels last seen in 2010, in a range of roughly $1,220-$1,240 per troy ounce.

China is the world’s largest gold consumer and producer, but only a few Chinese companies such as Zijin Mining have ventured abroad to buy mines, unlike their counterparts in industrial metals.

UPDATE 1-Malaysia extends bauxite mining ban by another three months (Reuters U.S. – April 8, 2016)

April 8, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Malaysia will extend its ban on bauxite mining by another three months, effective April 15, in order to clear stockpiles and remove the risk of the aluminium-making ingredient contaminating the country’s rivers, the environment minister said on Friday.

While lower output at the world’s top exporter of bauxite threatens to interrupt supply to the world’s biggest aluminium producer, China, traders expect the impact to be limited given China’s ample stocks of the raw material.

Malaysia’s largely unregulated bauxite mining industry has boomed in the past two years to meet demand from China, filling in a supply gap after Indonesia banned exports, but the frenetic pace of digging has led to a public outcry with many complaining of water contamination and destruction of the environment.

India Could Be Sitting on a Gold Mine – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – April 7, 2016)

April 7, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Gold is so popular in India that it’s created an economic problem for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The country vies with China as the world’s biggest buyer of gold jewelry, thanks in large part to its cherished status in marriage ceremonies. Imports of the metal came to $35 billion last year, and were equivalent to about 43 percent of the country’s current account deficit in the September quarter.

In November, Modi launched a program to lure private gold holdings onto the market by getting banks to offer interest on items deposited in their vaults. If he really wants to limit the amount of gold imported into the country, here’s a smarter way of doing it: Make it easier to produce the stuff domestically.

At the start of the 20th century, India was the world’s sixth-biggest gold producer, according to the country’s Geological Survey.

Iron ore revival throws shaky lifeline to small miners – by Manolo Serapio Jr. (Reuters U.S. – April 1, 2016)

April 1, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

A surprise spike in iron ore prices this year is shaking out fresh supplies of the steelmaking raw material, but some miners say it is too soon to aggressively restart production shuttered by a years-long price rout.

Iran said it has increased shipments to top iron ore consumer China, while traders have also seen more cargoes from India and Malaysia as material kept idled in warehouses and ports is pushed out to buyers to take advantage of the price spurt.

Iron ore .IO62-CNI=SI ended January-March with a 24 percent gain after pushing above $50 a tonne, far outpacing gold that had its best quarter in three decades. The steelmaking raw material is still the top performing commodity this year despite falling 16 percent from last month’s peak, but the wild swings have kept miners wary about the longevity of the price recovery.

As China turns to consumers, Australia confronts end of iron age – by Michael Heath (Sydney Morning Herald – April 1, 2016)

April 1, 2016

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

Just as China’s industrialisation helped reshape our economy, the Asian giant’s move toward consumer-led growth is challenging it anew.

Chinese demand for food and energy will only partly offset slowing growth in iron ore exports that funnelled cash here for more than a decade, according to the RBA. That means the economy must find new growth drivers at a time when cooling housing market and a resurgent currency compound difficulties posed by the slowdown in the nation’s biggest trading partner.

RBA Governor Glenn Stevens acknowledged last week it’s impossible to know how China’s transition will unfold, given nothing on the scale has been tried before. His comments signalled the risks ahead for Australia, the economy most dependent on China in the developed world. Minutes from the RBA’s March 1 board meeting — where interest rates were kept at a record low 2 per cent — showed a bigger chunk of policy makers’ time was spent discussing China.

Indonesian Group Said to Prepare $2 Billion Newmont Mine Bid – by Joyce Koh, Fathiya Dahrul and Elffie Chew (Bloomberg News – April 1, 2016)

April 1, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

An Indonesian consortium led by veteran investment banker Agus Projosasmito is preparing to offer about $2 billion for control of Newmont Mining Corp.’s operations in the country after lining up bank financing, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The investor group plans to bid for about 80 percent of local operating company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara over the next week at the earliest, the people said, asking not to be named before an announcement.

It is poised to borrow about $1 billion from banks including BNP Paribas SA, Malayan Banking Bhd. and Societe Generale SA, as well as state-owned lenders PT Bank Negara Indonesia and PT Bank Mandiri, according to the people.

BLOOD DIAMOND: India has to choose between saving its tigers or becoming one of the largest diamond producers – by Manu Balachandran and Madhura Karnik (Quartz India – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://qz.com/

India has a tough choice to make. Will it be a Rs20,520 crore ($3 billion) diamond mining project or one of the world’s most beautiful wild beasts and nearly 1,000 hectares of pristine forest with other exotic flora and fauna?

For close to a decade, this question has riled decision-makers in the country as they have weighed the pros and cons of letting Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies, look for diamonds under the Chhatarpur forests in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Now, India’s forest advisory committee—a statutory body in charge of environmental clearance—is deliberating the proposal to award the final clearance. Once the committee gives its final say, the environment ministry seldom rejects those recommendations.

Thousands Rally in Mongolia Over Foreign Mining Concessions (New York Times – March 30, 2016)

March 30, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

The Associated Press – ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — A rare public protest in Mongolia’s capital on Wednesday drew thousands of demonstrators who criticized foreign mining concessions and demanded action to prop up the tottering economy.

More than 2,000 demonstrators in Ulaanbaatar’s Freedom Square also called for parliament to be dissolved and a new government formed over alleged corruption and the economic crisis battering the vast, landlocked nation.

Protesters say the mineral wealth that accounts for 94 percent of the nation’s exports has been exploited by foreign companies, with few benefits going to Mongolia’s 3 million people, one-third of whom live in poverty.