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Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh still a China bull – by John Kehoe (Australian Financial Review – September 12, 2015)

http://www.afr.com/business/

The chief executive of global mining giant Rio Tinto, Sam Walsh, has expressed strong confidence in the Chinese government pulling “levers” to keep the economy on track, as he revealed that Rio’s internal economic measures for the nation were broadly in line with Beijing’s official estimates.

Mr Walsh admitted the world economy had become far more “volatile” and that potential “shocks” are in store for commodity markets, but was overall upbeat on China in the face of growing unease about its prospects.

Speaking in Washington on Friday, Mr Walsh pointed to reassurance from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that China would avoid a hard landing and that Beijing will meet its 7 per cent growth target this year.

“Rio Tinto endorses that. We believe it will be around that,” Mr Walsh said, after delivering a speech at the US Chamber of Commerce.

“I am positive about China and I am positive about the Chinese leaders and what they can do in relation to pulling the levers they need to pull to keep the economy motoring,” he added.

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Iran says finds unexpectedly high uranium reserve (Reuters U.S. – September 12, 2015)

http://www.reuters.com/

DUBAI – Iran has discovered an unexpectedly high reserve of uranium and will soon begin extracting the radioactive element at a new mine, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Saturday.

The comments cast doubt on previous assessments from some Western analysts who said the country had a low supply and sooner or later would need to import uranium, the raw material needed for its nuclear program.

Any indication Iran could become more self-sufficient will be closely watched by world powers, which reached a landmark deal with Tehran in July over its program. They had feared the nuclear activities were aimed at acquiring the capability to produce atomic weapons – something denied by Tehran.

“I cannot announce (the level of) Iran’s uranium mine reserves. The important thing is that before aerial prospecting for uranium ores we were not too optimistic, but the new discoveries have made us confident about our reserves,” Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Salehi said uranium exploration had covered almost two-thirds of Iran and would be complete in the next four years.

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The Great Indian Gold Rush: Mines ministry pushes to re-open Karnataka’s Kolar Fields and extract gold worth Rs 25,000 crore – by Darpan Singh (Daily Mail Online India – September 13, 2015)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/

All that glitters may soon be gold, and worth Rs 25,000 crore! That’s what the ministry of mines has set out to extract by reworking the grey-white waste hillocks at the abandoned Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka.

Part of this treasure will also come from the mines themselves, still believed to have gold-bearing veins.

The ministry is pushing to revive India’s only world-class gold mining operation, shut in 2001 because of mounting losses and depleting reserves.

But the government is buoyed by the latest assessment it has conducted on the extractable gold.
India is the largest importer and consumer of gold in the world with the imports of the metal standing at around 800 tonnes last fiscal.

But domestic production has dropped to a mere 1.43 tonne. Reviving India’s dormant gold mining industry is key to cutting the rising gold import bill and boosting the economy.

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Australia’s proposed India uranium deal given cautious green light despite ‘risks’ – by Shalailah Medhora (The Guardian – September 8, 2015)

http://www.theguardian.com/

To counteract potential risks of the deal, Australia’s treaties committee recommends nuclear-armed India agree to a number of safeguards

The government-dominated treaties committee has given a cautious green light to a proposed uranium deal with India, but only if the nuclear-armed nation agrees to a number of safeguards.

India is not a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) nor the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT), yet the emerging world leader is in dire need of energy.

As such, the committee report notes that: “It would be fair to say that, in this debate, there are no small risks or benefits. Every issue the committee has dealt with in this inquiry bears significant potential benefits and risks.

“The question for the committee is, then, given the benefits for Australia and India from the proposed agreement, can the risks be tolerated and ameliorated,” the report asked.

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Vale CEO still upbeat on China, iron ore market -paper (Reuters U.S. – September 4, 2015)

http://www.reuters.com/

SAO PAULO – China’s stock market crash and currency devaluation have not dampened the optimism of mining giant Vale’s chief executive, who said he is most upbeat on the iron ore market in two years, according to a newspaper interview published Friday.

China’s stock markets have little relation to its real economy and a new foreign exchange policy has been misinterpreted as stimulus for exports, Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira told newspaper Valor Economico.

“The outlook for iron ore in recent weeks is much better than we saw four months ago. Of the last 24 months, I’m most upbeat right now,” said Ferreira.

The sharp Chinese sell-off in recent weeks rattled global markets, but Ferreira played down those fears and said the devaluation of the yuan was a step toward making the currency convertible.

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Rio Tinto shows Glencore’s Ivan Glasenberg who knows China best – by James Thomson (Australian Financial Review – September 4, 2015)

http://www.afr.com/

Finally, a little relief for Glencore chief Ivan Glasenberg, who watched the miner’s stock climb 6.6 per cent on Thursday night after two horror days of trading that saw it fall 6.7 per cent and then 8.4 per cent.

Glencore stock has hit record low after record low since Glasenberg delivered the company’s results on August 19. Obviously this has been a period of extreme volatility for global markets, and a global commodities trader with a debt pile of $42.7 billion won’t win any awards for defensive stock of the month. But a 26 per cent fall in 12 days isn’t pretty.

Thursday night’s jump came despite Standard & Poor’s revising its outlook on Glencore to “negative” from “stable” after lowering its price assumptions for aluminium, copper, and other metals, “reflecting a change in market conditions and uncertainties about China’s economic outlook.”

But it did take a little financial show of strength to get the shares moving in the right direction again. On Wednesday Glencore said it would pay back $US350 million ($500 million) of perpetual bonds next month, at the earliest possible date. It was a clever way of showing the company has cash to pay debt as it battles the commodity price slump.

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Greenpeace India Says It Will Continue Environmental Campaign – by Nida Najar (New York Times – September 4, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/

NEW DELHI — Greenpeace India said on Friday that it would continue campaigning for clean air and against coal mining in protected forests in the country despite the government’s revoking its permission to receive foreign donations.

In an order canceling the group’s registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that Greenpeace had “prejudicially affected the economic interest of the state.” Greenpeace India learned of the cancellation on Thursday.

The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has declared economic development a priority and has been cracking down on nongovernmental organizations like Greenpeace, whose work often runs counter to its aims.

“I think all along this is not about Greenpeace alone; this is about what’s happening to the space for dissent in India,” said Vinuta Gopal, the interim co-executive director of Greenpeace India. “The clampdown has not been just against us. It’s been against a number of NGOs.”

In April, the government suspended Greenpeace India’s registration for foreign funding and froze its bank accounts.

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Rio Tinto Expects Solid Demand for Iron Ore – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – September 3, 2015)

http://www.wsj.com/

Mining company stays confident in China’s steel market, despite country’s slowdown

SYDNEY— Rio Tinto PLC told investors it expects world-wide demand for iron ore to keep growing despite China’s economic slowdown, as the company projected a rising appetite for steel in coming years.

On Thursday, Rio Tinto forecast 2.5% average annual growth in global steel demand for the next 15 years. Emerging markets are expected to take on an expanded role, with the mining company predicting that non-Chinese steel demand will rise 65% by 2030.

While Chinese steel output has waned recently, Rio Tinto said it remained confident in the country’s steel market. It stuck with an earlier projection that Chinese crude steel production will reach about one billion metric tons by the end of next decade. China produces roughly half the world’s steel, and its annual production is currently at roughly 800 million tons.

A global glut of steel and concerns over China’s economic prospects, have hurt prices for iron ore, the biggest ingredient in steelmaking.

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COLUMN – Seaborne coal market may shrink, total demand won’t – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – September 3, 2015)

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – It’s tempting to mould events to suit your view of how the world should be, and there seems to be plenty of that in the coal debate.

There is certainly enough evidence to suggest seaborne coal volumes are trending lower, but it’s probably a mistake to use the sector as a proxy for the total market.

Environmentalists are keen to see coal as a sunset fuel that should be phased out as soon as possible given its role as a major contributor to climate change.

They have been heartened by recent news of the closure of a small coal mine in Australia and the decision by the city council of Australia’s Newcastle, home to the world’s biggest coal export harbour, to divest from the fuel.

Falling imports by China and India, the two largest buyers of the dirty fuel, have also been cited as further evidence that coal is on the way out.

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Nalco executives to visit Iran for talks on $2 billion smelter plan – by Swansy Afonso (Live Mint.com – September 3, 2015)

http://www.livemint.com/

The company will discuss forming a joint venture with the IMIDRO, said T.K. Chand

Mumbai: India’s National Aluminium Co. Ltd (Nalco) executives plan to visit Iran this month for initial talks to build a $2 billion smelter in the Middle Eastern country, the first pick on its three-nation short list.

The company will discuss forming a joint venture with the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, or IMIDRO, T.K. Chand, chairman and managing director of National Aluminium, or Nalco, said in an interview at his office in Bhubaneswar.

“Our consultant has shortlisted Iran, Oman and Indonesia for the smelter,” Chand said. “We have started discussions in order of preference starting with Iran. We will take a view on all countries and shortlist one taking into account the availability of gas and energy for making cost competitive power.”

Strong trade relations and a rupee trade system between India and Iran, as well easing global sanctions, make the Middle Eastern country a preferred choice, Chand said. Nalco is bullish about Indian demand, with per capita consumption forecast to grow to about 5 kilograms to 6 kilograms in the next five years from about 1.8 kilograms now, he said.

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The Blood Red Rubies of Burma (DOCUMENTARY) – June 2015

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuuRPqRkd4bUZxDSActiiog/feed

The Mogok Valley in Upper Myanmar (Burma) was for centuries the world’s main source for rubies. That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in recent years very few good rubies have been found there. The very best color in Myanmar rubies is sometimes described as “pigeon’s blood.”

In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the 1990s and rapidly became the world’s main ruby mining area. The most recently found ruby deposit in Myanmar is in Namya (Namyazeik) located in the northern state of Kachin.

Ruby Country – as the Burmese call their country, which is famous for the jewels as red as blood. In the old days the rubies were in maharajas ownership. They were sold to the Europeans. Today, trade with the red rubies is fully at the hands of the military government field in the. They are currently the new owners of the mines. The golden triangle is the largest and most dangerous ruby country in the world.

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Afghanistan’s Secret Billion Dollar Emerald Mines (Journeyman Pictures – March 31, 2015)

 

http://www.journeyman.tv/

Hidden Gems: Afghanistan is not only a country in perpetual turmoil, but also a geological miracle. Can they now harness 1,000 billion Euros worth of natural resources in order to lift the nation out of poverty?

“We have a lot of requests from Europe because the Emeralds from Afghanistan are the best in the world”, Raphael says. He’s a Frenchman who first came to Afghanistan to train Afghan security services before venturing into the emerald trade.

He sees a huge chance here to exploit a market that could easily increase in value twenty or thirty-fold, but the obstacles are not inconsiderable. Just to get to the mines Raphael has to travel the 150 Kilometres from Kabul to Panjshir, right through Taliban kidnap country.

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Collapsing Fanya Metal Exchange in China raises concerns about minor metals – by Peter Koven (National Post – September 2, 2015)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

The potential collapse of a Chinese commodity exchange could put more pressure on prices for rare earths and other minor metals in which investors have already suffered tremendous losses over the past several years.

Last week, furious investors kidnapped Shan Jiulang, head of the Fanya Metal Exchange, at a Shanghai hotel and turned him over to police, according to the Financial Times. It capped a debacle in which the Fanya exchange ran into liquidity problems and stopped paying out money on its investment products. Roughly US$6.4 billion of investor funds were frozen, according to estimates.

Now the risk is that Fanya will liquidate its vast holdings of minor metals, a move that could crush the highly illiquid markets for these products and harm Canadian companies in the space.

Of course, that assumes Fanya’s reported holdings are accurate. Investors treat everything this exchange says with skepticism after its rapid flameout.

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The curse of the blood rubies: Inside Burma’s brutal gem trade – by Dan McDougall (Daily Mail – September 18, 2010)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/

PLEASE NOTE THIS FACINATING AND INFORMATIVE ARTICLE IS FROM 2010!

They are the most expensive gems per carat on Earth – and Burma is blessed with an abundance of them. The trade in Burmese rubies is banned, but as a Live investigation discovers, the country’s corrupt military junta is forcing people to mine them in slave-labour conditions to line their own pockets – and business is booming

Beneath a shroud of grey moonlight the road to Mandalay is as elusive as a ghost as it twists and turns away from the plateau and plunges down into the valley floor. Through the gloom, with our headlights dimmed to avoid army patrols, our aged Datsun painstakingly crawls along the rough gravel highway as we look for signs of life in the Burmese hinterland.

Suddenly, at a bend in a river, we see the dull glow from dozens of kerosene lamps in the middle distance. Silhouetted against the night sky men, women and children are silently clawing into loose rock with blunt iron tools and bare hands.

Squatting along the rocky bank they are risking everything; scrounging for deadly crumbs from the military junta’s table.

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COLUMN – Weak China PMIs won’t automatically lower commodity imports – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – September 1, 2015)

http://in.reuters.com/

China’s various purchasing managers’ indexes gather significant attention as indicators of the health of the world’s second-biggest economy, but they are less useful as a predictor of commodity imports.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a 3-year low of 49.7 in August, in line with market expectations and down from a reading of 50 in July.

The drop below the 50-level that separates expansion from contraction will be viewed as another sign that China is struggling for growth momentum, and raises further questions over whether 2015’s official target of a 7-percent increase in gross domestic product can be realised.

The Caixin/Markit PMI dropped to 47.3 in August, the weakest since 2009 and down from 47.8 in July.

The official PMI focuses on large, state-controlled companies, while the Caixin/Markit measure encompasses more small- and medium-sized enterprises.

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