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Telfer, Giustra deny they tried to influence Russian uranium deal with donations to Clinton Foundation – by Peter Koven National Post – April 25, 2015)

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

A pair of Canadian mining magnates are denying suggestions that they donated to the charitable foundation of former President Bill Clinton and his family to help win U.S. approval to sell a uranium company to Russia.

Frank Giustra said the allegations have nothing to do with him, and are merely an attempt to “tear down” presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her election campaign. Ian Telfer, meanwhile, said he committed the funds before he ever realized he would do the deal with the Russians.

The New York Times reported on the donations in an explosive article this week. The story involves a former Canadian mining company called Uranium One Inc., in which Giustra and Telfer were two of the key principals.

In 2010, Uranium One began a process to sell itself to Rosatom, a state-controlled nuclear giant in Russia. Uranium One had assets in Kazakhstan and the United States, and multiple U.S. government departments had to sign off on the deal. One of them is the State Department, which was led at the time by Hillary Clinton.

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Fox News uses input from New York Times reporter (!) for ‘Clinton Cash’ piece – by Erik Wemple (Washington Post – April 23, 2015)

http://www.foxnews.com/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Earlier this week, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow devoted considerable time to examining the agreements of major media outlets with Peter Schweizer, the author of “Clinton Cash,” a soon-to-be-released book highlighting overlaps between the work of the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

No surprise, said Maddow, that Fox News would be partnering with such an author, who advised Sarah Palin and assisted the George W. Bush White House with speechwriting. Some surprise, said Maddow, that a news org like the New York Times would strike an exclusive agreement with Schweizer.

Now for an even bigger surprise: Not only did the New York Times work with Schweizer; it also worked directly with Fox News! See the segment below, in which New York Times investigative reporter Jo Becker provides input for the report of Fox News host Bret Baier on a “bombshell rocking the Clinton campaign.”

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How Putin’s Russia Gained Control of a U.S. Uranium Mine – by William Kennedy and Andy Hoffman(Bloomberg News – April 23, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Since 2013, the nuclear energy arm of the Russian state has controlled 20 percent of America’s uranium production capacity.

Rosatom’s acquisition of Toronto-based miner Uranium One Inc. made the Russian agency, which also builds nuclear weapons, one the world’s top five producers of the radioactive metal and gave it ownership of a mine in Wyoming.

The deal, approved by a committee that included then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also followed donations from Uranium One’s Canadian chairman to the Clinton Global Foundation, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Ian Telfer, the former Uranium One chairman and current chairman of Goldcorp Inc., said he pledged a donation of $3 million to the Clinton charity in March 2008, “when it was never contemplated that at some point in the future the Russian government would become a major shareholder of Uranium One.”

Why did the Russian government want Uranium One? Russia is only the world’s sixth-largest uranium miner, but has a huge nuclear fuel industry. Rosatom had built that business partly by processing uranium from Soviet warheads decommissioned under the so-called megatons-to-megawatts agreement signed with the U.S. in 1993.

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Local mining magnates drawn into American political arena – by Nelson Bennett (Business Vancouver – April 24, 2015)

http://www.biv.com/

Vancouver mining magnates Frank Giustra and Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) chairman Ian Telfer made generous donations to former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s charitable organization at a time when the company they built was acquiring assets in Russia and the U.S., according to the New York Times.

The story suggests the donations may have helped Giustra and Telfer conclude deals that eventually resulted in the Canadian mining company, Uranium One, being acquired by the Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp. It suggests former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton might have had a hand in approving the deal.

Several major U.S. media outlets have weighed in, saying there appears to be little, if any, evidence that Hillary Clinton would even have had knowledge of the deal.

Neither Telfer nor Giustra deny making donations to the Clinton Foundation, but insist there was no lobbying on their behalf from either Bill or Hillary Clinton as a result of the donations.

Telfer told Business in Vancouver that the timelines don’t line up to support the suggestion that Hillary Clinton – former U.S. Secretary of State – would have even been in a position to help his company. Telfer is the former chairman of Uranium One.

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Up to $1 trillion in gold is held by temples in India. Now Modi wants them to monetize this vast hidden wealth – by Rama Lakshmi (Washington Post/National Post – April 24, 2015)

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

MUMBAI — Workers for the centuries-old Shree Siddhivinayak Temple here spent hours unpacking gold coins, heavy wedding necklaces and lustrous pendants from a closely guarded “strong room.” By the time gold-buyers began mingling with worshippers at the sweltering sanctuary on Tuesday, the jewelry auctioneers were ready.

“This is not a regular gold coin that you would buy from a gold shop — it contains the Lord’s blessing,” a temple board member said, holding up a tiny coin, probably left by a devotee years ago. It eventually sold for four times its face value.

Wealthy Hindu temples such as this one are repositories for much of the $1 trillion US worth of privately held gold in India — about 22,000 tons, according to an estimate from the World Gold Council. In 2011, one temple in south India was found to have more than $22 billion in gold hidden away in locked rooms rumoured to be filled with snakes. Another has enough gold to rival the riches stashed at the Vatican, experts said.

But little of it is contributing to the Indian economy, and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is looking to monetize India’s vast hidden wealth. In coming weeks, the government plans to begin a program that will allow temples to deposit their gold into banks to earn interest and circulate in the economy, rather than sit idle in musty vaults. The gold, officials said, would be melted down and sold to jewellers.

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Jim Doak, Canadian mining executive, found dead in Mongolia (CBC News Business – April 24, 2015)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business

Chairman of Khan Resources was well-known Bay Street personality and frequent BNN commentator

The Canadian Press – A published report says Jim Doak, a well-known Bay Street personality who regularly appeared as a commentator on business channel BNN, has died while on business in Mongolia.

The Globe and Mail, citing sources, said Doak, 59, who was chairman of uranium exploration and development company Khan Resources, was found dead Thursday morning in a hotel room.

The public relations officer for the Police Authority of Mongolia confirms the death of an unidentified Canadian man on the 16th floor of the Blue Sky hotel in Ulan Bator. The officer said a preliminary autopsy found there was no foul play but added that a final autopsy report would be available in four days.

The federal government confirmed that a Canadian has died in Mongolia, but would not provide details. A Foreign Affairs spokesman said consular officials were in contact with authorities to gather more information.

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Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company – by Jo Becker and Mike McIntire (New York Times – April 25, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/

The headline in Pravda trumpeted President Vladimir V. Putin’s latest coup, its nationalistic fervor recalling an era when the newspaper served as the official mouthpiece of the Kremlin: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.”

The article, in January 2013, detailed how the Russian atomic energy agency, Rosatom, had taken over a Canadian company with uranium-mining stakes stretching from Central Asia to the American West. The deal made Rosatom one of the world’s largest uranium producers and brought Mr. Putin closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.

But the untold story behind that story is one that involves not just the Russian president, but also a former American president and a woman who would like to be the next one.

At the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry, who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One.

Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States.

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Indonesian crunch could prompt rethink of protectionist mineral export policy – by Jewel Topsfield (Sydney Morning Herald – April 23, 2015)

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

The Indonesian government’s push to increase revenue from the troubled mining industry by 50 per cent this year could force it to rethink bad policies, according to a lawyer from an Indonesian firm specialising in mining law.

The Indonesian mining industry is facing tough times due to the plummeting prices of some of its key exports including coal, tin and nickel and protectionist policies that ban the export of unprocessed minerals.

Coal production dropped by 21 per cent in the first three months of 2015 compared to the same period last year and mineral producers are laying off workers, mothballing high-cost mines and postponing capital expenditure.

Australian miners with exposure to Indonesia include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Newcrest Mining and Cokal Ltd.

“The current difficult economic times for the mining industry and the government are going to force a change of policy,” Bill Sullivan, from Indonesian law firm Christian Teo Purwono & Partners, told a forum in Jakarta.

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China expands potash holdings (The Australian – April 21, 2015)

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

Dow Jones – China’s sovereign-wealth fund took command of a 12.5 per cent stake in embattled Russian potash producer Uralkali Tuesday by exercising an option on a convertible bond it bought late last year.

The step represents a big move by China–the world’s largest consumer of the fertiliser additive–to secure steady supply in a market where governments have zealously protected against foreign ownership in the past. The deal comes amid a bruising trade battle between Uralkali and Belarus over the collapse of a sales partnership that rocked global potash markets and landed the Russian company’s chief executive in a Belarusian prison.

The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has said the trade fight could only be defused if new owners for the Russian potash miner were found. The bond was issued by a special purpose vehicle owned by Uralkali’s primary shareholder Suleiman Kerimov and his two partners. By converting it to shares, the China Investment Corp.–through its Chengdong Investment Corp. subsidiary–transfers ownership of a sizeable stake of the company out of the Russian partners’ hands.

In addition, Mr. Kerimov is in talks to sell the 21.75 per cent stake he owns through his foundation, and his partners are eager to sell their smaller stakes as well, people close to them say. Together the three men control just over a third of the company. People familiar with the situation say potential buyers include several Russian tycoons, but that there is also interest from investment groups in other Asian countries.

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Short seller activities come to light in B.C. regulator’s probe of Silvercorp Metals Inc affair – by Peter Koven (National Post – April 18, 2015)

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

On Sept. 13, 2011, Silvercorp Metals Inc. was set to present at an investor conference in New York. And Jon Carnes and Carson Block wanted to disrupt it.

Both men were shorting Silvercorp shares, betting the stock would slide. And Carnes, who runs a hedge fund called Eos Funds, was preparing to publish a negative report on the company using the name “Alfred Little,” one of multiple pseudonyms he used. In a series of emails, the men agreed the best time to publish it would be shortly before Silvercorp’s presentation at the annual Rodman and Renshaw Global Investment conference — forcing the company to respond to questions about the report, with little time to prepare.

“Would be fantastic to start passing around paper versions of the report during the preso (presentation). Ballsy, but would be hilarious,” Block wrote in an email unearthed by regulators.

A couple of days later, Carnes emailed back and said their plan was a success. “Great idea publishing before their Rodman presentation. It was a disaster for them,” he said.

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Nickel miner TVI may delay Philippine IPO due to weak metal prices – by Erik dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – April 17, 2015)

http://www.reuters.com/

Manila – (Reuters) – TVI Resources Development Phils. Inc (TVIRD), a Philippine nickel miner partly owned by Canada’s TVI Pacific Inc, may push back a planned initial public offering to next year if metal prices remain depressed, its chairman said on Friday.

After a sterling performance in 2014, shares in Philippine nickel miners have fallen this year because of a slump in metal prices and an economic slowdown in China. Shares in top producer and exporter Nickel Asia Corp have lost nearly 39 percent.

“The target is to list in the fourth quarter. But right now I would not be recommending to the board that we do it,” TVIRD Chairman Clifford James told reporters after speaking at an industry forum. “When market conditions are good, that’s when we’ll list.”

In October, TVIRD began nickel ore exports from its newly developed Agata mine in Surigao province in southern Philippines, a major nickel-producing region supplying ore to processing plants in Australia, China, South Korea and Japan.

Last year the Southeast Asian country became the biggest ore supplier to China’s producers of nickel pig iron, which is used in stainless steel production, after Indonesia banned exports of unprocessed metallic minerals.

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Why coal looms large in India’s future – by Peter Foster (National Post – April 17, 2015)

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

Narendra Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Canada since Indira Ghandi. For much of the intervening period, relations were sticky because of that unfortunate business of India using Canadian technology to manufacture nuclear weapons. At the same time, India’s growth was held back by poor economic policies and widespread corruption, much of it soaked in socialist cant.

Those lousy policies also go back to Mrs. Ghandi. Mr. Modi is rightly seen as a breath of fresh air, even if he inevitably has to play the hypocritical game of global realpolitik.

The alleged landmark deal of Mr. Modi’s visit is India’s $350 million purchase of Saskatchewan uranium. This both symbolically buries the bomb issue, and enables Mr. Modi to trumpet his country’s commitment to “sustainable development,” even as SD is increasingly exposed for the unworkable non-concept that it is.

The notion first emerged at the 1972 UN conference on the environment in Stockholm. Conceived by British intellectual Barbara Ward, who thought the Industrial Revolution had been a mistake, SD’s conceit was that poor nations had to grow while avoiding free markets and fossil fuels.

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RPT-COLUMN-China aluminium surplus to eat away global deficit – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – April 16, 2015)

http://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 16 (Reuters) – China’s exports of aluminium products have continued to surge, a trend that if continued may push the rest of the world toward a surplus.

China’s exports of primary, alloy and semi-finished aluminium grew by around 43 percent in the first quarter over the same period last year, according to preliminary customs data released on Monday.

While the initial data release doesn’t provide the detailed breakdown, figures for January and February show that the overwhelming share is semi-finished products, such as bars, rods, wire, plates, sheet and foil.

In the first two months of the year, exports in this category, commonly known as semis, surged 91 percent to 770,000 tonnes, a trend that will almost certainly be continued when the detailed March figures are released later this month. Exports of semis have surged because they get a 13 percent value-added tax rebate, that largely offsets the 15 percent export tax on aluminium.

The tax rebate doesn’t apply to exports of primary aluminium, but it’s a common view in the market that much of China’s exports of semis is melted down and re-fabricated by importers.

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Modi’s coal turnaround to ease chronic power cuts – by Krishna N. Das (Reuters India – April 16, 2015)

http://in.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI – (Reuters) – Fewer power cuts are likely in India this summer after a surge in output at Coal India (COAL.NS) helped generators amass record stocks, a turnaround for Narendra Modi who had to battle a power crisis within months of becoming prime minister last May.

Fast-track mine approvals, tighter production oversight and more flexibility in coal sales have helped power station stocks recover from a six-year low hit in October, vindicating Modi’s pitch to voters as the state leader who brought round-the-clock power to industrial Gujarat.

As Modi prepares to mark his first year in office and seeks to fulfil a poll promise to provide power to all of India’s 1.2 billion people by 2019, power stations hold 28 million tonnes of coal, a 38 percent jump from a year ago, government data shows.

“The situation is improving,” said K. Raja Gopal, head of the thermal power business at construction, power and real estate conglomerate Lanco Infratech (LAIN.NS), pointing to recent growth in Coal India output. “More needs to be done but 8 to 9 percent didn’t happen before.”

India, the world’s third-largest coal buyer, is expected to cut imports by a fifth in the fiscal year to March 31 from an estimated 200 million tonnes in the previous year. Power companies have relied on imports for 15 percent of their coal needs.

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Uranium deal with India signals new era, Modi tells Harper – by Les Whittington (Toronto Star – April 16, 2015)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Trade, energy, the environment, security, and culture are expected to be among the issues Harper and Modi will discuss during the visit.

OTTAWA—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his visit to Canada by signing a uranium supply deal with Ottawa he says signals a new era in cooperation between the two nations.

At a joint press conference on Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Modi said the agreement that will see hundreds of millions of dollars worth of uranium exported to India from Saskatchewan annually “is a mark (of Canada’s) trust and confidence” in his country.

“And this is going to take forward our relations,” Modi told the media, adding that uranium for India’s civilian nuclear program will help his country address global warming through “clean energy” and thus allows India “to give something to the world.”

Harper, who will accompany Modi to Toronto and Vancouver during the Indian leader’s three-day visit, agreed the uranium sales deal will end the lingering tension arising from India’s use of Canadian equipment to develop a nuclear bomb in the 1970s — which Harper said created “an unnecessarily frosty relationship for far too long.”

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