Asia Mining – Page 171 – Republic of Mining

Samsung seeks rare earth alternative, in list of future tech investments – by Ryan Huang (ZDnet.com – November 18, 2013)

November 19, 2013

http://www.zdnet.com/

Summary: The conglomerate unveils the first 27 projects under its US$1.4 billion 10-year research drive, which includes finding a substitute for rare earth material, neuromorphic processors and hybrid holographic 3D displays.

South Korean conglomerate Samsung will invest in the search for alternatives to rare earth materials, as part of its major research drive for new technologies.

Last week, it unveiled the first 27 projects under its Future Technology Cultivation Project, which will be backed with funding of 1.5 trillion (US$1.41 billion) of funding over the next 10 years, according to Joongang Daily. This is part of a wider push by South Korea announced in May to develop new growth engines for a creative economy.

There will be 7 areas of research for new materials This includes a project to develop optoelectronics materials that can substitute the use of rare earth materials, which is essential for making TVs, smartphones and other electronics. The supply of the material is currently dominated by China, and is subject to its export quotas.

COLUMN-China reforms to extend commodity boom, boost competition – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – November 18, 2013)

November 18, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

Nov 18 (Reuters) – China’s planned economic and social reforms should have the effect of extending the decade-long boom in demand for commodities, while at the same time making that demand more price sensitive.

While the 60-point reform plan still needs to be fleshed out, initial indications are that the appetite for resources by the world’s biggest commodity buyer is far from finished. From a longer-term perspective the most important parts of the plan include lifting the restrictions on rural migration to smaller cities and easing them for medium-sized cities.

This alone should ensure that China’s demand for iron ore, copper and other base metals remains robust as housing and infrastructure is created across the country to cater for rising urbanisation.

Much of this activity will also fly beneath the radar, as it will take place away from the mega-cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, but this doesn’t mean the commodity demand will be any less real.

3 Major Reasons Why China’s Commodities Super-Cycle Is Toast – by Stuart Burns (Metal Miner.com – November 14, 2013)

November 14, 2013

http://agmetalminer.com/

Some would argue the super-cycle is already over and in terms of double-digit growth, it almost certainly is.

But even Chinese growth of 7% today is sucking up commodities at a faster rate than 10-12% was in 2007, simply because it is 7% of a much bigger GDP number.

Miners have taken heart from recent rises in the rate of GDP growth to sustain their belief the economy has bottomed and will continue to rise into next year. And indeed it may: as we wrote recently, the Chinese economy is benefitting from a mini-stimulus this summer that supported investment in infrastructure and seems to have boosted the fortunes of the crucial construction industry.
But – and you know there is nearly always a but with us – some are not so sanguine about China’s medium- to longer-term growth prospects.

The Chinese communist party is meeting this month for the third plenum of the party’s 18th Central Committee to announce policy initiatives aimed at steering the economy through the major challenges it will face over the next 10 years and beyond.

Implications of Indonesia mining law clear but consequences are not – by Peter Alford (The Australian – November 13, 2013)

November 13, 2013

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

IT took 4 1/2 years for regulations to be published giving teeth to the foreign investment provisions of Indonesia’s mining law – but what teeth!

Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation 27/2013, when it appeared two months ago, crystallised almost everything that worried foreigners about the tone and intent of the mining law passed in 2009.

Although one key intent was to re-create a reliable framework for foreign investment – which, outside coal, remains critical to developing Indonesia’s mineral resources – the law is characterised by a general suspicion of mining activity, a particular impatience with foreign ownership, unsparing regulation and government rent-seeking.

Under MEMR 27/2013 the divestment schedule for mine production licences (production IUPs) is as severe as foreshadowed – from maximum 80 per cent foreign ownership in year six to 49 per cent in year 10 – with national, provincial and local governments having first rights of acquisition.

India Court Allows Restricted Sale of Iron Ore in Goa State – by Biman Mukherji (Wall Street Journal – November 11, 2013)

November 13, 2013

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Ruling That Limits Sale to Domestic Market Offers Little Relief, Industry Executives Say

NEW DELHI—India’s Supreme Court Monday allowed restricted sale of iron ore in the western state of Goa, a decision that industry executives say would offer little relief to the local mining industry.

The country’s top court allowed the auction of around 11 million metric tons from the ore that had already been mined before the mining ban was imposed in 2012 because of environmental concerns. According to the ruling, the material must be sold on the domestic market.

There aren’t many refineries in India that can process the low-grade iron ore produced in Goa. The state, India’s largest producer of iron ore, therefore exported most of the ore it produced until the ban was imposed—Goa used to account for half of India’s iron-ore exports.

“This is a setback,” Glenn Kalvampara, a spokesman of the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association, said, referring to the court’s decision allowing only local sales. “Goa’s ore goes only in one direction: exports.”

Mongolia gears up for the fight of its mining life – by Frik Els (Mining.com – November 11, 2013)

November 12, 2013

http://www.mining.com/

On November 3 Mongolia’s new, friendlier foreign investment law came into force. Probably not a day too soon. The Asian nation of three million citizens, dependent on the mining sector to fuel growth, is desperate to turn around the slump in its economy and the steep fall-off in foreign investment.

Foreign direct investment in the country dropped 49% to September 2013 compared to last year which already marked a 17% year-on-year decline, the value of the currency, the tugrik, is down 20% this year, inflation has returned to double digits and the Mongolian central bank’s off-balance sheet spending is burning through foreign reserves as foreign debts balloon to 55% of GDP.

The path to prosperity for Mongolia, ranked 155th in the world according to GDP per capita, has always been a rocky one. The country has been bailed out by the IMF no fewer than five times and it suffers a domestic bank failure on average every 18 months.

While the changes to the 2012 Strategic Entities Foreign Investment Law (SEFIL) including greater certainty surrounding mining taxes and royalties and the scrapping of the distinction between private foreign and domestic investors are being universally welcomed as a positive step, a number of issues remain unresolved.

China Tries to Clean Up Toxic Legacy of Its Rare Earth Riches – by Kieth Bradsher (New York Times – October 22, 2013)

November 12, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/

TIANJIN, China — In northern China, near the Mongolian border, radioactively contaminated leaks from two decades of rare earth refining have been slowly trickling underground toward the Yellow River, a crucial water source for 150 million people.

In Jiangxi province in south-central China, the national government has seized control of rare earth mining districts from provincial officials after finding widespread illegal strip-mining of rare earth metals.

And in Guangdong province in southeastern China, regulators are struggling to repair rice fields and streams destroyed by powerful acids and other runoff from open-pit rare earth mines that are often run by violent organized crime syndicates.

Communities scattered across China face heavy environmental damage that accumulated through two decades of nearly unregulated rare earth mining and refining. While the Chinese government has begun spending billions of dollars to clean up the damage, the environmental impact is becoming an international trade issue, with a World Trade Organization panel in Geneva expected to issue a crucial draft report on Wednesday.

Better Than Ping Pong: Panda Diplomacy Builds [Resource] Relationships – by Cassie Ryan (Epoch Times Oct. 31 – Nov. 6, 2013)

November 8, 2013

http://www.theepochtimes.com/

Cute bears involved in uranium sales and free-trade agreements

A new study from Oxford University holds that the 50 something giant pandas on loan around the world are aimed at building ‘guanxi’ or deep, long-lasting relationships in exchange for “trades and foreign-investment deals.”

Australia, France, and most recently Canada received panda loans when uranium deals were struck with the Chinese regime. Panda transactions also took place with Asian nations like Malaysia and Thailand as part of free-trade agreements.

Published in the journal Environmental Practice, the study points to an emergent third phase in the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy of gifting and loaning pandas, whereby countries with important resources and technology can lease the black and white bears for a hefty fee. This new pattern appears to be related to the 2008 earthquake that struck Sichuan Province and damaged the Wolong Breeding Center, meaning that the 60 pandas there needed rehousing.

In phase one, during Mao Zedong’s era in the 1960s and 1970s, pandas were gifted to build strategic friendships. During Deng Xiaoping’s regime, starting in 1978, phase two involved loaning the bears in a capitalist lease model based on financial transactions.

China National Gold Said to Weigh Investments in Ivanhoe Assets – by Zijing Wu (Bloomberg News – November 6, 2013)

November 8, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

China National Gold Group Corp. is considering investing in mines owned by Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN), including the Platreef project in South Africa, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

China’s largest gold producer values the Platreef platinum and copper mine at about $1 billion, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

State-owned China National Gold has also looked at other Ivanhoe projects located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon, though prefers more developed countries like South Africa, the person said. No terms for a purchase of the Platreef mine have been finalized, and China National Gold could instead consider buying a stake in Ivanhoe itself, the person said.

China National Gold, which ended talks in January to acquire Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX)’s African unit for about $2.3 billion, is also exploring opportunities to buy gold and copper assets in Canada and Australia, the person said.

Foreign investors cry foul as Mongolia revokes mine licenses (Reuters India – November 7, 2013)

November 7, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

ULAN BATOR – Nov 7 (Reuters) – Mongolia has annulled more than 100 exploration licenses as part of an investigation into mining sector corruption, raising further concerns among foreign investors about the risks of doing business in there.

Mongolia-focused Kincora Copper said on Thursday that it had received a letter from the Mineral Resources Authority saying that two of its licenses had been revoked following a criminal investigation into former government officials accused of illegally issuing a total of 106 exploration licenses between 2008 and 2009. All of the 106 licenses have been cancelled.

Kincora Copper said the move, which will affect the licenses of an estimated 11 foreign and 67 domestic firms hoping to explore for a range of minerals, highlighted the uncertainty facing a growing legion of foreign investors.

“Security of tenure and a transparent legal system are key cornerstones for both domestic and foreign private sector investment,” said Sam Spring, president and chief executive of Kincora Copper, in an email.

China to further open its mining industry – by Du Juan (Xinhuanet – November 4, 2013)

November 5, 2013

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/

BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhuanet) — China will further open its mining sector to overseas investors and encourage them to participate in resource exploration and utilization and the development of shale gas, said a senior official on Sunday.

“The Chinese government has attached great importance to the mining industry’s contribution to the country’s economic growth,” said Jiang Daming, minister for land and resources, at the 2013 China Mining Expo in Tianjin.

He said the establishment of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone signifies that China has stepped into a new stage of openness.

The government will simplify the approval process and management of mining resources, with the aim of improving the convenience and efficiency of investment in the sector, according to Jiang.

At present, social capital accounts for up to 70 percent of mining exploration investments in China, as investors have grown increasingly diversified.

UPDATE 1-China’s gold consumption to cool after surge this year -producer – by Judy Hua and David Stanway (Reuters India – November 4, 2013)

November 4, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

TIANJIN, China, Nov 4 (Reuters) – China’s gold consumption is expected to climb to more than 1,000 tonnes this year, though the trend is not sustainable and could drop below this level from 2014, the country’s biggest gold producer said on Monday.

Meanwhile, gold output this year from China, the world’s top producer, is set to climb about 7 percent to another record high of 430 tonnes, Du Haiqing, vice general manager at China Gold Group Corp, said at an industry conference held in the northern city of Tianjin.

Gold demand from China has surged by more than half in the first six months of the year as sliding prices of the precious metal lured buyers, reinforcing expectations that China will overtake India as the top consumer this year.

Gold consumption in 2012 was 832.18 tonnes, according to data from the China Gold Association. Demand growth has dramatically outpaced production, causing imports from Hong Kong to surge and hover at more than 100 tonnes for five straight months up to September.

But this year’s consumption was “abnormal”, as a sharp drop in prices in April has sparked a buying frenzy, said Du.

Vale’s Earnings Surge on Output – by Francezka Nangoy (Jakarta Globe – November 1, 2013)

November 1, 2013

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/

Vale Indonesia, the country’s biggest nickel miner, posted a 64 percent increase in profit in the first nine months of this year on the back of rising production and improving operations.

In a statement released on Thursday, the company said that its net income jumped to $47.28 million in the January-September period from $28.94 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue rose to $721.07 million from $693.69 million.

Vale said in the statement that its success in improving its cost competitiveness helped its financial performance “even in these challenging market conditions.”

The company, controlled by Brazilian iron ore giant Vale, is currently shifting to fueling its dryers with coal rather than the more expensive high-sulphur fuel oil. The conversion began in the middle of the third quarter. Vale consumed 608,058 barrels of HSFO at an average cost of $99.65 per barrel throughout the quarter.

That compares with 679,306 barrels of consumption in the second quarter at $100.76 average cost per barrel.

Selling their nickel for a dime – by Shelley Marshall and Omar Pidani (Jakarta Post – October 29, 2013)

October 29, 2013

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

Shelley Marshall is a senior lecturer at the department of business law and taxation, the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University. Omar Pidani is undertaking a Phd at the Australian National University with a scholarship from the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP).

Communities on stunning Halmahera Island in North Maluku that have acted as the custodians for biodiversity for generations are being economically displaced for a nickel mine. A recent report reveals that they have been failed by weak legal enforcement processes and international human rights mechanisms, despite national and international laws that should protect them.

Halmahera Island is the site of spectacular natural beauty and biodiversity, and it is also the arena for an unfolding social tragedy. Extensive blocks of habitat still cover the island, and around 80 percent is still primary forest.

It was here in 1858 that the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace famously wrote to Charles Darwin, outlining his ideas on the development of new species.

Mongolia pushing for rail, pipeline links with China, Russia, official says – by David Stanway (Reuters India – October 28, 2013)

October 28, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

BEIJING – Oct 28 (Reuters) – Mongolia has agreed to establish a working group with China to oversee the construction of new road, rail and pipeline infrastructure connecting the two countries with Russia, a member of a Mongolian government delegation to Beijing said.

The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said landlocked Mongolia aimed to become a “transit corridor” to facilitate trade between its two giant neighbours and reduce the costs of delivering Russian commodities like oil and natural gas to energy-hungry Chinese markets.

The topic was high on the agenda during talks between Mongolian Prime Minister Norov Altanhayag and his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, last week, according to the official, who is a senior adviser to Mongolia’s economics ministry.

Speaking by phone from the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, he said the working group would probably be set up soon and that Mongolia was open to allowing Chinese firms to invest and build the infrastructure. “Given the capacity that both countries can bring to the table, China is expected to be heavily involved in terms of financial resources and technology,” he said.