Asia Mining – Page 174 – Republic of Mining

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.

COLUMN-Australia, Indonesia, Mozambique’s take different commodity paths – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – October 25, 2013)

October 25, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Australia, Indonesia and Mozambique appear quite disparate countries, but they all have one thing in common insofar as they want to supply Asia with large volumes of coal and liquefied natural gas.

But the paths being taken by the three governments in pursuit of this are vastly different, and will ultimately decide which nation is most successful in using its natural resources to its best advantage.

Perhaps the most stark contrast is between neighbours Australia and Indonesia, which are pursuing almost polar opposite policies.

Australia’s new Liberal-led government introduced legislation on Oct. 24 to scrap a tax on super profits from mining coal and iron ore.

This was part of a pledge made before the September general election that a Liberal administration would get rid of the Mineral Resource Rent Tax (MRRT), the carbon tax and cut red and green tape for natural resource projects.

It’s part of new Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s message that Australia, the world’s largest coal, iron ore and soon to be LNG exporter, is once again open for business after six years of Labor Party rule that saw a raft of new taxes introduced.

Canadian miner rises above obstacles in Philippines – by Matthew Fisher (National Post – October 25, 2013)

October 25, 2013

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

Given environmental concerns and sensitivities about foreign ownership, mining these days can be an immensely complicated business anywhere. This has proven to be especially true for a Canadian company operating in the southern Philippines.

TVI Resource Development (Philippines) Inc. —a Filipino-Canadian venture affiliated with Calgary-based TVI Pacific Inc. — has weathered the fallout from a series of sinister emails that were sent to senior politicians, military officers and journalists.

The correspondence purported to show company officials were conspiring to assassinate a local leader and launch violent attacks on small-scale miners whose claim that they had pre-existing rights in the area where TVIRD is developing a gold and silver mine had been rejected by the government agency responsible for mining.

“To cut to the end of the story first, they established with 100% certainty that the charges were totally fabricated,” said John Ridsel, a Canadian who was TVIRD’s chief operating officer in the Philippines until mid-2011 and remains a consultant.

To prove the emails were fraudulent, TVIRD hired two cyber forensic firms. A separate inquiry was undertaken by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations.

Indonesia mining at risk over export ban – by Ben Bland (Financial Times – October 22, 2013)

October 22, 2013

http://www.ft.com/home/us

Indonesia’s mining industry will collapse if the government moves ahead with a planned ban on the export of raw minerals, the country’s chamber of commerce has warned.

The southeast Asian nation, which is facing strong economic headwinds, is the biggest exporter of coal for power stations, nickel ore and tin, and a leading shipper of bauxite and copper. But on January 1 it is set to implement a law prohibiting the export of unprocessed metals as part of a drive to refine the ores and potentially generate higher margins.

Mining companies and independent economists are critical, arguing that at current depressed global prices for both raw and refined minerals, it is not a financially viable option in infrastructure- and energy-poor Indonesia, especially with no commitment to invest from the government.

The US Agency for International Development has argued that the push towards refining coupled with the ban would create few jobs and could lead to $6.3bn of lost economic benefits annually by prioritising spending on refineries with “poor commercial prospects” over investment in the country’s decrepit education, health and infrastructure systems.

Potential Indonesian nickel export ban bodes well for prices, poorly for pig iron – by Freya Berry (Mineweb.com – October 18, 2013)

October 18, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

While it is not certain the ban will go ahead unchanged, if it does, analysts say, it would be a game-changer for prices.

LONDON (REUTERS) – A potential ban on nickel ore exports by Indonesia next year and production cutbacks could lift the price of this year’s worst-performing base metal by more than 20 percent off multi-year lows, analysts said.

Indonesia, the world’s top exporter of nickel ore, has said it plans to bring in a ban on unprocessed ore exports from Jan. 1, 2014. Its ore is currently shipped to China to produce nickel pig iron, a cheap substitute for higher grade nickel in stainless steel.

It is not certain that the ban will go ahead unchanged, but if it does analysts said it would be a game-changer for prices. Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange has fallen by around a fifth since January to four-year lows, weighed down by over-supply, and was trading at $13,963 a tonne at 1529 GMT on Thursday.

“It’s such an important swing factor for the market that you could see a decent rally in the nickel market if a ban is strictly enforced – at least 20 or 30 percent,” said Daniel Smith, head of metals research at Standard Chartered.

Shipments of Rio Tinto’s Mongolia copper stalled by China import snags (Globe and Mail – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

SYDNEY — Reuters – Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd. could be forced to amass a mountain of copper concentrate at its new $6-billion (U.S.) Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia while Chinese buyers resolve a lengthy customs impasse with their government.

The Oyu Tolgoi concentrator continued to ramp up production in the third quarter and is now operating at maximum processing capacity of 100,000 tonnes of ore a day, said Toronto-listed Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. of Vancouver, which runs Oyu Tolgoi and is 66 per cent owned by Rio Tinto.

Oyu Tolgoi was supposed to start shipping copper concentrate to China shortly after the mine opened in July. But instead has been forced to stockpile the material while buyers negotiate with Chinese customs officials over import approvals.

“Oyu Tolgoi’s customers are making good progress with Chinese customs officials to resolve matters with purchased concentrate at the border,” Turquoise Hill chief executive officer Kay Priestly said in a statement.