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Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

Great Barrier Reef Sediment Dump Approved For One Of World’s Most Fragile Ecosystems – by Kristen Gelineau (Huffington Post/Associated Press – January 31, 2014)

 http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

SYDNEY (AP) — The government agency that oversees Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on Friday approved a plan to dump vast swathes of sediment on the reef as part of a major coal port expansion — a decision that environmentalists say will endanger one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems.

The federal government in December approved the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port in northern Queensland, which requires a massive dredging operation to make way for ships entering and exiting the port. About 3 million cubic meters (106 million cubic feet) of dredged mud will be dumped within the marine park under the plan.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt has vowed that “some of the strictest conditions in Australian history” will be in place to protect the reef from harm, including water quality measures and safeguards for the reef’s plants and animals.

But outraged conservationists say the already fragile reef will be gravely threatened by the dredging, which will occur over a 184-hectare (455-acre) area. Apart from the risk that the sediment will smother coral and seagrass, the increased shipping traffic will boost the risk of accidents, such as oil spills and collisions with delicate coral beds, environment groups argue.

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Barrick recognized for youth technical education in Papua New Guinea (Beyond Borders – January 30, 2014)

http://barrickbeyondborders.com/

A vocational training organization has recognized Barrick as a major supporter in the drive to expand on-the-job training opportunities in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The Laigam Appropriate Technology Centre (LATC) presented an award to Barrick at the school’s ninth graduation ceremony, held in late 2013. Barrick provides on-the-job training to LATC students at the Porgera mine through the company’s Operations Education Sponsorship program. Since 2007, the company has provided placements for a total of 71 students from the LATC, now one of the Porgera district’s most thriving vocational technical institutions.

The organization’s connection to Barrick dates back to 2004 when a former Porgera mine manager donated four second-hand computers to the LATC, whose inaugural class had just five students.

LATC principal Ronaldo Diaz commended Barrick and several other companies for providing on-the-job training for LATC students over the years. “An on-the-job training program is useless without the assistance of companies such as Barrick,” Diaz says.

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Coral or coal decision looms for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – by Sonali Paul (January 30, 2014)

 http://in.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE – (Reuters) – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef watchdog is to decide by Friday whether to allow millions of cubic metres of dredged mud to be dumped near the fragile reef to create the world’s biggest coal port and possibly unlock $28 billion in coal projects.

A dumping permit would allow a major expansion of the port of Abbot Point for two Indian firms and Australian billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, who together have $16 billion worth of coal projects in the untapped, inland Galilee Basin.

The Galilee Basin could double Australia’s thermal coal exports and see it overtake Indonesia as the world’s top coal exporter, further fuelling China’s power plants and steel mills that have underpinned Australia’s decade-long mining boom.

If the permit is not granted it would add to uncertainty over $28 billion in proposed Galilee Basin projects, already delayed due to difficulty raising funds with coal prices down.

The plan has sparked protests from environmentalists and scientists who fear the sensitive marine park will be damaged by the dumping and an expanded port, would nearly double shipping traffic through the reef, increasing the risk of accidents.

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COLUMN-Gold rallies won’t sustain without more China, India buying – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – January 29, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Gold’s positive start to the year seems to be based more on hope than any real change to the factors that saw the precious metal shed 28 percent last year.

Spot bullion has gained 4.25 percent since the start of the year to the close of $1,256.09 an ounce on Jan. 28, with China and India factors helping to drive the rally.

The optimistic view for gold is that top buyer China will continue to buy record amounts and that India, which was supplanted by its Asian neighbour last year, will ease the restrictions that crimped its demand last year.

Taking India first, and the gold bulls have taken heart from comments on Jan. 27 by finance ministry officials that the curbs on gold imports will be reviewed by the end of March. India progressively hiked import taxes to a record 10 percent last year and imposed a requirement that 20 percent of imported gold must be fabricated and exported.

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Rio Tinto details blueprint for indigenous jobs – by Patricia Karvelas (The Australian – January 27, 2014)

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

MINING giant Rio Tinto has told Tony Abbott’s indigenous jobs review that enormous changes must be made to get Aborigines into jobs.

These include providing incentives for the nation’s best teachers to relocate to remote Australia and changing rules that make it attractive to stay on welfare in order to receive cheaper housing.

Rio Tinto Australia managing director David Peever, who has been appointed to the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council, has written to the indigenous jobs review headed by mining magnate Andrew Forrest to present a blueprint for change.

Rio Tino has been under scrutiny after it decided to wind down its Gove alumina refinery in Arnhem Land, devastating a 1500-strong workforce that includes many indigenous employees, after telling Australian governments there was no point in further negotiations to save the plant.

Rio says in the third quarter of last year, the company employed approximately 1650 indigenous people in permanent roles across its Australian operations, representing 7.3 per cent of the total workforce.

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Andrew Forrest strikes cheap coal deal to end Pakistan slavery – by Dennis Shanahan (The Australian – January 23, 2014)

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

AUSTRALIAN mining billionaire and philanthropist, Andrew Forrest, has struck an informal deal with Pakistan to do away with more than two million slaves in return for a chance to convert billions of tonnes of cheap coal into much needed energy.

Using Australian technology developed at Western Australia’s Curtin University, Mr Forrest has signed an agreement with the Pakistani State of Punjab to test the feasibility of turning currently uneconomic lignite coal directly into diesel for use in the energy-starved region.

In a linked agreement with Mr Forrest’s Walk Free Foundation, aimed at ending slavery, Pakistan has agreed to introduce laws to cut the practice of slavery through indenture, debt or inheritance.

Mr Forrest, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the agreement was an exciting development which could eliminate slavery in Pakistan and completely transform the Pakistani economy which was dependent on expensive foreign oil imports.

”The goal is energy independence for the Punjab and the eradication of slavery in all of the Punjab, a province of 100 million,” Mr Forrest said.

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UPDATE 1-MMG warns output from key Australia zinc mine to drop – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – January 23, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Output from Australia’s Century zinc mine, the world’s third biggest, could drop 5 percent this year as it nears the end of its operating life, exacerbating an emerging global supply pinch.

The mine will yield between 465,000 and 480,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate in 2014 against 2013 output of 488,233 tonnes, said Chinese owner MMG Ltd.

The decline comes amid a supply deficit driven by rising galvanised steel production. Zinc is primarily used as a rust-inhibitor in the galvanising process.

MMG’s nearby Dugald River mine is under development and was supposed to start yielding zinc in late 2015, partially replacing lost output from the Century mine, which MMG forecasts will run dry in mid-2015.

But MMG last month warned Dugald River would miss its start date due to poor ground conditions. An additional A$57 million has been allocated to study problems at the project, according to MMG.

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COLUMN-China moves to cut coal use look bearish for imports, may not be – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – January 17, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Coal miners in Australia and Indonesia could be forgiven for feeling depressed, given the plethora of news coming out from top buyer China on how it intends to cut demand for the dirty fuel.

In the past few days China’s National Energy Administration has set a target of lowering coal’s share of energy use to below 65 percent in 2014 from last year’s 65.7 percent, three years ahead of initial plans. Beijing’s mayor has urged an “all-out effort” to tackle air pollution, pledging to cut coal use by 2.5 million tonnes a year in his polluted city.

In neighbouring Hebei province, the country’s biggest steel-making region, authorities have said they will block new projects, punish officials in areas of high pollution, and cut steel output and coal use by 15 million tonnes each this year.

This all sounds bearish for coal, and the gloom of miners that export to China could be deepened by signs that domestic supply in the biggest producer and user of the fuel is rising.

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Shrugging off China risks, Australia miners dig deep for more iron ore – by James Regan (Reuters India – January 15, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

SYDNEY, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Australian miners shoveled record tonnages of iron ore in the December quarter, supported by billions of dollars worth of expansion plans coming on stream and despite signs of weakening demand from top consumer China.

Iron ore continues to generate big returns even as prices fall, and miners in Australia – the world’s biggest supplier – are counting on economies of scale to maintain profits for the steel making material.

Production data from Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group will be released over the next two weeks, but port data already shows record tonnages were shipped in the last quarter even as Chinese demand lost steam.

Chinese iron ore purchases fell 5.6 percent to 73.4 million tonnes in December, down from a record 77.8 million in November and ore prices have dipped to a six-month low.

And weaker steel prices have prompted some mills to reduce production, putting China’s average daily crude steel output at 1.961 million tonnes in late December, the first time the pace fell below 2 million tonnes since last February.

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A Rusty Outlook for Iron-Ore Prices – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – January 8, 2014)

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

Slowing Growth in China and the Opening of New Mines in Australia Threaten to Drag Down Prices

SYDNEY—Iron ore may have outperformed other commodities last year, but the price of the metal used to make steel looks set to decline this year as China’s growth slows.

China’s continued heavy spending on subways, bridges and other infrastructure kept demand for iron ore high last year. Exports to China from Port Hedland, Australia’s main shipment point for the metal, increased by 34% to 256 million metric tons. Overall shipments of iron ore—including to Japan and South Korea—rose 26% to 318 million tons. Exports of the commodity reached record levels in December.

Many analysts and traders have been surprised by the way iron-ore prices, buoyed by record Chinese demand, held up throughout 2013. Prices of other industrial commodities, such as nickel and coal, have tumbled, but iron ore has largely remained above US$130 a ton.

Although prices are still about a third lower than their all-time peak three years ago, they remain well above the sub-US$90-a-ton level they sank to in 2012 as China’s economy stuttered.

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NEWS RELEASE: OMA’s SYTYKM video competition adapted in South Australia

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

If indeed “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” then the Ontario Mining Association has a big fan in an antipodean counterpart. The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) has recently launched “Dirt TV – what mining means to me.” This student video competition for seven to 12 year olds is modeled along the lines of the OMA’s So You Think You Know Mining high school video competition.

Jason Kuchel, Chief Executive of SACOMBE says he was so impressed by the SYTYKM competition when he was in Toronto at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in 2012, that he was motivated to use the initiative as a model for a similar competition in South Australia.

“South Australia also has a strong mining and oil and gas industry,” said Mr. Kuchel. “The competition works on so many levels, including building community awareness of the benefits of the sector, increasing understanding of career opportunities among high school children and addressing the science and arts curriculums with a practical, real-world example that is also a lot of fun.”

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Walsh’s steely resolve for change of culture helps Rio Tinto turn around – by Andrew Burrell and Paul Garvey (The Australian – January 4, 2014)

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

SOON after arriving in London a year ago to begin his reign as chief executive of Rio Tinto, Sam Walsh took a stroll from his Kensington home to check out an antiques fair at nearby Sloane Square.

The avid collector of milk jugs — he has more than 350 of the cherished antiques stashed away in his other house in Perth — was in his element as he prepared to browse the collectables. “I walked up to the very first stand and picked up a Royal Worcester milk jug,” recalls Walsh. “And the lady looked at me and said, ‘Australian accent, interested in milk jugs, we know who you are — we’ve been expecting you!’ ”

Walsh roars with laughter when telling the story, partly because he cheerfully revels in the fact his passion for delicate milk jugs breaks all the stereotypes of the knockabout mining industry. But he knows too that it’s much harder to be anonymous — even at an antiques fair — when you’re running one of the biggest companies in one of the world’s financial capitals.

It’s even harder, it may be suggested, when you’re trying to lead the turnaround of a company that had spectacularly lost its way under predecessor Tom Albanese, culminating in more than $US14 billion in writedowns as a result of the failed 2007 acquisition of Canadian aluminium producer Alcan and the disastrous takeover of African coal play Riversdale Mining in 2011.

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Bougainville mine: locals who oppose its re-opening must have a voice – by Antony Loewenstein (The Guardian – December 19, 2013)

http://www.theguardian.com/uk

Deference to Bougainvilleans must be the priority – a position that remains anathema to diplomats, politicians and insider media

The mine lies like a scar across a bloody face. Guava village sits in a remote area in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (PNG), above a copper mine which closed 25 years ago. Resistance to the Rio Tinto-owned pit exploded in the late 1980s and during a recent visit, I got to stand above the massive hole that caused the crisis. Human rights abuses were rampant back then, with locals missing out on the financial spoils. Opposition to the enterprise was inevitable and necessary.

Run by Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) from the 1970s, the Panguna mine spewed unprecedented amounts of pollution into the ground, water and atmosphere. It lingers to this day but nature has begun to reclaim its rightful place across kilometres of land, dipping its ferns, grass and lush green trees across oily and rusting equipment. Guava, with its 400 inhabitants, is a peaceful place up a steep rocky incline. During the rainy reason, clouds dance around unpredictably and the hot sun shines on the moist and muddy soil. From there, the view above Panguna is breath-taking, the scope of the environmental damage visible, and the lack of clean-up criminally negligent.

The Bougainville civil war, which was sparked by conflicts over the mine, lasted 10 years and cost the lives of up to 15,000 people. The PNG government blockade, comparable to that imposed on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, caused immense suffering amongst the civilian population.

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BHP to close Perseverance nickel mine – by Oliver Probert (Australian Journal of Mining – December 19, 2013)

http://www.theajmonline.com.au/

BHP has ceased operations at its Perseverance mine in Leinster, WA, after the mine was shut following seismic activity in October.

Perseverance was closed on October 31 this year, after nine miners were trapped following a 3.7 magnitude earthquake. All nine were returned to the surface safely, and there were no injuries reported.

After further investigation, BHP has decided to formally cease operations at Perseverance, but will continue to maintain the underground mine – leaving the door open for the potential re-opening of the mine down the track.

BHP’s Leinster operations are part of its Nickel West business unit. “Since the [seismic] event, Nickel West technical and operational teams, supported by independent experts, have been assessing the technical data and risks on the sub-level cave operations and all the options available,” BHP said on Tuesday.

“Following this analysis BHP Billiton has decided it is unable to safely resume operations in the sub-level cave at Perseverance mine.”

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Australian bauxite miners are pinning their hopes on a new market in China – by Kathryn Diss (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – December 19, 2013)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/

Australian bauxite miners are pinning their hopes on a turnaround in the struggling industry, with a new market likely to open up in China.

Indonesia has long satisfied China’s growing hunger for bauxite to feed its aluminium smelters, which has prevented Australian companies from entering the market.

Now that might change, with Indonesia expected to endorse tough, new restrictions on exports from January. Peter Kopetz from Stockbroking agency State One Capital says he has been closely watching the bauxite price increase in recent months.

“Some of the projects which maybe were marginal beforehand are becoming more economic as the price goes up and we’ve seen a gradual price increase over the last 12, 24 months and we see that continuing,” he said.

“There’s a push for Australia to become a more prominent player in the bauxite industry; we’ve got the quality, we’re close to China and of course we can supply long-term the raw materials to whatever china needs.”

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