Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining – Page 133

Father’s shadow looms over Australian billionaire’s book launch [Gina Rinehart] – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – November 26, 2012)

November 28, 2012

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, one of the world’s wealthiest people, has displayed a trait rarely revealed publicly among the super-rich: insecurity.

Rinehart’s first book was eagerly awaited by an Australian public enthralled and sometimes appalled by her story of big business, family feuds and almost unimaginable wealth.

But the 58-year-old widow with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $18 billion, played it safe at the launch of the book, ‘Northern Australia and Then Some: Changes we need to make our country rich’.

Media were hand-picked for events around the country and Rinehart surrounded herself with hundreds of supporters mostly from the mining fraternity, where she is revered for transforming her late father’s debt-ridden iron ore business into a multi-billion dollar enterprise.

There were no advance copies of the book and no questions over a fractured family life that has left Rinehart wrestling with three of her four grown children over control of a family trust that rakes in hundreds of millions of year in royalties.

The Weird & Wonderful World of Mining – Edition 2

November 26, 2012

http://www.miningiq.com/

Mining IQ is proud to present the second edition of The Weird and Wonderful World of Mining. This mining guide eBook contains hundreds of interesting and valuable facts to be shared and enjoyed throughout the mining industry and community.

The business of mining contributes somewhere in the region of USD $24.5 Billion globally and engages over 100 million people who work in the mining industry. So this week the eBook focuses on The Business of Mining but then also looks at the lighter side of our industry with the Weird/ Wonderful/ Random.

Did you know that all of the platinum ever mined would fit in the average size living room? Neither did we until a Mining IQ member sent in the fact!
Did you know that gold is the most ductile (easily molded or shaped) of all metals, allowing it to be drawn out into tiny wires or threads without breaking. As a result, a single ounce of gold can be drawn into a wire five miles long. Gold’s malleability is also unparalled. For example, one ounce of gold can be hammered in a 100 square foot sheet.
Did you know that coal provides 29.6% of global primary energy needs and generates 42% of the world’s electricity.
Did you know that archaeologists have unearthed copper drainpipes from as far back as 3,500 BC, that are still in good condition.

Click here to download the eBook: The Weird & Wonderful World of Mining – Edition 2 and find out a whole bunch of other strange facts!

BHP to ramp up iron ore production from existing mines – by Sonali Paul (Reuters/Vancouver Sun – November 14, 2012)

November 14, 2012

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

PERTH – BHP Billiton expects to expand its iron ore capacity by nearly a fifth just by working its mines, rail lines and port harder as it looks to control costs in a softer iron ore market, the global miner’s iron ore chief said on Wednesday.

Uncertainty over iron ore prices due to stuttering demand for the steel making ingredient from China has prompted a rethink of expansion plans by most iron ore miners, including top global iron ore miner Vale.

BHP has slowed its growth plans, like Australia’s no.3 iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, while their bigger rival Rio Tinto is pressing ahead with an expansion that will give it at least a third more capacity than BHP and more than double Fortescue’s capacity.

“Looking forward, things are not as rosy as they were in the past. The imperative to grow as aggressively as we were in the past has diminished slightly,” Wilson said at a conference.

Caught out by escalating costs, a sharp slide in iron ore prices and a persistently strong Australian dollar, BHP shelved plans in August to build a $20 billion iron ore harbour at Port Hedland in Western Australia that would have eventually doubled its iron ore capacity to 440 million tonnes.

BHP starts search for new CEO: report – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – November 8, 2012)

November 8, 2012

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.

Marius Kloppers, the energetic chief executive who led the failed charge by Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. to acquire Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, may soon be a free agent.

The Financial Times said on Wednesday that BHP, the world’s largest diversified miner, has begun its search to replace Mr. Kloppers within the next two years, and the company did not deny the reports.

Succession planning for the CEO and senior management team is an on-going process and one of the most critical tasks of any board,” BHP said in an e-mailed statement, adding that it would not comment directly on the Financial Times story.

“BHP Billiton’s Board has always ensured that it has a well-integrated, continual succession process in place for our most senior executives.” Mr. Kloppers, who grew up in apartheid South Africa where he was conscripted into the army at the age of 18, became BHP’s CEO in late 2007, just as the first wave of the financial crisis was washing over global commodity markets.

Now 50, Mr. Kloppers has had a rough ride of it, failing in some key attempts to grow the already giant company through high profile acquisitions that ultimately fell through.

The Weird & Wonderful World of Mining – Edition 1 – by Mining IQ

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012

http://www.miningiq.com/

Mining IQ is proud to present The Weird and Wonderful World of Mining. This mining guide e-book contains hundreds of interesting and valuable facts to be shared and enjoyed throughout the mining industry and community.

The book, born from a discussion about all the crazy trivia within the mining industry, has been compiled not only by the Mining IQ team but also from a plethora of Mining IQ members and the outer mining community who have shared with us their favourite titbits.

The e-book contains 10 chapters covering a huge range of topics from historical and famous to business and the community. We will be releasing the e-book two chapters at a time and edition 1 will contain the chapters – Mining in the Community & Largest/ Most Heaviest. Mining IQ is sure the industry will enjoy The Weird and Wonderful World of Mining just as much as we did putting it together.

Click here for access to the e-book: http://www.miningiq.com/business-improvement-and-corporate-strategy/white-papers/the-weird-wonderful-world-of-minin/

Let us know what you think of the e-book on our social media networks! We’d love to hear your feedback or perhaps you too have some weird mining information you’d like to share!

Gillard maps out plan for Australia in ‘Asian Century’ – by Natasha Odendaal (MiningWeekly.com – October 29, 2012)

November 4, 2012

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The scale and pace of Asia’s rise in the coming decades offered opportunities for Australia across all sectors of the economy, including natural resources, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan said at the weekend.

In a statement following the release of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s foreign policy plan aimed at improving Asian ties, Swan said demand for raw materials had already created a boom in minerals and energy investment, and that the region’s ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation would continue to drive demand for a wide range of mineral resources.

The ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ white paper pointed out that Asia was set to overtake the combined economic output of Europe and North America and, by 2025, hold 4 of the 10 largest economies.

Further, it was expected that the continent would become the largest goods and services producer, as well as consumer, globally by 2025, with the average gross domestic product a person doubling. “The structural shift of global economic gravity towards our region mean the scale and pace of Asia’s rise in the coming decades will be truly transformative,” Swan said.

Over the past decade, foreign direct investment into Australia has more than doubled, from $850-billion in 2001, to $2-trillion in 2011, with the mining sector accounting for more than 30%.

Australia in the Asian Century White Paper (October 2012)

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012

Executive Summary

Asia’s rise is changing the world. This is a defining feature of the 21st century—the Asian century. These developments have profound implications for people everywhere.

Asia’s extraordinary ascent has already changed the Australian economy, society and strategic environment. The scale and pace of the change still to come mean Australia is entering a truly transformative period in our history.

Within only a few years, Asia will not only be the world’s largest producer of goods and services, it will also be the world’s largest consumer of them. It is already the most populous region in the world. In the future, it will also be home to the majority of the world’s middle class.

The Asian century is an Australian opportunity. As the global centre of gravity shifts to our region, the tyranny of distance is being replaced by the prospects of proximity. Australia is located in the right place at the right time—in the Asian region in the Asian century.

Queensland makes U-turn on uranium mining ban – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – October 22, 2012)

October 22, 2012

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page102055?

One miner describes the just-lifted ban on uranium mines in Queensland “an ideological relic from a previous time.”

HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) – Queensland’s state government has decided to drop a decades-long ban on uranium mining, opening up the prospect for development of long held-back uranium projects in the U3O8-rich state.

Paladin Energy, a uranium producer that holds more than 100 million pounds in global U3O8 resources in Queensland, called the outgoing-ban “an ideological relic from a previous time” in a statement lauding the state government’s decision on the uranium mining issue.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman focused much on potential jobs and framed the de-banning in the context of lost economic growth. “It’s been 30 years since there was uranium mining in this State (of Queensland), and in that time Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia have carved out successful uranium industries that deliver jobs and prosperity to their regions,” Newman said in a prepared statement.

As Australia pulls back on mines, Canada on alert – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – October 8, 2012)

October 9, 2012

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.

When China sneezes, other nations catch cold – especially ones that have thrived by supplying the Asian giant with raw materials.

The world saw a graphic demonstration of that this past week as mining powerhouse Australia surprised international markets with an interest rate cut designed to stem the bleeding of an economy that depends heavily on exports destined for China.

The cut of 0.25 percentage points, to 3.25 per cent, was the latest evidence that slower economic growth in China is having an impact on major resource-based economies.

Australia, which used its proximity to China to become one of its chief suppliers of iron ore and coal over the past decade, is feeling the deepest and most immediate effects, as leading miners postpone investment plans and shutter projects. But Canada’s mining community is also heavily exposed to Chinese demand, and has deep ties to Australia’s mining sector.

Long viewed as one of the world’s most attractive mining jurisdictions, Australia is now facing challenges that go beyond just the global economic slowdown. Costs have boomed in its mines and its wages are now some of the highest in the global industry. It is also suffering from a shortage of skilled labour.

Australia cuts interest rate as mining slump prompts worries – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – October 3, 2012)

October 4, 2012

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

An unexpected interest rate cut from Australia’s central bank, triggered by fears of a slowing mining sector, offers Canadians a glimpse of what to expect in the event of a prolonged economic slowdown in China.

For years, Australia’s economy has been powered by China’s strong growth. Because the two countries are so close together, China has been a heavy buyer of Australian iron ore and coal, propelling the Commonwealth country’s economy. Australia’s annualized GDP growth rate is 3.7 per cent, and its unemployment rate is only 5.1 per cent.

But lately there have been signs of a slowdown in Australia’s resource sector, which was a prime reason for cutting the country’s key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 per cent on Tuesday. In a statement, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens specifically cited fears about softer resource investments, as miners curtail their expansion plans.

“The peak in resource investment is likely to occur next year, and may be at a lower level than earlier expected,” he wrote. “As this peak approaches, it will be important that the forecast strengthening in some other components of demand starts to occur.”

NEWS RELEASE: Australia’s mining sector in the balance

September 18, 2012

Baker & McKenzie launches global report examining the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s key mining destinations

Australia, 17 September 2012 – Baker & McKenzie, the world’s largest law firm, has launched a report highlighting significant concerns about the future of Australia’s mining sector.

The Firm surveyed more than 300 senior industry leaders across six key mining jurisdictions – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia and South Africa – and the research suggests that investors in Australia are more pessimistic about the future of mining investment in this country than those investing in the other jurisdictions surveyed.

Of the executives commenting on Australia, 75% said that investing in the mining sector has become more complicated and costly due to factors such as increasing regulatory and environmental obligations, complex and uncertain project development requirements and the rising costs of mine development and operation.

The level of Commonwealth and State Government involvement in the Australian mining industry is also causing concern to investors, with 61% of respondents believing that the Government is too involved in the industry and 72% believing that sovereign risk is on the increase.

Australian mining seen as vulnerable to competition from emerging nations – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – September 18, 2012)

September 18, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Australian mining is losing global market share to rapidly emerging resource-rich economies, says a report from the Minerals Council of Australia.

To download the report, Opportunity at risk, Regaining our competitive edge in mineral resources, go to www.minerals.org.au

RENO (MINEWEB) – Australia’s mining boom is not over, says a study commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia, but its dynamics have changed and its policy demands are greater and more urgent.

The report by the Australian strategy consulting firm, Port Jackson Partners, is the “most detailed panorama yet painted of the burgeoning cost environment in Australia, our deteriorating reputation as a place to do business and the threat this poses to our ability to capture market share and future investment,” said the Minerals Council.

In the study, Port Jackson Partners suggest that over the next 20 years, demand for key minerals will increase by between 50% and 200%. While growth in iron ore demand slows as infrastructure is developed, “there is likely to be new growth in demand for products such as copper, aluminium and other minerals and metals and consumers demand more sophisticated products.”

Australia miners slam brakes on huge pipeline of projects – by Sonali Paul (Reuters – September 13, 2012)

September 17, 2012

http://in.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE, Sept 13, 2012 (Reuters) – A $246 billion pipeline of planned mining investments in Australia is on increasingly shaky ground, with nearly half already frozen or likely to be delayed, as miners and lenders wrestle with high costs and sliding revenue.

A sharp fall in iron ore and coal prices, driven by a drop-off in demand from China, has caught many by surprise and forced miners — from the world’s largest, BHP Billiton , down to the smallest — to review their investment plans.

“Anyone who was expecting to bank a project at the levels we were at about eight weeks ago had unrealistic expectations,” said Michael Blakiston, a partner at law firm Gilbert+Tobin, which advises miners and is a director of iron ore company Sundance Resources.

The commodities rout has thrust Australia into a debate over whether the mining boom is over and can no longer be relied on to create jobs, power growth and raise tax revenue in a $1.4 trillion economy that has gone 21 years without a recession. Dumping projects will mean millions of tonnes of future coal and iron ore supplies are stripped from the world market, laying the ground for a swifter price revival if Asian demand rebounds.

Mining investment to grow ever more complex, costly, industry leaders fear – Baker & McKenzie – by Dorothy Kosich (September 17, 2012)

September 17, 2012

www.mineweb.com

“Mining jurisdictions must consider their competitiveness to mining investment or risk that investment being deployed elsewhere, said David Ryan of Baker & McKenzie, Australia.

RENO (MINEWEB) – A survey of 300 mining industry leaders released Monday by the Baker & McKenzie, Australia, Global Mining Group found the common theme across all jurisdictions surveyed is that “investing in mining is becoming more difficult and less certain.”

Key themes from the study include the complexity of the legal and regulatory environment, political stability, increase in resource nationalism, and the need for access to infrastructure and skilled labor.

One theme that all jurisdictions seemed to have is common is that a majority of respondents said they believe that mining sector investment will continue to be more complicated in the future.

Baker & McKenzie surveyed more than 300 senior mining industry leaders across six key mining jurisdictions-Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia and South Africa-for the report Mining investment-local challenges, global implications.

Reports of Australian mining boom’s death ‘exaggerated’-PM Gillard – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – September 5, 2012)

September 6, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard ventured into politically hostile territory at the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies to drum up support for her education program

RENO (MINEWEB) – Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s insistence that the Australian mining boom was far from over, struck a discordant note among attendees at the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies convention Tuesday.

Last month, Gillard’s Resources Minister Martin Ferguson declared Australia’s mining boom over after the world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton, delayed the expansion of the Olympic Dam expansion and announced it would not approve any major new projects before June 2013.

The same day Gillard delivered her talk, Fortescue Metals Group announced it would cut staff and reduce operating costs, and would revise its FY 2013 capex guidance from US$6.2 billion to $US4.6 billion. The company also said it would defer development of the Kings deposit within the Solomon Mining hub and the completion of a fourth berth at Herb Elliot Port until “iron ore prices return to more sustainable levels.”