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Chromium/Platinum Group Metals

Mineral exploitation in Odisha [India] low despite increased mining activity – by Sadananda Mohapatra (Business Standard – December 16, 2013)

http://www.business-standard.com/ [India]

The state has about 174 million tonne of nickel, which is yet to explored

Despite increased mining activity in Odisha, the mineral exploitation in the state remains low in last hundred years compared to its reserves.

Major minerals with sizeable reserves in the state include chromite, iron ore, bauxite and manganese. While only 13% of the total chromite deposits has been excavated so far, the same for iron ore and manganese are 9% each and for bauxite only three%.

Odisha currently possesses 159.40 million tonne of chrome ore that finds its usage in making stainless steel, out of 182.86 million tonne of preliminary proven reserve, according to the government statistics. About 23.50 million tonne of the mineral or 12.8% of the proven reserve has been excavated so far.

Nearly all of India’s chrome ore is found in Odisha with state-run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) having control over one-third of production. Few players such as Tata Steel, Indian Metal and Ferro alloys (IMFA), Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) and Balasore Alloys (formerly Ispat Alloys) have also their captive mines in the state.

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Friedland’s fireside remarks potentially inflammatory to SA platinum mining – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – December 6, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Legendary mining entrepreneur and self-made billionaire Robert Friedland ran the risk of inflaming tension in South Africa at a very sensitive time for platinum miners with his recent “fireside” remarks that underground platinum miners in the country were underpaid, market analysts at SP Angel, in London, said on Friday.

Political leaders and mining companies had worked hard to restore peace and jobs to the platinum sector after the Marikana incident, which was whipped up by competition between competing mining unions the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The Marikana miners’ strike or Lonmin strike was a wildcat strike at a mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa, on August 16, 2012.

The event garnered international attention following a series of violent incidents between the South African Police Service, Lonmin security, the leadership of AMCU and NUM and strikers themselves, which had resulted in the deaths of 44 people, the majority of whom were striking mineworkers. At least 78 workers were also injured.

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Platinum and copper the metals for the end of the decade – Friedland – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – December 2, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Robert Friedland’s presentation at MineAfrica in London avows that the supercycle is not dead and sees huge value ahead for his Ivanhoe company’s new Pt, Cu and Zn projects in South Africa and the DRC.

LONDON – There are two mining related events on in London today – Mines and Money’s first day (of three) – and MineAfrica (just today) – luckily they are not being held so far apart as to make attending some of both impossible. So, so far today I have taken in talks from Frank Holmes and John Meyer at the former event – both presenting a relatively optimistic picture for mining over the next few years – Holmes looking at what he terms the E7 countries – for the most part those with the largest populations and enormous growth potential as witnessed by China’s huge urbanisation programmes which have totally transformed the country’s economy – and the feeling that this process could be underway in the others too. Holmes also felt that gold and gold stocks have been hugely oversold and is looking for a turnaround here.

From Mines and Money a quick journey to MineAfrica and to hear Robert Friedland’s take on the industry over the next few years. Obviously Friedland was talking his Ivanhoe book with his very positive views on Africa in general and on his Platreef, Kamoa and Kipushi Projects – the first in South Africa and the next two in the Democratic Republic of Congo – in particular. As expected he was hugely positive on all three – Platreef as a game-changer for the platinum sector, Kamoa as one of THE copper projects of the future as a far higher grade option than most, if not all, other major known new copper projects and Kipushi as having huge high grade zinc mining potential, but with copper, gold and silver also.

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Zimbabwe Wealth Fund to Get Share of State Mining Revenue – by Godfrey Marawanyika & Franz Wild (Bloomberg News – November 24, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Zimbabwe’s planned sovereign wealth fund may get as much as a quarter of mining royalties and the same share of “special dividends” on state mineral and metal sales. Parliament will also be able to appropriate money to benefit the fund.

A 16-member board will decide on the fund’s activities, allowing it to make withdrawals, primarily to pay for infrastructure developments, according to a draft of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe Act obtained by Bloomberg News.

“That document will be taken to parliament sometime early next year,” Fred Moyo, the country’s deputy mines minister, said in a Nov. 22 interview by phone. “It’s critical for us to have a sovereign wealth fund, and that’s what every nation should do to address vulnerable situations.”

President Robert Mugabe, who extended his 33-year rule in July elections, is considering a range of options to finance the recovery of Zimbabwe’s economy, which shrank by 40 percent between 2000 and 2008. The country suffered from inflation estimated at 500 billion percent by the International Monetary Fund after the seizure of white-owned commercial farms slashed exports of crops including tobacco and roses.

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Capreol plant now uncertain: Cliffs – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 22, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

There is no guarantee — if and when Cliffs Natural Resources resumes work on its Ring of Fire chromite project — that it will build a ferrochrome processing plant in Sudbury, says a company spokeswoman.

The Cleveland-based company announced Wednesday it is indefinitely suspending work by the end of December on plans to mine chromite in the Ring of Fire and process it at the former Moose Mountain Mine site north of Capreol.

It has sunk $500 million into the project, but won’t invest any more capital given the uncertainty around the timeline for the project and the risks associated with infrastructure to develop its three deposits 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, said company spokeswoman Patricia Persico.

Many people weren’t surprised at the announcement Wednesday, as Bill Boor, Cliffs’ senior vice-president of global ferroalloys, had been warning for months his company was increasingly frustrated with its dealings with the Government of Ontario.

Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci, who helped broker the agreement with Cliffs to locate the ferrochrome processing plant in Capreol, said while the announcement was disappointing, Cliffs was still committed to the Sudbury site for the plant.

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PRESS RELEASE: Outokumpu Chief Medical Officer Markku Huvinen’s long-term study published in British Medical Journal

OUTOKUMPU OYJ

November 21, 2013 at 3.30 pm EET

British Medical Journal has published an article by Outokumpu’s Chief Medical Officer Markku Huvinen. The article is based on his 30-year study and reports its findings on cancer incidence among ferrochrome and stainless steel production workers in Kemi and Tornio, Finland. The study shows that there is no added risk of cancer to individuals working in steel mills and living nearby.

Says Outokumpu CEO Mika Seitovirta: “We are extremely proud of Markku’s research and the work done by our health and safety team. Markku initiated the first systematic measurement in the world on the exposure to chromium and other compounds connected with stainless steel production. Safety comes first in all our operations – we want our employees to return home safely at the end of their working day. If we cannot remove all risks, we make every effort to control them.”

The study assesses the risk of cancer, especially cancers of the lung and nose, since the start of the production in 1967 until 2011. The overall cancer incidence was similar as in general in the same region, and the lung cancer risk was actually lower.

Says Markku Huvinen: “When I started as doctor at Outokumpu in 1970s, one of the ferrochrome smelter workers came to my office, blew his nose and asked me, ‘What does this dust do to my health?’

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Bartolucci vows refinery will be built in Capreol – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – November 20, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The man who was minister of Northern Development and Mines when Cliffs announced it was building a $1.8-billion refinery near Capreol says now is not the time to panic.

“It’s not falling apart,” Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said Wednesday, “although this is not the greatest news we’ve heard in regard to this project.”

Bartolucci said Cliff’s decision to suspend all work on the Ring of Fire — including work on the Moose Mountain refinery — is at least partly due to low commodity prices for chromite. And the recent ruling by the mining commissioner denying Cliffs access to land owned by another mining company to build a road to the site was another blow.

“But I will not end my political career with this project leaving Sudbury,” Bartolucci said, who announced earlier this year he would not run in the next election. “I worked very, very hard to make sure the ferrochrome processing facility was located (in Capreol).”

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South Africa’s role in shaping the platinum market wanes – by Allan Seccombe (Business Day – November 20, 2013)

http://www.bdlive.co.za/ [South Africa]

SOUTH Africa, the world’s largest source of primary platinum, does not exert the influence it once did over the platinum market as alternative supplies become more available, and the country needs to address cost reductions for its production as a matter of urgency.

Speaking at a recent mining conference, Stephen Forrest, a director and chairman of SFA Oxford, warned of growing metal supply from recycling and countries with excess inventory.

Johnson Matthey said South African platinum supplies would rise less than 1% to 4.12-million ounces this year because of industrial action and safety stoppages. Zimbabwe, while a long way behind South Africa, was showing rapid growth, with output shooting up 15% this year to 400,000oz, a record high, it said.

South Africa provides three-quarters of the world’s platinum, but its role in shaping the market is diminishing, Mr Forrest said. “You’d think such concentrated supply would be enough to secure a significant influence on price, but look closer and it’s clear that South Africa’s mighty market grasp is slipping.”

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Zimbabwe: Platinum Sector On Alert As Mugabe Threatens ‘Absurd’ Export Freeze – by Alex Bell (AllAfrica.com – November 12, 2013)

http://allafrica.com/

Platinum mining firms in Zimbabwe are said to be on alert, following threats by Robert Mugabe that all exports of the metal will be halted.

Mugabe was speaking at a ZANU PF meeting over the weekend, where he accused platinum firms of ignoring a government ‘directive’ two years ago to set up a Zim based refinery.

“Let us close our doors immediately and say no raw platinum will go to South Africa. The former minister gave them two years and we must see them now arranging to build a refinery,” the state-run Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying.

“If they have not started, after that warning, building a refinery then when the time comes for us to demand that all refining has to be done here, they should not blame us.”

While Zimbabwe has the second largest platinum reserves in the world, raw product is exported to South Africa for refining.

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Security of supply concerning platinum end-users – Johnson Matthey – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – November 12, 2013)

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Security of platinum supply is concerning platinum end-users, Johnson Matthey GM research Peter Duncan said on Tuesday.

Speaking to Mining Weekly Online in a video interview (see attached), Duncan said the lack of capital investment even in the replacement of platinum production capacity in the last few years was making it difficult for South Africa to grow its supply at a time of promising demand prospects.

“There is some concern amongst particularly the automotive industry original-equipment manufacturers about security of supply,” he said. A fall in productivity is estimated to have lost South Africa some 300 000 oz and further strikes or stoppages in the final quarter of 2013 could eliminate any increase in South African supplies.

Production losses owing to one-off factors such as strikes and safety stoppages totalled 100 000 oz in the first half. The uncertainty of platinum supply comes against a forecast of rising demand from expected increased upcoming vehicle and many new phases of platinum-demand-boosting emission standards to be introduced globally next year.

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Platinum Giants Ready to Stare Down Union Over Pay Demand – by Andre Janse van Vuuren (Bloomberg News – November 6, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Rising costs and falling prices may prompt South Africa’s largest platinum mines to stare down a union threat to halt 70 percent of global production over pay demands, pushing the industry toward a prolonged strike.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the largest at the platinum mines, has rejected pay offers exceeding South Africa’s 6 percent inflation rate. An AMCU-led strike would halt operations at Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS), Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Lonmin Plc, which together employ about 150,000 workers and contractors on the world’s richest deposits of the precious metal.

“The health of the industry is already in question,” Tyler Broda, an analyst at Nomura International Plc in London, said by phone. “It is going to be very difficult to give much more. The companies are unfortunately heading toward a path where they will take their chances with a protracted strike.”

The three companies have all in the last year either turned to investors for funds, set plans to shut mines or cut production and scaled back on capital spending to confront a slump in the price of platinum, down 16 percent from its highest level in 2013.

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Local firms test new Ring of Fire technology – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – November 2, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Research is being conducted at a Sudbury facility to develop a new, less expensive method of processing chromite ore from the Ring of Fire and turning it into ferrochrome.

KWG Resources Ltd. has filed a patent application while work is being done to commercialize a method of using natural gas, rather than an electric arc furnace, to power a ferrochrome processing plant.

Moe Lavigne, vice-president of exploration and development for KWG, said his company is aiming to reduce the cost of producing ferrochrome from the chromite it will mine from the Black Horse deposit it has an 80% share in in the Ring of Fire.

If you factored in current electricity prices, two to three times higher in Ontario than some provinces, electric arc furnaces and road transportation, “there’s a very strong chance … the Ring of Fire won’t be economical at all,” said Lavigne.

Cliffs Natural Resources hopes to develop its Ring of Fire Black Thor deposit and ship some of its material to a smelter it plans to construct in Capreol.

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South African mine strikes doing little to lift platinum – by Jan Harvey (Reuters – November 1, 2013)

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Given that South Africa is the source of 75 percent of the world’s platinum supply, the fact that prices have responded so little to strike action there this year has surprised investors.

Prices barely reacted to news on Thursday that the hardline AMCU union had declared a wage dispute with Lonmin, raising the possibility of an industry-wide strike that could hit half of global output.

Five years ago, the threat of production cuts in South Africa was the primary force driving platinum prices to record highs at $2,290 an ounce. But times have changed. Even after last year’s deadly wildcat strikes, when more than 50 people were killed in the platinum sector, prices rose only briefly. The following quarter, they fell nearly 15 percent.

Earlier this year, a two-week strike at major producers Anglo American Platinum, which the company said cost it 44,000 ounces of lost output, was accompanied by a 2 percent drop in platinum prices.

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AFRICA INVESTMENT-OPEC-style platinum cartel a pipe-dream – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters U.S. – May 16, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/

(PLEASE NOTE DATE OF THIS POSTING!)

JOHANNESBURG – May 16 (Reuters) – South Africa is the Saudi Arabia of platinum with steroids thrown in.

But Pretoria could never manipulate the platinum price the way the Middle Eastern kingdom can influence oil’s and talk of a platinum cartel, perhaps along the lines of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is a pipe-dream.

The world’s top platinum producers, South Africa and Russia, agreed to attempt to cope with excess supplies of the metal through a memorandum of understanding signed in March during the BRICS emerging market powers meeting in Durban.

South Africa’s mines minister Susan Shabangu spoke of “balancing” rather than “controlling the market” while still expressing concern about oversupply and prices. Confusingly, Russian officials said influencing prices was not the aim.

If not, then what would be the ultimate aim of cooperation between the platinum powerhouses, especially if one of the parties’ stated goals is to “balance” the market?

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Zimbabwe eyed as heir to platinum throne as SA loses grip – SFA Oxford – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – October 31, 2013)

 miningweekly.com

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – With South Africa’s once mighty grip on the world platinum market slipping, exasperated end-users are eyeing Zimbabwe as the heir to the platinum throne, top global platinum consultant Stephen Forrest said on Thursday.

Forrest, in South Africa for the Joburg 2013 Investing in Resources and Mining in Africa conference attended by South African mining’s who’s who, told Mining Weekly Online in an exclusive interview in Johannesburg that invested parties across the platinum value chain were viewing South Africa’s diminishing influence with concern.

Zimbabwe, Russia and North America had lower platinum group metal (PGM) ounce cash costs and received substantially higher by-product credits than South Africa, SFA Oxford’s director and principal consultant revealed.

Since 2009, there had been a fourfold increase in platinum recycling, from 500 000 oz in 2000 to more than two-million ounces a year. “Put simply, recycling is now offering the industry Lonmin-sized output incrementally every five years,” Forrest’s research showed.

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