Europe Mining – Page 56 – Republic of Mining

Kola Peninsula nickel giant promises to cut sulfur dioxide emissions in half – by Charles Digges (Bellona.org – November 21, 2016)

November 22, 2016

MURMANSK –The notoriously polluting Kola Mining and Metallurgy Combine (KMMC) has said it plans to reduce annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by nearly half within two years, it’s parent company told Bellona.

A source of tension between Norway and Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, the KMMC – a daughter company of the giant Norilsk Nickel based in Northern Siberia – yearly emits some 80,000 tons of the heavy metal, much of which finds its way into northern Norway.

Norilsk Nickel itself announced last week that it would slash emissions in its hometown – the most polluted city in Russia – by as much as 75 percent by 2020. Yury Yushin, who heads the Norilsk Nickel’s department of cooperative programs told Bellona that the company intends to reduce its emissions to 44,000 tons a year by 2019. He didn’t, however, discuss any specifics behind the dramatic reduction.

How Romanian People Power Took On Mining and Corruption – by Shaazka Beyerle and Tina Olteanu (November 17, 2016)

November 18, 2016

http://foreignpolicy.com/

One doesn’t usually think of the southeast corner of Europe as a hotbed of citizen dissent and mobilization. Yet people power in the region has been on the rise in recent years, producing some impressive outcomes. This has been most notable in Romania, where grassroots action has challenged corrupt political-economic interests, undone a toxic gold mining project, and put teeth back into the country’s democracy.

This was clearly evident about a year ago, on October 30, 2015, when thousands of Romanians took to the streets of their capital to protest a horrific fire in a Bucharest nightclub that took 64 lives. The organizers of a rock concert had set off fireworks inside, causing a catastrophic blaze.

The club’s owners were arrested and charged with building code violations. Some of the hospitalized victims contracted life-threatening bacterial infections after a Romanian pharmaceutical company supplied over 350 hospitals with heavily diluted antiseptics at inflated prices.

Russia plans to use Canadian experience in domestic gold mining – by Eugene Gerden (InvestorIntel.com – November 16, 2016)

November 17, 2016

http://investorintel.com/

Russia plans to use the experience of Canada in the field of geological exploration of domestic gold fields, that will take place through the attraction of startup private companies to invest funds in the conduction of geological surveys of the country’s gold fields.

These plans have been recently confirmed by Sergey Donskoy, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources.

According to the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, to date, the volume of investments, allocated by small startup companies in geological exploration of gold fields in Russia has been insignificant, not exceeding 10-15% in the overall structure of investments in exploration activities in the Russian gold mining.

2,000 jobs on cards at [Irish] Clare mine – by Andrew Hamilton (Irish Examiner – November 16, 2016)

November 16, 2016

http://www.irishexaminer.com/

Australian businessman Michael Hudson is heading a newly formed company which has just bought a site at Kilbrecken in Quin, near Ennis, from Canadian mining company Lundin. Extremely high-grade zinc has been discovered in deep veins at the site and indications are good that a major mining operation may be possible.

The new company, Hannan Ltd, will begin an assessment of the site immediately with exploratory drilling and non-invasive seismic tests due to begin in early 2017.

A small local team will be employed to undertake these assessments and it will be a number of years before full-scale mining could begin. If successful, the mine will operate fully underground with the zinc deposits running to at least 400m under the surface.

Row over Romania’s land of Dracula and gold spills onto new international stage – by Claudia Ciobanu (Reuters U.S. – November 9, 2016)

November 9, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

ROSIA MONTANA, Romania (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A battle over plans to build a huge gold mine in Rosia Montana, a Romanian village boasting intact Roman mining shafts and 18th century houses, has moved to an international stage, sparking residents’ fears that the project could be resurrected.

Sitting atop one of Europe’s largest gold deposits, Rosia Montana has for 15 years been at the center of a battle between villagers and Canada-listed mining company Gabriel Resources.

Gabriel Resources said the $1.5 billion project to build Europe’s largest gold mine would provide a major boost for Romania’s lagging economy and create hundreds of jobs for the Transylvania region – the legendary home of Dracula. But local residents fear the mine would destroy historic Rosia Montana, surrounding hillsides, and pollute the local environment with cyanide used in the mining process.

Fosun in exclusive talks to buy stake in Russian gold miner Polyus: sources – by Julie Zhu and Polina Devitt (Reuters U.S. – November 3, 2016)

November 3, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

HONG KONG/MOSCOW – Fosun International Ltd, is in exclusive talks to buy a large minority stake in Russia’s biggest gold miner Polyus, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in what would be the Chinese group’s maiden Russian deal.

Fosun, an aggressive buyer known internationally for its purchase of French resort operator Club Med, is keen to invest in Russia and other emerging markets such as India, as it moves away from Europe and developed markets. Reuters reported in August that Fosun is also in talks to buy a minority stake in Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital..

Fosun’s interest in Polyus comes as other Chinese companies have also been targeting gold mine acquisitions to meet domestic demand amid a recovery in prices. State-controlled Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd and state-backed Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd held separate talks with Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp to buy a 50 percent stake in an Argentinian gold mine, Reuters reported last month.

NEWS RELEASE: MiningWatch Predicts KGHM Ajax Would Face At Least $100 Million in Compensation or Litigation Costs If Mine Opens

October 24, 2016

http://miningwatch.ca/

(Kamloops) – October 21, 2016 – MiningWatch Canada claims that Kamloops should pay attention to recent legal developments of the only other urban mine of comparable size in Canada: the Malartic open pit mine in Quebec.

For the first time since it started operations in 2011, the Malartic open pit mine, owned by Agnico Eagle and Yamana Gold, faces a $70 million class action suit for the impacts on 700 houses and 1400 people located closest to the mine site. The suit was launched on August 1st of this year and aims to compensate damages related to dust, noise, and daily blasts.

The company itself has admitted the impacts of its mine on local community members and has agreed, on September 1st 2016, to offer a $50 million relocation and compensation package for the 3500 residents of Malartic, some of whom live up to about 2-2.5km away from the mine site at the city limits.

Aberfan disaster: 50th anniversary marked with silence (British Broadcasting Corporation – October 21, 2016)

October 21, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/

Wales fell silent on Friday as the country remembered the Aberfan disaster 50 years ago.
On 21 October 1966, a mountain of coal waste slid down into a school and houses in the Welsh village, killing 144 people, including 116 children. A day of events to commemorate the disaster included a service at Aberfan Cemetery at 09:15 BST on Friday.

Prince Charles has visited the Aberfan memorial garden and will unveil a plaque in memory of the victims. Earlier, he visited the Aberfan Cemetery and laid a wreath.

He also attended a reception with the families of some of those who lost their lives, before signing a book of remembrance. Prince Charles said anyone old enough remembers where they were when they heard the “appalling news” about the Aberfan disaster – saying he was at school in Scotland.

[Coal mining tragedy] Aberfan: The mistake that cost a village its children – by Ceri Jackson (British Broadcasting Corporation – October 21, 2016)

October 21, 2016

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” The phrase is one of the most enduring and quoted of modern literature, an almost proverbial reference to the archaic and bygone.

It is the opening line of LP Hartley’s 1953 novel The Go-Between, an eerie story set 50 years on from a tumultuous experience of an adolescent boy; an experience so devastating it propelled him prematurely into adulthood and ruined the rest of his life.

The story of what happened in the south Wales mining village of Aberfan is a devastating one which dealt a similar fate to the children who survived it. It too is a story for which Hartley’s opening line could not be more pertinent.

It is exactly 50 years since tragedy swooped down on Aberfan killing 116 children and 28 adults. Revisiting the “obscenity” of 21 October 1966, and its aftermath is a stark reminder of the incongruities of the past.

Poland’s Kings of Coal – Photo Essay by Tomasz Tomaszewski (Social Documentary Network)

October 20, 2016

http://viewfind.com/

Poland-Faces blackened with coal, miners in Upper Silesia emerge from beneath the surface and blink into the Polish twilight – just as they have been doing for hundreds of years.

When photojournalist Tomasz Tomaszewski showed up, however, he found an industry flailing amidst global competition and a Western World hungry for green energy, leaving the proud Polish miner a dying breed.

“When the time comes to work, The Silesian miner works relentlessly. When a colleague must be saved from death, he does not hesitate to walk into danger. The Silesian miner, along with his comrade the steelworker, is one of the most valuable members of Polish socity,” wrote Gustaw Mocinek in Upper Silesia, a book about gritty Polish communities written in 1950.

India poised to become centre for rough diamond trading? – by Melvyn Reggie Thomas (Times of India – October 18, 2016)

October 18, 2016

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

SURAT: Will the Special Notified Zone (SNZ) become the centre for rough diamond trading? It seems so, after the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed about strengthening bilateral diamond trade at the recently concluded BRICS summit in Goa.

Both India and Russia welcomed initiatives to promote direct trade in diamonds between the two countries and gave positive evaluation of the work of the SNZ at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai during the summit after noting active support of this project from Russian diamond company, ALROSA.

India is the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centre and one of ALROSA’s key trade partners. In 2015, companies with Indian capital purchased ALROSA’s rough diamonds for the total of US$ 1.5 billion, including US$ 575 million direct supplies to India.

Norilsk Nickel expands mining along border to Norway – by Atle Staalesen (The Barents Observer – September 29, 2016)

September 30, 2016

http://thebarentsobserver.com/

Two new mines to be opened over next three years in Pechenga, the company’s hotbed in the Kola Peninsula.

Kola MMC, the regional subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, is preparing for an extension of activities in the borderlands to Norway and Finland. That includes the opening of two new mines by year 2019, and the annual provision of an additional 2,5 million tons of ore to the company’s local processing plants.

The expansion is a key part of the company’s development strategy in the Kola Peninsula, company General Director Igor Ryshkel says to corporate newspaper Kolsky Nikel.

One of the new projects, the «Sputnik», will be developed as an open pit. It holds nine ore bodies and will deliver an annual 1 million tons of ore. It is located 16 km east of the town of Nikel and is to be opened for production in year 2019, the company informs.

French Mining Company In Trouble – Bailout, Whatever It Takes – by Andreas Meyer (Seeking Alpha – September 29, 2016)

September 30, 2016

http://seekingalpha.com/

Eramet SA (OTC:ERMAF) is, after Vallourec (OTCPK:VLOUF) (see article here), an additional French company that looks kind of interesting. Of course, it is another distressed story with event-driven character that appears on my screen with non-negligible risks. Nevertheless, there are a few interesting points for ERMAF I would like to present.

Eramet is a multinational mining and metallurgy company headquartered in Paris, France and listed on the Euronext Paris. The corporation produces non-ferrous metals and derivatives as well as nickel alloys and superalloys. The product portfolios is rounded off by special high-performance steel.

The historical developed company (founded in 1880) has a few subsidiaries with a large mining operation in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory and further mines around the world in Africa, Argentina, the US and mainly Europe (France & Norway).

NEWS RELEASE: ALROSA discussed the impact of synthetic diamonds on the diamond market

September 21, 2016

http://eng.alrosa.ru/

Hong Kong, September 20, 2016 – PJSC ALROSA, the world leader in diamond mining, held a meeting with the Company’s clients and partners at the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair.

The Company presented its vision for the development of the diamond market with an increased focus on the possible impact of the increased manufacture of synthetic diamonds on the natural diamond market. At a panel discussion, key market participants exchanged opinions on the risk of illegal mixing of synthetic and natural diamonds.

Representatives of international gemological laboratories and largest world jewelry retailers, diamond market analysts, heads of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, Diamond Producers Association, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, World Diamond Council, Israel Diamond Exchange, and Antwerp World Diamond Centre participated in the working meeting.

Nickel Advances on Supply Concerns as Mining Shares Surge – by Yuliya Fedorinova (Bloomberg News – September 19, 2016)

September 20, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Nickel jumped the most in two months after the Philippines said it may suspend more mines as part of a nationwide audit that’s due for release this week. Glencore Plc and other mining shares also advanced.

Nickel has climbed 15 percent in 2016 as the Philippines shutters sites for failing to meet environmental standards, threatening supplies from the nation, the top supplier of the mined metal. The government could tell more mines to stop operating, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday after similar comments to Reuters.

“As much as 150,000 tons of nickel, or 8 percent of global supply, could be at risk of closure,” Anton Berlin, head of analysis and market development in Moscow at GMK Norilsk Nickel PJSC, one of the two largest producers of the metal, said by e-mail on Monday.