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Europe Mining

Greek miners protest against government decision threatening their jobs – by Angeliki Koutantou and Alkis Konstantinidis (Reuters U.K. – April 16, 2015)

http://uk.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Thousands of workers at a Canadian-run gold mine in northern Greece protested in Athens on Thursday against a decision by the new leftist government to revoke the company’s licence to develop the mine.

Eldorado Gold has spent about $400 million (268 million pounds) in the gold mine project in Skouries, in the lush forest of Halkidiki, since 2012. It wants to invest another $700 million by 2017 to build a processing plant and develop two mines in the area.

The investment has been a test case for Greece’s will to attract foreign investment and kickstart its economy after years of austerity-induced recession. Skouries has stirred violent clashes between the mine workers and opposing local communities who say that the investment would destroy the environment.

In a rare rally of this scale in favour of the project, thousands of workers worried they may lose their jobs gathered outside the environment ministry in their safety vests and helmets, waving flags which read “Yes to mines, yes to growth.”

About 2,000 people are currently employed by the project and the company planned to hire another 1,000 by 2020, in a country struggling with record high joblessness.

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Norilsk Sees Nickel in Cars Tripling as Tesla Drives Sales – by Yuliya FedorinovaAndrey Lemeshko (Bloomberg News – April 14, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Nickel demand from the auto industry is set to rise as much as threefold in five years as output of electric and hybrid cars gathers pace, according to Russia’s largest producer of the metal.

“Hybrid and electric cars make more demand for nickel,” Anton Berlin, head of strategic marketing at OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, said in an interview in Moscow. “It will rise because many automobile companies, such as Tesla Motors, have very ambitious plans for the future.”

Electric and hybrid vehicles are increasingly becoming a low-cost alternative for consumers as their batteries — which use nickel — get cheaper and more efficient. That may aid a recovery in the market for the metal after prices slumped because of oversupply in the stainless-steel industry.

Tesla Motors Inc., California’s largest automotive employer, is seeking to make electric cars for the masses by adding a battery factory near Reno, Nevada. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said last month that Tesla would also reveal “a major new product line” at the end of April.

Use of nickel in car batteries may rise to more than 100,000 metric tons a year by the end of the decade from 30,000 tons in 2014, according to Norilsk’s Berlin.

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Hellas Gold mining project divides Greek kin on Halkidiki peninsula – by Vassilis Kyriakoulis (Globe and Mail – April 13, 2015)

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.

THESSALONIKI, GREECE — Scrawled on the walls of homes in the village of Megali Panagia in northern Greece are angry slogans that show how much this picturesque community has been torn apart by a controversial gold mining project.

“Gold mines are a curse for every nation,” reads one. Others are more profane. For the past three years, the promise of a huge investment by a Canadian mining company has deeply divided the inhabitants of this spectacular corner of the Halkidiki peninsula, setting neighbours and even family members at each others’ throats.

In Megali Panagia itself, tit-for-tat attacks on shops and cars belonging to rival factions of those for and against Hellas Gold – a subsidiary of Canadian firm Eldorado Gold Corp. – have been going on for years.

Until now, most of the demonstrations were by residents fearing that the project will cause irreversible damage to beautiful forested peninsula, one of Greece’s most popular tourist areas.

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The Last Coal Miners of Spain – by Nathaniel Rich (New York Times – April 10, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/

oal is on the way out in Europe, and it is dying a slow and ugly death. Its decline has been hastened by competition from the renewable-energy industry, cheaper imported coal from Russia and the United States and new air-quality regulations passed by the European Union. The death throes have been especially violent in Spain, where the national coal-mining industry was created by royal order in 1621 to exploit the coal basin at Villanueva del Rio y Minas in Seville.

In 1990, 167 coal mines employed about 40,000 workers. Today there are roughly 40 active mines, employing fewer than 4,000 miners. The struggling industry has long been supported by state subsidies, but under a recent E.U. agreement, all subsidies must expire by 2018.

When the government issued heavy reductions to the subsidies in 2012, miners responded by holding strikes and sit-ins and by blockading roads, highways and railroad lines. Thousands of them marched to Madrid, some walking 250 miles. When they arrived on the night of July 11, 2012, they were joined by more than 10,000 additional protesters, many of whom saw the miners’ fate as a symbol of economic parsimony taken too far.

They fired at the police with slingshots, catapults and rocket launchers. Clashes with the police followed, and the press carried images of women and children with bloodied heads. Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, declined to hold talks with the miners. The following day, he announced new austerity measures.

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Mining the depths of frustration in Halkidiki [Greece] – by Yannis Palaiologos (Ekathimerini.com – April 9, 2015)

http://www.ekathimerini.com/

Eldorado Gold CEO Paul Wright talks to Kathimerini about the Canadian firm’s major investment in Greece and the difficulties it is facing

“I have never encountered anything like it.” Paul Wright, chief executive officer of Hellas Gold’s parent company Eldorado Gold, has difficulty understanding the quagmire in which the firm’s large investment in Halkidiki has found itself.

In an interview with Kathimerini, Wright says that the project in northern Greece bolsters employment, exports and tax revenues for the Greek state during what is a very difficult period. He also points out that the project has survived a number of court challenges. “And yet the government wants to stop it.”

We met at the company’s Athens headquarters. Wright was visiting the country for a third time since the January election in a bid to reach some sort of understanding with the new government. Despite efforts made by the company, as well as Canada’s government, his contacts with Greek government officials have proved difficult.

“It is uncertain what the government’s intentions are. We are receiving mixed signals. There has been interference, negative statements about the investment,” he said. Have there also been some positive signals?

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Norilsk Sees Africa Cutting Platinum Output on Spending – by Yuliya Fedorinova (Bloomberg News – April 7, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel sees South African output of platinum-group metals declining in the next several years as the Russian mining company leads investors in creating a $2 billion palladium fund.

“Investments in a vast amount of projects in South Africa were delayed and it’s hard to expect an increase in output in the region,” Anton Berlin, head of strategic marketing at Norilsk, said in an interview on Monday. “Most likely, it will even fall.”

This year, South African output will recover to match its 2013 level of 4.4 million ounces of platinum and 2.4 million ounces of palladium following a sharp decline caused by five months of strikes in 2014, he said.

Production of platinum and palladium, which are mined from the same deposits and used in automobile catalytic converters, has been lower than demand since at least 2012. Opaque stockpiles held by hedge funds have contributed to price volatility, according to Norilsk.

More than 1 million ounces of potential output were lost during strikes in South Africa that ended in June, according to research by Johnson Matthey Plc. The platinum market had a deficit of almost 1 million ounces last year, which should narrow to 500,000 ounces this year, according to Norilsk’s estimates.

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India seeks potash bargain after Belarus-China deal – by Rajendra Jadhav (Reuters U.S. – April 1, 2015)

http://www.reuters.com/

MUMBAI- (Reuters) – Belarus’ deal to sell potash to China at a lower-than-expected price has prompted India to seek a similar bargain ahead of the signing of new contracts this month, a move that could hit spot rates already under pressure due to stiff competition.

Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) last month agreed to raise the price of potash exports to China, the biggest consumer and which sets the benchmark, by $10 to $315 per tonne, undercutting Russian and North American rivals who were negotiating for a hike of $25-$30.

India, which imports all its potash needs, bought the crop nutrient at $322 per tonne on a cost and freight basis last year, the lowest level in seven years. It is seeking to keep the price at the same level this year.

India usually pays slightly more than China due to additional freight and as it buys in small consignments.

“The Chinese deal has highlighted the oversupply in the market,” said P.S. Gahlaut, managing director of state-run Indian Potash Ltd, the country’s biggest importer. “As far as India is concerned we cannot afford a price rise.”

Officials from Russia’s Uralkali, the world’s largest producer, are expected in India in the third week of April and any supply agreement around last year’s price will put pressure on spot prices that collapsed after Uralkali broke away from a joint trading venture with BPC in 2013.

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Russian Miners With Billions of Dollars Weigh Dividend Increase – by Yuliya Fedorinova (Bloomberg News – March 31, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) — Russian metals exporters that are piling up cash after the ruble collapse are sharing the wealth with investors as the economy tilts into recession and global demand slows.

The weaker ruble has benefited Russia’s resource companies, which have costs in the national currency and revenues in dollars or euros. OAO Novolipetsk Steel, OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel and four other of Russia’s largest metals and mining companies together held $8.3 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They had about $5.7 billion a year earlier.

Companies are using the windfall to reward shareholders, switching focus from debt repayments or investments. Prices for major materials have softened as China’s economic growth slowed last year to the weakest since 1990. Russia is sliding into its first recession in six years, as U.S. and European sanctions add to slowing consumer demand and a slump in oil prices.

“It makes no sense to start large investments now, and it’s better to pay excessive cash to the owners,” Kirill Chuyko, head of equity research at BCS Financial Group, said by phone on March 31. “The cost of capital for Russian companies increased, which also makes companies rethink their dividend policies.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Is Northern Europe the new mining Eldorado?

More information can be found on the website http://www.europeminingsummit.com

The Europe Mining 2015 Summit, organised by Global Summits organizer IRN on 17-18 June in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, will gather senior level representatives from the European Commission and the international mining industry to help delegates plan their business activities taking advantage of the new opportunities offered in the region.

London (PRWEB UK) 27 March 2015

As falling oil price fuels lower costs for miners, the iron ore market is expanding in Europe. International mining companies are in search of rare earths in the continent, in particular uranium, iron ore, nickel, gold and phosphorus. It is predicted that northern Europe will soon host more mining projects.

Finland is often described as northern Europe’s top destination for mining investment thanks to its significant copper, silver, iron ore, nickel and zinc reserves and as global warming uncovers precious metals, the country is expected to be one of the world’s next major mining frontiers.

Sweden is home to the world’s largest iron ore mine, which produces 90 percent of all the iron in Europe. A few days ago, a Canadian company has expressed to “look forward to exciting results ahead” after having successfully staked two nickel deposits with historical resources in northern Sweden. It is estimated that in 2025, Sweden could triple its mining production.

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China, Russia and the Tussle for Influence in Kazakhstan – by Arthur Guschin (The Diplomat – March 23, 2015)

http://thediplomat.com/

The two powers are pursuing competing interests in Central Asia.

Until recently, Central Asia played only a modest role in world politics, a reflection of its economic weakness, domestic problems, and distrust of integration. Russia’s presence in the region as the primary political mediator and economic partner was incontestable. In the last few years, though, China’s growing economic interest in Central Asia has come to be seen in Moscow as a threat to its influence. Russia is watching closely the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, which would give Beijing the dominant role and could supplant the Eurasian Economic Union. With Kazakhstan the core state in any integration project in the region, it looks set to become the frontlines of the tussle between China and Russia for regional influence.

Russian Interests

Driving Russian policy in Kazakhstan are the activities of four major Russian energy companies: Gazprom, Lukoil, Transneft and Rosneft. These companies allow Moscow to keep Astana within the sphere of Russian interests and help prevent Beijing from dominating Kazakhstan’s economy. Their participation in local energy projects gives Russia access to oil and gas reserves, while binding the two countries in the energy, transport, space and agriculture sectors.

The basis of the partnership rests on agreements covering petroleum contracts and energy supplies transiting through Kazakhstani and Russian territory to European or Chinese markets. Currently, the leading Russian investor in Kazakhstan is Lukoil, which operates seven projects and has a stake in the cross-country pipeline Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). In 2013, 32.7 million tons of oil was pumped through the pipeline, 28.7 million tons of it exported from Kazakhstan.

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Wolf Minerals’ tungsten mine to start production in Devon – by James Wilson (Financial Times – March 13, 2015)

http://www.ft.com/intl/companies/mining

It has required moving wildlife, building “bat hotels” and planting 40,000 replacement trees. But after more than a year of construction, Britain’s first metals mine for more than four decades is nearing completion.

On the edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, cranes loom over the steel skeleton of a shed as long as a football pitch and 25m high. Within months a complex circuit will begin to process the local rock and liberate the tiny fraction, less than 0.2 per cent, that matters.

The tungsten that Wolf Minerals will mine here is worth almost $30,000 per tonne: enough for a business with $100m in annual revenues.

Tungsten is one of the hardest of elements, seven times heavier than water and used in toolmaking and armaments. The Devon deposit was mined during the first and second world wars, but before Wolf spotted the opportunity to acquire the mining licence, the last serious exploration took place in the 1980s, before China’s explosive industrial growth.

The process plant, the nearby tailings dam for waste rock and the big open pit itself are the essential “kit” of a modern metal mine. They are familiar from Australia to Zambia but not in the UK, where such mining has been all but extinct in recent decades. The closure of almost all Britain’s collieries after a bitter 1980s strike further loosened the country’s bond with mining, and while London remains a centre for global mining finance, the projects are usually thousands of miles away.

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Future Arctic: More Mining, More Shipping and More Tourists – by Benjamin Hulac and Climate Wire (Scientific American – March 13, 2015)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/

As the Arctic thaws, northern nations dream of a new economy

ROVANIEMI, Finland—In one of this nation’s northernmost cities and at the close of a winter that citizens here have called unusually mild, foreign ambassadors spoke of their nations’ hope to do business in the Arctic, Finnish spokesmen outlined their plans to attract international money, and business owners burnished their cases for investment in the polar north.

“Nordic lights is a good example of business actually nowadays,” Juha Mäkimattila, the chairman of the Lapland Chamber of Conference, said at a dinner for foreign guests Wednesday, with a slideshow of aurora borealis photographs thrumming behind him. “We can actually make money on the northern lights from people from new parts of the world.”

At the two-day Arctic Business Forum, hosted by the Lapland chamber, delegations from more than 20 nations, most which do not border the Arctic Circle, said the tone reflected a robust appetite for economic expansion, natural resource extraction and an optimistic prognosis for strong tourist spending.

Meeting in a city that advertises itself on its website as “The Official Hometown of Santa Claus,” most speakers alluded to environmental management but didn’t get into the problems of melting permafrost or the additional threats of future oil spills or the loss of species.

On both days, the tone was bullish. Diplomats from global trade and economic powers signaled their governments’ growing interest in Arctic transit and heavy shipping in the Arctic Ocean.

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Polish Coal Miners Ride Solidarity Legacy to Oblivion – by Ladka Mortkowitz and BauerovaMarek Strzelecki (Bloomberg News – March 6, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) — For decades, Polish coal miners have enjoyed benefits that are the envy of their working class countrymen: An annual bonus of two months’ pay regardless of performance, company-sponsored holidays, retirement before 50, and no weekend shifts. Today, that legacy of the communist era threatens the mostly state-owned mining sector and is digging a hole in the national budget.

To understand why reform remains elusive, take a drive through Upper Silesia, the coal-rich region in southern Poland that’s home to two dozen mines. The snowy countryside, drained of color in the feeble winter light, is framed by smoking chimney stacks and elevator towers that haul coal up from the pits.

Even as European coal prices have fallen by half in recent years and producers have struggled, powerful unions have foiled government attempts to close failing operations, cut jobs, and restore the sector to profitability. In January, the Economy Ministry cautioned that without significant restructuring Kompania Weglowa SA — the European Union’s largest coal producer — risked bankruptcy.

With their historical ties to Lech Walesa’s Solidarity, Poland’s roughly 100,000 miners are clinging to their jobs. Their unions’ links to the 1980’s movement mean they can easily forge alliances across the political spectrum — and threaten any reform-minded government with widespread strikes.

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Thirty-three miners dead after pit blast in east Ukraine – by Maria Tsvetkova (Reuters U.S.A.- March 4, 2015)

http://www.reuters.com/

DONETSK, Ukraine – (Reuters) – Thirty-three miners were confirmed dead late on Wednesday after a coal mine blast in the rebel-held city of Donetsk near the battle front in eastern Ukraine, indicating no one trapped in the rubble survived.

Mine officials said the explosion was most likely caused by gas and not fighting in the war between Moscow-backed rebels and Ukraine government forces. Nevertheless, Kiev suggested the war had made the disaster worse, accusing the separatists of holding up a rescue effort by restricting access.

Outside the gates of the Zasyadko mine, about 30 relatives clamored for information about any survivors. Sergei Baldayev, a miner injured in the blast, mingled with the crowd, his face covered in scratches and one arm hanging motionless by his side, the result of a broken collarbone.

The sister of one miner who was in the pit at the time of the explosion, Alexei Novoselsky, stood in tears. “Tell me, are there survivors? Why are you concealing the truth?” she asked as a rescue worker tried to calm her. The Donetsk regional administration said 16 injured people were in hospital.

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