International Media Resource Articles – Page 448

Exclusive: Barrick faces sanctions for Argentina cyanide spills, judge says – by Julianaa Castilla (Reuters U.S. – May 8, 2017)

May 8, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA – Barrick Gold Corp failed to complete improvements to the Veladero mine in Argentina that could have prevented the third spill of cyanide solution in 18 months, leading to eventual sanctions for the world’s biggest gold miner, a judge told Reuters.

Barrick appears to have missed deadlines on three orders from local authorities, including replacing pipes, before the March 28 spill, said Pablo Oritja, the judge overseeing cases related to Veladero in the nearby town of Jachal, where “Barrick out” graffiti lines the streets.

“If they had changed pipes as ordered, the decoupling (of pipes) would not have occurred,” Oritja told Reuters on Friday, the day after meeting the head of the mining police in western Argentina’s San Juan province, where Veladero and Jachal are located.

After years of decline, mining appears to be on the rebound in Alaska – by Annie Zak (Alaska Dispatch News – May 8, 2017)

May 8, 2017May 8, 2017

https://www.adn.com/

After several years of decline, Alaska’s mining industry seems to be clawing its way back. With a host of new mining exploration announcements in recent months as many commodity prices recover from a yearslong tailspin, industry experts in the state say more companies are eyeing Alaska as a place to spend money prospecting and developing projects.

“It was a three- to four-year decline,” said Curt Freeman, president of Fairbanks mineral exploration consulting firm Avalon Development Corp. “But the upturn, you could kind of feel it in the last year.”

When commodity prices drop, companies tend to focus their spending on maintaining current operations in places where they already have infrastructure, said Deantha Crockett, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association. Isolated Alaska feels the squeeze even harder, she said, because during tougher times, companies don’t want to spend money exploring such remote areas.

Miners at disaster site besiege Iranian president’s car (Los Angeles Times – May 7, 2017)

May 8, 2017

http://www.latimes.com/

ASSOCIATED PRESS – Angry coal miners besieged a car carrying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday after he visited the site of a deadly mine explosion, a rare protest targeting the nation’s top elected official as he campaigns for reelection.

The miners, some covered in coal soot from searching for fallen comrades still missing in Wednesday’s disaster in Iran’s northern Golestan province, began kicking and banging on the armored SUV carrying Rouhani. Video posted online by the semi-official Fars news agency showed one miner on the SUV’s roof, another jumping up and down and kicking its hood.

“Dear brothers! I beg you wait for a couple of minutes!” someone shouts during the video. Rouhani’s SUV eventually nudges its way through the crowd amid the shouting. Another miner rushes up to kick the back of the vehicle as it speeds away down a hill.

Marine diamond mining: tough jobs — commercial diving on the seabed of Africa – by Jane Flowers (Blasting News – May 7, 2017)

May 8, 2017

http://us.blastingnews.com/

The Namaqualand semi-desert of South Africa meets the sea and under those waters are diamonds: meet the men who dive for them

West coast diamond divers are a hard breed of men. These #commercial diving experts do one of the world’s #tough jobs to make a living. The #marine diamond mining vessels they work from are practical rather than luxurious. They are crammed with dive gear and machinery.

The vessel I am on is no Queen Mary. Cabins are dank and cold, every space is crammed with first aid kits, food, tools, pipes and compressors that boggle the mind and in the little galley what looks like black bean soup perks away on the gas stove. The commercial diving men who live aboard for days on end surround me. They sport tattoos and muscle bulk, yet they engage me with almost quaint old-fashioned good manners..

I am lucky to be here. Sea medicals and pre-sea safety inductions came my way through a work connection. Not every journalist in the world can get onto the marine diamond mining vessels in western South Africa.

Memorial to hundreds killed in England’s biggest mining disaster (Yorkshire Post – May 7, 2017)

May 8, 2017

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/

THE explosion made the ground shake for miles around, and flames erupted from 300 yards below. All around Barnsley – it was just before Christmas – “black snow” and burning wood fell out of the sky.

The apocalyptic scenes of December 1866 claimed 361 lives in England’s worst coal-mining disaster. The Oaks Colliery Disaster, which wrought so much devastation, was remembered yesterday as over a thousand people joined a huge procession, which bought the town to a standstill, for the unveiling of a new memorial.

In a poignant connection with the past, a steam buzzer, used to alert people of a disaster, was sounded before 20 descendants – including a Texan Sir William Jeffock, who bought his family across from the US – stepped forward to unveil the sculpture. Its centrepiece is “Kitty” whose eyes are fixed directly on the colliery, as her child clings terrified to her shawl.

Appalachia comes up small in era of giant coal mines – by Bonnie Berkowitz and Tim Meko (Washington Post – May 5, 2017)

May 5, 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

As the coal industry is squeezed, the most productive mines employ huge machines and relatively few people.

The average miner underground in West Virginia produces three tons of coal per hour. The average miner at a strip mine in Wyoming produces nearly 28. That is not the fault of the miners but of the mines’ geology. Appalachian coal mines have a size problem.

This is different from the well-documented problems of the industry itself. Yes, cheap natural gas has become the go-to fuel for generating electricity. And pollution regulations have made coal-fired plants less profitable. Exports have waned as China and other countries mine more of their own coal, and renewable options such as wind and solar have become more practical and widely used.

But coal still accounts for 30 percent of the electricity generated in this country. The problem for Appalachia is that when the market is squeezed, its mines often can’t produce as much as the vast strip mines out west, where coal is easier to access and the machines that harvest it can be as big as engineers can build.

Sandmining is destroying Asia’s rivers (The Third Pole – May 5, 2017)

May 5, 2017

https://www.thethirdpole.net/

There is no house or road or bridge or port in South Asia whose builders can claim to have built it with legally obtained sand alone. Illegal mining of sand from riverbeds is so ubiquitous in the subcontinent that on the rare occasions it is stopped temporarily by a judicial order, house prices go up and editorials criticising the judgement are written in financial newspapers.

Reporting illegal sand mining is the most dangerous thing a journalist can do in India. In the last couple of years, three journalists have been killed, allegedly by the illegal sand mining mafia, one each in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

A fourth journalist reporting on illegal mining of sand from the beaches of Tamil Nadu has been repeatedly threatened; anonymous callers – claiming to speak on behalf of a local politician from the party that rules the state – have ordered her to stay away from the area or else.

De Beers pilots plan to store carbon dioxide in diamond-bearing rock – by Tanisha Heiberg (Reuters U.S. – May 4, 2017)

May 5, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

KROONSTAD, SOUTH AFRICA – Anglo American’s diamond unit De Beers is piloting a project to capture carbon in the rock from which diamonds are extracted to offset harmful emissions, the company said. As planet-warming carbon emissions rise globally, many countries have adopted or proposed a form of tax on emissions and companies in the mining and manufacturing sector are concerned that this will hit their future profits.

South Africa proposed a tax of 120 rand ($9) per tonne on carbon emissions in 2012 but postponed it on worries that it would hurt profits already eroded due to a global commodities slump and higher electricity tariffs. De Beers said it aimed to remove as much carbon as it emits within five to ten years, and will select one of its mines for the project due to start in 2019.

“This project offers huge potential to completely offset the carbon emissions of De Beers’ diamond mining operations,” project leader and geologist Evelyn Mervine said. De Beers wants to store carbon dioxide in the kimberlite rock once all the diamonds have been removed. The kimberlite turns into a solid compound when mixed with carbon dioxide.

China iron ore imports ease in April amid cloudy outlook – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – May 5, 2017)

May 5, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – The heat came out of China’s iron ore imports in April, with vessel-tracking and port data suggesting a decline of several million tonnes from the near-record levels recorded in March.

A total of 83.27 million tonnes of the steel-making ingredient was discharged at Chinese ports in April, down 3.7 percent from March’s 86.46 million, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain and Commodity Forecasts. It’s worth noting that the vessel-tracking and port data typically comes in below the official Chinese customs data, which reported 95.56 million tonnes of iron ore imports in March, the second-highest on record.

Nonetheless, the ship data does point to lower imports in April, most likely in the order of 3 million tonnes. Apart from a weak month in February, most likely related to the Lunar New Year holidays, the vessel-tracking figures show April to be the weakest month for iron ore imports since September last year.

The Daily Prophet: If You’re Long Commodities, Our Condolences – by Robert Burgess (Bloomberg News – May 4, 2017)

May 5, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Connecting the dots in global markets.

It would be an understatement to say it was an ugly day for anything related to commodities. The Bloomberg Commodities Index tumbled 1.82 percent, its biggest drop since November. Energy markets, agriculture-related raw goods such as wheat and cattle, and metals such as copper, nickel and the iron ore used to make steel were all hit hard.

Even gold dived. Economists like to say commodities are not the referendum on the global economy they once were, but it’s hard not to notice how closely the recent weakness tracks the drop in the Citi Economic Surprise Index, which measures the data that exceed forecasts relative to those that miss, to its lowest level since the start of the year.

The oil rally following OPEC’s deal to curb supply has disappeared. Futures on both sides of the Atlantic dropped to their lowest since late November on growing signs that the group’s production cuts are failing to clear a surplus of crude, according to Bloomberg News’ Mark Shenk. Oil stocks felt the pinch, with the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Index slumping as much as 4.9 percent Thursday to the lowest since August.

Sibanye Gold expands platinum holdings with US acquisition – by Matt Volz (Washington Post – May 4, 2017)

May 5, 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

Associated Press – HELENA, Mont. — A South African gold mining company completed a $2.2 billion purchase of the only U.S. producer of platinum and palladium on Thursday, its third such acquisition in the past year as the company looks to expand its precious metals holdings.

Sibanye Gold Limited’s merger with Littleton, Colorado-based Stillwater Mining Co. on Thursday positions it as the world’s fourth-largest producer of precious metals that include platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold.

The value of platinum and palladium, which are used in vehicles’ catalytic converters and in jewelry, has plunged since a high in 2008. However, Sibanye officials said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are optimistic about the future of the market, due to the expected growth in worldwide vehicle sales in coming years.

35 Reported Dead In Iran Mine Explosion; Others Remain Trapped – by Laurel Wamsley (National Public Radio – May 4, 2017)

May 5, 2017

http://www.npr.org/

An explosion of methane gas collapsed a coal mine in Iran, killing more than 35 people and trapping others underground, according to Iranian state media. Many of those who died had rushed into help miners who were trapped.

Wednesday’s blast was caused when workers tried to jump-start a locomotive, Reuters reports. IRNA, the Islamic Republic News Agency, says that according to Labor Minister Ali Rabiei, the blast occurred when workers changed the battery of the locomotive, creating a spark:

“‘There were some technical difficulties with the batteries in the depth of 700 meters and changing the batteries was carried out inside the tunnel rather than outside of it and that triggered the explosion,’ Rabiei said on Thursday.”

Randgold’s best first quarter in five years – Bristow – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – May 4, 2017)

May 5, 2017

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold mining company Randgold Resources has recorded substantially higher profit in the three months to March than in the corresponding first-quarter period last year. “This is probably the best quarter-one we’ve had for five years,” Randgold Resources CEO Dr Mark Bristow told Mining Weekly Online from London.

The “above-run-rate” output at all mines in the first three months of this year augurs well for 2017 guidance being met. Cash rose by 16% to $600-million in the first quarter, which had zero debt.

Earlier this week, shareholders approved a 52% hike to $1 a share in the yearly dividend. Profit was up 33% on the corresponding quarter of 2016 and down 10% quarter-on-quarter against last year’s record final quarter finish.

The Human Thread Of Suffering Behind The Production Of Our Cell Phones And Laptops – by Alexandra Willis (Huffington Post South Africa – May 5, 2017)

May 5, 2017

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/

Reports around the disregard for human and labour rights in the production of smartphones and other digital technology have been rife for years. Many of the components used in our devices are reportedly sourced through child labour and inhumane working conditions. The high value of these minerals has also fuelled competition, resulting in conflict involving mass killings and rape as a weapon of war.

All of us who own a PC, phone or other electronic gadget enjoy the benefits of new technologies, but rarely do we spare a thought as to how they are made. Inside many of these electronic devices are components that began life as minerals dug underground, sometimes at a great cost of human dignity.

Miners in countries such as Myanmar, Bolivia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) use children as young as seven who work in perilous conditions, scavenging for minerals in industrial mines and washing and sorting them before they are sold. The minerals travel through a chain of suppliers through Asia and elsewhere to be smelted into metals, and then onto the world at large where they end up in electronics, as well in vehicles and jewelry.

U.S. fires new salvo in escalating aluminium trade dispute – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – May 4, 2017)

May 5, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – “This is not a China-phobic program, this has to do with a global problem.” That was how U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross described the latest investigation into his country’s aluminium imports.

This one has been launched under Section 232(b) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which lets a president act against imports on national security grounds. It follows hot on the heels of a similar Section 232 probe into U.S. imports of steel.

Although a Section 232 investigation is explicitly not supposed to be a substitute for trade complaints and despite Ross’s assurances it’s not about China, it’s hard to see this latest maneuver as anything other than exactly that. Namely, another turn of the screw on the Chinese authorities to do something about the country’s overcapacity and its exports.