International Media Resource Articles – Page 519

Anglo American’s Biggest Shareholder Wants Vote on Sale Plan – by Loni Prinsloo, Paul Burkhardt and Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg News – September 1, 2016)

September 1, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Anglo American Plc’s biggest shareholder, South Africa’s Public Investment Corp., will meet with the company next week to discuss whether its plan to sell more than half of its mines including local coal and iron-ore assets is the best option for the country.

The PIC, which owns about 14.5 percent of Anglo, wants the sale plan put to a shareholder vote because it’s concerned that selling mines after commodity prices plunged wouldn’t realize the full value of the assets, said Deon Botha, the Pretoria-based PIC’s head of corporate affairs. The PIC oversees South African government workers’ pension funds among the $123 billion in assets it holds.

If the disposal plan does go ahead, the PIC would prefer that the coal, iron ore and manganese mines up for sale be bundled with some of Anglo’s platinum mines, Botha said. The PIC doesn’t favor the sale of the assets as single mines, he said.

China’s robust August iron ore, coal imports mirrored in prices – by Clyde Russell (Daily Mail/Reuters U.K. – September 1, 2016)

September 1, 2016

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Sept 1 (Reuters) – China’s imports of iron ore and coal remained robust in August, providing a fundamental justification for the ongoing resilience in the price of the two major bulk commodities.

Although there are several more factors driving prices than China demand, it’s also worth noting that crude oil imports likely slipped back somewhat in August, coinciding with a retreat in the price of global benchmark Brent crude.

Imports of iron ore by China, buyer of about two-thirds of global seaborne supplies of the steel-making ingredient, were estimated at 89.26 million tonnes in August by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain and Commodities Research, based on vessel-tracking and port data.

Glencore’s interest in Rio Tinto coal assets reignited – by Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Joyce Moullakis (Financial Post – September 1, 2016)

September 1, 2016

http://www.afr.com/

Glencore is once again considering an acquisition of Rio Tinto’s $US 1 billion-plus coal assets, as revealed by Street Talk on Thursday. Deutsche Bank is understood to be in Rio’s corner but it’s unclear whether Glencore is using advisers.

Street Talk understands this time around, Glencore is seeking to buy all of Rio’s Australian coal, including the mining giant’s coking coal assets in Queensland.

The official book value at June 30, 2016, for Rio Tinto Coal Australia was $US1.15 billion. Glencore, which last ran a ruler over the thermal coal assets a year ago, has had its eye on Rio’s Hunter Valley portfolio for the best part of three years.

Samarco dam failed due to poor drainage and design: investigation – by Marta Nogueira and Stephen Eisenhammer (Reuters U.S. – August 30, 2016)

September 1, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

BELO HORIZONTE/RIO DE JANEIRO – The deadly collapse of a tailings dam last November at the Samarco mine, owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton, was caused by drainage and design flaws, a report into Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster showed on Monday.

The 76-page report commissioned by the companies responsible for the spill, which killed 19 people, attributed the dam burst to a chain of events dating back to 2009, but did not assign blame or highlight specific errors in corporate or regulatory practice.

Norbert Morgenstern, a geotechnical engineering professor who headed the investigation, repeatedly told reporters he could not answer their questions when quizzed on whether there was negligence or malpractice on the part of the companies involved.

Chinese Takeovers Trigger Global Backlash Ahead of G-20 Summit – by Rich Miller (Washington Post/Bloomberg – August 26, 2016)

August 31, 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

(Bloomberg) — Forget about Yankee go home. Now it’s Chinese go home.

From Australia blocking a bid for a power network to the U.K.’s review of a proposed Chinese-funded nuclear plant, opposition to China’s outward push is opening a thornier and potentially more treacherous front in the country’s economic tug-of-war with the rest of the world. And it’s coming as China prepares to host a Sept. 4-5 summit of Group of 20 leaders.

Unlike festering frictions over trade, the new front is in an area — investment — where the global rules of engagement are more amorphous and where national security interests are more prominent. That raises the risk of a rapid escalation of tensions that can’t be so easily contained.

“The implicit accusation when rejecting overseas direct investment is much stronger than trade,” said James Laurenceson, deputy director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology in Sydney.

Africa’s Fastest Growing Gold Producer Says More to Come – by Simon Gongo and Pauline Bax (Bloomberg News – August 31, 2016)

August 31, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Burkina Faso said it has more gold waiting to be discovered as the nation where output jumped more than 20 times in a decade reviews its geological records.

The government wants to help companies that are already operating in the West African nation to lengthen the lives of their mines and make it easier for new investors to get information about deposits, Mining Minister Alfa Omar Dissa said last week in an interview in the capital, Ouagadougou.

“We’ve reviewed the eastern region, the west and the south and we found some very interesting information,” he said. Deposits previously unknown include “gold, lithium, nickel and a bit of uranium, even traces of oil,” he said.

The country has seen a gold rush in recent years because of the high grades found in some deposits, which hold as much as 17 grams (0.56 ounce) per metric ton, compared with the global average of 1.5 grams, Dissa said.

South African mine deaths rise after years of improving safety – by Ed Stoddard and Sisipho Skweyiya (Reuters – August 31, 2016)

August 31, 2016

http://news.trust.org/

PHUTHADITJHABA, South Africa, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Pakiso Matsemela recalls the day he lost the use of his legs, joining the long casualty list of a South African mining industry whose accident rate is again climbing after years of improvement.

“I heard a bang and suddenly I was hit in the back by a rock. It felt like a rush of heat,” the 63-year-old told Reuters, recounting the accident that shattered his spine at the Northam Platinum mine.

That was in May, 2009 and – while of no consolation to the paralysed Matsemela – South Africa’s mines were at the time gradually getting to grips with their appalling safety record.

For how long will Glencore hold its zinc capacity cuts? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K./Daily Mail – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) – It’s been nearly a year since Glencore announced it was mothballing half a million tonnes of mined zinc capacity. At the time there was a good degree of scepticism in the zinc market that the company would make good on its promise.

But it did and the London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc price hasn’t looked back since. Three-month metal is currently trading just above $2,300 per tonne, compared with $1,700 at the time of the announcement back in October 2015.

Indeed, zinc has been the hottest base metal in town this year with investment managers jumping on the band-wagon. Which makes the question of how long Glencore will hold its cuts ever more pressing. Just don’t expect an answer yet.

Foreign Miners Pull Up Stakes in Indonesia – by Sara Schonhardt (Wall Street Journal – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

Newmont Mining’s exit after more than 30 years illustrates the companies’ growing difficulties there

JAKARTA—When Newmont Mining Corp. began exploring for gold in Indonesia in the 1980s, the country’s wealth of untapped resources was seen as the Colorado-based miner’s ticket to the big leagues.

The Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in eastern Indonesia was one of the largest undeveloped deposits in the world, and Newmont’s billion-dollar investment put it on the path to becoming the world’s No. 2 gold miner by output.

More than three decades later, Newmont’s exit from Indonesia illustrates that the country has become a more difficult place for foreign miners to operate, say analysts. Newmont in June agreed to sell its 48.5% economic interest in the local unit that runs the mine, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, to a group of local investors led by Indonesian-listed oil-and-gas company PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk. Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., with which Newmont operates the mine, is selling its stake to the group as well.

This startup is protecting Afghanistan’s prized rare emeralds – by Parija Kavilanz (CNN Money.com – August 29, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://money.cnn.com/

In Afghanistan, where decades of warfare have ravaged the country, there’s a beautiful green oasis tucked between the mountains that’s home to something rare and precious.

The Panjshir Valley, located north of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, is an area rich with more than 172 emerald mines. Known as Panjshir emeralds, the gems boast a unique bluish-green color that make them among the country’s most-iconic treasures.

Entrepreneur Habib Mohebi grew up in Kabul hearing about the emerald mines from friends local to that area. Years later, that knowledge would reconnect him to his homeland in a distinctive way.

Mohebi is the co-founder of Aria Gems, a company that mines and exports Panjshir emeralds.

Two killed in clashes in eastern India as anger over land use rises – by Jatindra Dash (Reuters U.s – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

BHUBANESWAR, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Two people were killed and more than 30 injured when villagers protesting the loss of their homes to a power plant clashed with police in eastern India, in violence highlighting the disputed nature of land use in the country.

Police opened fire late on Monday in Gola in Jharkhand state after hundreds of villagers demanding more jobs and better compensation from Inland Power Ltd. threw stones and ransacked the company’s offices, a senior police official said.

“A meeting between the displaced persons and the management was going on when some people rushed into the premises and vandalized the property,” said Inspector General M.S. Bhatia.

Mongolia asks Rio Tinto to speed up work on giant copper mine – by Terrence Edwards (Reuters U.S. – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

ULAANBAATAR – Mongolia’s prime minister has asked Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto to step up the pace of construction at the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, part of efforts to revive the country’s debt-ridden economy.

Jargaltulga Erdenebat assured Rio Tinto’s copper chief Arnaud Soirat that Mongolia would honor its past agreements with Rio Tinto, and called on the company to do the same. “For Oyu Tolgoi, the Mongolian policy to work together with Rio Tinto is already set,” he was quoted as saying in a statement posted on Mongolia’s official government website <zasag.mn/news/view/14686>.

“You need to comply with contract obligations and speed up the momentum of work,” he told Soirat, adding that Oyu Tolgoi should procure construction materials like cement from Mongolian service providers only.

Companies’ Report on Brazil Dam Failure Adds Little New on Causes – Paul Kiernan (Wall Street Journal – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO—Nearly 10 months after one of the biggest disasters in the history of mining, the companies responsible for the failure of a massive tailings dam in Brazil presented a long-awaited report Monday on the causes of the incident.

But it added little information to what Brazilian police and prosecutors already had gathered, and it presented no guidance on how to prevent future accidents.

The Fundão dam failure at mining giants Vale SA’s and BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Samarco joint-venture in Brazil is believed to have been the largest such accident.

Its Nov. 5 collapse released enough mine waste to fill the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium at least 11 times.

4 Nickel Miners Set to Soar On Philippines Crackdown – by Daniel Shane (Barrons – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.barrons.com/

The prospect of stricter mining laws could threaten supplies from one of the world’s biggest nickel producers.

Drug pushers aren’t the only victims in a crackdown by hardline Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. The Southeast Asian archipelago’s freshly-minted government has taken aim at miners, telling them to shape up or shut down. That could be a boon for nickel miner stocks elsewhere in the region, which should benefit from any disruptions in supply.

Tough guy Duterte, elected in a landslide vote this summer, has made no secret of his “big problems” with the Philippines’ mining industry, who he accuses of skirting environmental rules and “destroying the soil of our country.” That could cause a global supply crunch for the metal – which is mainly used in making stainless steel – as the Philippines makes up a fifth of global output.

It sells most of it to China. Filipino authorities have closed several mines already with more to shutter soon, helping lift nickel prices by around 20% to $5 a pound.

Cracks seen before dam collapse at BHP, Vale joint venture: report – by Elizabeth Redman and Matt Chambers (The Australian – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Mining giant BHP Billiton says it was not aware that the tailings dam at its Samarco joint venture in Brazil was at risk of collapsing, despite a series of efforts over years to fix its structural defects.

The assertion follows the release of a report into the technical causes of the deadly dam collapse at the Samarco mine in November, 2015, which caused a massive spill of waste material, polluted a major river and killed at least 19 people.

According to a new report by geotechnical specialists, the dam’s collapse was a result of construction defects, a poor redesign and safety criteria not being met, with the failure accelerated by three small earthquakes. Cracks were evident at the tailings dam more than a year before it failed. The investigation was commissioned by BHP Billiton and Vale, along with their Samarco joint venture.