International Media Resource Articles – Page 565

Apple Says Supply Chain Now 100% Audited for Conflict Minerals – by Emily Chasan (Bloomberg News – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Apple Inc. has reached what it’s calling a milestone in supply-chain transparency, saying it’s now auditing 100 percent of its suppliers for the use of conflict minerals linked to violent militia groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The iPhone maker has been working since 2010 to remove minerals connected to these groups from its supply chain, and while it isn’t yet declaring its products totally conflict-free, the company said all of its 242 smelters and refiners of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold are now subject to third-party audits. That figure is up from about 88 percent at the end of 2014 and 44 percent in 2013, according to an annual filing the company will release Wednesday.

“We could have very easily chosen a path of re-routing our supply and declared ourselves conflict-free long ago, but that would have done nothing to help the people on the ground,” Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said. “We chose to engage with as many smelters as possible because the only way to have an impact here is to reach critical mass.”

BLOOD DIAMOND: India has to choose between saving its tigers or becoming one of the largest diamond producers – by Manu Balachandran and Madhura Karnik (Quartz India – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://qz.com/

India has a tough choice to make. Will it be a Rs20,520 crore ($3 billion) diamond mining project or one of the world’s most beautiful wild beasts and nearly 1,000 hectares of pristine forest with other exotic flora and fauna?

For close to a decade, this question has riled decision-makers in the country as they have weighed the pros and cons of letting Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies, look for diamonds under the Chhatarpur forests in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Now, India’s forest advisory committee—a statutory body in charge of environmental clearance—is deliberating the proposal to award the final clearance. Once the committee gives its final say, the environment ministry seldom rejects those recommendations.

Nickel miners to raise extra cash – by Stuart McKinnon (The West Australian – March 31, 2016)

March 31, 2016

https://au.news.yahoo.com/

Nickel miners Western Areas and Panoramic Resources have announced capital raisings this morning in a bid to bolster their balance books as the price of the commodity continues to languish.

Western Areas flagged a $70 million raising, comprising a $60 million placement at a discounted $1.95 a share and a share purchase plan for retail shareholders to raise $10 million. Under the share purchase plan, shareholders will be able to subscribe for up to $15,000 worth of new shares also priced at $1.95.

Western Areas said the raising would strengthen its balance sheet and provide greater financial flexibility to fund growth initiatives.

Mining: Eritrea digs deep for jobs – by Mark Anderson (The Africa Report – March 31, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.theafricareport.com/

Eritrea’s hobbled economy will get a boost when new gold, copper and zinc mines begin production. Despite the commodity crisis, the government is banking on the sector to provide much-needed jobs.

The evening sun casts a glow over the Bisha mine as the last dump trucks of the day climb up gravel tracks on their way to a refinery, where copper and zinc ore will be processed and shipped off for sale on the world market. This is Eritrea’s first operational mine and the government hopes that three more will jump-start the economy when they come online in the next two years.

Bisha has contributed more than $755m to the Eritrean economy since it began production in February 2011, according to Nevsun Resources, the Canadian mining company that owns 60% of the mine.

A Canadian mine threatens the ‘heart and soul’ of an Alaskan community – by Charles Mandel (National Observer – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.nationalobserver.com/

Awestruck by the glacier-streaked mountains jutting from the ground and the powerful flowing Chilkat River slicing through the deep valley, Joe Ordonez moved to Haines, Alaska in 1987.

Now, 29 years later, Ordonez is fighting to preserve that same natural grandeur – which includes a world-renowned bald eagle preserve – from a proposed copper, zinc, silver and gold mine upstream.

“It’s a terrible location for a mine,” says Ordonez, who previously worked as a naturalist on cruise ships, work which took him from the Amazon to Antarctica, and who today operates a tour guide company in the region. “I’ve worked in all seven continents. I’ve seen the most amazing places in the world and here’s one of them right where I live in Haines, Alaska. It’s just not worth the risk. “

Short sellers have increased bets against big diversified miners recently – by Peter Ker and Thomas Hounslow (Sydney Morning Herald – March 31, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.smh.com.au/

It has been a good few months for the world’s major miners, but not everyone believes the recent commodities rally will last.

The surprise surge in prices for iron ore, copper, manganese and oil since January 21 has boosted mining stocks, but also attracted the type of investors who like to bet that shares will go down.

Short positions in Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Anglo American surged to their highest levels in several years during the first quarter of 2016, suggesting that a growing number of investors believe the improved commodity prices cannot be sustained.

Take Rio for example; the percentage of Rio’s Australian shares sold short in mid February was the highest since Christmas Eve 2012.

‘Berserk’ Aluminum Boom Signals Ore Bonanza for China’s Quarry (Bloomberg News – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Key aluminum ingredient bauxite is shaping up as China’s newest obsession in its mission to secure raw materials and once again minerals-rich Australia is a major target.

China’s investment in Australia’s mining industry plunged along with the global commodities rout, dropping in 2015 to the lowest since 2008 as surging supplies created gluts of materials including oil and iron ore. It’s a different story unfolding for bauxite, with a potential step up in interest led by Aluminum Corp. of China, known as Chinalco, which confirmed it’s looking at investing in projects in Australia.

Demand in China for the aluminum needed in air conditioning units to airliners will rise by almost a third by 2020, according to Morgan Stanley, while the nation’s supplies of adequate raw materials to produce the metal are dwindling — spurring imports and encouraging new investments overseas in countries including Australia and Guinea.

Sex trafficking ‘staggering’ in illegal Latin American gold mines: researchers – by Anastasia Moloney (Reuters U.S. – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The scale of sex trafficking around illegal gold mines in parts of Latin America is “staggering,” and thousands of people working there are prey to labor exploitation by organized crime groups, a think-tank said on Wednesday.

“When these mines are directly controlled by criminal groups, or in areas controlled by organized crime, there is an elevated risk of human trafficking,” the report by the Geneva-based organization said.

“In Colombia and Peru particularly, and to a lesser extent in the other countries studied, our research uncovered numerous instances of labor trafficking and exploitation, sex trafficking and child labor.”

Federal budget a step toward Indigenous reconciliation – by Stephen Bede Scharper (Toronto Star – March 30, 2016)

March 31, 2016

http://www.thestar.com/

“I commit to you that the Government of Canada will walk with you on a path of true reconciliation, in partnership and friendship.”

So vowed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he donned the traditional headdress accompanying honorary membership in the Tsuut’ina Nation earlier this month. The ceremony, held near Calgary, Alberta, involved over 100 Treaty Chiefs from across Canada.

Trudeau was also awarded the name Gumistiyi, “The One Who Keeps Trying.” As evidenced by the government’s inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal women, as well as last week’s budget, which directs billions in new funding toward indigenous communities, Trudeau is indeed trying to signal a new federal relationship with Canada’s indigenous citizens.

COLUMN-Yellen caution spells trouble for Australian miners – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – March 2, 2016)

March 30, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Janet Yellen has emerged as another problem for commodity producers, particularly those in Australia, as her caution over interest rates has effectively weakened the U.S. dollar.

The Federal Reserve chair said on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank should “proceed cautiously in adjusting policy” given the risks to the economic outlook.

This signals that U.S. interest rates may not rise as quickly as many in financial markets had expected, resulting in the U.S dollar losing ground. The Australian dollar gained almost 2 percent from its low on Tuesday to its high so far on Wednesday of 76.48 U.S. cents, and it is up 5.3 percent so far this year.

Thousands Rally in Mongolia Over Foreign Mining Concessions (New York Times – March 30, 2016)

March 30, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

The Associated Press – ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — A rare public protest in Mongolia’s capital on Wednesday drew thousands of demonstrators who criticized foreign mining concessions and demanded action to prop up the tottering economy.

More than 2,000 demonstrators in Ulaanbaatar’s Freedom Square also called for parliament to be dissolved and a new government formed over alleged corruption and the economic crisis battering the vast, landlocked nation.

Protesters say the mineral wealth that accounts for 94 percent of the nation’s exports has been exploited by foreign companies, with few benefits going to Mongolia’s 3 million people, one-third of whom live in poverty.

A Lithium Gamble That Could Win Big for Tesla – by Katie Fehrenbacher (Fortune Magazine – March 29, 2016)

March 30, 2016

http://fortune.com/

Will lithium sucked out of the middle of Nevada be a breakthrough source for batteries?

About half way between Reno and Las Vegas, in a barren, sun-scorched valley, sits a region that’s straddling the past and the future of humanity’s centuries-old hunt for valuable metals.

It’s a quest that recently caught the attention of a handful of high flying speculators, mining entrepreneurs, risk-embracing investors—and electric car maker Tesla Motors.

These upstarts are drawn to this desolate landscape called Clayton Valley looking for a new American source of lithium, a white metal that’s a key ingredient in batteries that power cell phones, laptops, and increasingly cars. The demand for lithium is increasing dramatically worldwide, as are lithium prices, and much of the global lithium supply comes from huge conglomerates in Chile, Argentina, and Australia.

Roy Hill’s first shipment to China arrives next week – by Glenda Korporaal (The Australian – March 31, 2016)

March 30, 2016

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

The first shipment of iron ore from Gina Rinehart’s $10 billion Roy Hill mine arrives in China next week, another milestone in a project that began more than 20 years ago.

The shipment from the Roy Hill mine in Western Australia is being delivered to the port of Caofeidian, 200km southeast of Beijing, under a long-term contact with one of China’s largest steelmakers, Shougang International, signed four years ago.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for us,” Roy Hill’s chief financial officer, Garry Korte, told The Australian. “We had our first shipment of ore in December. It went to Posco in South Korea where it is already being used to make steel. “Now we are approaching our next milestone which is the first shipment to arrive in China.

This people’s movement is posing a challenge to Goa’s mining mafia – by Amita Kanekar (Daily News & Analysis India – March 30, 2016)

March 30, 2016

http://www.dnaindia.com/

The ironies of the so-called development of Goa are indeed unlimited. On the one hand, the government and elites of this state hard-sell it to India as a place of unlimited ‘good times’, to be used for holidaying, partying, drinking, gambling and so on , the price of which is paid in many ways by common Goans.

On the other, the Bahujan communities, esp. Bahujan Christians whose culture is sold as Goa’s tourism USP, are painted as anti-nationals by the Goan elites when they ask for their Konkani—i.e. Roman script Konkani—to be recognised as one of Goa’s languages, or even for English-medium education for their children.

As for the physical landscape of Goa, hyped as paradisiacal for consumption by largely Indian tourists, is disappearing before our very eyes.

[Australian] Indigenous elder who took on miner and won left with $70,000 in legal costs – by Joshua Robertso (The Guardian – March 29, 2016)

March 30, 2016

http://www.theguardian.com/

An Indigenous elder who successfully took on the mining entrepreneur “Diamond” Joe Gutnick in the Queensland land court has wound up with a $70,000 legal debt he cannot repay.

In a case that could have a chilling effect on future challenges to mines by traditional owners and others, the Kalkadoon elder James Taylor was denied legal costs despite winning a three-year battle for changes to Gutnick’s phosphate project near Mount Isa.

The case turned on the same legal precedent that thwarted an attempt by the mining giant Adani to make conservationists pay an estimated $1m in what was widely considered a landmark costs ruling in favour of mining objectors.