International Media Resource Articles – Page 586

Vale Port Halt Spurs Iron Rally Amid Trade Disruption Fears – by Yasmine Batista and Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg News – January 22, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The global iron ore trade may be disrupted after Vale SA, the largest producer, was ordered by a Brazilian court to temporarily close one of its main ports following alleged environmental breaches. Prices of the raw material gained along with miners’ shares.

The court in Brazil’s Espirito Santo state ordered a halt to export and import activities through Tubarao after elevated levels of iron ore and coal dust were detected.

Vale received the news from federal police “with surprise” and will use “all appropriate legal measures to ensure the re-establishment of its activities,” its said in a statement Thursday.

Iron ore has plunged over the past three years as the world’s top producers including Vale and rivals BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group in Australia boosted low-cost supply, spurring a glut just as China’s growth cooled.

The Price Is Wrong? US Mining Giant in Divestment Talks With Indonesia – by Rui Hao Puah (The Diplomat – January 23, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://thediplomat.com/

Freeport McMoRan Inc enters another stage of its contract renegotiation with Jakarta.

Last week, U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc’s Indonesian unit submitted a divestment price to the Indonesian government for an additional stake in one of the world’s biggest copper mines, part of a process to allow the firm to extend its right to operate in the country beyond 2021.

According to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s minerals and coal director general, Bambang Gatot Ariyono, Freeport had valued its Indonesian asset at $16.2 billion, with the divestment offered to the government being valued at $1.7 billion for a 10.46 percent stake.

Some Indonesian officials and lawmakers have already described the $1.7 billion price tag for Freeport’s huge Grasberg copper and gold mine in Papua as too high.

Court Rejects a Bid to Block Coal Plant Regulations – by Coral Davenport (New York Times – January 21, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

In a significant victory for President Obama, a federal appeals panel on Thursday rejected an effort by 27 states and dozens of corporations and industry groups to block the administration’s signature regulation on emissions from coal-fired power plants while a lawsuit moves through the courts.

The rule, issued last summer by the Environmental Protection Agency, is at the heart of Mr. Obama’s efforts to tackle climate change. It would require each state to significantly cut greenhouse gas pollution from electric power plants, the nation’s largest source of such emissions.

Once fully in place, the regulation — which would cut emissions from existing power plants by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 — could transform the electricity system, closing hundreds of heavily polluting coal-fired plants and sharply increasing production of wind and solar powers.

BHP Billiton’s Samarco nears $7b deal on Brazil dam disaster – by John Kehoe (Australian Financial Review – January 23, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.afr.com/

BHP Billiton’s stricken Samarco iron ore joint venture is nearing a $7 billion settlement with the Brazilian government for environmental and community damages caused by a deadly dam disaster last year, the country’s attorney general said.

Talks had “advanced significantly” and a deal could be reached by early February, Attorney General Luis Inacio Adams told reporters after representatives from Samarco and the government met on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Under the preliminary plan still under negotiation, Samarco would be given up to 10 years to pay the 20 billion reais fine and need to address 38 requirements.

[New Caledonia] Island of Nickel Losing Money as World’s Mines Shun Output Cuts – by Jesse Riseborough and Agnieszka De Sousa (Bloomberg News – January 22, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

On a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, mine owners like Glencore Plc and Vale SA are losing money on every ton of nickel they unearth in what amounts to a contest to see who can endure the agony longer.

A prolonged surplus of nickel has sent prices plunging to a 12-year low and below the cost of production for more than two thirds of the world’s mines.

Nowhere is the strain more acute than in New Caledonia, a former Napoleonic penal colony 1,000 miles from Australia’s eastern coast that drew billions of dollars in investment when the metal reached a record before the financial crisis. Now, an island with 15 percent of the planet’s reserves has become a cautionary tale for an industry unwilling to curtail supply.

Aluminum stockpiling fund gives glimpse of China metals reforms – by Polly Yam and David Stanway (Reuters U.S. – January 21, 2016)

January 22, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

HONG KONG/BEIJING – China’s plans to set up funds to manage coal and steel capacity closures and stockpiling schemes offer nervous markets some clarity on the likely future make-up of the country’s sprawling and predominantly state-run metals and mining industries.

As the world’s largest producer of aluminum, steel and other metals, and the biggest consumer of copper and iron ore, China is crucial to global metals markets which have slumped in the past year as Chinese industrial demand growth slowed.

China’s slowdown has hit revenue at global miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, and the market is keen to know what China plans for its own state-run mining and metals giants – many of which have kept producing even as prices drop below the cost of production.

Brazil court orders closure of Vale’s Tubarão iron ore port – by Jeb Blount and Marta Nogueira (Reuters U.S. – January 21, 2016)

January 21, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO – A Brazilian federal court on Thursday ordered the suspension of activities at Vale SA’s Port of Tubarão because of pollution concerns, halting the world’s largest iron ore exporter’s ability to ship more than a third of its output.

The ruling by the court in Vitoria was made as part of a police investigation at the giant man-made port as Vale comes under increasing pressure over its environmental record in Brazil after a dam burst at a mine run by its Samarco joint venture in October, killing at least 17 people.

The court order paralyzed imports and exports at one of the world’s most important iron ore terminals. Its docks loaded 82.5 million tonnes of iron ore destined for steelmakers around the world in the first nine months of 2015, Vale said.

Luck bottoms out for Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – January 21, 2016)

January 21, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE Jan 21 Larger-than-life mining magnate Clive Palmer was riding a boom in mineral prices less than two years ago and had become one of Australia’s most influential politicians.

Now, rattled by a slide in commodity prices, the colourful and often controversial tycoon’s grip on parts of his business empire is crumbling and his political ambitions have also been dented by defections in the party he created.

Other Australian mining magnates such as Gina Rinehart, one of Asia’s richest women, and Andrew “Twiggy” Forest have also seen their fortunes plummet. Palmer’s problems came to a head this week when his embattled Queensland Nickel (QNI) refinery called in administrators after sacking more than 200 workers.

Africa’s mining sector holds the key to the region’s electrification and economic diversification – by Jean-Claude Dastos de Morais (Huffington Post – January 20, 2016)

January 21, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais is a private investor, philanthropist and founder of the African Innovation Foundation.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) energy system is set to expand rapidly to 2040, with urban areas experiencing significantly improved coverage and reliability of centralised electricity supply, while mini-grid and off-grid systems will increasingly provide electricity to 70% of those in rural areas. Yet, despite these positive projections made by the International Energy Agency in its 2014 report, some 530 million Africans will probably continue to remain without electricity during this period.

At present two out of every three people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. This is a terrible obstruction to the continent’s true growth potential, one that hampers the speed of economic diversification and job creation, and that feeds the cycle of poverty.

How Apple Profits From A System That Abuses Children — And Why It’s So Hard To Stop – by Damon Beres (Huffington Post – January 20, 2016)

January 21, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

There may not be a simple solution, but something has to change. A new report from Amnesty International suggests that companies including Apple, Samsung and Sony are profiting from child labor in Africa — and no one should be surprised.

It’s been public knowledge for years that electronics are stuffed with minerals that come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a war-torn place rich in must-have materials that are rarely found elsewhere. Less well-known, however, is how these sometimes blood-soaked metals move from the DRC into the supply chains of some of the world’s richest and most powerful tech companies.

While these companies carry considerable influence and are aware of the controversy surrounding their supply chains, a number of complicating factors make it difficult — if not impossible — for them to solve the problem of child labor.

Mining Company Strives to Spark Dazzling Demand for Gemstones – by Alexandra Wexler (Wall Street Journal – January 20, 2016)

January 20, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/

LUFWANYAMA, Zambia—A little-known mining company is modernizing the rough-and-tumble colored gemstone trade, hoping to generate diamond-caliber demand for its emeralds and rubies.

At the world’s largest emerald mine near Zambia’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gemfields PLC is pulling millions of carats of the shimmering stones out of the ground every month.

In November, a few dozen workers armed with shovels and giant screws chiseled at an open pit of banded black, red and white rock at the sprawling Kagem mine. Fragments were sent to “the washroom,” where some 50 workers wearing overalls crouched over conveyor belts, using metal hooks to find emerald traces.

The Mine Wars: West Virginia’s Coal Miners March on Public Television – by Mark Hand (CounterPunch.org – January 20, 2016)

January 20, 2016

http://www.counterpunch.org/

In the 1980s, writer Denise Giardina’s “Storming Heaven” offered a wide-ranging portrait of southern West Virginia’s coal camps, while film director John Sayles’ “Matewan” focused on one of the defining moments in the long-running battle between the state’s coal industry and its workers. One was a novel and the other one was a low-budget movie drama. And yet both storytellers filled a hole in research that professional historians had neglected to cover for more than half a century.

Miners and their family members, who had kept quiet for decades, gradually found the courage to speak out. Since the release of Storming Heaven and Matewan, numerous other books, films and articles have been produced about this important period in the nation’s industrial and labor history.

SEEKING CURES IN KENTUCKY COAL MINES – by Jessica Firger (Newsweek Magazine – January 20, 2016)

January 20, 2016

http://www.newsweek.com/

The Matrix Energy Mine No. 1 in eastern Kentucky stretches 7 miles to its deepest point. Tiny cars creak along tracks laid on the ground in the bowels of the operation, opened in 2004, and miners here collect 4,500 tons of coal each day.

But Jon Thorson, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Kentucky and director at the Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation, isn’t all that interested in fossilized carbon. He believes the true value to be found in the mine lies in the soil and rocks. Thorson is digging for blockbuster drugs.

Natural medicine is often associated with ancient civilizations or bogus alternative treatments endorsed by celebrities. However, unique compounds in plants, soil and the sea have played a major role in modern treatments for conditions ranging from bacterial infections and malaria to high cholesterol and cancer. According to one study, as much as 50 percent of drug compounds on the market have their origins or are structurally based upon some type of natural product.

Bauxite in Malaysia: The environmental cost of mining (BBC News – January 19, 2016)

January 20, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/

Bauxite mining has become a controversial political issue in Malaysia. As the government implements a temporary ban on extracting the aluminium ore, BBC South-East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head visits the most-affected area.

Amid the monotonous dark green lines of Malaysia’s endless palm oil plantations, there are now vivid red gashes in the hills behind the east coast town of Kuantan. These have appeared only in the past 18 months, as a frenzy of open-cast bauxite mining gripped Pahang province.

Tonnes of bauxite are being transported out of the region. It is the world’s main source of aluminium so is vital for the construction of everything from airplanes to saucepans and cooking foil.

Iron Ore Mining Giants Cool Supply Growth as Next Wave Builds – by David Stringer and Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg News – January 19, 2016) http://www.bloomberg.com/

January 20, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The surge in output from Australia’s two biggest iron ore producers is slowing as they complete $24 billion in expansions wagered on increasing demand from China’s mills. As steel output declines in China, the next wave of supply from miners who’ve made the same bet is likely to keep prices under pressure.

While Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s No. 2 and No. 3 exporters, predict supply growth will slow this year, iron ore’s collapse may not reach its nadir until 2017 as material continues to be added from new operations in Brazil and Australia, according to CRU Group.

The consultancy estimates average benchmark iron ore will remain broadly flat over the next two years at around $40 a metric ton. The steelmaking ingredient trades at less than a quarter of its 2011 peak, and last month touched a new low of $38.30 in daily prices dating to 2009.