Anglo Leads Mining Collapse as China Woes Driving Vicious Spiral – by Agnieszka De Sousa and Jesse Riseborough (Bloomberg News – January 7, 2016)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Anglo American Plc led a slump in mining stocks to the lowest in more than a decade as market turmoil in China, the biggest consumer of metals, ignites a vicious spiral of tumbling equities and collapsing commodity prices around the world.

The 80-member Bloomberg World Mining Index sank as much as 4.1 percent on Thursday, with Anglo sliding 12 percent at one point to a record low and Glencore Plc down as much as 7.9 percent in London trading.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a gauge of returns on raw materials, dropped to its lowest level since 1999 as industrial metals and oil declined.

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Malaysia to Ban Bauxite Mining for Three Months – by Biman Mukherji and Celine Fernandez (Wall Street Journal – January 6, 2016)

http://www.wsj.com/

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia on Wednesday imposed a three-month ban on bauxite mining beginning later this month amid worries over its environmental impact, potentially affecting exports of the aluminum-making ore to Chinese smelters.

Malaysia emerged last year as a major provider of bauxite after leading producer Indonesia banned ore exports to encourage more processing at home.

From January to November, Malaysia exported some 20 million metric tons of bauxite to China, the world’s biggest aluminum producer. That was nearly half China’s total bauxite imports and a sharp increase from 3.25 million tons in the same period in 2014.

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North Korea Says It Has Detonated Its First Hydrogen Bomb – by David E. Sanger and Choe Sang-Hun (New York Times – January 5, 2016)

http://www.nytimes.com/

WASHINGTON — North Korea declared on Tuesday that it had detonated its first hydrogen bomb. The assertion, if true, would dramatically escalate the nuclear challenge from one of the world’s most isolated and dangerous states.

In an announcement, North Korea said that the test had been a “complete success.” But it was difficult to tell whether the statement was true. North Korea has made repeated claims about its nuclear capabilities that outside analysts have greeted with skepticism.

“This is the self-defensive measure we have to take to defend our right to live in the face of the nuclear threats and blackmail by the United States and to guarantee the security of the Korean Peninsula,” a female North Korean announcer said, reading the statement on Central Television, the state-run network.

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Global Stocks Decline, Bonds Rise as China Moves Unnerve Markets – by Kelly Gilblom and Jeremy Herron (Bloomberg News – January 6, 2016)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Stocks fell around the world, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 150 points, while bonds gained with the dollar on haven demand as China’s unexpected weakening of its currency once again raised fresh concern about the strength of the global economy.

U.S. stocks headed for a three-month low and emerging-market equities fell to the cheapest since 2009. Developing-nation currencies sank to a record, with Korea’s won weakening after North Korea’s claim of a nuclear test added to geopolitical risks already heightened by Middle East tensions. Brent crude reached its lowest level since 2004. The yen strengthened and Treasuries rose for a fifth session.

“This is risk aversion right now,” Benjamin Dunn, president of Alpha Theory Advisors, which works with hedge funds overseeing about $6 billion.

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Supermines Add to Supply Glut of Metals – by John W. Miller (Wall Street Journal – January 4, 2016)

http://www.wsj.com/

CERRO VERDE, Peru—In this volcanic desert, a dusty moonscape patrolled by bats, snakes and guanacos, America’s biggest miner is piling on to the new force in industrial resources: supermines. It’s a strategy that could be driving miners into the ground.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is completing a yearslong $4.6 billion expansion that will triple production at its Cerro Verde copper mine, turning a once-tiny, unprofitable state mine into one of the world’s top five copper producers.

As Cerro Verde’s towering concrete concentrators grind out copper to be made into pipes and wires in Asia, it will add to production coming from newly built giant mines around the world, in a wave of supply that is compounding the woes of the depressed mining sector.

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Copper, Nickel Rebound as China Intervenes in Stock Market – by Agnieszka De Sousa and Luzi-Ann Javier (Bloomberg News – January 5, 2016)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Copper climbed the most in two weeks and nickel gained after China sought to support its stock market following Monday’s rout that sent metal prices tumbling.

State-controlled funds in China bought equities and regulators signaled a selling ban on major investors will remain beyond this week’s expiration date, according to people familiar with the matter. Most metals traded in London and a gauge of mining shares rose.

On Monday, copper fell the most in three weeks, helping take an index of six main contracts on the London Metal Exchange to its biggest slump since September after a plunge in mainland China shares triggered a trading halt.

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E.P.A. Is Moving to Designate Contaminated Nevada Copper Mine a Superfund Site (Associated Press/New York Times – December 24, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/

RENO, Nev. — Fifteen years after federal regulators started assessing damage and health risks at an abandoned Nevada copper mine, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to designate the contaminated land a Superfund site, a step the state could still oppose.

Rural neighbors of the World War II-era mine that has leaked toxic chemicals for decades won a $19.5 million settlement in 2013 from companies they accused of covering up the contamination to drinking water wells near Yerington, about 65 miles southeast of Reno.

The E.P.A. sent a letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval this week announcing its intention to place the mine on the Superfund’s National Priority List of the nation’s most polluted sites to “mitigate exposures that are a substantial threat to the public health or welfare or the environment.”

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Sudan’s new gold rush: miners risk their lives in search of riches – by Peter Schwartzstein and Leyland Cecco (The Guardian/Quartz Africa – December 27, 2015)

http://www.theguardian.com/

It’s a little before 7am on a bright, airless morning, and already Abdullah Idriss Isaac has been hard at work for hours.

Swishing his aluminium pan back and forth through a waist-deep pool of brackish water, he wearily scrutinises its contents for glimmers of gold. With the sun beginning to beat down, the young miner splashes handfuls of the liquid – laced with mercury and cyanide to separate gold from unwanted rock – on his face to stay alert.

Around him is a scene like something out of Mad Max. Overseers set truck tyres alight to soften ground that’s been baked solid by the fierce Sahara sun.

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BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto deal would be bonanza for bankers – by James Thomson (Australian Financial Review – January 4, 2016)

http://www.afr.com/

There should be no shortage of buying and selling in the resources sector in 2016. Many of the world’s biggest miners have been forced to put assets up for sale as they desperately try to protect their balance sheets from falling commodity prices.

But these deals are hardly the stuff of dreams. Rather, they are yet more symbols that the mining boom has become a game of survival.

However, there is one deal that would set the market alight and that bankers would love. While a merger between industry titans BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto is incredibly unlikely, it just might make some sense given industry conditions.

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Understanding Advanced Batteries and Energy Storage – Part I – by John Petersen (InvestorIntel – January 3, 2016)

http://investorintel.com/

Since I’m the new kid on the InvestorIntel block and most investors don’t have more than a passing familiarity with the advanced battery and energy storage space, my initial articles will focus on core issues and discuss them in manageable chunks. Once I’ve laid a solid foundation, I’ll begin to explore specific technologies and applications in greater detail.

My initial articles will be thought pieces that build a contextual framework for the more detailed analyses that follow.

Since my perspective on the technical, economic and supply chain issues of energy storage, vehicle electrification and alternative energy is often unsettling, I encourage you to give yourself some time to read, think and participate in the discussion. The process won’t always be comforting, but I hope we’ll have a lot of fun together.

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China Halts Stock Trading After 7% Rout Triggers Circuit Breaker – by Kyoungwha Kim (Bloomberg News – January 4, 2016)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The worst-ever start to a year for Chinese shares triggered a trading halt in more than $7 trillion of equities, futures and options, putting the nation’s new market circuit breakers to the test on their first day.

Trading was halted at about 1:34 p.m. local time on Monday after the CSI 300 Index dropped 7 percent. An earlier 15-minute suspension at the 5 percent level failed to stop the retreat, with shares extending losses as soon as the market re-opened. Traders said the halts took effect as anticipated without any major technical problems.

The world’s second-largest stock market began the year on a down note after data showed manufacturing contracted for a fifth straight month and investors speculated that the end of a ban on share sales by major stakeholders may come as soon as this week.

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In Peru, Distrust of Miners Remains, Even Amid Development – by John W. Miller and Ryan Dube (Wall Street Journal – January 4, 2015)

http://www.wsj.com/

AREQUIPA, Peru—The China-led commodity boom has lifted Peru, now the world’s second biggest copper exporter, out of poverty, but mining companies say it is one of the most difficult countries to do business in.

Skepticism about foreign mining firms is deeply ingrained. This year alone, a dozen people have been killed in mining protests.

Economists say mining has been key to Peru’s robust economic growth during the past decade, helping reduce poverty from almost 60% in 2004 to just over 20% last year.

For lower- and middle-class Peruvians, the picture isn’t so clear. Mining “is not a good thing, but it gives us money,” said Daisy Araujo, 28-year-old mother of four whose husband works in an underground gold mine 12 hours away. She sees him for a few days every month.

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Thousands of NM jobs rely on Copper Mine Rule – by Jason Espinoza (Las Cruces Sun-News – December 27, 2015)

http://www.lcsun-news.com/

Jason Espinoza is the President of ACI, New Mexico’s statewide business advocate.

New Mexico needs jobs. We can all agree that we want New Mexicans to have good opportunities and prosperous lives. For that to be possible, the state must do everything it can to create an environment where businesses can succeed.

To do so, it’s important to have thoughtful, responsible laws that protect our environment and natural resources, while providing businesses with clear and predictable regulations within which to operate.

If we set regulatory hurdles too high, or let our regulations fall out of date, New Mexicans will miss out on jobs and opportunities as employers choose to take their business elsewhere. But if we find the right balance, we can preserve the beauty of our state while helping our people flourish.

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Freeport-McMoRan Executive Chairman Moffett to Resign – by Bradley Olson (Wall Street Journal – December 28, 2015)

http://www.wsj.com/

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Executive Chairman James R. Moffett, a legendary wildcatter who helped discover and develop one of the world’s biggest gold and copper mines, is stepping down months after activist investor Carl Icahn took a 8.5% stake in the company.

Mr. Moffett is the second energy executive to leave his post this month under Mr. Icahn’s watchful eye, following the ouster of Charif Souki, chief executive of natural-gas exporter Cheniere Energy Inc.
The shake-ups are another sign of the commodities price rout in energy and mining and indicate a shift in leadership ranks from pioneering company founders to more seasoned crisis managers.

Shares in Freeport-McMoRan, the nation’s largest mining company, in midday trading on Monday fell 8% to $6.95, and are down by more than two-thirds so far this year.

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Mosaic hopes for Wingate Mine expansion by spring – by Matt M. Johnson (Bradenton Herald – January 2, 2016)

http://www.bradenton.com/

DUETTE — Mosaic Co., world’s largest manufacturer of phosphate-based chemical fertilizers, expects to be approved to begin digging up 3,700 acres of East Manatee County farmland next summer.

The acreage, an extension of mining operations at the company’s 11,000-acre Wingate Creek phosphate mine on the border with Hardee County, is part of a shift of Mosaic’s business to south central Florida and Manatee County in particular. If approved, a rezone for the company’s so-called Wingate East lands would sustain mining there for another two decades.

Mosaic plans have an even bigger presence in Manatee County in the coming years. Its planned 40,000-acre DeSoto mine straddles DeSoto County and southeastern Manatee County.

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