International Media Resource Articles – Page 616

The illegal gold fuelling gang battles in South Africa – by Nomsa Maseko (BBC News – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015

http://www.bbc.com/news The South African city of Johannesburg was built on enormous gold reef. Today, many of the mines have closed, but criminal gangs continue to work the disused and abandoned tunnels. It is dangerous and often deadly, and as well as digging in the disused mines, heavily armed gangs also steal gold from the remaining …

China’s miners ‘must learn’ from bungled foreign acquisitions – by Eric Ng (South China Morning Post – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://www.scmp.com/

Industry observers say Chinese companies must learn from their bungled foreign acquisitions

Tianjin – China’s mining firms have a mixed record on overseas acquisitions, but they can learn valuable lessons from missteps made in the past few years and adjust their strategies, say mining-sector executives.

“Chinese firms are still climbing the learning curve, many failures have dotted the path in the past few years,” said Wang Side, vice-president of Chinalco Resources – a unit of Aluminium Corp of China, the No 2 producer of the metal.

According to Dealogic, Chinese firms made US$4.25 billion in overseas mining acquisitions in the year’s first nine months, from US$8.8 billion in the year-earlier period, when the volume was boosted by a US$7 billion acquisition by state-backed MMG in Peru. The deal volume in the first nine months of 2014 was US$4.4 billion, and US$3.3 billion in the same period of 2013.

Wang told an annual mining conference that he considered the three main reasons for Chinese outbound-investment failures to be poor timing, poor selection of investment targets and poor deal pricing.

Mining town Kambalda looks to 50th anniversary despite nickel turmoil – by Sam Tomlin (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://www.abc.net.au/

Amid the toughest downturn the nickel town has ever seen, Kambalda residents say it is only a matter of time before the tide turns.

With an unprecedented slump in the nickel price leading to more than 100 job losses over the past 18 months, and the future of much of its infrastructure called into question, the mining town in Western Australia has faced a recent crisis of confidence.

But as the community looks at ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the area’s first nickel mines, locals say the town has plenty of life left in it.

And with the nickel industry starting to show some long-term optimism amid the gloom, they say the turnaround they have been hoping for is not too far away.

While mining has always been a fixture of the landscape, modern Kambalda had its genesis in a chance discovery by two prospectors in 1954.

Platinum fails to fill breach left by gold in South Africa – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters U.K. – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

BRITS, South Africa, Oct 21 (Reuters) – When South African miner Papi Soke went from gold to platinum, he thought he was trading a sunset industry for one with a brighter future.

This month, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) shop steward was one of over 800 workers laid off at the Eland platinum mine, closed by Glencore.

“I don’t know what to do now. I am thinking of maybe going to a diamond mine,” the 34-year-old father of two, whose wife is expecting in December, told Reuters as he sipped juice in a mall in the mining town of Brits north of Johannesburg.

Glencore is not alone. Platinum producers Lonmin and Anglo American Platinum are also planning to cut jobs and the government has held meetings with companies and unions to try and prevent widespread lay-offs.

Impala Platinum is closing operations that will affect 1,600 jobs but it has said it hopes to absorb many of those workers elsewhere in its business.

Editorial: Gold reigns over a menagerie of minerals (Elko Daily News – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://elkodaily.com/

They say all that glitters is not gold, but here in Nevada that amounts to only about 15 percent.

Gold mining accounts for 85 percent of mineral revenue in the state, Nevada Division of Minerals Administrator Rich Perry recently explained. Still, there are a couple dozen other minerals that are regularly mined here – in addition to resources such as geothermal, oil and gas — and some of them have significant economic potential.

Northeastern Nevada’s quest for diversification beyond gold may include some of these marginal minerals. So far, it’s been a mixed bag.

Elko County’s fracking “boom” seems to have stalled out as quickly as it started. Noble Energy has drilled several exploration wells but whether they go into production depends on test results and oil prices – which have been at rock bottom.

The drilling activity has boosted production of barite, including a grinding mill constructed by NOV Minerals at Elko’s railport.

GroundUp: Anglo American joins the silicosis fray – by Pete Lewis (Daily Maverick South Africa – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

Lawyers for gold mining companies ERPM, DRD and Anglo American added their voices on Tuesday to those of their colleagues fighting the silicosis action in the South Gauteng High Court.

Lawyers for the miners are asking the three judges in the court to certify a class action which would enable them to claim damages from the mining companies as a class, instead of each sick former miner having to do so individually.

The application includes a request that 59 mineworkers who have silicosis and/or TB should be accepted as representatives of the wider class of miners affected by the disease and the dependents of deceased miners.

Lawyers for the mining companies are arguing that the class action should not be certified by the court.

Counsel for ERPM and DRD, Advocate Bruce Leech, said the Constitution acknowledged the right of people to join together in class actions in order to get access to the courts if they could not take action individually.

Sirius Minerals gets permission to start building North Yorks potash mine – by Andy Richardson (Northern Echo – October 20, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/

THE company behind a 1,000-job fertiliser mine has been handed the crucial paperwork for building work to start next year on the landmark project.

The decision notice from the North York Moors National Park Authority, which formally grants planning permission for the £1.5bn York Potash Project mine, near Whitby, gives the go ahead for Sirius to start digging.

It now needs to secure financing to take forward its bold plans. Industry experts have estimated that the cost to get the mine up and running is about £2.3 billion.

The company said its financing strategy is advancing and the first phase is planned to be put in place during the first quarter of 2016.

Sirius wants to take the fertiliser mineral polyhalite from underneath the North York Moors National Park, using an underground tunnel to transfer it to a proposed handling site at Wilton, near Redcar, for distribution.

BHP First-Quarter Iron Ore Output Jumps 7% to Meet Estimates – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, said first-quarter iron ore output rose 7 percent, joining rivals Vale SA and Rio Tinto Group in reporting increased supply amid falling prices and a global glut.

Production was 61.3 million metric tons in the three months ended Sept. 30, Melbourne-based BHP said Wednesday in a statement. That compares with 57.1 million tons in the same period a year earlier and with a median of 61.9 million tons of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Benchmark iron ore prices have fallen more than 70 percent from a 2011 peak amid slowing economic growth in China and as the largest suppliers raise output to boost savings and squeeze out higher-cost rivals. BHP reported a 4 percent drop in petroleum output and flagged a 6 percent decline in the unit’s capital spending this fiscal year.

“The iron ore result is as expected and is a good result, though we’d expected petroleum to be higher,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney.

Miners proving stubborn on output cuts despite price slide – by Eric Onstad (Reuters U.K. – October 21, 2015)

October 21, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Base metal mines dipping into the red are proving unexpectedly resilient against output cuts, which is likely to prolong and deepen already weak prices.

Some mines are resisting cuts in production by hedging when prices pop higher, others are absorbing losses because shutdown costs are even steeper, while fear of painful job losses is keeping still other loss-making operations alive.

The London Metal Exchange index of its six main base metals has shed a fifth of its value over the past 12 months.

In some metals, such as nickel, about half of capacity is loss making after the rout on commodity markets, largely due to fears about slower growth in top metals consumer China.

“Given that so many nickel mines are out-of-the-money, we should reasonably expect to see a large supply-side response,” said analyst Joel Crane at Morgan Stanley.

Ford’s F-150: Lots of Aluminum, Plenty of Awesome – by Kyle Stock (Bloomberg News – October 19, 2015)

October 20, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The gutsiest decision in the auto industry is beginning to pay off.

Three people, two dogs, a pile of gear, and a 3,000-pound boat. That’s how we tested the all-new aluminum Ford F-150. The result? Mileage ticked down from 21 miles per gallon to 13, as you’d expect, and the floor mats collected a layer of Labrador fur.

Ford’s famous pickup, the best-selling vehicle in America since the Reagan administration, has still got it. Even after Ford swapped out almost every steel body panel for a lightweight aluminum alloy. Even after it added a cute, sedan-size 2.7-liter engine.

Even after Chevrolet and a legion of gravel-throated truck fans deemed it wimpy and precious and expensive to fix. “It seems like a big change initially, but when people see the difference, they’ll ask ‘Why didn’t they do this sooner?’” said Michael Levine, the company’s truck talker.

El Nino halts Papua New Guinea gold mine-Barrick – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – October 19, 2015)

October 20, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

Oct 19 Operations at the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea have been suspended due to drought conditions, part owner Barrick Gold said on Monday, the latest mine in the Asia-Pacific to be disrupted by El Nino-induced dry weather.

Production had been halted due to low levels of water in the mine’s reservoir, used in processing the raw ore, operator Barrick (Niugini) Ltd said in a statement to Reuters.

“Some water-intensive production activities at the mine have been temporarily suspended during this extended dry season, and we are using this opportunity to bring forward some scheduled maintenance activities,” it said.

“The very unusual extended dry conditions that we have seen in recent months have meant that our supplies of production water have run very low, and we have made the decision to shut down our milling and processing plants for the time being to conserve our water supplies.”

Anglo American slides on De Beers downturn fears – by Bryce Elder (Financial Times – October 19, 2015)

November 3, 2015October 20, 2015

http://www.ft.com/

Anglo American was Monday’s sharpest FTSE 100 faller on worries that its balance sheet strength will be tested by a downturn at De Beers, its most profitable division.

De Beers is likely to be the laggard when Anglo delivers its third-quarter production update on Thursday, said dealers.

The diamonds business, which accounted for nearly a third of Anglo’s first-half operating profit, has been under pressure as stone polishers run down inventories following a weak end to 2014.
Citigroup forecast Anglo’s diamond production by weight to have fallen 11 per cent against the previous quarter.

Over the same period rough diamond prices slipped as much as 10 per cent with demand squeezed by a strong dollar and a credit crunch among the polishers.

India looks to buy South African coking coal mines – by Krishna N Das/Reuters (Business Day Live – October 20, 2015)

October 20, 2015

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

NEW DELHI — India is in talks to buy South African coal mines to feed its expanding steel industry, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said, adding that New Delhi also hoped to stop imports of coal used to generate power in three years as domestic output jumps.

After years of poor production crippling power supply, state-run Coal India is boosting output at a record pace to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of connecting to the grid millions of Indians who still use kerosene lamps.

But India, which wants to triple its steel capacity to 300-million tonnes by 2025, did not have enough reserves of coking or steel-making coal, prompting Coal India to look at assets abroad, Mr Swarup told the Reuters Global Commodities Summit on Monday.

“They are presently in negotiations with people in SA,” Mr Swarup said. “We imported around 80-million to 90-million tonnes of coking coal last (fiscal) year, and if that is the amount that can come through a mine owned by Coal India, it would consider it.”

Commentary: Pebble tries to hide disaster-in-waiting behind attacks on EPA, mine critics – by Alannah Hurley (Alaska Dispatch News – October 19, 2015)

October 20, 2015

https://www.adn.com/

Alannah Hurley is a lifelong Bristol Bay resident and executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay. UTBB is a tribal consortium representing 14 tribes (over 80 percent of the total population of Bristol Bay) working to protect the Bristol Bay watershed that sustains the Yup’ik, Denai’na and Alutiq way of life.

If you read their press releases recently, you would get the impression that the Pebble Limited Partnership is having a very good bit of luck. That’s because a bought-and-paid for “independent” report by former Defense Secretary William Cohen stated that the company was treated “unfairly” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the people of Bristol Bay.

With all due respect to Mr. Cohen, who is neither a scientist nor a legal expert, a review of Pebble’s hand-selected documents and a flyover will not come close to really evaluating Bristol Bay or how its people feel about the potential development of a colossal open-pit mine in their backyard. Rather, Mr. Cohen’s “report” is simply the latest in a long line of Pebble-backed propaganda — with the mining company playing the role of innocent victim, and Bristol Bay’s residents the villains.

The report argues a traditional mining review process should have been undertaken in Bristol Bay.

Australia needs policy reform to milk $9.5 billion uranium cash cow, report argues – by Frank Chung (News.com.au – October 20, 2015)

October 20, 2015

http://www.news.com.au/finance/

AUSTRALIA is sitting on a figurative gold mine of literal uranium, with a massive untapped opportunity to unlock an export boom and add thousands of jobs to the economy, a new report has argued.

The study, commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia and conducted by RMIT University economists Sinclair Davidson and Ashton de Silva, found that under the right conditions, Australian uranium could generate as much as 5 per cent of the world’s electricity.

“This would be an outstanding contribution to global low-emissions electricity generation,” Minerals Council uranium executive director Daniel Zavattiero said.

Australia is sitting on about 30 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves but produces only 10 per cent of global production, making us the world’s third-largest exporter behind Kazakhstan and Canada.

The authors argue that, under the right policy settings, Australia’s could bring its share of global supply closer to 30 per cent.