International Media Resource Articles – Page 648

Slump in nickel prices rattles small Australian miners – by Melanie Burton and James Regan (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

A 30 percent slump in nickel prices this year has piled pressure on small Australian miners, forcing some of them to delay new projects and expansions as they wait for the market to recover.

Poseidon Nickel became the latest miner to succumb when it said on Thursday it would put its Lake Johnston mine on care and maintenance – a sign casualties were mounting amid near record metal stockpiles and weak demand from key consumer China.

Exchange stockpiles of the metal used to make stainless steel nearly doubled in the 18 months to June, pressuring benchmark prices to six-year lows of $10,430 per tonne last week, down 32 percent since the start 2015.

“When you’ve got 70 percent of an industry at break-even or loss making you’re going to see people defer projects and shut down,” said UBS analyst Daniel Morgan in Sydney.

“I think you’ll see a steady stream of these type of announcements for the next several months,” he added.

5,000 year old mine, and the inspiration behind Rio Tinto, set to reopen – by Lawrie Williams (Mineweb.com – July 17, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.mineweb.com/

One of the world’s most fascinating and oldest mines, Rio Tinto in Spain, is now at the final stage of development ahead of re-opening.

There now seems to be nothing in the way to prevent the full-scale go-ahead by AIM and TSX listed EMED Mining from re-opening one of Europe and the World’s most historic mining sites.

The Rio Tinto mine in Spain has been mined since 3000 BC, as well as being the birthplace at the end of the 19th Century of one of the world’s biggest mining companies – Rio Tinto, although it is no longer involved in the Spanish mine.

EMED has now announced receiving the final operating licence from the Rio Tinto Municipality, which is the last piece of paper necessary to let it go ahead with initiating mining operations at the historic site. Wet commissioning of the rebuilt and refurbished concentrator is already under way and the company says it is now scheduling first commercial production in Q3 this year.

Company CEO, Alberto Lavandira commented on the permitting award: “The receipt of the licence is a major milestone for the company as it represents the final permit required to start building up production over the next few months, ahead of the originally anticipated target date of January 2016.”

Coal Producers Face New Stream Protection Rule From Interior – by Mark Drajem (Bloomberg News – July 16, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Coal producers would be subject to new restrictions under an Obama administration proposal that would limit operations near streams and curb the disposal of waste, a plan that had been criticized even before it was issued.

The proposal from the Interior Department’s surface mining office, released Thursday, would replace a Bush-era regulation that was tossed out by a federal court. The rule would require companies to avoid mining practices that permanently pollute streams, destroy drinking water sources, increase flood risk or threaten forests.

“As we engage in mining, let’s do so in a way that helps mitigate the impact they can have on the environment,” Interior Department Secretary Sally Jewell said on a conference call. The rules would provide “a modern and balanced approach to energy development,” she said.

The rules won’t take effect until finalized, probably next year. They are meant to deal with the destruction of streams, watersheds, endangered species and forests tied to mountaintop mining for coal.

POSCO may scrap planned $12 billion India steel project – by KRISHNA N. DAS AND JATINDRA DASH (Reuters India – July 16, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://in.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR, INDIA – South Korean steelmaker POSCO could scrap plans for a $12 billion project it agreed to set up in India a decade ago, after a new law made it costlier to source iron ore for the plant, a company spokesman told Reuters.

The U.S.-listed shares of POSCO fell as much as 3.3 percent to their lowest in more than six and a half years after the report.

The 2005 project to set up a steel plant in Odisha state was billed as India’s biggest foreign direct investment at the time, but it has encountered a series of delays.

The company waited almost a decade to acquire land for the proposed 12 million-tonnes-a-year steel plant due to opposition from local tribal groups.

A mining law enacted in March by India means the company would now also have to buy a mining license in an auction. Originally, the Odisha government had promised to help the company obtain the licence for free.

[China coal] Mining safety: Shaft of light (The Economist – July 18, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.economist.com/

The coal that fuels China’s boom is becoming less deadly to extract

FOR decades China’s coal mines served as tragic showcases of greed, corruption and contempt for life: thousands died in accidents every year and many more after prolonged agony from dust-clogged lungs. In 2003 Wen Jiabao, who was then about to become prime minister, went down a shaft to have dumplings with miners.

He told local officials that safety was the Communist Party’s priority. Over the next three years, however, just as many coalworkers died in mines—more than 18,000, by official counts—as in the preceding three years. Mr Wen’s words rang hollow.

Then a striking turnaround began. Chinese coal mines became far safer even as they more than doubled output to fuel the country’s economic boom—they produced 3.9 billion tonnes in 2014, about half the world total. Last year 931 miners were killed in coal-mine accidents.

It was the 12th year in a row in which the death toll reportedly fell. By one measure of mining safety—deaths per million tonnes of coal produced—China’s record had improved twenty-fold since 2002, to 0.24 (see chart).

An iron ore civil war plays out on social media in Australia – by James Wilson and Neil Hume (Financial Times – July 16, 2015)

July 17, 2015

http://www.ft.com/home/us

“Our family. Our jobs. Our future,” is the message conveyed on the Facebook page and Twitter feed. Gazing out from the screen are a blonde woman, two blonde children, a pair of sheepdogs — and a miner wearing overalls.

This is the all-Australian family, with the mining sector at its heart, as envisaged by a campaign called “Our Iron Ore”. It is one of two competing public relations initiatives embroiled in bitter argument in Australia over this abundant commodity.

As the patriotic element of the “Our” campaign suggests, iron ore is anything but prosaic in Australia, whose economy relies heavily on the hundreds of millions of tonnes sucked in annually by China’s steelmaking industry. In Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the iron ore heartland, its price movements are part of everyday conversation.

In 2011, the price of iron ore scaled the heights of $190 per tonne and brought a bonanza for Australia. Four years later, the price has slumped by about 75 per cent: this month it fell below $45/t. Thousands of jobs are being cut and smaller, domestic miners are under pressure.

Gold loses safe-haven allure as price nears 2009 level – by Stephen Cauchi (Sydney Morning Herald – July 16, 2015)

July 16, 2015

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

Gold has failed as a safe-haven commodity despite a plethora of global economic woes, Barclays says, as the precious metal slides towards a six-year low.

Bullion spiked to $US1301 an ounce in January but at Thursday’s level of $US1146.81($1558.76), was trading just a few dollars above the six-year low of $US1132.36 it plumbed in November.

In contrast, in the bull-market days of 2011, gold reached all-time highs of $US1900 an ounce. Unfortunately for bullion fans, things aren’t likely to improve any time soon, Barclays says.

Gold, traditionally a commodity that investors flock to in troubled times, has “failed to garner safe-haven interest” despite the recent unrest in Greece and China, Barclays said in a research note.

“Although gold’s losses have been modest in comparison to commodities, other safe havens have outperformed gold in its role as a currency.

UPDATE 2-Miner Anglo warns of up to $4 bln writedown on iron ore and coal assets – by Eric Onstad and Clara Denina (Reuters U.K. – July 16, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) – Mining group Anglo American has warned of a second multi-billion dollar writedown this year on its coal and iron ore assets, demonstrating the growing impact of sliding commodity prices.

The charge of between $3 billion and $4 billion flagged on Thursday, to be taken in its first-half results, comes on top of a $3.9 billion writedown Anglo took for similar reasons in February, when it also posted a 25 percent drop in underlying operating profit for 2014.

Anglo, the fifth-biggest diversified global mining group by stock market capitalisation, is not alone in feeling the pinch of tumbling commodity prices.

BHP Billiton said on Wednesday it will take a $2 billion impairment on its U.S. shale operations, the third writedown in three years.

Anglo has been fighting the impact of struggling metals prices by trying to improve the efficiency of its mining operations and by selling less profitable assets, including coal mines in Australia.

bama unveils new coal mining rules (The Hill – July 16, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://thehill.com/

The Obama administration Thursday unveiled new standards meant to better protect streams in Appalachia from the controversial mountaintop removal coal mining process.

The proposed rule, from the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM), would update three-decade-old standards that create a buffer zone around streams, prohibiting mining activities and waste from getting near them and harming the ecosystem.

Administration officials characterized the rule as a common-sense approach that uses the best available science to protect streams and groundwater from the effects of mining.

But Republicans and industry leaders immediately blasted the rule as part of President Obama’s “war on coal” and challenged the idea that the 1983 standards need updating.

“These regulations are meant to protect human health and welfare by protecting our environment, while helping to meet the nation’s economic needs and supporting economic opportunity,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told reporters Thursday.

[Florida Mosaic mining] From Phosphate Mine to Golf Resort: Streamsong – by Robin Sussingham (WUSF News – July 15, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/

In remote central Florida, land turned inside out by phosphate mining has been transformed yet again — this time as an upscale golf resort that’s getting a lot of attention in the golfing world. The thousands of acres of Mosaic land that makes up Streamsong may be depleted of phosphate — but it’s rich in something invaluable in the golf business. Sand.

It may seem like a surprisingly remote location for the Streamsong clubhouse and 216-room Lodge, complete with fine dining, infinity pool, spa and a modern, minimalist award-winning design of stone, wood and glass created by Tampa architect Alberto Alfonso. But Mosaic’s developers are betting that golfers will travel for a course that intrigues them.

Doug Smith is one of those golfers. He flew down from Tifton, Georgia, with a friend from Atlanta, and says the course is unlike anything else in Florida. “And, he says, it creates an opportunity for a good friend and I to come down, spend a couple of days, and kind of disappear.”

There are a lot of golf courses in Florida, But Scott Wilson, Streamsong’s Golf Director, says the fast and firm conditions here set it apart, as does the landscape.

Vale’s designs on China add to Rio, BHP drive for more iron ore – by James Regan (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY – As Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton ship more iron ore than ever to China, the Australia mining giants face a fightback from Brazil’s Vale for market share that threatens to drive already weak prices even lower.

Rio Tinto and BHP, which will release quarterly production data this week and next, have been racing to keep up exports to boost profits while lower prices eat into margins.

They now face stiffer competition from Vale, which is also working its mines harder, after the world’s biggest producer won approval for its giant Valemax ships to unload in China, cutting down on freight costs.

With a capacity of 400,000 tonnes each, the 34 Valemaxes are the world’s biggest bulk carriers and twice the size of vessels used by Rio and BHP, but a ban on entering Chinese ports had severely curbed the cost efficiencies of the larger ships.

“BHP and Rio have been looking to raise volumes in this environment to maximize every tonne,” said Morgans Financial analyst James Wilson.

Police Watch Over a Vision of Golden Riches for Northern Ireland – by Firat Kayakiran (Bloomberg News – July 15, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The explosives for the mine arrived with a police escort.

An hour after more than 30 blasts shook the Curraghinalt mine in Northern Ireland, dust still hung in the air. Through the haze, among the collapsed rock, were glints of gold. That’s the prize for Canada’s Dalradian Resources Inc. and a potential boost for one of the U.K.’s poorest regions.

“There is wealth here,” Patrick Anderson, Dalradian’s 47-year-old chief executive officer, said in the region’s capital of Belfast, where his ancestors worked in nearby shipyards that produced the Titanic in 1911. “I’m not talking about a single mine. We are working on building a mine camp here.”

Anderson, who co-founded a company that developed an Ecuador gold mine and sold it to Kinross Gold Corp. in 2008 for C$1.2 billion ($940 million), plans to raise $250 million for Curraghinalt. He says the mine can produce at least 2.9 million ounces of gold over 18 years more profitably than bigger deposits elsewhere.

So far, developing gold reserves in Northern Ireland has been a challenge.

Commodity price woes weigh on Australian miners – by Tess Ingram (Australian Financial Review – July 16, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.afr.com/

Challenging market conditions continue to batter miners exposed to mineral sands, nickel and uranium, as quarterly reports reveal the extent of the sustained downturn on Australian producers.

Mineral sands prices are languishing well below their 2012 peaks, with prices for rutile sitting at about $US800 ($1085) a tonne, compared to a high of $US2050 a tonne, Deustche Bank said.

On Tuesday, Citi commodities analysts dropped their 2015 average nickel price forecast to $US13,960 a tonne “in light of year-to-date price weakness”, with the price trading as low as $US11,495 a tonne on the London Metals Exchange overnight.

Uranium is also in the doldrums, with prices about $US36 a pound, a long way from their high of $US130 a pound set in 2007.

In its June quarter report on Thursday, mineral sands miner Iluka Resources said revenue for the first half increased by 2 per cent to $349.6 million compared to the previous corresponding period, despite a dip in production volume across its suite of products.

Peru renews raids on illegal gold mines as wildcatting spreads – by Mitra Taj (Reuters U.S. – July 15, 2015)

July 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/

Peruvian police razed dozens of illegal gold mining camps at the edge of an Amazonian nature reserve this week, part of a renewed bid to halt the spread of wildcatting in a remote rainforest region.

The stings at the edge of the Tambopata National Reserve were the first in the southeastern region of Madre de Dios since a crackdown let up in December.

Another six operations planned for the rest of the year – about the same pace as in 2014 – could sap a fledgling rebound in gold output from Peru, the world’s fifth biggest producer and exporter.

Production from wildcat miners in Madre de Dios, who sell their ore up the supply chain, made up about 10 percent of national production before President Ollanta Humala launched the harshest crackdown yet on illegal gold mining last year.

In a two-day operation that ended late Tuesday, police burned down more than 50 mining camps, detained six people on suspicions of human trafficking, and blew up dozens of motors that power makeshift dredges in alluvial mining pits.

ANALYSIS: South Africa: Scramble for Resources – the Mining Time Bomb – by Sylvia Vollenhoven (All Africa.com – July 15, 2015)

July 15, 2015

http://allafrica.com/

The riches that lie buried beneath the soil, the bounty of the oceans and our countless other resources are a blessing and a curse. Throughout history there have been powers eager to grab as much as they can while giving back as little as possible. In recent times the tensions in the mining industry exploded into the Marikana tragedy. Next week at the Durban Film Festival a documentary that is making waves internationally brings it down to a standoff between two cousins and the titanium of the pristine Wild Coast.

Two cousins, one proposed mining project on tribal land and a battle of epic proportions. That’s the story of The Shore Break, a landmark film by Producers Ryley Grunenwald and Odette Geldenhuys.

In the Amadiba area, on South Africa’s stunning Wild Coast, the Pondo people have tended their traditional way of life for centuries. Nonhle, a young local eco-tour guide, is a staunch supporter of her people and the endangered environment on which their livelihood and culture depend.