International Media Resource Articles – Page 712

Zimbabwe Sees $1.6 Billion Platinum Pact With Russia – by Godfrey Marawanyika (Bloomberg News – August 04, 2014)

August 5, 2014

http://www.businessweek.com/

A group of Russian partners will next month sign an agreement with the Zimbabwean government to develop a mine on a platinum deposit requiring total investment of about $1.6 billion, the African country’s mines minister said.

OOO VI Holding and state corporations Rostec and Vnesheconombank plan to confirm their participation in the Darwendale project at an event in Harare, the capital, Walter Chidakwa said in an interview.

“The project will naturally involve mining, putting up concentrators to concentrate the ore and they will then put up a smelter, a PGM smelter,” Chidakwa said yesterday.

Darwendale will be developed in phases, the first of which will be the construction of a mine, without a smelter, at a cost of $400 million to $500 million, the minister said. Mining would start next year, initially as an open-pit operation for two-to-three years. Chidakwa and Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa were in Russia last week for a visit that ended Aug. 2.

“The visit was mainly to go and see members of the consortium, including the bank, and we had very useful discussions, very successful discussions,” Chidakwa said.

Russian Natural Resources Minister Denis Khramov last week met Chidakwa and Chinamasa to discuss possible cooperation in Zimbabwean mining projects, the Moscow-based ministry said in a statement today.

South Africa: Nationalising the Mines Is Not Socialism – by Terry Bell (All Africa.com – August 1, 2014)

August 1, 2014

http://allafrica.com/

Nationalise the mines. That is a demand taken up loudly in recent months by the Economic Freedom Fighters. It is a demand long made by many in the labour movement and it has been given added impetus with the Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) deision to dispose of, or close down, some of its older underground mines.

But those both for and against nationalisation tend to see this demand as “socialist”, as an alternative to the present capitalist system. It is not.

In fact, to equate nationalisation with socialism is as erroneous as blaming the Amplats decision to dispose of mines on the recent strike and on the wage demands won by miners. Yet this blame game is in full swing, peppered with jargon that owes more to blind emotion than rational thought.

In a public relations sense, it is convenient for Amplats that its decision is blamed on the strike and higher wages. But the truth is that the move has long been on the cards — and makes economic sense for the company.

As part of the global capitalist system, Amplats needs to compete as efficiently and effectively as possible in order to accumulate the profits that reward shareholders and are ploughed back into making the business more profitable. Competition and accumulation. This is the underlying dynamic that defines the system, nothing else.

Synthetics pose a conundrum for world diamond industry – by Ari Rabinovitch (Reuters U.K. – July 31, 2014)

August 1, 2014

http://uk.reuters.com/

TEL AVIV – (Reuters) – Diamonds are a girl’s best friend – but only if they are natural.

That is the message mining companies and luxury jewellers are keen to instil in consumers as the diamond trade faces a growing challenge from the production of synthetic diamonds.

Global diamond jewellery sales are worth more than $72 billion (42.6 billion pounds) a year, according to the World Diamond Council, and jewellers like Tiffany (TIF.N) and diamond miners led by De Beers stress that a jewel mined at great expense, and often with great risk, is infinitely more valuable than one made by man.

But it can be hard to tell the difference.

Synthetic diamonds can be manufactured in a laboratory to the extent that they have the same properties as natural ones, raising the risk that a synthetic product could one day inadvertently end up in a luxury jeweller’s showroom.

“God help the major diamond jeweller, be it Cartier, Tiffany, Van Cleef, anybody, who puts a piece of jewellery out there and it’s later found to be having synthetic diamonds in it without disclosure. That fear is what’s driving the industry,” said Martin Rapaport, chairman of the Rapaport Group, which is the primary source of diamond price information around the world.

Increased demand for South African smelting tech – by Pimani Baloyi (MiningWeekly.com – August 1, 2014)

August 1, 2014

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

As Africa’s mining industries consider new methods of processing precious metals and base metals, the demand for South African induction-heating technologies on the continent is increasing, says induction-heating solutions company Hot Platinum.

Hot Platinum MD Ali Brey tells Mining Weekly that this renewed demand has significantly increased company clientele on the continent. The company manufactures induction-heating equipment and develops technology for melting and casting gold, platinum, copper and various other metals.

“There is a significant increase in the demand for our equipment from West, Central and Southern Africa owing to the number of new mining operations starting and many African countries wanting to process their metals in their countries,” he explains.

Brey highlights Hot Platinum’s status as a South African company as a contributing factor to its success in the African market, as it understands the African environment better than European and Asian competitors and can tailor clients’ systems and technologies to the African environment. The company customises systems and technologies to suit client specifications.

Brey also points out that mining companies operating in Africa take part in the development of local expertise when contracting Hot Platinum.

Mittal, Glencore Said to Be Among Potential Simandou Bids – by Thomas Biesheuvel and Jesse Riseborough (Bloomberg News – July 31, 2014)

July 31, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Lakshmi Mittal’s ArcelorMittal (MT) and Glencore Plc are among potential bidders for Guinea’s Simandou project, the world’s largest untapped iron-ore deposit, after it was seized from Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz in April, according to people familiar with the matter.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, has declared an interest in the bidding process for two licenses covering the Simandou project in Guinea, according to four people who asked not to be identified as the talks aren’t public. Glencore is also interested, people familiar with its plans said.

Leading mining and steelmaking companies are jostling for a share of the riches contained in Simandou, a remote, iron-bearing mountain range, to take advantage of prices for the raw material that have risen about 50 percent since 2008. Guinea has estimated that Simandou may cost $20 billion to develop, largely because it needs a 650-kilometer (400-mile) rail link.

Spokesmen for ArcelorMittal and Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Glencore was interested in Simandou.

The iron-ore position of Glencore pales in comparison with rivals BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and Vale SA. (VALE5) Still, Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg has previously expressed reluctance to invest in expensive new mining operations known as “greenfield” projects.

Australian plus-sized model Robyn Lawley opens up about her nude coal mining protest (News.com.au – July 31, 2014)

July 31, 2014

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

MODEL Robyn Lawley has come clean about her revealing nude protest against coal mining, taking Prime Minister Tony Abbott to task over his green credentials.

The 25-year-old Lawley, currently in New York, posted an image on her Instagram account earlier this week showing her stomach, breasts and “Stop coal mining” scrawled across her stomach in red lipstick.

Robyn said the protest was in response to the Federal Government’s approval of the Carmichael Coal Mine in Queensland.
Today she has taken another swipe at Prime Minister Tony Abbott, criticising his scrapping of the carbon tax earlier this month.

“After running a campaign that bewildered the public and convinced citizens they would have to pay said tax through increased energy bills, our leaders were able to shut the (carbon price) system down,” Lawley said.

“What’s the big deal? That scheme was meant to be a powerful incentive for all businesses to cut their pollution and by investing the tax dollars in clean technology and solutions.”

The popular model also raised her concerns about the government’s support for the expansion of the massive Abbott Point Coal Terminal in north Queensland.

RPT-COLUMN-Rio’s Mozambique debacle sows seeds of next commodity boom – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – July 31, 2014)

July 31, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Clyde Russell is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own.

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 31 (Reuters) – While it’s easy to point the finger of blame at Rio Tinto’s former management and feel a tad smug about their downfall, the real lesson of the company’s humiliating exit from its Mozambique coal assets is that the wheels of the next commodity boom are now in motion.

This may seem counterintuitive at first, as once all the arguments over Rio Tinto’s wisdom of paying $4 billion to gain a foothold in Mozambique are stripped away, it comes down to the fact that weak coal prices made it uneconomic to spend any more to develop the mines and infrastructure.

Oversupply in the coal sector has been a chronic problem, and given the amount of mine capacity that is currently under-utilised, it’s likely that prices will struggle for some time to come even if optimistic demand projections are met.

When Rio bought Riversdale’s Mozambique assets in 2011, thermal coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, an Asian benchmark, had peaked at $136.30 a tonne in January of that year. Coking coal reached an eye-watering $330 a tonne at mid-year.

Since then, prices have plunged. Newcastle thermal coal is currently $67.89 a tonne, while Australian spot coking coal fetches about $114 a tonne.

KGHM Starts Copper Output in Chile After Record Takeover – by Maciej Martewicz (Bloomberg News – July 31, 2014)

July 31, 2014

http://www.businessweek.com/

KGHM Polska Miedz SA, the copper producer with the largest European output, began production in its Chilean mine, acquired two years ago as part of a record Polish takeover transaction abroad.

The Sierra Gorda mine will operate at full capacity at the start of 2015 and will produce 120,000 tons of copper a year, the Lubin, Poland-based company said in a regulatory statement today. KGHM will also produce 50 million pounds of molybdenum, used to toughen stainless steel, and 60,000 ounces of gold annually in the mine.

KGHM acquired the Sierra Gorda project as part of its $2.9 billion takeover of Canada’s Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. in 2012. The state-controlled company expands outside Poland as it seeks to cut production costs and raise output.

“The start of Sierra Gorda production will help us cut unit cost in the group,” Chief Financial Officer Jaroslaw Romanowski said in an e-mailed statement today. “This is mainly due to additional products from the site, like gold as well as molybdenum, whose price is currently one fourth above what we initially estimated.”

KGHM produced 666,000 tons of copper in its Polish and northern American sites last year at an average cost of $1.85 a pound, which includes $0.53-a-pound impact of Polish copper taxes imposed in 2012. The production cost at Sierra Gorda is estimated at $1.13 a pound, according to its presentation.

The reindeer herders battling an iron ore mine in Sweden – by Stuart Hughes (BBC News – July 30, 2014)

July 31, 2014

http://www.bbc.com/news/

Northern Sweden – There are eight seasons in the Sami calendar. Each coincides with a stage in the life of their reindeer.

In the mountains near the border between Sweden and Norway, at the height of the summer season the Sami call Giessie, the reindeer herders mark the newborn calves that are just beginning to roam this land.

For a few short months, the sun never dips below the horizon. It is a way of life that the Sami, Europe’s only indigenous people, have followed for thousands of years. It is now one they say faces an uncertain future. A British company, Beowulf Mining, has been carrying out test drilling for iron ore in the area.

It says analysis of samples from its proposed Kallak iron ore mine are encouraging – the ore extracted from deep beneath the ground appears to be of a high quality.

Kallak is one of the largest known iron ore deposits in Scandinavia that has yet to be exploited. Beowulf is waiting for the Swedish authorities to decide whether to approve its application for a 25-year mining concession.

Eventually, the company hopes to extract up to 10m tonnes of iron ore a year at the mine.

Expanding iron mine returns Minnesota to its road-moving ways – by Dan Kraker (Minnesota Public Radio News – July 30, 2014)

July 31, 2014

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/

Virginia – Every day, 10,000 cars zip along Highway 53, one of the Iron Range’s most vital transportation arteries.

Just a few hundred feet from the roadway, between Virginia and Eveleth, hidden by a strip of trees, the earth falls away into a mammoth mine pit, where four-story tall trucks scrape red ore out of the ground. The proximity of the road to the excavation site points to the need to move the highway away from the expanding mine – a project that could cost more than $400 million.

“If you were in our mine pit now you would see that we are as close to that highway as we can be,” said Sandy Karnowski, a spokeswoman for Cliffs Natural Resources, which operates United Taconite.

Four years ago Cliffs approached the Minnesota Department of Transportation about moving the highway. When the state first built the road in 1960, it agreed to move it if the mineral rights owner ever wanted to access the ore underneath.

“If United Taconite cannot mine the ore under the current highway, it would reduce the life of mine, which would impact the jobs and the economic impact we have to the area,” Karnowski said.

It may seem crazy, to move an entire highway, but it’s not as unusual as it sounds. On the Iron Range, there’s a long history of moving roads – and entire towns — to make way for mining.

Platinum future: Provide dignity, prevent strikes – by Greg Nicolson (Daily Maverick South Africa – July 30, 2014)

July 30, 2014

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

The platinum strikes may seem a distant memory to those not working in the industry. While the companies figure out how they’re going to cover the losses and the high increases, work is underway to address some of the underlying causes of the unrest, such as housing. Little has been done, but this could be the year that changes it all.

Thumeka Maswanoqana stood to tell her story of Wonderkop, Marikana.

“There are no proper structures or buildings. There is no water, no electricity,” the Sikala Sonke Women’s Organisation member told the Marikana Commission. “People use pit toilets. It is very difficult. When it’s raining – as we’re in shacks – when it’s raining the workers will stand on top of their beds … These workers work under difficult circumstances, but they are staying in very unbearable places.

“Their lives was supposed to be easy [but] even the people who died during the strike asking for more pay don’t have houses,” said Maswanoqana, speaking in April at Wits University. “We are living under difficult circumstances. Right now during this strike the poverty in Marikana is very bad.”

After this year’s five-month strike at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Lonmin, and Impala Platinum (Implats), it was clear discontent among mineworkers went beyond just wage issues.

High costs hurting mine investment, says Gina Rinehart – by Clive Mathieson (The Australian – July 29, 2014)

July 30, 2014

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

MINING magnate Gina Rinehart says the high cost of doing business in Australia is driving some multinational companies to pursue overseas projects that have the potential to further damage the country’s export revenue.

Mrs Rinehart, the chairwoman of the privately owned Hancock Prospecting and the nation’s richest person, lamented the decision by some companies to invest in lower-cost offshore projects that could drive down commodity prices and undercut Australian projects. “Sadly, too many multinational companies, even Australian companies, are focusing and preferring to invest in overseas countries with lower costs,” she told The Australian.

“For instance, Rio Tinto, which has been in Australia for decades, and made most of its revenue from Australia, is now arranging multi-billions of dollars of investment for a major resource project with substantial infrastructure in Guinea in Africa.

“When that’s operating, it will bring billions of tonnes of ore on to the market to compete against Australia, and push down commodity prices. Too few seem to recognise the impact this will have when we are competing with lower-cost countries and how it will hurt Australia for decades.”

Mrs Rinehart said Rio Tinto, Hancock’s partner in the giant Hope Downs iron ore project in Western Australia, should not be singled out, saying the nation must do more “to lower its costs and compete for investment”.

The creeping hyperbole of Iron Range mining politics – by Aaron Brown (Minneapolis StarTribune – July 29, 2014)

July 30, 2014

http://www.startribune.com/

Last week I was called into town to do another “Iron Range political pundit” interview with Northland’s NewsCenter’s Nick Minock. The story was about something presumptive Minnesota GOP U.S. Senate nominee Mike McFadden had said about nonferrous mining projects in Northern Minnesota. McFadden had suggested that projects like PolyMet and Twin Metals, which have been mired in environmental review, have the potential to have the same economic impact the Bakken oil fields had on western North Dakota. I was asked, is that true?

In short, no. In long form, hell no. The sheer amount of money and people working to extract oil in the Dakotas will not come close to being matched by Northern Minnesota’s PolyMet or Twin Metals, even if these projects are permitted, financed and open to rousing success — none of which is assured for reasons outside the control of a solitary U.S. Senator. It was a piece of political hyperbole, one which McFadden all but copped to later.

I’ve written before that the controversial “mining issue” will flare up throughout Election 2014, with particular flourish in the MN-8 Congressional race, the U.S. Senate race and governor’s race. Each of these races have indeed featured the same dynamic: Republicans who support new mining arguing that Democrats who support new mining don’t support new mining enough. I’ll call this the Mesabi Daily News Rule, which states: Any deference to the concerns of project opponents, even if patronizing and entirely rhetorical, is equivalent to outright opposition.

The MDN rule essentially allows this GOP gambit, which is based on the notion that Iron Range voters who support mining and distrust the Twin Cities in a general sort of way will flock to Republican candidates.

Water scarcity and rising energy costs threaten mining industry – by James Wilson (Financial Times – July 27, 2014)

July 30, 2014

http://www.ft.com/intl/companies/mining

Access to water has become one of the most significant business risks for miners, says a report that also highlights the threat to the sector from rising energy costs in some resource-rich areas.

EY, the consultancy, said affordable water and energy should now be viewed as one of the 10 biggest problems for miners. The threat was particularly acute in South America and Africa, it said. These continents are significant in the global supply of many metals, particularly copper.

Spending by mining companies on water infrastructure amounted to almost $12bn last year, compared with $3.4bn in 2009, EY said. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, the two largest in the world by market capitalisation, are investing $3bn to build a desalination plant at Escondida, the Chilean copper mine that is the world’s largest by output.

The report underscores how water resources are becoming an increasingly important concern across business. Peter Brabeck, chairman of Nestlé, told the Financial Times in a recent interview that water scarcity presented a more urgent challenge than climate change.

EY said large companies such as Rio, BHP and Anglo American had the expertise and financial strength to build complex water procurement systems for large projects and were therefore “likely to emerge as the partners of choice in water-scarce countries seeking to exploit their natural resources”.

The Brics bank is a glimpse of the future – by David Pilling (Financial Times – July 30, 2014)

July 30, 2014

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

If the postwar order is being upended, the right response is ‘hear, hear’

Thirteen years ago, Brics was a marketing ploy dreamt up by Jim O’Neill, then chief economist at Goldman Sachs. Now it is a bank. Next thing you know, it will have its own line of designer handbags.

This month in Fortaleza, the five Brics nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – agreed to establish a development bank. They also set up a $100bn swap line, known formally as a contingent reserve arrangement, a deal that gives each country’s central bank access to emergency supplies of foreign currency. To borrow a phrase from Anton Siluanov, Russia’s finance minister, the five countries are attempting to conjure a mini-World Bank and a mini- International Monetary Fund.

The Brics’ plan is good for the world, although you would not know it from the sniffy reaction in the west. There have been two default positions. One is to scoff at the very idea of five such disparate nations organising anything coherent or staying the course. The other is to worry that the world order reflected in the two US-led institutions set up at the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 is about to crumble.