International Media Resource Articles – Page 714

Life reflected in BHP’s figures – by Terry McCrann (The Australian – July 26, 2014)

July 25, 2014

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

BHP Billiton’s production figures effectively fired the starter’s gun for the annual profit season. They also neatly captured in microcosm the big questions about the future course of the overall economy.

Indeed, they were a much better guide to the future and its uncertainties than the June quarter CPI figures, released on the same day, which sent sections of the economentariat into a frenzy of hyperventilating certainty.

That’s a certainty that will no doubt last until some other statistic sends them hyperventilating in the opposite direction.

There’s no great surprise in the significance of BHPB’s numbers — oh for the day when it returns to the simplified BHP, sloughing off the second “B” along with all the rubbish it bought with Billiton.

BHPB remains our biggest company by far. While it won’t generate a profit this year all-but equal to the profits of all the four big banks combined, as it did a few years ago, it will still post a 2013-14 profit which will put any individual bank profit in the shade.

BHPB is not just the resources boom in miniature, it all but is the resources boom. OK, perhaps in combination with Rio Tinto, given the latter’s edge in iron ore, the resource that really “is” the boom, both in terms of dollars generated and its dominant centrality in our role in the China story.

Then perhaps we should add Twiggy Forrest’s Fortescue as not just the third iron ore major but also more directly representative of the “boom” aspect of the “resources boom”.

EPA moves to block Pebble as House moves to block EPA – by Elwood Brehmer (Alaska Journal of Commerce – July 24, 2014)

July 25, 2014

http://www.alaskajournal.com/

The Environmental Protection Agency is continuing its push to block the potential Pebble copper and gold mine.

EPA Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran said in a formal statement July 18 that the agency is moving to protect the robust salmon stocks of Bristol Bay from the possible impacts of a large mine in the region.

The 214-page proposed determination document calls for a ban of large-scale mining in the area of the Koktuli River and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds north and west of Iliamna, where the Pebble deposit is located. The watersheds are part of the larger Kvichak River and Nushagak River watersheds — the Pebble deposit sits nearly on the border of the two — which support some of the largest returns of sockeye salmon in the world each year.

“The science is clear that mining the Pebble deposit would cause irreversible damage to one of the world’s last intact salmon ecosystems. Bristol Bay’s exceptional fisheries deserve exceptional protection,” McLerran said. “We are doing this now because we’ve heard from concerned tribes, the fishing industry, Alaskans and many others who have lived and worked for more than a decade under the uncertainty posed by this potentially destructive mine.”

If developed, it is believed the Pebble mine would be one of the world’s largest surface copper and gold mines. Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young called the determination a “jurisdictional power grab.”

During a July 16 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on legislation to limit the EPA’s Clean Water Act authority, Young delivered a heated monologue in which he condemned the agency’s actions and called the Obama administration a “monarchy.”

Red Dog lead, zinc mine marks 25 years, $1B in royalties – by Tim Bradner (Alaska Journal of Commerce – July 24, 2014)

July 25, 2014

http://www.alaskajournal.com/

The Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska turned 25 years old July 17 after producing since 1989 and paying about $1 billion in royalties to NANA Regional Corp., the landowner.

NANA paid $608 million of that to other Alaska Native corporations under revenue-sharing provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and $199 million in dividends to its own shareholders.

The remaining $103 million was retained by NANA to help pay operations and for investments in other business, which has now helped NANA grow a diversified portfolio of assets that earned the corporation $1.7 billion in revenues last year.

To celebrate the July 17 anniversary, NANA invited guests to the mine including including former Gov. Bill Sheffield and Willie Hensley, NANA leaders and former legislators who played key roles in the original mine development.

Teck president and CEO Don Lindsay also attended. The mine is operated by Teck Alaska Inc. Teck Alaska’s parent, Canada-based Teck Resources, purchased Cominco, the Canadian company that developed Red Dog with NANA in the mid-1980s.

Red Dog is a surface mine that is one of the world’s largest zinc mines, producing 551,300 tonnes of zinc concentrates in 2013 (a tonne is approximately 2,200 pounds). The mine earned $874 million in total revenues that year, according to Teck.

African Barrick Gold: Better as she goes! – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – July 25, 2014)

July 25, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

African Barrick has achieved a seventh successive quarterly fall in AISC and has improved its guidance on both gold output and costs after another positive quarter’s financial and operating results.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – The measures being taken to bring African Barrick Gold (ABG) – Barrick Gold’s London quoted African gold mining arm – back towards decent profitability seem to be working and while there are still some hiccups – notably a fall in grades at its flagship Bulyanhulu gold mine – its Q2 production results showed substantial further improvement beating most analysts’ consensus with gold output of 178,000 ounces at all in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$1105 an ounce.

This compares with production of 168,000 ounces in Q1 and 164,000 ounces in Q2 2013 – while AISC have shown the best improvements down from $1404 an ounce a year earlier. Consequently it is upping its production guidance for the year and maintaining its guidance on cash and all in sustaining costs.

CEO Brad Gordon was obviously pleased with the latest figures, commenting “We are pleased to report strong results for H1 2014, with increased production and continued cost discipline enabling the business to return to cash generation.. We have now delivered our seventh successive reduction in quarterly all-in sustaining costs (AISC) as we continue to drive operational improvements through the business”.

India’s Uranium Boss Says Deformed Children May Be ‘Imported’ – by Rakteem Katakey and Tom Lasseter (Bloomberg News – July 23, 2014)

July 25, 2014

http://www.businessweek.com/

Confronted with reports villages near Uranium Corp. of India Ltd.’s mines have unusually high numbers of physically deformed people, Chairman Diwakar Acharya said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of those guys are imported from elsewhere, ok?”

A Bloomberg News report on July 9 highlighted the struggles of the locals with disease and early deaths — and the suspicion they shared with some environmental activists that the health conditions are linked to mining waste.

Acharya dismissed as biased any findings of a correlation between the mines and deformities in nearby villages.

Activists and doctors come with an agenda to Jadugora, a town of about 19,500 people in eastern Jharkhand state that’s home to the company’s main operations, he said in a July 14 interview.

“See, what happens is, you say you are a specialist and you’ll come and treat,” Acharya said at Uranium Corp.’s headquarters. “But all you do is, you are convinced UCIL is evil and you have come here only with the sole motive of finding reasons which would validate your preconceived notions.”

Uranium Corp. sends its security officers to monitor attempts by outsiders to examine villagers, Acharya said, explaining it was a necessary step for collecting information about alleged health problems.

Coal India undermined by basic equipment flaws – by Krishna N Das (Reuters India – July 25, 2014)

July 25, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

NEW DELHI – (Reuters) – As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government looks to shape up Coal India Ltd (COAL.NS) for a potential major restructuring, the world’s biggest coal miner still faces basic problems: it does not have enough mechanical shovels, dumpers and explosives.

The new government, which has a 90 percent stake in the company whose total market value is about $40 billion, is exploring a break up and opening up the sector to foreign investment to boost output and cut imports, sources have said.

But the firm, which accounts for more than 80 percent of India’s production and employs 350,000, has not met its output target for years, ensuring the country remains the world’s third-largest coal importer despite sitting on huge reserves.

A failure to boost efficiency could threaten long-run plans to spin off some of the seven units of the coal miner, a vital part of the government’s reform strategy. [ID:nL3N0O6458]

Two units produced less in the last fiscal year than a year ago, partly due to lack of basic equipment and ageing machinery, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal told parliament this week.

The minister did not provide data but according to a top official at one Coal India unit this issue could be cutting Coal India’s annual output by more than 10 percent. The official declined to be identified due to its policy on talking to media.

UPDATE 2-Brazil’s Vale hits iron ore record, base metals output lags – by Stephen Eisenhammer (Reuters U.K. – July 24, 2014)

July 25, 2014

http://uk.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale SA produced record amounts of iron ore in its latest second quarter, rising to the task of battling Australian rivals for market share, but weaker performance at other divisions fanned some concern ahead of results next week.

Iron ore production rose 12.6 percent to 79.45 million tonnes from a year earlier, Vale said on Thursday, as better weather conditions combined with ramp ups at its two main mine sites in Brazil. The Brazilian company is the world’s largest producer of the mineral.

Vale is expected to post an annual decline in second-quarter net income of more than 40 percent when it reports on July 31, according to an average of analyst forecasts compiled by Reuters.

Giants Vale, Rio Tinto Plc and BHP Billiton Plc are all increasing iron ore capacity in a move expected to squeeze higher-cost producers out of the market. But with iron ore prices .IO62-CNI=SI languishing near 22-month lows during the period, analysts had been looking to Vale’s nickel division to pick up some of the slack.

Some of those analysts were subsequently disappointed as nickel production fell 5.2 percent to 61,700 tonnes due to maintenance at the Sudbury mine in Canada. Its VNC project on the French Pacific island of New Caledonia also suspended operations after an acid spill in May.

What’s Behind Canada’s Troubled Relationship With Its Aboriginal Peoples –by Jake Flanagin (New York Times – July 24, 2014)

July 25, 2014

https://news.vice.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/

They call it “Murderpeg.” With 6,222 instances of violent crime reported in 2012, the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba consistently ranks among the most violent cities in Canada.

It’s also host to one of the highest concentrations of Aboriginal peoples (indigenous North Americans) in the country – 11.7 percent and growing faster than any other area in Canada, according to the Canadian National Household Survey.

Aboriginal Canadians – First Nations, Inuits, and the Métis (descended from mixed marriages between Europeans and indigenous peoples) – are arguably the most underserved segment of Canadian society. “One in five Aboriginal Canadians live in dilapidated and often overcrowded homes,” reports Nilo Tabrizy for Vice News. Those in Winnipeg are no exception.

Ms. Tabrizy traveled to Winnipeg to shoot a documentary for Vice, highlighting the plight of the city’s Aboriginal population, and unpacking the seedy history of Canada’s relationship with its indigenous communities.

Will Cutifani answer call for Anglo change? – by David McKay (Miningmx.com – July 24, 2014)

July 24, 2014

http://www.miningmx.com/

[miningmx.com] – A YEAR ago, at Anglo American’s 2013 interim results presentation, the group’s then relatively new CEO, Mark Cutifani, set out the broadest of blue-prints for winning back investor interest.

Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) needed to be 15%, not the 11% that had been previously achieved; the project pipeline, described by Cutifani as ‘constipated’, had to be – for want of a better word – loosened; and any under-performing assets would be culled from the group.

At the time, a mere 11% of the group’s 90-odd assets had met operational targets to which Cutifani provided the gloss: “We have to get our arses into gear”.

The question at the time was how a change in gear would be achieved, and whether Cutifani would be bold and quick enough? A year on, and the answer is becoming clearer.

As with its peer, BHP Billiton, Anglo is taking the scalpel to some of its South African assets starting with the less profitable platinum mines held in the 80%-controlled Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).

“He has made it absolutely, abundantly clear that the Rustenburg and Union assets in Amplats are not priorities for the group’s capital,” said a Johannesburg-based analyst.

COLUMN-New Indonesian president can bring certainty, consistency to mining: Russell – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – July 24, 2014)

July 24, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

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

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 24 (Reuters) – The election of reformist Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as Indonesia’s new president has spurred hopes of a rapprochement with global miners and the scaling back of some of the nationalistic resource policies.

Certainly the new leader of the world’s fourth-most populous nation is making the right noises, telling Reuters in an interview published July 22 that he wants to sit down with mining companies and resolve differences.

And indeed this was followed by Freeport-McMoRan, which owns the giant Grasberg copper mine, saying it expects to “imminently” sign an agreement with Indonesia that will allow for the resumption of exports of copper concentrate.

Newmont Mining Corp also said it was close to a memorandum of understanding with the government that would allow it to resume exports of copper concentrate and re-open its Batu Hijau mine.

These negotiations with the two U.S. mining giants, which account for 97 percent of Indonesia’s copper output, have been ongoing for months, so it’s not clear that Jokowi had any influence on the talks, but equally his election victory may have provided momentum to the talks.

Jim O’Neill: What Jokowi’s Win Means For Jakarta’s Market? – by Shuli Ren (Baron’s Magazine – July 23, 2014)

July 24, 2014

http://online.barrons.com/home-page

The following is a guest post by my colleague Assif Shameen:

“Jokowi’s victory is potentially as important as Modi’s was for India,” says Jim O’Neill, former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and the man who coined the term BRICs or the world’s largest emerging markets. O’Neill has long regretted not including Indonesia among the emerging giants.

As the world’s third largest democracy, O’Neill says Indonesia can’t just be dependent on the global commodities cycle. “Indonesia has huge potential and a guy like Jokowo could just be the one to unleash it but he has to be bold and take on vested interests and those that allow corruption as well as other forms of misallocation of capital,” he says.“Indonesia needs a Modi-type figure to galvanize its young dynamic population to deliver on its potential,” O’Neil says.

But the former Goldman Sachs economist notes “expectations in Indonesia are now as high, if not higher than they are in India” in the wake of Jokowi’s victory. “India and Indonesia now need to deliver or otherwise the scope for disappointment in both places is obvious, specially in the short term. If the changes are for real in Indonesia and India then the case for further re-weighting in both those markets is huge,” he says.

Year-to-date Jakarta Composite Index is up 21.1% . The market has risen 9.1% over the past 12 months. But stocks may have gotten ahead of themselves. Sam Le Cornu, Senior Portfolio Manager at Macquarie Funds Group who co-manages the Macquarie Asia New Stars Fund in Hong Kong says while the macro picture in Indonesia looks encouraging the only problem now is valuations.

Coherent national mineral policy a must for U.S. manufacturing, Congress told – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – July 24, 2014)

July 24, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

The lack of U.S. mineral supplies is stifling U.S. manufacturing and discouraging new technology development by miners and manufacturing, witnesses told a Congressional subcommittee hearing.

RENO (MINEWEB) – “America’s dependence on foreign nations for minerals is a choice. Our solution to our dependence isn’t a lack of resource; it is a lack of courage and commitment to produce the resources here,” declared Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Resources Wednesday.

During a subcommittee hearing to examine the domestic critical minerals supply and demand chain, U.S. rare earths advocate Lamborn declared, “It is a policy of the Obama Administration that is bent on destroying jobs in the mining industry, from vetoing approved coal mines in Appalachia, to pre-emptively vetoing mines which haven’t even been proposed in Alaska.”

“If we are legitimately concerned about rare earth minerals, we should be asking why it will take a decade to approve a mine in one of the world’s largest resources in Wyoming. Why are Obama Administration Forest Service employees actively lobbying communities in opposition to the rare earth mine?” Lamborn asked.

However, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, said his Securing Energy Critical Elements and American Jobs Act of 2014 — which would have stepped up America’s exploration of critical elements — failed to pass a full vote of the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday because of threats from what he called “extreme right-wing groups”. Nevertheless, Swalwell told Lamborn Wednesday he was willing to work with Lamborn and the subcommittee to get the U.S. “in the game” as far as having a domestic supply of rare earths.

EDITORIAL: Platinum miners at a tipping point (Business Day Live – July 23, 2014)

July 23, 2014

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

THE decision by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) to put some of its Rustenburg mines on sale is hardly surprising. The market and industrial relations turmoil of the past few years was destined to reach a tipping point, and it looks like it has arrived.

In essence, the world’s largest platinum producer has decided to rid itself of its biggest headaches, and hopes someone has the appetite for the pain. The best mines are usually bought, not sold.

After the longest strike on record, driven by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which often demonstrated a poor long-term game, Amplats must have had enough of managing a relationship in which trust seemed impossible to achieve. As counterintuitive as it may sound, the ability of unions and management to manage their sometimes adversarial partnership is a significant factor in staying invested.

The company’s relationship with Amcu is clearly frayed, and it is entirely possible that a way forward in light of further restructuring became a distant prospect.

With the sale of these assets, Amplats also would no longer have to deal with a historical migrant labour problem that requires a lot of funds to mitigate, including the possibility of building houses for all its employees.

BHP boss urges [Australian] Senate to repeal MRRT (The Australian – July 22, 2014)

July 23, 2014

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

The chief of resources giant BHP Billiton has urged Labor and the minor parties to help the Abbott government repeal the mining tax, saying investment is being destroyed by “a lot of antics” in the Senate.

Andrew Mackenzie warned at a business panel that the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) — which his company helped draft — remained a “massive” disincentive to investment flows into Australia.

The MRRT will survive until August 26 at the least after Labor, the Greens and crossbench senators, including from the Palmer United Party (PUP), blocked its repeal last week.

PUP founder and mining magnate Clive Palmer campaigned heavily against the MRRT before the federal election, but his senators joined Labor and the Greens last week to preserve $10 billion in spending linked to it, such as the Schoolkids and income support bonuses.

In what could be regarded as a message to Mr Palmer, Mr Mackenzie said there were “a lot of antics” going on in the Senate around the “highly volatile” MRRT.

“It’s not a big revenue raiser as a tax, which in itself makes it even worse, but it’s a huge disincentive to invest, massive,” he said.

Escalating Ukraine crisis could blow gold sky high – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – July 23, 2014)

July 23, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Conflicting aggressive rhetoric from both Russia and the West could be precipitating us into a new Cold War and the ensuing financial dangers could see gold skyrocket.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Far from coming to an end the Ukraine crisis could be far from over and as the West and Russia are embroiled in accusation and counter-accusation over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the potential for escalation is perhaps getting more serious by the day.

It has brought a safe-haven focus back into the gold market which is probably likely to remain given Ukraine is not the only major flashpoint of worry with Syrian, Iraqi and Israeli/Gaza (Hamas) conflicts all raging and building up deep-rooted concerns and polarisation amongst those affected. Violence may well not offer solutions to these deep-seated problems but can only intensify hatreds amongst those innocents affected.

And it is difficult nowadays to know who or what to trust in terms of media reporting. We in the West are programmed to believe the spin put on things by the majority of our media, despite that this version of events is in turn spun to the media by the various governments involved. Meanwhile in Russia, and Russian-leaning countries the populations are being fed completely different interpretations of what is going on.

Most of us in the West don’t trust or believe anything which comes out of Russia, assuming it just to be propaganda, while in Russia, no doubt, the reverse is true –