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International Media Resource Articles

Palladium at Highest Since 2011 on Ukraine as Gold Gains – by Nicholas Larkin and Glenys Sim (Bloomberg News – April 14, 2014)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Palladium rose to the highest price since 2011 in New York on concern supply may be restricted as tension escalated over Ukraine. Gold reached a three-week high.

Russia and the U.S. traded barbs at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council as a deadline passed for pro-Russian separatists to leave buildings they occupied amid escalating violence in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and European Union have vowed to impose tougher sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin’s government makes another move threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Palladium advanced 13 percent this year as the threat of disruption to Russian exports compounded concerns about supply spurred by a miners’ strike in South Africa that started in January. The nations are the world’s biggest producers. Gold futures climbed 1.2 percent last week as a weaker U.S. dollar and falling equities increased demand for a haven.

“It’s a double-edged sword for palladium, we’re seeing robust demand and also supply constraints,” James Moore, an analyst at FastMarkets Ltd. in London, said today by phone. “You’ve got the South African strikes and concern regarding Russian sanctions as tension bubbles along. Investment demand is strong.”

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Gold rush threatens West Africa’s cocoa future – by JOE BAVIER AND LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY (Reuters U.S. – April 11, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

YOHO, Ivory Coast – (Reuters) – A month ago, Bouafu Kouassi dug a neat circular hole in the middle of his one-hectare cocoa plantation in western Ivory Coast, and, sifting through the gravel on his shovel, found the unmistakable traces of gold dust.

With luck, it could transform his life, but it could just destroy his farm. And as the story repeats across the cocoa heartland of the world’s top producer and neighboring Ghana, the second-largest, it could do lasting damage to the industry.

Today, nearly three dozen vertical shafts plunge down into the soil beneath Kouassi’s cocoa trees, branching out into a web of underground tunnels 10 meters below the surface.

The 35-year-old, who once struggled to pay school fees for his five children, has in a matter of weeks pocketed as much as he could hope to earn in five years growing cocoa. “As long as there’s gold here, we’ll be working,” he says, with the giddy smile of a man who thinks he’s won the lottery. With high prices for the precious metal fuelling a gold rush in Ivory Coast and Ghana, diggers are scurrying to cash in.

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Renewables Aren’t Enough. Clean Coal Is the Future – by Charles C. Mann (Wired Magazine – March 25, 2014)

http://www.wired.com/

Proof that good things don’t always come in nice packages can be found by taking the fast train from Beijing to Tianjin and then driving to the coast. Tianjin, China’s third-biggest city, originated as Beijing’s port on the Yellow Sea. But in recent years Tianjin has reclaimed so much of its muddy, unstable shoreline that the city has effectively moved inland and a new, crazily active port has sprung up at the water’s edge.

In this hyper-industrialized zone, its highways choked with trucks, stand scores of factories and utility plants, each a mass of pipes, reactors, valves, vents, retorts, crackers, blowers, chimneys, and distillation towers—the sort of facility James Cameron might have lingered over, musing, on his way to film the climax of Terminator 2.

Among these edifices, just as big and almost as anonymous as its neighbors, is a structure called GreenGen, built by China Huaneng Group, a giant state-owned electric utility, in collaboration with half a dozen other firms, various branches of the Chinese government, and, importantly, Peabody Energy, a Missouri firm that is the world’s biggest private coal company.

By Western standards, GreenGen is a secretive place; weeks of repeated requests for interviews and a tour met with no reply.

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Women in SA fare best at top level of mining companies – by Charlotte Mathews (Business Day Live – April 11, 2014)

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

WOMEN are better represented in executive management and board committees in the biggest South African mining companies than in any other country’s mining companies, according to a PwC survey released on Thursday.

Women made up 23.8%, or almost a quarter, of executive management among South African mining companies in the world’s top 100, compared with the next-highest country, Canada at 14.8%. South Africa had the highest proportion of women on board committees in the top 500 mining companies, at 21.3%, showing they are actively involved. The US was next highest at 8.7%.

It is a positive indicator for an industry that is still criticised by the government and unions for failing to make much progress in changing its apartheid legacy.

The Mining Charter, which mining companies must meet to acquire and retain mining licences, requires that 10% of employees be women this year.

PwC director for human resources services in Southern Africa Gerald Seegers said the enforcement of the charter was probably the main reason South Africa was ahead in this respect.

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BHP polishes up nickel unit as demerger talk swirls – by James Regan (Reuters India – April 11, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

SYDNEY, April 11 (Reuters) – Breakthroughs in the way BHP Billiton processes nickel ores could help the world’s biggest miner find a buyer for its ailing Nickel West division in Australia.

Nickel West is among businesses that also include aluminium and manganese which BHP has grouped into a single division set aside in 2012 for underperforming assets deemed non-core to its portfolio. BHP has said it is actively studying the “next phase of simplification” of the company but declined to comment on media reports that senior executives favoured a demerger.

Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie has said BHP will focus on its large iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum businesses, while selling off smaller, less profitable operations. Macquarie Bank last month in a research note put a value of $4.6 billion on the nickel assets.

Improvements in the way BHP mines nickel together with better market dynamics and exploration successes could save Nickel West from closure.

A programme at Nickel West to extract full value from ore that would otherwise be uneconomic to treat due to high contents of talc is opening up more of BHP’s rich Mount Keith and Yakabindie deposits in Western Australia for mining, enhancing the potential appeal to outside investors.

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Platinum strike could be godsend for South African pgm miners – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – April 11, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

South Africa’s platinum strike could be a blessing in disguise for mining companies making the case for closures of unprofitable operations.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – One doesn’t have to be too much of a cynic to feel that the 11 week platinum miners strike primarily affecting the underground mines around Rustenburg may prove to be be a long term positive game changer for the main platinum mining companies – and Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) in particular. The world’s largest platinum miner was already struggling with the profitability of its highly labour intensive Rustenburg area platinum mines and had already proposed a mine and shaft closure programme to try and rationalise its operations and bring them into decent profitability.

Indeed its proposals of a little over a year ago involved the potential rationalisation of its Rustenburg operations into three mines – Thembelani, Siphumelele and Bathopele which between them have five shaft systems primarily working the narrow highish grade Merensky reef systems.

This would mean putting two more mines – Khuseleka and Khomanani – with four shaft systems, on long term care and maintenance with the possible loss of up to 14,000 jobs, although the company said it would have hoped to replace most of these over time with initiatives to generate new non-mining business opportunities in the area.

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Exploration suffers as copper miners axe costs, cut debt – by Susan Thomas (Reuters U.S. – April 10, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO- (Reuters) – A weak copper price and tighter financing are forcing mining companies to cut or stall spending on exploring to their lowest levels in four years as they focus instead on axing costs and reducing debt.

Executives who gathered in the Chilean city of Santiago this week acknowledged tougher environmental standards, labor strikes, community resistance and resource nationalism were also making exploration more challenging.

Over the last year to 18 months mining companies have been buckling to shareholder pressure and cost cutting, Vanessa Davidson, consultancy CRU’s copper group manager told the CESCO/CRU copper conference in Santiago.

She said this has included head count reductions and cutting or stalling exploration spending; a trend that is likely to continue.

“We are just seriously focusing on using capital effectively, so exploration would come under the spotlight as well,” Anglo American copper business Chief Executive Officer Hennie Faul told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual CESCO/CRU copper conference in Santiago. “We believe in the fundamentals of copper, but we don’t foresee ourselves expanding our exploration for now.”

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German coal industry underpins renewable push – by Richard Anderson (BBC News – April 9, 2014)

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

Germany is an enlightened leader in the global battle to reduce CO2 emissions, a pioneer in renewable energy and community power projects and a champion of energy efficiency. Or so the common narrative goes.

But try telling that to Monika Schulz-Hopfner. She and her husband, along with 250 other residents of Atterwasch, a quiet village near the Polish border, face eviction from their home of 30 years to make way for the Janschwalde-Nord coal mine.

And not just any old coal, but lignite, the dirtiest form of this ancient fossil fuel that is mined in vast opencast pits. If the plans go ahead, the village, parts of which date back more than 700 years, will be demolished.

“Since the plans for the mine were unveiled in 2007, we have lived with this constant threat, which has taken over the lives of every individual and the community as a whole,” says Mrs Schulz-Hopfner. “Every single decision we make is affected by it.” And the residents of Atterwasch are not alone.

In the eastern German region of Lausitz, nine villages are under threat, where up to 3,000 people could lose their homes to make way for five new lignite mines that are fuelling the country’s renewed thirst for coal. Two further mines are under consideration.

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Pouroulis family launch third pass at platinum – by David McKay (Miningmx.com – April 10, 2014)

http://www.miningmx.com/

[miningmx.com] – THARISA Minerals is the latest company to roll off the conveyor belt of the Pouroulis family, led by patriarch, Loucas Pouroulis.

A Cypriot by birth, Pouroulis came to South Africa after having been trained in metallurgy at the University of Athens. Mining was in his blood: his father was a copper miner in Cyrpus; the Pouroulis family lived near one of the mine’s slag dumps.

There is now, however, a third generation of Pouroulis’s plying their trade in the sector. Loucas’s eldest son, Adonis, is the chairman of the UK-listed Petra Diamonds whilst his brother, Phoevos, heads Tharisa, which is platinum/chrome miner. In truth, the Pouroulis family has an abiding obsession with mining platinum.

Loucas Pouroulis’ first encounter with platinum – Lefkochrysos – was unkindly referred to as Lefko-‘crisis’ following a decline it the platinum price around 1987 which left the elder Pouroulis’ plans in tatters. He went on to run Consolidated Modderfontein, a gold mine, before exorcising the ghost of Lekkochrysos after founding the breathtakingly successful, Eland Platinum.

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Nickel the new market star – by Peter Kerr (The Age – April 10, 2014)

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

Nickel’s transition from laggard to market darling is continuing apace, with a perfect storm of factors driving positive sentiment for the metal.

Australia’s three pure-play nickel stocks are surging this week on the back of a rising commodity price, elections in Indonesia and even a hint of takeover speculation.

The fun started in January, when one of the world’s major nickel suppliers, Indonesia, imposed a ban on exports of some unprocessed types of nickel, in a bid to try and lure miners to build processing facilities on Indonesian soil.
After years in the doldrums, the reduced exports sparked a rise in nickel prices that is still underway three months later.

With a 20 per cent rise under its belt since January, the benchmark nickel price (measured at the London Metal Exchange) is now at its highest price in 54 weeks.

LME Nickel for three month delivery was $16,718 per tonne this morning, which equates to about $US7.58 per pound in the local parlance.

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UPDATE 2-Russia’s Norilsk sees nickel price recovery in 2014 – by Polina Devitt (Reuters U.S. – April 7, 2014)

http://www.reuters.com/

MOSCOW, April 7 (Reuters) – Norilsk Nickel, the world’s biggest producer of nickel and palladium, sees nickel prices recovering this year, it said on Monday after reporting a 64 percent drop in net profits due to write-offs.

The Russian firm, part owned by Chief Executive Vladimir Potanin and aluminium giant Rusal, had to trim spending last year and focus on its lucrative Soviet-era operations in Russia’s far north to cope with weak prices for its key metals.

“Last year was a challenging and volatile year in commodity markets with prices for the majority of metals in the Norilsk Nickel portfolio declining that had a clear impact on our top-line performance,” Potanin said in a statement.

The management is cautiously positive on 2014 with improving commodity prices in the beginning of the year but is also concerned over a deteriorating emerging market risk appetite in the global investment community, he added. Norilsk has not been hit by the political tension over Ukraine so far, but all Russian companies would suffer should the situation escalate, its deputy chief executive, Andrei Bougrov, said last week.

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South Africa more competitive than China in ferrochrome: IFL – by Emma Farge (Reuters India – April 9, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

DAKAR – (Reuters) – South Africa should be able to snatch back the top spot in global ferrochrome production from China within five years thanks to cost-cutting, says one of Africa’s biggest producers, International Ferro Metals.

South Africa’s share of world production of the steel feedstock has slumped since 2012 when it fell by 15 percent to 32 percent of the 4.8 million metric tons (5.2911 million tons) produced globally, relegating it to second place behind China.

“South Africa will regain its leading position as top ferrochrome producer in the world. A number of us have reduced our costs so we can place alloy into China cheaper than the Chinese can produce,” said Chris Jordaan, Chief Executive of South Africa-based International Ferro Metals (IFL) (IFL.L).

That could be possible within five years, he said in a telephone interview during the Reuters Africa Summit. “It suddenly makes it much better to smelt material as close to the ore as you can.” A weak South African rand was also helping the country regain competitiveness, he said.

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Companies unprepared for conflict minerals rule, U.S. court ruling looms – by Sarah N. Lynch (Reuters India – April 9, 2014)

http://in.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON – (Reuters) – Many public companies are on track to miss a May deadline for complying with new rules that require them to file disclosures that tell investors whether their products contain certain “conflict minerals” from a war-torn part of Africa, a new survey has found.

The survey, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, comes at the same time as a U.S. appeals court continues to weigh whether to strike down the conflict minerals rule after industry groups challenged it.

Despite the pending legal challenge, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not granted companies a temporary reprieve from complying with the rule, which kicks in on May 31.

Of 700 companies surveyed across 15 industries, Pricewaterhouse said it found that a mere 4 percent of companies have completed a draft of their SEC conflict minerals filings. (PwC survey: r.reuters.com/vux38v) Another 90 percent are not ready with a substantive draft document, PwC added, noting that conflict minerals compliance “has proven more intensive” than anticipated.

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MINE WATER: Tough to share it with drought-stricken communities – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – April 9, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Since most mining operations in arid regions are zero-discharge facilities that don’t produce grey water, chances are slim today’s mining operators can share water with municipalities in times of drought.

In February, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) held its second international symposium on water in mineral processing.

Those mining professionals and consultants in attendance viewed the event as pivotal in focusing miners’ attention on what they believed would emerged as mining’s hottest issue—water management strategies and their critical role in securing mining’s social license in the permitting and operation of mining projects and expansions.

Much was made by those presenting papers to SME that “opportunities abound for mine water reuse,” which can help with community water needs. In the future, mine wastewater could be reused for irrigation, steel manufacturing, hydraulic fracturing, or cooling and power generation, consultants advised.

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MINE WATER: Water stewardship framework unveiled at UN water meeting – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – April 9, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Impacts on water quality and quantity are among the most controversial aspects of mining projects. ICMM hopes well-designed and executed water stewardship strategies will build trust between miners and communities.

The International Council on Mining & Metals launched its new Water stewardship framework Tuesday as Ross Hamilton, ICMM director for environment and climate change, presented the framework at the United Nations CEO Water Mandate meeting in Lima, Peru.

“Water is one of the most significant issues facing the mining and metals industry,” Hamilton said. “It is a critical resource not only for all of our members’ operations but also for other industries, communities and the natural environment.

ICMM’s Water stewardship framework is built around four key elements including: be transparent and accountable’ engage proactively and inclusively; adopt a catchment-based approach; and effective water resource management.

The Water stewardship framework outlines a standardized approach for the mining and metals industry, “recognizing that water connects an operation to the surrounding landscape and communities,” said the ICMM.

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