International Media Resource Articles – Page 757

COLUMN-Uncertainty the only certainty with Indonesia mineral export ban – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – January 9, 2014)

January 9, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

Jan 9 (Reuters) – The key point with any laws or regulations is not that they are on the statute book, it’s whether they are applied and enforced, and this will be the case with Indonesia’s ban on metal ore exports.

As is often the case with Indonesia and government policy, the only certainty is uncertainty and whether the prohibition on exporting unrefined ores goes ahead, and in what form, is far from clear.

In the case that the ban goes ahead as planned from Jan. 12, it seems likely that nickel ore and bauxite, with a value of up to an annual $2 billion will be the hardest hit. Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of nickel ore and supplies about two-thirds of top buyer China’s imported bauxite.

But Indonesia’s mining ministry is seeking to pass regulations to ease the ban and phase in the requirements for domestic processing over a longer period of time. The proposal recommends that raw mineral ores can be exported until 2017, after which all would have to undergo domestic processing.

Zimbabwe: Honeymoon Over for Miners – by Martin Kadzere (All Africa.com – January 8, 2014)

January 9, 2014

http://allafrica.com/

GOVERNMENT has invited mining firms to submit, by Saturday next week, proposals for the establishment of beneficiation facilities as the deadline to ban exports of raw platinum concentrates approaches. The Government gave existing platinum miners two years at the beginning of last year to set up a refinery, but there has been no meaningful progress.

The two years end in December this year, and thereafter, exportation of raw platinum concentrate will be banned. Producers of base metals, mainly nickel and chrome, are also expected to make their proposals.

The settler regime banned exports of base metal ores and concentrates and insisted that all chrome, nickel and copper was refined to at least high intermediate levels in the country.

Chrome was normally refined into bars of ferrochrome, while copper was refined to very high levels of purity during that time. The refineries later closed. In the meantime, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa proposed that companies be levied 15 percent on exports of raw platinum with effect from January 1 this year.

1913 tragedy still resonates – by by Bill Lueders (Wisconsin Watch.org – December 17, 2013)

January 9, 2014

http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/

On Dec. 24, 1913, striking mine workers gathered with their families for a Christmas party at Italian Hall in Calumet, Mich. A man wearing a pin for a citizens group aligned with the mining companies entered the crowded second-floor room and shouted “Fire!”

Frightened partygoers rushed to the exit and tumbled down the stairs, on top of fallen others. Seventy-three people, including about 60 children, were killed. The community scrambled to find enough tiny caskets.
No one was ever charged for causing these deaths. A full century later, the event still haunts the Copper Country of the Upper Peninsula.

“I’ve gotten death threats,” relates Steve Lehto, a Michigan attorney who has written extensively on the tragedy. “I’ve been assaulted — literally — at book signings. I’ve had people come up to me and start screaming.”

Lehto understands and even sympathizes with such reactions, which he believes played into the decision to raze Italian Hall in 1984. The community just wants to forget; his duty as a historian is to not let that happen. “This is too important a story,” he says.

Global Gold Rush: The Price of Mining Pursuits On The Water Supply – by Codi Yeager-Kozacek (Circle of Blue – June 15, 2012)

January 9, 2014

http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/

Editor’s Note: While this posting is somewhat dated, it is definitely worth a read!

Circle of Blue, founded in 2002 and based in Traverse City, Michigan, is a non-profit affiliate of the Pacific Institute, and the premier news organization in the world covering freshwater issues

Water supplies remain key to the global boom in gold mining, driven by high demand and near-record prices.

Driven by historically high gold prices and increased interest from foreign investors, mining boomtowns are springing up all over the world and wreaking a rising toll on water resources and the environment. Many places where new mines are being opened and old ones expanded, local authorities and residents are reporting mounting evidence of severe water pollution from gold mining, which has intensified due to a nearly 50 percent per year increase in mining exploration budgets over the past two years.

In Romania, billions of Euros and thousands of jobs — a boon for an economically depressed region — are being weighed against the environmental impact of what would be Europe’s largest open-cast gold mine. In South Africa, the world’s fifth-largest gold producer, the government is struggling to deal with pollution from acid mine drainage and hundreds of tailings dams.

Rio Tinto’s Michigan Nickel Mine Introduces Citizen Water Quality Testing Program – by Codi Kozacek (Circle of Blue – January 8, 2014)

January 9, 2014January 8, 2014

http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/

Circle of Blue, founded in 2002 and based in Traverse City, Michigan, is a non-profit affiliate of the Pacific Institute, and the premier news organization in the world covering freshwater issues

Scheduled to begin production of nickel and copper next year, the Eagle Mine is the first new hard rock mine to open in northern Michigan’s Copper Country in decades. It’s so new that Chevy pickups need Kevlar tires to prevent blowouts on the sharp edges of stones not yet worn by mine traffic.

Puncture-proof tires, though, are hardly the only distinctions that separate the Eagle Mine from others in Michigan or across the United States. Two years ago, Rio Tinto, the mine’s developer, made an unusual proposition to the nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Trust, a local environmental organization.

Upended by a decade of civic protest over opening the Eagle Mine in the ecologically sensitive Yellow Dog Plains, the London-based mining company, which operates all over the world, wanted to try something very different in Michigan’s wild and water-rich Upper Peninsula. It offered to fund the Watershed Partnership to monitor environmental parameters, like water and air quality.

Yesterday’s Top Story – U.S. mining death toll surges with metal/nonmetals losses–MSHA – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – January 7, 2014)

January 8, 2014

http://www.mineweb.com/

Machinery and powered haulage equipment were the most common causes of accidents for both coal and metal/nonmetal operations in 2013, MSHA reported.

RENO (MINEWEB.COM) – Preliminary data released by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said 42 miners died in work related accidents at U.S. mines last year, up from 36 mining fatalities in 2012.

While mining deaths were at a record low rate for the first nine months of last year, six coal miners and nine metal/nonmetal miners died in mining accidents during the fourth-quarter 2013, a significant increase from the same period of 2012 when four coal miners and two metal/nonmetal miners died.

In 2013 there were 20 coal mining and 22 metal/nonmetal mining fatalities, compared with 20 coal mining deaths and 16 metal/nonmetal mining deals in 2012. Four mining deaths in 2013 involved contractors (two each in coal and metal/nonmetal), the lowest number of contractors deaths since MSHA began maintaining contractor data in 1983.

For metal/nonmetal mining, 17 deaths occurred at surface operations, while five deaths occurred underground in 2013. Fourteen coal mining deaths occurred underground and six were reported at surface operations during the same time period, said MSHA.

UPDATE 3-Indonesia’s mining ministry looks to ease mineral export ban – by Wilda Asmarini and Fergus Jensen (Reuters U.S. – January 8, 2014)

January 8, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Jan 8 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s mining ministry sought to ease a controversial mineral export ban before its Sunday deadline, but still looked set to prohibit more than $2 billion worth of annual nickel ore and bauxite shipments.

Indonesian government officials are scrambling to pass regulations to ease a ban on unprocessed mineral ore exports from Jan. 12.

The ban aims to boost Indonesia’s long-term return from its mineral wealth, but officials fear a short-term cut in foreign revenue could widen the current account deficit, which has undermined investor confidence and battered the rupiah.

“The (mining) ministry proposed that miners will be given flexibility to export concentrate or processed minerals until 2017,” Sukhyar, director general of coal and minerals at the ministry, told reporters.

“After 2017, they will only be allowed to export metal or refined mineral,” he said. The mineral ban is one of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s biggest economic policy moves in his nearly 10 years in office.

China approves massive new coal capacity despite pollution fears – by David Stanway (Reuters U.S. – January 7, 2014)

January 8, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

BEIJING, Jan 8 (Reuters) – China approved the construction of more than 100 million tonnes of new coal production capacity in 2013 – six times more than a year earlier and equal to 10 percent of U.S. annual usage – flying in the face of plans to tackle choking air pollution.

The scale of the increase, which only includes major mines, reflects Beijing’s aim to put 860 million tonnes of new coal production capacity into operation over the five years to 2015, more than the entire annual output of India.

While efforts to curb pollution mean coal’s share of the country’s energy mix is set to dip, the total amount of the cheap and plentiful fuel burned will still rise.

According to data compiled by Reuters, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top planning authority, approved the construction of 15 new large-scale coal mines with 101.3 million tonnes of annual capacity in 2013.

“Given that China’s total energy consumption is still growing along with the economy, then coal production will continue to grow,” said Helen Lau, senior commodities analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.

VIDEO: 74-year-old labor film about lead, zinc mining joins National Film Registry – by Wally Kennedy and Andy Ostmeyer (Joplin Globe – January 7, 2014)

April 5, 2015January 8, 2014

http://www.joplinglobe.com/ [Missouri, U.S.A.]

CARTHAGE, Mo. — A 74-year-old labor film that kicked open a hornet’s nest in the Tri-State Mining District when it was released in 1940 is among 25 films chosen recently for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

“Men and Dust” was produced and directed by Lee Dick, a pioneer in documentary filmmaking, and was written and shot by her husband, Sheldon Dick. The couple examined conditions in the lead and zinc mines, and silicosis among miners and their family members. Much of the film was shot at Picher, Okla.

The Library of Congress adds 25 films to the National Film Registry every year. They are chosen for their “great cultural, historic or aesthetic significance.” Films added in 2013, along with “Men and Dust,” include “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Pulp Fiction” and “The Quiet Man.”

SA platinum market to remain uncertain during 2014 – by Leandi Kolver (MiningWeekly.com – January 7, 2014)

January 8, 2014

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African platinum market is expected to remain unpredictable during 2014, but might not be as volatile as it was in 2013, Deloitte associate director Dr Jacek Guzek said on Tuesday.

He stated that the major issues, which kept the industry in crisis over the past two years, such as the unchanged platinum group metals (PGMs) basket price and the ever-increasing wage bill, still persisted.

“South African production in 2014 is either going to stagnate or decrease further. The platinum industry is in crisis for a second year going and there is no end in sight,” Guzek told Mining Weekly Online.

He explained that the industry crisis impacted negatively on production as it led to the systemic holding back of expansion capital by junior and major PGM producers, while, simultaneously, existing mines were becoming older, deeper and more difficult to mine.

Guzek added that the country would also still be faced with labour issues during the course of the year.

How Peru Could Survive The End Of The Commodities Supercycle – by David Gacs (Business Insider – January 7, 2014)

January 8, 2014

http://www.businessinsider.com/

With a mere 30 million people living within its borders, Peru is only slightly larger than the state of Texas. But as the world’s third-largest producer of both copper and zinc and its sixth-largest source of gold, the country enjoyed an outsized benefit from a cresting wave in global commodities markets over the last decade. Between 2002 and 2012, as the price of most commodities soared, Peru’s average annual GDP growth rate was 6.4 percent. As recently as 2010, the Latin American country’s GDP expanded by 8.8 percent, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

But the commodities “supercycle” ended in 2013 and seems set to retreat further in the rear-view mirror. The average price of gold in 2012 was $1,699 an ounce, but Credit Suisse commodities analysts say the 2013 year-end average was some 16 percent lower at $1,421 per ounce. Copper prices have fallen sharply too, from $7,971 a ton on average in 2012 to $7,349 this year – a 7.8 percent drop. It’s been quite the precipitous decline: Copper was selling for more than $9,000 a ton in 2010. Mining investment in another major commodities exporter, Australia, has already peaked, prompting a great deal of discussion about how to rebalance the economy.

But though Peru, too, needs to think about diversifying its economy, the situation is different – not least because there is still plenty of mining investment in the pipeline. Credit Suisse analysts and other observers believe resource-rich Peru’s strong domestic economy and healthy public finances should ensure a relatively soft landing.

Analysis – Social media empowers anti-mining activists – by Allison Martell and Ioana Patran (Reuters U.K. – January 7, 2014)

January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

http://uk.reuters.com/

TORONTO/BUCHAREST – (Reuters) – Facebook and other social networks are making it easier for anti-mining activists to derail projects, helping them get their message out and organize more quickly against an industry that is already struggling with high costs and volatile prices.

From Romania to Peru to Canada, protest movements have disrupted projects in recent years, in part because activists have harnessed the power of social media and mobile technology, parties on both sides of the disputes say.

Civil unrest can spell disaster for mining projects at any stage, even after billions have been invested. That is not new. What has changed is activists’ ability to mobilize, a trend that echoes political upheavals that social media have helped fuel across the Middle East and North Africa.

The saga of Rosia Montana, the Romanian region where Canada’s Gabriel Resources Ltd wants to build Europe’s biggest open-pit gold mine, offers a clear illustration of how social media has shifted the balance of power. Gabriel’s push to get the project approved suffered a series of setbacks in the autumn after activists used Facebook to organize demonstrations across the country.

UPDATE 2-Indonesia mineral export ban uncertainty starts to bite – by Fergus Jensen and Wilda Asmarini (Reuters U.S. – January 7, 2014)

January 7, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Jan 7 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s planned mineral export ban – a policy designed to force miners to process their ores domestically – is sending shudders through the economy, with a Singapore-owned nickel miner suspending operations ahead of the Jan. 12 ban.

Indonesia is the world’s top exporter of nickel ore, thermal coal and refined tin, but also has significant exports of iron ore and bauxite, both of which are likely to be stopped after Sunday.

An increase in shipments of processed minerals would bolster the country’s foreign revenue and help narrow a current account deficit, which has undermined investor confidence and battered the rupiah.

However, the move has drawn protests from small mining companies, which say they can’t afford to build smelters, as well as from international majors, including U.S. giants Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining Corp .

The plan has also raised fears that export earnings could be slashed in the short term as miners scramble to meet the new regulation. Mining contributes about 12 percent of gross domestic product to Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

[Arizona Copper Mining] America’s Future Depends on Decisions We Make Today – by David F. Briggs (Tucons Citizen – January 05, 2014)

January 7, 2014

http://tucsoncitizen.com/

David F. Briggs is a resident of Pima county and a geologist, who has intermittently worked as a consultant on the Rosemont Copper project since 2006.

Opponents claim the Rosemont copper project should not be allowed to be developed because most of the copper concentrates produced by this project will be exported for treatment by foreign smelters and refineries. The false premise of their argument is; “if the copper produced from Rosemont is not consumed here, this project will not benefit Americans.”

How many of you know that most of the copper-bearing materials collected at domestic recycling centers are also shipped to foreign facilities for treatment because the United States no longer has the capacity to treat these materials here? During 2011, recyclable materials containing 1,367,000 short tons of copper were exported to foreign countries for treatment. Most of this recyclable material (75.8%) was exported to China.

Should we also stop recycling copper because most of it is also shipped abroad for treatment? Isn’t recycling copper good for the environment?

[Montana and North Dakota] As Oil Floods Plains Towns, Crime Pours In – by Jack Healy (New York Times – November 30, 2013)

January 7, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/

SIDNEY, Mont. — One cold morning last year, a math teacher jogging through her hometown in eastern Montana was abducted, strangled and buried in a shallow grave. Charged in her death were two drifters from Colorado, drawn to the region by the allure of easy money in the oil fields.

One hundred fifty miles away, in a bustling oil town in North Dakota, a 30-year-old man disappeared one afternoon from the street where he had been putting in water and sewer pipes, leaving behind a lunchbox with his paycheck inside and a family grasping for answers. After months of searching, his mother said she now believes her son is gone, buried somewhere on the high plain.

Stories like these, once rare, have become as common as drilling rigs in rural towns at the heart of one of the nation’s richest oil booms. Crime has soared as thousands of workers and rivers of cash have flowed into towns, straining police departments and shattering residents’ sense of safety.

“It just feels like the modern-day Wild West,” said Sgt. Kylan Klauzer, an investigator in Dickinson, in western North Dakota. The Dickinson police handled 41 violent crimes last year, up from seven only five years ago.