International Media Resource Articles – Page 765

Fewer junior miners in BC could help spur sector – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 17, 2013)

October 18, 2013

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Having fewer junior firms in British Columbia’s mining sector could help to breathe new life into an ailing industry segment, a group of 15 senior executives told a study commissioned by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC).

The report compiled by professional services firm KPMG and entitled ‘BC Junior Mining at a Crossroads: Executive Management’s Perspective’, found that senior mining companies should also clean up their balance sheets to increase investors’ confidence in the mining sector, after which a recovery of junior mining companies would follow.

From the start of the year to August, about 85, or 5%, of the 1 673 mining companies listed on Canada’s TSX and TSX-V failed, compared with about 6% in the oil and gas industry. These did not include companies taken off the exchanges owing to merger and acquisition activity, going-private transactions or those companies that have graduated to bigger exchanges.

Author of the Mercenary Geologist website Mickey Fulp recently told Mining Weekly Online it would take a lot of time to “wash out the bad” companies and many were, by now, merely hanging on, creating danger for the unsuspecting investor.

UPDATE 2-Outotec to cut up to 500 jobs as miners slash spending – by Ritsuko Ando (Reuters India – October 17, 2013)

October 18, 2013

http://in.reuters.com/

HELSINKI, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Finnish mining technology company Outotec lowered its full-year sales and profit margin forecasts and said it planned to cut up to 500 jobs as a sluggish global economy forces miners to rein in spending.

In a further sign of tough times for Finland’s industrial firms, its warning on Thursday came just after engineering company Metso said it faced a fall in sales and profit due to weakness in its pulp, paper and power unit.

Shares in Outotec, whose job cuts represent 10 percent of the workforce, slid 15 percent by 0930 GMT while Metso lost 6 percent.

Outotec said it was seeing delays in customer payments. One project, worth 30 million euros ($40.5 million) in its order backlog, was cancelled in September.

Mining companies have over the past year been pulling back on spending in the face of weaker prices as many boom-year projects turned sour, and many have scrapped or delayed plans.

AFRICA INVESTMENT-South Africa’s migrant mine labour conundrum – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters U.S. – October 17, 2013)

October 18, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

LUSIKISIKI, South Africa – Oct 17 (Reuters) – South Africa’s system of migrant mine labour has come under renewed scrutiny, with government and company officials blaming it for a host ills bedeviling the industry and the country, including last year’s wave of violent wildcat strikes.

But there is no easy fix for such an entrenched feature of the social fabric and the cure is proving as bad as the disease as it means job losses on a grand scale with devastating consequences for what are now called the “labour-sending areas.”

This migrant labour force, which built a gold industry that has produced a third of the bullion ever mined, was sourced from “homelands” far from the shafts where most black South Africans were forced to to eke out an existence under apartheid.

Many have also come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho and Swaziland. It generated vast profits, not least because migrants were paid bachelor wages even if they had families to feed, and controlled the movement of Africans as the workers were confined to hostels on mine property.

Friedland’s Ivanhoe pulls 90m good grade platinum metals intersection – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – October 16, 2013)

October 17, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

The latest drilling results from Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project in South Africa include a huge 90 m intersection of medium grade platinum group metals.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Readers of Mineweb may recall a recent article in which we highlighted some of the thick medium grade platinum group metals deposits currently being drilled to the north of the Bushveld Complex geological formation in South Africa, which currently is the source of over 70% of the world’s newly mined platinum output.

However, current production nearly all arises from the very narrow Merensky reef and the slightly wider, but still narrow, UG2 reef which underlies it. These reef horizons run from a few centimetres to around a little over a metre in thickness. Most of this production comes from underground mining in exceedingly difficult conditions where the narrow, shallow dipping, reef structures have proved so far to be unsuitable for significant mechanisation, meaning the operations are labour intensive, with many areas becoming uneconomic to mine at current platinum prices.

Quo vadis Amplats, Griffith & Cutifani’s Anglo? – by David McKay (Miningmx.com – October 16, 2013)

October 16, 2013

http://www.miningmx.com/

[miningmx.com] – AN analyst at Johannesburg asset management company, Stanlib, planted the idea recently that although the South African government had formally rejected mines nationalisation as policy, a subtler expression of state interference had become practice.

This is, of course, a reference to the repeated government and union interference in restructuring activities of the publicly-listed Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).

The logic is that in allowing government to dictate the final shape of its restructuring plans, Amplats had granted the state a role in its affairs as if it owned it. As a stakeholder, the state has more influence over Amplats than shareholders who finance it. That has now been extended to unions.

So it is that Amplats agreed to adjust its restructuring plans a third time falling in with demands from the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) to provide voluntary separation packages to employees identified for retrenchment, and replacing contractors with full-time employees.

Mining M&A Decline Imperils Explorers’ Aspirations – by Liezel Hill (Bloomberg News – October 15, 2013)

October 16, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Mining acquisitions valued at less than $1 billion have slumped to an eight-year low as the industry’s largest players rein in spending after a drop in commodities prices.

The slump threatens hundreds of exploration and development companies that don’t have revenue, more than half of which are based in Canada. Being bought by a larger miner is proving increasingly elusive as companies such as Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), the biggest gold producer, avoid acquisitions and new projects in favor of improving existing operations.

“Buyers are being very cautious on where they deploy capital,” said Matthew Hind, the Toronto-based head of Canadian metals and mining investment banking for Credit Suisse Group AG. “Players are in the process of re-evaluating their balance sheets and pipelines.”

There were 76 takeovers of companies in the third quarter, with a combined valuation of $1.73 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the lowest volume since the fourth quarter of 2004, the data show.

Trading ice for gold in Chile – by Sarah Tory (Santiago Times – September 22, 2013) [Part 3 of 3]

October 16, 2013

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/ [Chile]

Part III of a three-part series on Chile’s water crisis: Melting glaciers in the Andes have dire implications and may prove a robust obstacle to future economic growth.

t the 1992 world fair in Seville, Spain, Chile’s pavilion featured a large iceberg. Some 100 tons of ice — the equivalent of 15 full-grown African elephants — were extracted from the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap and shipped across the Atlantic where they were conserved for six months during the European summer.

To the newly democratic government, the spectacle was meant to symbolize Chile’s emergence as Latin America’s success story, ready to take its place on the world stage. It was also a telling symbol of what drove Chile’s surging economy: a frenzy of digging, cutting and exporting from copper mines in the North to logging in the South.

More than two decades later, the symbol of Chile’s growth is more relevant than ever. With dwindling reserves and growing water shortages, the country’s copper mines — its economic backbone — are being squeezed by two opposing forces: financial pressure to expand and concern over environmental impacts. Now the model that was once hailed as the emblem of Chile’s success is beginning to look as unstable as a massive chunk of ice plunked down under the Mediterranean heat.

As reservoirs shrink and farms expand, Chile’s agriculture at risk – by Rosalind Adams and Sarah Tory (Santiago Times – September 1, 2013) [Part 2 of 3]

October 16, 2013

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/ [Chile]

Part II of a three-part series on Chile’s water crisis: A combination of severe drought, climate change and overuse leaves farmers struggling to compete for a dwindling resource.

Last year the river in Petorca ran dry, leaving a dusty brown ditch running through the once fertile valley in Chile’s Valparaíso Region, home to 40 percent of the country’s avocado production.

The area, forming part of the “norte-chico” zone that starts north of Santiago and runs all the way to the southern edge of the Atacama Desert, contains some of Chile’s most important agriculture pockets. It’s also one of the driest parts of the country.

Here, almost all the rain falls over a short three month period from June to August. Over the last decade, though, the rainy season has delivered only the occasional shower. That has left the farmland in the North thirstier than ever.

In the province of Petorca, currently in the midst of a seven-year dry spell, reports of widespread “water robbing” have emerged as desperate farmers construct illegal wells to access what little remains of the water available in underground aquifers.

In Chile’s dry north, big mining threatens a vital resource – by Rosalind Adams and Sarah Tory (Santiago Times – August 24, 2013) [Part 1 of 3]

October 16, 2013

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/ [Chile]

Part I of a three-part series on Chile’s water crisis: Amid a growing water shortage, the Huasco Valley struggles to find a balance between mining and agriculture.

Deep in Chile’s Atacama Region, Sandra Anacona makes jam from the apricots and peaches that grow on her two-acre farm, land that has been in her husband’s family for six generations. Her face wrinkled into a permanent smile, she shuffles around the kitchen preparing meals and piping-hot cups of Nescafé for the endless parade of neighbors and family who show up at her dining table.

In the Valle del Huasco, these family-run farms, clustered around small pueblos like Alto del Carmen and San Félix, are permanent fixtures: ask for directions, and people give names instead of addresses — testament to a lifestyle that has changed little in 200 years.

Formed by the river snaking between Andean peaks, the Valle del Huasco appears like a ribbon of green in one of the driest places on Earth. Defying the surrounding desert, acres of pisco grapes grow, along with mangos, oranges, papayas and avocados.

Australia’s iron ore miners shrug off glut fears – by James Regan (Mineweb.com – October 15, 2013)

October 15, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

Rio Tinto upped annualised output of the steel-making raw material by 20% in October, while BHP Billiton and Fortescue Mining are in the midst of robust expansion work.

SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Australia’s “big three” iron ore miners are set to unveil a boost in third-quarter production and will mine even more in the fourth quarter, ignoring forecasts of a looming supply glut in favour of capturing greater economies of scale.

Rio Tinto this month upped annualised output of the steel-making raw material by 20 percent to 290 million tonnes, while BHP Billiton and Fortescue Mining are in the midst of robust expansion work.

All three already mine ore at costs well below selling prices — thanks to a combination of rich grades and high volumes — and see any dip in prices as simply weeding out less competitive rivals.

Rio Tinto, which is set to post a 3 percent rise in third-quarter output against the previous quarter to 53 million tonnes on Tuesday, is expected to announce a further mine expansion to 360 million tonnes a year by a Dec. 3 meeting with investors.

Copper Supply Glut Seen Tripling as Prices Sink 10%: Commodities – by Nicholas Larkin, Agnieszka Troszkiewicz & Maria Kolesnikova (Bloomberg News – October 14, 2013)

October 15, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The worldwide glut of copper supply is poised to almost triple in 2014, driving prices to the lowest in at least three years at a time when the International Monetary Fund says economic growth will be weaker than forecast.

The surplus will reach a 13-year high of 272,000 metric tons, according to data from Barclays Plc and the International Copper Study Group in Lisbon. Codelco and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Copper & Gold Inc., the biggest producers, are among those scheduled to add supply next year. The metal will drop as low as $6,450 a ton in 2014, or 10 percent less than last week’s close, the median of 22 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows.

New mines or expansions to existing pits from Mongolia to Indonesia to Chile will boost output as producers respond to prices that more than tripled in the past decade. Shortages occurred in seven of the past 10 years as the Chinese economy expanded almost sixfold. Mining companies are finally catching up just as growth in China, the world’s second-largest economy and consumer of two in every five tons, is projected to be the lowest in almost a quarter century.

Friedland talks up platinum, the creation of a ‘Platinum Valley’ in Limpopo – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 11, 2013)

October 15, 2013

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Outpsoken financier and mining guru Robert Friedland is poised to make history in South Africa, as he envisions the creation of a ‘Platinum Valley’ in the platinum-rich Limpopo province that would be synonymous to hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing, as California’s Silicon Valley is to technology.

Addressing the Canada-Southern Africa Chamber of Business on Thursday evening, Friedland said the rise of megacities around the globe would drive metals demand up, not only for growing infrastructure, but also in achieving cleaner air, especially within the automobile industry.

Friedland, who also is the executive chairperson of Africa-focused project developer Ivanhoe Mines, formerly known as Ivanplats, said the rise of the hydrogen fuel cell-powered car is about to change the global platinum landscape forever.

He said he had it on good authority that Japan-based automaker Toyota will launch the world’s first commercially available hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars in November, which, according to him, would be a game changer for South Africa.

Legislation to protect Chile’s glaciers and water supplies worries important mining industry – by Associated Press (Washington Post – October 09, 2013)

October 15, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

SANTIAGO, Chile — Just how to define a glacier is at the heart of a Chilean congressional battle that could determine the future of mining in the world’s largest copper-producing country.

The revival of legislation to ban mining in glacial areas is spawning debate among miners, farmers and environmentalists about how to protect both vital water supplies and Chile’s mining industry. If the bill passes, mining experts fear it could shutter multibillion-dollar mining projects and slow investment.

The key will be in the fine print of whether the final bill defines glaciers as including frozen areas around them, too, and whether the protections would apply retroactively to mines already operating next to glaciers.

“If it passes as a law with tough conditions, it could harm not only the operation of current projects but also future projects,” said Juan Carlos Guajardo, head of the Chilean mining think tank CESCO. “Depending on the conditions, the scenarios would make mining activity very difficult in high mountain areas.”

Water shortage threatens mining – by Lucky Biyase (Business Day – October 13, 2013)

October 15, 2013

http://www.bdlive.co.za/ [South Africa]

TROUBLED mining companies in the Rustenburg platinum belt are facing another crisis — drought.

This may add to problems besetting companies trapped in the middle of rivalry between the National Union of Mineworkers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union.

The water affairs department and North West’s provincial government have both warned of a drought in the mineral-rich province.

South Africa supplies nearly 60% of the world’s platinum and rhodium and 30% of palladium. The department has warned mining companies, among them Glencore, Anglo American and Lonmin, to restrict water use.

Lonmin’s executive vice-president for process and sustainability, Natascha Viljoen, said: “We are working with the Madibeng local municipality to explore opportunities to re-use water. Our current external source of water is Rand Water and the Buffelspoort canal scheme, and the rest is internal.”