International Media Resource Articles – Page 769

Robert Redford: National ecological treasure in danger – by Robert Redford (U.S.A. Today – February 20, 2014)

February 24, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/

I, along with many others, have been working for years to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska, from large-scale mining. This spectacular, unspoiled landscape is home to the largest wild salmon fishery in the world. Every year tens of millions of salmon return to Bristol Bay to feed thriving commercial and sports fishing industries, as well as brown bears, whales, bald eagles and wolves. And they’re the centerpiece of sustenance and culture for Alaska Natives who have lived there for thousands of years.

Incredibly, a Canadian-based mining company wants to build a vast open-pit gold and copper mine, one of the largest in the world, in the heart of this national treasure. The operation, known as Pebble Mine, would threaten the ecosystem and salmon – the entire lifeblood of the region.

That’s why it has been crystal clear to so many of us that this misguided scheme must be stopped. And now the federal Environmental Protection Agency has provided what should be the definitive evidence that the Pebble Mine would be a disaster.

In a final assessment of the Bristol Bay watershed that took three years of extensive scientific research, peer review and public comment to produce, the agency last month found the following:

Reader’s view: Copper-nickel mining devastated Sudbury and its surroundings – by Roberta Plewa (Duluth News Tribune – February 23, 2013)

February 24, 2014

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Regarding the copper-nickel mining issue, I want to mention a bit of history I have witnessed.

In the 1940s, my father worked for the railroad, entitling families free train travel. My aunt’s family lived in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Trains traveled circuitous routes then so we passed through Sudbury, Ontario. We were aware of mining there but unconcerned. In 1965 my family and I traveled that route to visit. On the way we decided to see the “big nickel.” When we reached the hilltop I looked around and observed a nightmare. It was black as far as one could see. Nothing but black. That was the legacy of copper-nickel mining.

The publicity for and against the Range project set me to thinking. My husband Googled the words “Earth/Sudbury” and retrieved significant information. Today “Greater Sudbury,” as it is called because of its expansion, has grown and prospered due to diversification. However, the original Sudbury, in spite of 50 years of reclamation efforts, still remains devastated.

The Chamber of Commerce of Sudbury acknowledges the devastation of the past but promotes the positive surrounding area. There is no mention of outcome for the watersheds that ultimately go to Lake Huron by way of the rivers and streams. There is no mention of health issues from breathing the black dust or birth defects.

No Women on Glencore’s Board Marks Mining Imbalance: Commodities – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – February 20, 2013)

February 24, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore International Plc’s $36 billion takeover of Xstrata Plc will unite about 130,000 employees that operate in more than 40 countries. The proposed board of directors doesn’t include a single woman.

Mining lags behind every other industry, including oil and gas, in terms of gender diversity, with women occupying just 5 percent of board positions, according to a January report by Women in Mining U.K. and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Of the seven companies in the U.K.’s benchmark FTSE 100 Index with all-male boards, five are miners. Four of the world’s five biggest mining companies trade in London.

“If I chaired an all-male board I’d set to work immediately getting some women on it,” said Mark Moody-Stuart, a former chairman of both Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Anglo American Plc, whose board appointed Cynthia Carroll as its first woman chief executive officer. “I don’t think they really have much of an excuse. It’s a matter of putting thought and effort into it.”

Mining has long been seen as a male bastion, with women banned from working underground in some countries until recently. That’s being challenged by a growing skills shortage amid unprecedented demand for natural resources.

Northeast rock salt supply at critical low as more snow hits – by Victoria Cavaliere (Reuters U.S. – February 18, 2014)

February 24, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

NEW YORK – (Reuters) – Rock salt was in short supply in the U.S. Northeast on Tuesday after successive winter storms led to critical shortages in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania, while New Jersey scrambled to secure a huge shipment stuck at a port in Maine.

The shortages come as the East Coast was slammed by a third winter storm system in a single week, leaving many states over-budget for snow removal and running low on critical supplies, like rock salt, which is used to help melt ice and snow packed roads and public areas. The 40,000 tons of rock salt remained in Searsport, Maine, days after New Jersey was denied a waiver of federal shipping rules that would have allowed an available foreign-flagged vessel to bring it into a Newark port.

Instead, efforts to get the ice-melting material to New Jersey remained stymied by the 1920 Maritime Act, also known as the Jones Act, enacted to protect the American shipping industry from foreign competition.

“It’s very frustrating. We could have had that shipment here by this past weekend,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Spokesman Joe Dee. Salt supplies were running so low in the state that crews were “scraping the bottom of the barrel,” he said.

UPDATE 2-Eramet delays Indonesia mine, backs ban to help nickel – by Gus Trompiz (Reuters India – February 21, 2014)

February 21, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

PARIS, Feb 21 (Reuters) – French mining and metals company Eramet postponed its flagship nickel mine project in Indonesia on Friday citing depressed prices which it said would find support from the country’s ban on unrefined mineral exports.

Benchmark prices of nickel, mainly used in stainless steel, languished at four-year lows for much of 2013 due to global oversupply, leaving many producers operating at a loss.

Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of nickel ore, last month went ahead with a ban on shipments of unrefined metals, including the ore, boosting international prices on prospects that the global surplus would be curbed.

“We hope that this ban is going to be kept firmly in place,” chairman and chief executive Patrick Buffet said at a presentation of Eramet’s 2013 results.

“This is the factor that could bring a recovery in the nickel market within a reasonable period.” Uncertainty over policy ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections this year had contributed to Eramet’s decision to delay a final investment decision on the Weda Bay mining project, Buffet said.

COLUMN-Gold bulls hostage to uncertain China, India – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – February 20, 2014)

February 20, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Gold bulls have been tempted out of hiding by bullion’s strong start to the year, but the basis for optimism looks unsteady and largely hostage to what happens in China and India.

Spot gold has gained 8.8 percent so far this year to end Feb. 19 at $1,311.32 an ounce, recovering almost a quarter of its 28-percent loss in 2013.

The World Gold Council (WGC), which represents producers, is unsurprisingly upbeat, with Marcus Grubb, the managing director for investment, saying 2014 is going to be “much better” for gold investment and returns will be positive. Notwithstanding that the council’s job is to portray gold in a positive light, it’s worth looking at why it thinks this is the case.

It basically comes down to three factors, ongoing strong demand from China, a recovery in Indian imports as the government relaxes restrictions and an improvement in investment demand, reversing 2013’s huge outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

China became the world’s top gold consumer last year, overtaking India, with demand rising 32 percent to 1,065.8 tonnes, according to the council’s Gold Demand Trends report on Feb. 18.

How Mobile is Transforming the Energy and Natural-Resources Sector: The New Canary in the Coal Mine – by Jon Hurdle, Mark Svenvold, Sarah Wachter (The Economist Intelligence Unit – February 2014)

February 20, 2014

http://www.economistinsights.com/home

For the full report, click here: http://www.economistinsights.com/sites/default/files/EIU%20New%20canary%20in%20the%20mine%20Feb2014.pdf

Introduction

In the historically hazardous mining industry, a new generation of mobile technologies are improving health and safety, while boosting productivity, by changing how people work in mines and plants and improving communications—often without reliance on vulnerable wireless networks.

The increasing use of devices such as handhelds, laptops and tablets is promoting the automation of work processes, speeding maintenance, aiding inspections and providing workers with step-by-step procedures that are designed to maximise production and prevent accidents. Mine operators are winning these gains even though they must operate underground or at remote surface mines, where wireless connections are often limited if available at all.

Workers or supervisors following procedures loaded onto mobile devices are less dependent on instructions received via traditional communications networks such as tracking and telemetry systems, which—whether wired or wireless—are vulnerable to rock falls, explosions or other underground emergencies.

Exciting new gold mechanisation achieving more success – AngloGold – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – February 19, 2014)

February 20, 2014

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The demonstrably successful new AngloGold Ashanti gold-mining technology has produced 40 kg of gold from ore with enormously valuable gold grades of more than 200 g of gold for every ton mined.

The South African Technology, as it has been called, has so far mined only in no-go areas, which have been bypassed for conventional mining on the grounds of being excessively hazardous.

Revealing this after presenting a magnificent set of results with every metric excelling with the exception of the lagging gold price, AngloGold Ashanti CEO Srinivasan (Venkat) Venkatakrishnan told Mining Weekly Online that the company was now rolling out the technology on five sites using locally produced raise-boring equipment (also see attached video).

“We continue to invest in the South African technology piece,” he said, describing it as the “single key we have to improve productivity, which is the answer to a number of issues within the South African mining industry”.

COLUMN-Zinc and lead; beauties in the eye of the beholder? – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – February 19, 2014)

February 19, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

Feb 19 (Reuters) – Not so long ago, zinc and lead were the “ugly sisters” of the London Metal Exchange (LME) base metals suite, both burdened by consecutive years of surplus and high inventories.

The peak of the commodities super-cycle has come and gone, and you’d be hard pressed to discern its passage through the prism of these two industrial metals. With no spectacular bull runs such as seen in copper and iron ore, they went through a long, long period of largely sideways grind.

Sentiment is now changing, particularly for zinc, which is currently the “belle of the ball” on the LME. Three-month zinc was the best relative performer last year, an act it is repeating in the early part of 2014.

This turnaround in fortunes appears to be borne out by the latest figures from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG), assessing both markets as shifting to production-usage deficits in 2013. It was the first year of lead deficit since 2009 and the first year of zinc deficit since 2006. The previous sentence should probably include the word “probably”.

Australians to dig Gold Fields out of trouble at mechanised mine – by Ed Stoddard (Reuters India – February 19, 2014)

February 19, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

WESTONARIA, South Africa, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Down under the South African earth, Australian accents are leading a drive to unlock the wealth one of the world’s largest gold reserves.

Gold Fields has brought in a crack Australian engineering team to help overcome one of its most daunting challenges: ramping up production on its mechanised South Deep mine, its last and troublesome South African asset.

“With the improved operating skills that we’ll get, particularly with the Australian team, we think we can make it,” chief executive Nick Holland told journalists and analysts on Tuesday during a visit to the mine just west of Johannesburg.

He was referring to the South Deep target of full production of 700,000 ounces a year, which has been a moving one to the annoyance of investors, shifting from 2014 under previous owners to 2016 and now the end of 2017.

South Deep descends to three kms (almost two miles) and South Africa, with the world’s deepest mines, has over a century of experience when it comes to extracting ore far below the surface with a large, unskilled workforce.

BHP Billiton Half-Year Profits Rise, Led by Iron Ore – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – February 17, 2014)

February 18, 2014

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

SYDNEY–BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) said Tuesday its first-half profit rose, as it cut spending and squeezed more from assets including its vast Australian iron ore pits to offset a decline in global commodity prices.

BHP-the world’s largest mining company by output-reported a net profit of US$8.11 billion in the six months through Dec. 31, up from a profit of US$4.43 billion in the year earlier period. The result beat an average US$7.04 billion of seven analysts’ forecasts compiled by The Wall Street Journal.

Melbourne-based BHP increased its interim dividend by 3.5% to 59 U.S. cents a share, reflecting Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie’s strategy of focusing more on boosting returns for shareholders and less on costly acquisitions or funding major new projects.

Miners like BHP and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO), which invested billions of dollars in new projects over the past decade as an Asia-led boom in demand for raw materials like coal and iron ore, are being forced to overhaul their strategies as prices of those commodities fall. An economic slowdown in China-the world’s biggest buyer of commodities-and several big new mines starting up have left the world awash with too much supply.

South Africa miners’ strike to drive up platinum over time – by Ed Stoddard and Jan Harvey (Reuters U.S. – February 18, 2014)

February 18, 2014

http://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON Feb 18 (Reuters) – A face-off between platinum producers and striking miners in South Africa has had negligible impact on metals prices so far, but that is likely to change if the action grinds on past the end of the month and stocks are drawn down.

The strike by South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) against the world’s top three platinum mining companies has so far failed to ruffle traders. Platinum prices traded at around $1,422 an ounce on Tuesday, about 2 percent below its levels on the eve of the industrial action.

This is partly because the mining industry is better prepared than in 2012, when it was swept by a wave of rolling and violent illegal strikes. A spokesman for major producer Impala Platinum said last month it had enough in inventories to supply clients for six to eight weeks.

The strike began over three weeks ago when AMCU members downed tools at Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin. The two sides remain poles apart on the issue of wages, suggesting a prolonged stoppage.

COLUMN-Identical twins BHP and Rio start to differ – by Clyde Russell (Reuters India – February 18, 2014)

February 18, 2014

http://in.reuters.com/

Feb 18 (Reuters) – For the past 18 months BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have appeared like identical twins, singing the same tune on cutting back spending, controlling costs and returning more to shareholders.

The latest financial results show the world’s two biggest diversified miners are finally hitting the right notes with investors, but are diverging in style.

BHP Billiton on Tuesday posted a 31 percent rise in first-half profit to $7.76 billion, beating the median analysts’ forecast of $6.93 billion. This was achieved on the back of annualised cost savings of $4.9 billion, lower capital expenditure and higher profits from expanding iron ore output.

It was a similar story for Rio Tinto, which on Feb. 13 reported a 45 percent jump in second-half profit to $5.99 billion, exceeding the median forecast of $5.49 billion.

As with BHP, much of the boost came from cuts to capex and operating costs, with the standout performer being iron ore, which provides about 90 percent of the company’s profits.

BHP mulled leaving London and dropping dual listing – by James Chessell (Sydney Morning Herald – February 17, 2014)

February 18, 2014

http://www.smh.com.au/

Has BHP Billiton been reconsidering its dual listing on the Australian and London stock exchanges?

The official line from the world’s largest diversified resources is that no serious work has been done on collapsing the dual-listed company structure. A BHP spokewoman said: “We think this structure has worked and continues to serve shareholders well”.

Yet there are those who remain convinced that in the second half of 2013 a team was assembled to look simplifying parts of the vast $121 billion business, including the dual listings.

The project was known as “unification”, according to multiple sources, and later focused on simplifying internal processes, financial management and legal entity structures. It had the blessing of chief executive Andrew Mackenzie, who assumed the top job in May and will hand down what is expected to be a $US6.9 billion interim profit on Tuesday.

Everyone agrees that it was eventually decided that it would be too difficult to collapse the dual-listed structure.

Bickering hides our resource failure – by Ian Verrender (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – February 17, 2014)

February 18, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/thedrum/

Both sides of politics have played a direct role in the demise of Australian industry and have wasted the proceeds of the resources boom, writes Ian Verrender.

What a spectacle: The self-righteous fury and finger pointing on both sides of the political spectrum that has greeted the long, slow and ultimately unavoidable death of the domestic auto industry.

Who is to blame? Who cares? The simple fact is that the hollowing out of the Australian economy is gathering pace while our bickering leaders thrash about with no plan on how to arrest the decline of manufacturing and precious little understanding of why it has occurred.

Of even more concern, neither side will acknowledge the direct role they have played in the demise of Australian industry. Nor will they admit to squandering the proceeds of the resources boom, cynically opting to enhance their electoral prospects by delivering instant gratification to taxpayers rather than formulate any long-term plan to enrich the nation.