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REUTERS SUMMIT/-Polish entrepreneurs come of age with global acquisitions – by Christian Lowe and Marcin Goclowski (Reuters India – September 27, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

WARSAW, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Polish companies are buying into foreign markets long dominated by Western multinationals, driven by growth at home and a hunger to prove they are no longer Europe’s poor relations.

Twenty-four years after Communist rule ended in Poland, its companies now have the scale, knowledge and self-belief to expand abroad, chief executives and government officials said at a Reuters Eastern Europe Investment Summit this week.

“We are building our economic power as a country,” said Zbigniew Jagiello, chief executive of PKO BP, Poland’s biggest bank. “I hope that … before 2025 we’ll see a Polish company which will be a multinational, known worldwide.”

Two or three years ago Polish firms had almost no significant presence abroad. Executives from Canadian firm Quadra FNX recalled that when Polish copper miner KGHM approached them about a takeover, they had never heard of the Polish firm and doubted they were serious. Since then, there has been a run of foreign acquisitions, and there are more on the way.

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South Africa, Sweden to bolster mining relations – by Chantelle Kotze (MiningWeekly.com – September 26, 2013)

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – While there are differences between the mining industries in South Africa and Sweden, mining forms the backbone of both countries’ economies and, therefore, knowledge-sharing in this field can be of great importance in terms of developing a better understanding of safety, skills and sustainability challenges in their respective mining environments.

This was highlighted by Ambassador of Sweden to South Africa Anders Hagelberg, at the Safety, Skills and Sustainability in Mining conference, in Johannesburg, on Thursday. The conference focused on how the efforts to improve safety, develop skills, facilitate longevity and sustainability, as well as increase profitability and efficiency in the mining sector.

It aimed to foster profitable and sustainable business, lower accident rates, better occupational health, lower environmental impact, positive social impact and technology, leadership and methodology sharing between the two countries.

The conference also marked the establishment of the Swedish–Southern African Mining Initiative, which aims to create a platform for knowledge sharing and networking between Swedish and South African mining role-players.

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The floodgates open: Anglo-American settles mineworkers’ silicosis claims – by Rebecca Davis (Daily Maverick/South Africa – September 26, 2013)

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

On Wednesday it was announced that Anglo-American South Africa would pay 23 former mineworkers undisclosed amounts to settle claims brought against the company after the workers contracted silicosis. The mining house remains adamant that this is not an admission of liability. But lawyers for the mineworkers are hopeful that the settlement may pave the way for payouts for silicosis victims across the industry.

Silicosis is a lung disorder caused by inhaling bits of silica, a mineral found in sand and rocks, over an extended period of time. Silica dust particles can make tiny cuts on the lungs, creating scar tissue which makes it more difficult to breathe. It’s a progressive condition, and sometimes it can come on up to ten years after exposure to silica. People who are most at risk for developing the condition are those who work with sand, rock or quartz, in industries like construction, demolition, or mining.

The South African government has recognised the problem of silicosis and committed to “significantly” reducing its prevalence by 2015 and eliminating it entirely by 2030. It’s a particular public health issue in South Africa because exposure to silica dust increases the risk of TB.

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Commodities ‘Super Cycle’ Is Seen Enduring by McKinsey – by Joe Richter (Bloomberg News – September 25, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Commodity supply constraints and demand from emerging markets mean it’s premature to talk about the death of the super cycle that brought a longer-than-average period of rising prices, McKinsey & Co. said.

Energy, metal and agricultural prices that more than doubled since 2000 are still close to highs reached before the financial crisis, even after commodities from gold to wheat dropped into bear markets, McKinsey said in a report today.

The surge in raw-material output in the past two years and signs of cooling economic growth in China, the world’s biggest consumer of everything from cotton to zinc, prompted Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. to say the super cycle ended. McKinsey said producers are being forced deeper into remote areas to secure supplies that require increasingly sophisticated technology to extract as consumption expands.

“When we look forward, we see a separation between new technology and productivity on the one hand, and emerging-market demand and supply constraints on the other,” Fraser Thompson, a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, said in a telephone interview from London. “We don’t want to bet against technology, but what we think often gets overlooked is the scale of the challenge we’re facing.”

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Lawmaker’s view: PolyMet will revitalize Iron Range – by Senator Dave Brown (Duluth News Tribune – September 26, 2013)

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour the proposed PolyMet mine site near Hoyt Lakes. PolyMet would like to reopen a former taconite mine for copper and nickel. Not knowing much about the mining industry in general, I was curious about the new jobs, tax revenue and other opportunities that could be generated for the state.

The staff members at PolyMet are lifelong Iron Rangers proud of their northern Minnesota mining heritage. They are avid outdoors enthusiasts who enjoy hunting, fishing and frequent trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. PolyMet has put together an experienced mining staff with strong and loyal employees who represent the best of Minnesota.

Refurbishing the PolyMet site will cost about $475 million and take about 2 million working hours. This is about the same as building Target Field, the new baseball stadium in Minneapolis. New jobs will be for carpenters, laborers, operating engineers and teamsters. Once the buildings and equipment are repaired and refurbished, the plant will have about 360 jobs that will pay $26 to $32 per hour year-round, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Over the 20-year life of this proposed project, it is estimated to generate $720 million in wages and benefits, $300 million in state and local government taxes and $10.3 billion for St. Louis County.

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Junior mining company financial outlook still bearish – MRG Survey – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – September 26, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

A Mining Recruitment Group survey revealed that mining executives still think gold will shine the brightest in terms of the great commodities gains over the next three years.

RENO (MINEWEB) – Mining executives surveyed by the Mining Recruitment Group still think the next six to 12 months will be bleak although fewer now have a bearish view as to the overall strength of the mining industry over the short term.

Of the 162 responses gathered for the MRG Mining Survey for the fourth-quarter of this year, executives seem to be getting more upbeat about the longer term (three-year view) of the mining sector. The survey found that 74% of executives hold a bullish outlook, compared to 64% of those surveyed for the third quarter.

“With the remaining executives holding a neutral outlook over a 3-year time-frame it is evident that in the minds’ eye of executives the fundamentals of the sector are still very much intact,” said Andrew Pollard, MRG president. Gold still glitters for 74% of those surveyed as executives think the commodity will see the greatest gains over the next three years, followed by 64% who expect to see a massive appreciation in copper, while silver rounded out the top three at 53%.

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COLUMN-Unloved uranium may shine as longer-term bet – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – September 26, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

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

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Sept 26 (Reuters) – It would be hard to find a natural resource less liked than uranium, but the radioactive fuel may just be the place for contrarian investors.

It’s not hard to see why uranium isn’t popular with swathes of the world’s public, given the high-profile disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after a major earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in March 2011.

Uranium prices, both spot and New York futures , plunged after the Fukushima meltdown and have stayed depressed as countries such as Germany backed away from nuclear power amid rising public mistrust. Spot uranium is around $35 a pound, less than half of what it was before Fukushima and about a quarter of the all-time high reached in the middle of 2007.

Given that all of Japan’s 50 reactors are offline and Fukushima is once again in the news over the problem of the build-up and leaking of contaminated water, it hardly seems the right time to turn bullish on uranium.

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Economists duel over benefits of Arizona copper mine – by Mike Sunnucks (Phoenix Business Journal – September 25, 2013)

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/

A new economic study pours water on the projected benefits of a huge proposed copper mine 60 miles east of Phoenix.
But the authors of a previous study, commissioned by the multinational companies proposing the mine, are sticking by their more ambitious projections.

The competing studies look at the proposed Resolution Copper Mine in Superior. The mine would be one of the largest in the world and is proposed by U.K.-based Rio Tinto PLC and Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. The two companies are among the largest copper miners in the world.

The San Carlos Apache Tribe — which opposes the mine — commissioned a new study by University of Montana economist Thomas Power and his firm Power Consulting Inc. The study takes issue with a 2011 study commissioned by Resolution Copper Co. and conducted by Scottsdale-based Elliott D. Pollack & Co.

Resolution Copper is the company formed by BHP and Rio Tinto to develop the mine. The Pollack study projects the mine will create 3,719 jobs statewide worth $220.5 million in annual wages. That includes 1,429 direct mining jobs for the mine.

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Anglo American SA reaches settlement with silicosis-stricken miners – by Agency Staff (Business Day – September 25, 2013)

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

A SETTLEMENT between Anglo American South Africa and former miners who had contracted silicosis while working for the company benefited all parties, the company said on Wednesday.

“Anglo American South Africa announces that it has concluded an agreement which resolves fully and finally 23 stand-alone silicosis claims, instituted against it between 2004 and 2009,” the company said in a statement. “The settlement has been reached without admission of liability by Anglo American South Africa and the terms of the agreement remain confidential.”

The case was brought by 23 miners, 18 of whom had worked at Anglo’s President Steyn mine in the Free State. They claimed they contracted silicosis and silico-tuberculosis while working for the company up to 1998.

Anglo American South Africa executive director Khanyisile Kweyama said: “Anglo American South Africa believes that agreeing to settle this long-standing litigation is in the best interests of the plaintiffs, their families, Anglo American South Africa and its wider stakeholders.

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Global Witness’ Latest Silly Suggestion About Conflict Minerals – by Tim Worstall (Forbes Magazine – September 24, 2013)

http://www.forbes.com/

There are times when the actions of do-gooders makes me want to kneel down and weep bitter tears of pain. One such is the latest proposal from Global Witness on the subject of conflict minerals. They’ve decided that one particular program, one massively expensive and destructive of human wealth, should not be curtailed, adjusted or made more efficient: no, they’ve decided that it should be expanded. Forgive me for having rather strong views on this but it’s all happening in a corner of my working world and I can see what they’re doing wrong.

The background is over the use of conflict minerals in the supply chain. Conflict minerals are those coming from war torn areas of the world and it’s most certainly true that we’d like everyone to stop using minerals mined using slave labour, rape to keep people in line, minerals where the profits go to feed the armed gangs that control those mining areas. I agree with this aim and desire: it’s the methods proposed to achieve this goal that are so dire that they cause that pain in me.

For the latest suggestion is that the European Union should bring in regulations similar to those in Dodd Frank. This would require all companies to investigate their supply chains and thus check on whether they, or any of their suppliers, are using said conflict minerals. The problem with this being that this is a vastly expensive method of reaching this mutually desired goal.

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Vale CEO says Batista’s MMX must honor railway deal – by Sabrina Lorenzi (Reuters India – September 24, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL – (Reuters) – MMX, a mining company controlled by Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista, should honor a contract to pay Brazil’s MRS railway for iron ore shipments even if its mines are not ready to produce, Vale SA (VALE5.SA) Chief Executive Murilo Ferreira said on Tuesday.

MMX Mineração e Metálicos SA (MMXM3.SA) has a take-or-pay contract with the MRS Logística SA (MRSA3B.SO) railway to ship 36 million tonnes of iron ore a year through 2026 at 26.46 reais ($12.03) a tonne. The iron ore was to be shipped from MMX mines in Minas Gerais state to MMX’s Sudeste Port near Rio de Janeiro.

The contract states MMX must pay for at least 80 percent of the total contracted volume starting in 2017 whether it actually ships the iron ore or not, according to MMX’s website.

Vale owns 38 percent of MRS’s voting stock and 42 percent of its total capital, making the Rio de Janeiro-based miner the railway’s largest shareholder.

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Anglo American pulls out; is it because we’re crazy? – by Paul Jenkins (Anchorage Daily News – September 22, 2013)

http://www.adn.com/

British mining giant Anglo American’s abandoning the complicated, expensive and grindingly slow slog to develop the rich Pebble prospect in Southwest Alaska is understandable — but you have to wonder how it must appear to other businesses and industries considering investments in Alaska.

Anglo American, which poured more than $541 million into the Pebble effort, points to its deep backlog of projects waiting for development. It says it is looking at higher-value, lower-risk undertakings, planning to cut by a third the nearly $950 million it spends annually on keeping afloat pre-approval stage, complicated, from-scratch projects such as Pebble.

All that may be a dodge, a way of saying Anglo American could see the handwriting on the wall and grew weary of trying to win anything resembling a fair hearing for Pebble in Alaska. With the Environmental Protection Agency poised, if not panting, to block Pebble ostensibly to protect Bristol Bay salmon — based, mind you, on an assessment that could not even pass muster with its own peer review panel — the $300 billion project’s future must have seemed sketchy.

It is notable that Anglo American did not sell, likely because there were no takers in the current environmental and regulatory atmosphere. It simply folded its cards and opted to eat a $300 million post-tax penalty for pulling out.

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The gold rush for commodities isn’t over yet, despite claims the super-cycle is dead – by Christopher Silvester (Spear’s.com – September 24 2013)

http://www.spearswms.com/

Demand from governments and private investors for gold and other commodities suggests that, contrary to popular opinion, the latest super-cycle has plenty of life left in it

WE’VE BEEN HERE before, haven’t we? Perhaps the clamour of Cassandra-like voices was not so great in 2011 when Spear’s previously wrote about the supposedly imminent demise of the commodities super-cycle, but it was nonetheless already a clamour. The past nine months or so have heard that clamour amplified several times over.

The Financial Times declared that the super-cycle was dead at the end of June, only to declare about ten days later that rumours of its death were greatly exaggerated. Most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that the broad consensus of analysts and investors has called the end of the super-cycle.

But super-cycles tend to die slowly. The first identifiable commodities super-cycle in modern times lasted from 1894 to 1932, peaking in 1917, according to academics Bilge Erten and José Antonio Ocampo. The second lasted from 1932 to 1971, peaking in 1951, and the third lasted from 1971 to 1999, peaking almost as soon as it began.

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Canadian uranium sector prepares for rising tide – by Simon Rees (MiningWeekly.com – September 20, 2013)

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

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Uranium is back on the radar for many in the Canadian investment community. At first glance, this might seem counterintuitive: effective September 2, the uranium oxide spot price stood at $34/lb, while short-term market sentiment remains muted.

But uranium marches to a different, longer-term beat. Bullish analysts and commentators highlight wider macro factors that will eventually act as key supports for output, spot prices and fixed-term supply contracts. Canada is poised to reap great rewards as the world’s second-largest producer of uranium, they argue.

However, others urge caution; long-term macro expectations have the nasty habit of falling flat, while the junior spectrum – so critical for broadening the pipeline of available projects – continues to suffer from strong economic headwinds. Then there is the question of the possible effect that Quebec’s moratorium on uranium exploration and exploitation may have.

Canada’s two main uranium producers are Cameco and Areva, and both have significant footprints in the prolific Athabasca basin region of northern Saskatchewan.

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Potash Shake-Up Takes Toll as Agrium Sees Drop in Sales – by Gerrit De Vynck (Bloomberg News – September 24, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Agrium Inc. is the latest North American potash producer to cut its sales forecast as the breakup of the world’s largest marketing bloc for the crop nutrient begins to take its toll.

Agrium, the third-largest North American producer, expects to sell 30 percent less potash in the third quarter and forecast a 64 percent drop in profit from its wholesale fertilizer division, the Calgary-based company said yesterday. U.S.-based Mosaic Co., the second-biggest producer, cut its sales forecast by about 20 percent on Sept. 16.

The two companies form an export group, Canpotex Ltd., with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., North America’s biggest producer. Potash Corp. won’t be spared the drop in demand, said Peter Prattas, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald LP in Toronto.

“They’re all going to hurt equally given the fact that they’re a collected group,” Prattas said yesterday in a telephone interview.

The potash market has been roiled since OAO Uralkali, the world’s largest producer, announced it had pulled out of an export sales venture with its Belarusian counterpart on July 30.

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