Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM: Mala Mahanadu has sought immediate stoppage of bauxite mining in the agency areas of the district.

Addressing a media conference here on Thursday, Mala Mahanadu district president Janga Trimurthulu said that the organisation had staged a dharna on the issue in March last year and handed over a memorandum to the district Collector seeking cancellation of the mining agreement and provision of protected drinking water to the tribals but no action was taken so far.

He demanded construction of a 300-bed super specialty hospital at Paderu, laying of roads, provision of transport and telephone facility to each and every hamlet in the agency and setting up of a mineral water plant in the agency for provision of safe drinking water to tribals.

Mr. Trimurthulu sought immediate restoration of power to the Indira Gandhi Colony slum (near Sri Kanya Theatre) and construction of pucca houses to the residents. He said that the Government has not sanctioned houses promised to SC and ST beneficiaries at Anandapuram. Though houses were constructed under Rajiv Gruhakalpa four years ago, some of the beneficiaries were not allotted them the same so far.

He demanded that no action should be taken on the categorisation of SC’s in view of the Supreme Court judgment on the issue.

He deplored the action of MRPS activists in gate crashing into the Assembly and demanded their arrest. He also demanded cancellation of G.O. no. 56.

He warned that if the demands were not met within four days, the organisation would prevail upon its members and the community to vote against the Congress Government in the ensuing elections.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/06/stories/2009020659780500.htm

“Uranium holds key to energy security”

Staff Reporter

Anil Kakodkar

KOLKATA: Theoretically, India should set up 40,000-mega watt reactors by 2020 to meet its energy requirements and become energy-independent by 2050, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said on Thursday.

Even after the most optimum use of energy resources including the available thorium and uranium reserves, “we will face an energy deficit of 400 giga watts by 2050.” One giga watt is 1,000 MW.

Dr. Kakodkar was addressing an interactive session on “Perspectives on Evolving Nuclear Power Programme” organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce here.

Energy value

Emphasising the importance of uranium import, he said: “Importing uranium has specific advantages … spent uranium has much larger energy value … it will be the source of energy that will multiply to breach the energy deficit gap in the coming years.”

Importing uranium under the international civil nuclear programme would not compromise the country’s autonomy in nuclear programmes.

“The international civil nuclear programme will be pursued without any compromise on domestic autonomy and on the pursuit of usage of nuclear energy for whatever purpose.”

Dr. Kakodkar also laid stress on the importance of thorium in the three-stage nuclear programme being pursued by the country’s scientists.

“We have one of the largest thorium resources in the world that can be used in the three-stage programme … a 300-MW thorium reactor will come up very soon … the objective of the programme is to reach a stage when the country can make full use of its thorium resources.”

Admitting that there were delays in operationalising uranium mines, Dr. Kakodkar said exploration was on and new mines were expected to start functioning soon in Karnataka and Meghalaya.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/06/stories/2009020660401200.htm

Maytas issues notice to Vedanta Aluminum

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Maytas Infra has issued a legal notice to Vendanta Aluminium for “encashing two bank guarantees worth Rs. 64 crore on January 20, 2009, and for not clearing admitted dues”.

A Maytas Infra release said here on Thursday that the bank guarantees were produced by Maytas Infra towards the contract awarded by Vedanta Aluminium to execute the construction of township for them on May 7, 2008.

Maytas Infra alleged that Vedanta had encashed the bank guarantees without even terminating the contract or establishing any breach of the terms and conditions by Maytas Infra.

The bank guarantee could be invoked only if the company provides a termination contract or establishes breach of terms and conditions.

Sudheer Mareddi, Vice-President, buildings and structures, Maytas Infra, said: “Vedanta Aluminium fraudulently encashed our bank guarantees and also did not settle our bills.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/06/stories/2009020655211500.htm

State may recommend coal block to JSPL for coal-to-liquid project

Bishnu Dash / Kolkkata/ Bhubaneswar February 06, 2009, 0:54 IST

The Orissa government may soon recommend to the Union coal ministry for allotment of coal blocks to Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.(JSPL) for the proposed coal-to-liquid (CTL) project to be implemented in the state.

The steel and mines department has sent a proposal to the chief minister Naveen Patnaik to this effect and the proposal is awaiting the chief minister’s nod, sources said.

The capacity of the CTL project will be 80,000 barrels of liquid products per day which include transport diesel, naptha, gasoline and wax. The company has entered into technical tie up with Lurgi (South Africa) and coal is proposed to be converted into gas for which ‘fixed bed dry bottom coal gasification process’ will be adopted.

The company has identified land at Kishore Nagar in Angul district to set up the project and has applied to the Orissa government for allotment of 1435 hectares of land there.While 600 hectares will be used for CTL plant, 820 hectares are earmarked for a power plant. Besides,15 hectares is proposed to be used for setting up of coal washery.

It proposes to use Low Temperature Fischer Tropsch (LTFT) technology for liquefaction, which assists in generation of higher level of diesel. JSPL intends to source water for the project from Mahanadi river. The project is expected to generate 10,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities in the state.

Initially, there were 22 bidders for the $ 8 billion project including Tata group, Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries Limited, Anil Ambani's Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, Essar Oil, JSW Steel, GMR, JSPL,Vedanta Aluminium, SAIL, Indian Oil, Sterlite Energy and Welspun.

Following a presentation made before the Planning Commission (PC) by the bidders, top 2 bidders namely Tata-Sasol and JSPL were short listed.

Sources said, JSPL is going to be the second company to secure the recommendation of the state government for allotment of coal block.

The state government last year had recommended the case of Tata-Sasol which proposed to set up a 3.6 million tonnes per annum facility to produce oil and oil products from coal.The eligibility criteria required the applicant company to have a minimum net worth of $1 billion and a tie-up with the proven technology provider.

An inter-ministerial group (IMG) constituted by the Union government examined the CTL projects and held the view that those wishing to set up these projects should bid for coal blocks, competing with others.

Since Tata group and JSPL have presence in the state, they had applied for coal blocks in Orissa. Sources said, Ramchandi coal block in Talcher, having a coal reserve of more than 1 billion tonne, has been identified to be lnked to the CTL project.

“We have taken up extensive testing of Talcher coal for last four years to assess its suitability for the project.We can leverage our existing position in Orissa to expedite the project”, Rajesh Kumar Jha, executive director (projects), JSPL told Business Standard.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/state-may-recommend-coal-block-to-jspl-for-coal-to-liquidproject/11/00/348106/

NMDC to go slow on buying mining assets abroad

Domestic expansion plans put on fast track.

Mr Rana Som

Phalguna Jandhyala

Hyderabad, Feb. 5 National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (NMDC) has decided to go slow on acquiring overseas mining assets due to the current economic downturn.

“Unless the global prices of iron ore stabilise, the return from overseas mining assets would not be encouraging. So, we have temporarily put on hold the acquisition of a couple of iron ore properties abroad,” Mr Rana Som, Chairman and Managing Director of NMDC, told Business here on Thursday.

NMDC was eyeing majority stakes in mining properties in Armenia, Australia and Brazil. Though the due diligence of all the properties was not done, the company had inspected a couple of mines in Armenia. Company officials had visited two mines in Armenia – one with estimated reserves of 300 million tonnes (mt) and the other had around 75 mt of reserves.

In Full swing

He said that the proposed domestic expansion projects, including diversification into steel making, however, were in full swing.

“Not only is the proposed steel mill of three million tonnes on track in Chhattisgarh, all other expansions, including expansion of mines, are going on according to schedule and, in fact, we are trying to expedite it further to take advantage of the drop in commodity prices like steel and cement and also low cost of materials on account of the recession,” Mr Som said.

The company, at its recent board meeting, had approved to pay its first interim dividend of 103 per cent on the paid-up equity share capital for the financial year 2008-09.

NMDC, as part of its forward integration programme and value addition, had planned to set up a 3 million tonne per year (MTPA) steel plant in Chhattisgarh, two pellet plants of 2 MTPA and 1.2 MTPA capacity respectively one in Bacheli (Chhattisgarh) and another in Donimalai (Karnataka).

The company has also taken a decision to set up a beneficiation plant for extraction of high grade iron ore concentrate from banded hematite jasper (BHJ) and banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) rocks which would be a first of its kind initiative in India.

Mr Som also said that NMDC is set to secure mining lease for Sansangora deposit in Jharkhand. The company, which had already obtained mining lease for Kumaraswamy deposit in Karnataka and deposit-11B in Bailadilla (Chhattisgarh), expects to increase its production by 65-70 per cent with these new and existing mines in the next three to four years.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/02/06/stories/2009020650530300.htm

Environmental approval of grade 'B' projects to be delaye

BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar February 06, 2009, 0:57 IST

The environmental approval for the small projects categorised as grade’B’ will be delayed in the state as the Orissa government is yet to issue a notification for making the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) functional.

Though SEIAA was notified by the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) in November 2008, the state government is required to notify the agency to act as secretariat for the SEIAA and the State Environmental Appraisal Committee (SEAC). However, the required notification is yet to be issued, sources said.

Further complicating the issue, the MoEF has sent back grade ‘B’ proposals to the state government.Initially 20 proposals were sent back by the Union ministry and the number is likely to increase in the coming days, sources said.

The proposals for environmental approval which were returned include Bagiapuru iron ore mines, Kirikita graphite mines, Termirimal graphite mines, Gandabahali graphite mines, Sidhamatha iron and manganese mines, Katasahi manganese mines, Iron and manganese mines of Budharaja iron and manganese mines, Bhutuda manganese mines of AXL Corporation.

Besides, the environmental approval proposal of Nuagaon iron and manganese mines, Banrai Dolomite mines, chrome ore beneficiation plant of SS Metals and Scraps has been sent to the state. Unless SEIAA is made functional soon, scrutiny of the proposals is likely to be delayed, sources added.

It may be noted, in almost all the 22 states of the country, the SEIAA and SEAC are functioning in the state secretariat and the premises of the state pollution control board. Such an arrangement can be made for the quick functioning of these two bodies. Sources said, the state government is searching for accommodation outside the state secretariat to house these two agencies and for this reason, the notification is being delayed. Meanwhile, the secretary, forest and environment department, has submitted a proposal to the state government to make the SEIAA functional in the state secretariat and SEAC in the premises of the Orissa Pollution Control Board (OPCB).

“We are committed to make the SEIAA and SEAC functional and required steps are being taken by the government in this regard”, Bhagirathi Behera, director, environment, told Business Standard.

The projects which will require the approval of the SEIAA include small river valley projects, thermal power plants, coal washeries, sponge iron plants, petro-chemical complex, pulp and paper industry, sugar industry, export processing zones, bio-tech parks, port, harbour, building and construction projects and township and area development projects.

Mining and mineral projects, having 5 to 50 mining lease area, hydro electric power generating units from 25 to 50 Mw, river valley projects having less than 10,000 hectares of irrigated area, thermal power (coal, lignite, naptha and gas based) projects having generating capacity less than 500 Mw and coal washeries with less than 1 million tonne per annum installed capacity, will require the approval of the SEIAA.

Similarly, mineral beneficiation units with capacity of 1 million tonne per annum, sponge iron manufacturing units producing less than 200 tonne per day, cement plants with capacity of 1 million tonne per annum, coke oven plants having capacity between 25,000 to 2,50,000 tonnes, chloro-alkalic units having capacity of 300 tonne per day, all the new and expansion projects in the leather skin and hide processing sector, petro-chemical complex located in notified industrial areas, need approval from this body.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/environmental-approvalgrade-b-projects-to-be-delayed/11/00/348110/

Orissa to sign MoU with 7 power companies

BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar February 6, 2009, 0:00 IST

The Orissa government is going to sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 7 power companies on Saturday.

These companies are Sahara India Power Corporation (1320 Mw), Ind-Barath Energy Utkal Limited (700 Mw), Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (1320 Mw),Visaka Thermal Power Pvt. Ltd., (1100 Mw ) Kalinga Energy (1000 Mw), Arati Steel (500 Mw) and Chambal Infrastructures and Ventures Ltd. (1200 Mw).One or two more companies may also be included in the list, sources said.

Sahara India Power Corporation Ltd. has proposed to set up of 1320 Mw thermal power plant at village Turla in Bolangir district at an investment of Rs 5604 crore.

Similarly, Ind-Barath Energy Utkal Limited (IBEUL) plans to set up 700 MW (2x350) thermal power plant at Sahajbahal near Banaharpali in Jharsuguda district at an investment of Rs 3,150 crore.

Visaka Thermal Power Pvt. Ltd. will set up a 1100 Mw coal based power plant at Bhandaripokhari or Banto block in Bhadrakh district at an investment of Rs 4800 crore.The company will require 1200 acres of land for the project will source 36 cusecs of water from Baitarani.

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) proposes to set up a 1320 Mw thermal power plant at Athamallik tehsil in Angul district with an investment of Rs 5940 crore. This project will require 49 cusecs of water and 1625 acres of land for the project.

Though the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) has approved the 1680 Mw thermal power project proposed by L &T Ltd. with an investment of Rs 10,200 crore near Dhamra in Bhadrakh district, there were some issues to be resolved. So no decision has been taken about signing the MoU with the company.

Besides, the Kalinga Energy plans to set up a 1000 Mw thermal power project at an investment of Rs 4261 crore at Babuchakuli. While Arati Steel proposes to se up a 500 Mw thermal power plant at Ghantikhal in Cuttack district, Chambal Infrastructures and Ventures Ltd plans to set up 1200 Mw power plant at Siaria in Dhenkanal district.

Earlier, the Orissa government had signed MoUs with 13 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in 2006 envisaging an aggregate generation capacity of more than 16,000 Mw.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/orissa-to-sign-mou7-power-companies/11/00/348105/

India: tribe forms human chain to protect sacred mountain

Submitted by WW4 Report on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 23:17.

Hundreds of members of the Dongria Kondh tribe, together with many tribal and non-tribal allies, formed a human chain at the base of their sacred Niyamgiri mountain Jan. 27 to prevent British mining giant Vedanta from bulldozing it. Reports put the number of people taking part in the protest at over 10,000. Placards carried by the protesters read "Vedanta, go back" and "Stop mining in Niyamgiri."

Vedanta plans to dig an open pit mine on the top of Niyamgiri to extract the aluminum ore bauxite. India's Supreme Court gave the mine so-called "forest clearance" in August last year. The mine is yet to get "environmental clearance," but the company is already trying to build roads for the mine. Road blocks by the Dongria and other Kondh tribes have so far kept construction vehicles off the mountain. Vedanta's chairman Anil Agarwal recently told journalists that mining will begin in "a month or two."

Survival International's director Stephen Corry said, "By these protests the Dongria Kondh are showing just how far the authorities have failed them. The fact that the machines are run by a major British company should be a cause for shame in the City of London. This is a scandal which won’t go away until Vedanta leaves the tribe in peace."

http://www.ww4report.com/node/6786

India, Bahrain firms tie up for aluminium plant

Thursday, Feb 05, 2009

India’s Archean group of companies has formed a joint venture with Bahrain’s EBH Holdings to establish Pearl Industrial Chemicals company (PIC), a $100 million firm for manufacturing aluminium fluoride.PIC will be located at the South Alba Industrial Estate and will start production in two years. The environment-friendly plant is set to hire about 150 technical and non-technical personnel, around 100 of whom will be Bahraini nationals, according to PIC chief executive officer C.George John.Once fully operational, the plant is expected to produce 60,000 metric tonnes of aluminium fluoride annually, which is a critical chemical ingredient in the aluminium-smelting process, said Chennai-based Archean group executive director C.G. Sethuram.

This chemical is currently being imported by Alba and other smelters in the region like Sohar Aluminium, Oman. Of the 30,000 tonnes to be produced by the Bahrain plant in the first phase, 18,000 tonnes will be bought by Alba,” he said.

The Gulf Co-ordination Council countries’ aluminium fluoride requirement is 140,000 tonnes annually. The Archean group has multinational operations in the field of salt, mining, shipping, construction materials and industrial chemicals, covering three continents.One of the key raw materials, sulphur, is locally available and the company has been assured of its uninterrupted supply while other raw materials will be imported.Apart from aluminium fluoride, the plant will produce co-products like gypsum, which will be supplied to cement units in GCC countries. PIC will help smelters like Alba to replace imports totally in the coming years.

http://www.yourmetalnews.com/india,+bahrain+firms+tie+up+for+aluminium+plant_23094.html

Mining – International

Bauxite crisis takes a toll on gov’t revenues

Thursday, 05 February 2009

The crisis facing the local bauxite/alumina sector has started to take a major toll on the country's coffers.

Latest data from the Ministry of Finance show that Jamaica has lost $2.2 billion in revenues from the bauxite levy.

This was due in part to the downturn in the mining sector.

Between April and December, $4.1 billion was collected from the bauxite levy instead of the $6.3 billion projected by the Ministry of Finance.

The decline came as bauxite and alumina companies operating in Jamaica were hit hard by the global economic crisis.

Companies have been struggling with a big decline in the international demand for alumina as well as a drop in the price for aluminum on the world market.

http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/15353/52/

Coal mining needs R150bn capital

Eskom to spend R100bn in 40 mines to boost production

February 6, 2009

By Justin Brown

The coal mining industry and related infrastructure needed investment of more than R150 billion over the next 10 years to meet growing domestic demand and exports, a coal conference held yesterday in Cape Town was told.

Ras Myburgh, a corporate consultant at Eskom, said the power utility was expecting to spend R100 billion in 40 coal mines over the next decade to boost local production.

This will feed new coal-fired power stations the utility is building and other private companies that use coal.

By 2018 Eskom is forecasting that local annual coal output will increase to 374 million tons from 266 million tons last year, largely as a result of increased demand from Eskom, Sasol's Mafutha project and the expansion of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT).

Myburgh said a further R10 billion was needed to maintain roads in Mpumalanga, which were increasingly used to transport the fuel from mines to Eskom stations.

Siyabonga Gama, the chief executive of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), said the rail utility could spend more than R40 billion over the next decade expanding its capacity to move coal from Mpumalanga to Richards Bay.

However, Gama said TFR would not make that sort of investment until it had long-term agreements of up to 20 years with the coal mining firms.

He said TFR was at present running on a year's contract with the coal mining industry.

RBCT is spending R1.2 billion to expand its export capacity from 76 million tons a year to 91 million tons by July.

Gama estimated that for the industry to produce 91 million tons of coal a year for export, TFR would need to spend about R12 billion.

However, Ben Magara, AngloCoal's local chief executive, estimated that it would cost up to R500 million to bring on 1 million tons of annual coal production, and 15 million tons of annual output would cost R7.5 billion.

However, Magara said TFR had failed to respond to clear demand signals. "What is its role in the South African economy? The industry embarked on expansion without placing adequate pressure on TFR to back this up," he said.

Magara and Danie Mouton, Exxaro Resources' coal business manager, said the industry had failed to capitalise on the seven-year commodity boom that went bust last year.

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=4828147

Public meeting to cover proposed uranium mine

For the Beacon • February 5, 2009

Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction (C.A.R.D.) will hold a public meeting in Fort Collins on Feb. 11 to provide an update on the status of the proposed in-situ uranium leach mining project near Nunn.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive.

A Canadian mining company began buying mineral leases in 2007 in Weld County and announced its intention to mine uranium six miles northeast of Fort Collins and about the same distance north of Windsor.

Concerned citizens organized Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction (C.A.R.D.) to inform residents about what they consider apotential health and environmental threat.

Local Colorado legislators responded in 2008 by drafting and passing Colorado State House Bill 1161. This bill will create water quality standards the mining companies must prove they can meet in order to get permits to do in situ leach mining (ISL).

The passage of Colorado State House Bill 1161 raised the standards concerning water quality that the mining companies must meet in order to get permits to do in-situ leach mining.

Regulations are now being sought to ensure that the intent of House Bill 1161 is carried out so that the uranium mining companies restore ground water to pre-mining conditions.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090205/WINDSORBEACON01/90204055/1131/WINDSORBEACON0

Gindalbie expects Karara mine environmental approval soon

ABC News reported that Gindalbie Metals expects final environmental approval for its Karara mine within weeks.

Gindalbie’s shareholders had voted to allow Chinese steelmaker Ansteel to buy almost 200 million shares, giving it a 36% stake in the company.

Mr George Jones chairman of Gindalbie said that the Environmental Protection Authority is expected to report its recommendations for the Karara project within weeks.

Mr Jones said that the project, east of Geraldton, has the potential to become one of the state's major resource projects. He added that "Our project is the same scale as Ravensthorpe and BHP have closed that down and if we can get approvals for this project to get started, we can in effect replace Ravensthorpe."

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/02/06/ODE1MDY%3D/Gindalbie_expects_Karara_mine_environmental_approval_soon.html

Greenwash in the minerals sector

Published: Friday | February 6, 2009

We are all familiar with the term 'whitewash', which means to cover up what is dirty with a layer of good-looking paint, or to dress up what is dirty and filthy with a pretty outer garment. The Bible has a term 'whitened sepulchres' which gets across the same idea - a beautifully whitewashed exterior enclosing a corrupt and stink, decomposing body inside.

A term of more recent origin is 'greenwash', used to describe the practice of companies/governments disingenuously spinning their products/policies as being environ-mentally friendly, whether they are or not.

Usually, significantly more money or time is spent advertising, or claiming to be green (that is, operating with consideration for the environment), than is actually spent on environmentally-sound practices.

The seventh draft of Jamaica's National Minerals Policy has now been published by the ministry of mining, and it is full of greenwash. It starts with the title on the cover: "The National Minerals Policy: Sustainable Development of the Mining Industry". Minerals are non-renewable resources which are extracted by mining and quarrying and one day the resource will be depleted; when the last ton of bauxite has been mined, 'it done!'

By definition, mining is an unsustainable activity; it cannot be sustained indefinitely. We cannot even sustain bauxite mining until the end of this century. To speak of the sustainable development of the mining industry is therefore either green-wash of the highest order, or illiteracy - using words without knowing what they mean.

The glossary of terms in Appendix II defines 'sustainable mining development' as "financially viable mining development that takes place in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, with sound governance that provides benefits that last beyond the life of the mine to the communities where mineral development, production and transportation take place". This definition is pure greenwash and pure deception, as it is not the mining that is said to be sustainable but the 'benefits to the communities' that will 'last beyond the life of the mine'. The mine has a finite life, and will come to an end, but the benefits to the community will go on and on.

Dislocation and relocation

What benefits are these? Mining has meant dislocation and relocation for communities and farms, as well as a significant dust nuisance; alumina refining has meant respiratory illnesses, corrosion of roofs

and damage to crops due to caustic soda. These negative impacts will definitely go on and on; some people will suffer from their respiratory illnesses

for life! I don't know how persons or individuals in rural St Ann, Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth can be said to be better off because of bauxite mining or refining and how these benefits will last beyond the life of the mine. But it gets worse.

On Page 33, in a section titled 'Conservation of Mineral Resources', one reads: "Conservation of minerals shall be construed as a positive concept enabling augmentation of resource base through improvement in mining methods ..." This is not just greenwash; this is nonsense! No matter how much you conserve, you cannot augment the minerals resource-base, you cannot add to or increase the amount of bauxite that is there. You can improve your processing efficiency, and you can reduce product loss, but you cannot augment your resource base.

Somebody is trying to fool somebody.

And, what do you think of this statement: "Particular effort has been made to ensure that sustainable development considerations, especially environmental considerations, are infused into the strategies outlined for the development of the industry and the guiding principles that will be followed". The truth is that greenwash has been infused throughout the government's national minerals policy.

Need for honesty

What we need here is some honesty. Bauxite mining is an unsustainable activity, and one day, it will come to an end. There is no need to dress it up. The policy needs to say how we are going to minimise the negative impacts of mining on the environment, and what we are going to do when our ore runs out.

There is much else to be said about the national minerals policy, and I will continue the analysis next week.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090206/cleisure/cleisure2.html

DENR resolves mining row in Bulacan

Nation

Written by Jonathan Mayuga / Correspondent

Friday, 06 February 2009 02:05

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Lito Atienza has declared the Oro Development Corp. (Odeco) board of directors, headed by lawyer Arturo Mercader, as the rightful holder of a mining lease contract to extract iron ores in the mountain town of Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan, finally settling the dispute with another group claiming rights over the same mineral area.

Atienza’s decision was contained in a five-page resolution recognizing Mercader’s group in connection with mining lease contract MRD-509.

Atienza ordered the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to give due course to a memorandum of agreement entered into by the Odeco board led by Mercader with Matatag Mining Corp., subject to the qualifications prescribed under mining rules.

He said the decision was reached after an exhaustive scrutiny and consideration of the arguments of the concerned parties, as well as the records of the case concerning the dispute between the groups of Mercader, on one side, and Marcial Soriano, on the other.

“It is our position that the resolution of these issues calls mainly for the application of laws, notably the Civil Code, corporation laws, Rules of Court, particularly those dealing with the admissibility of evidence, that are plainly beyond our expertise,” Atienza said.

In ruling against the Soriano group, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) took cognizance of the fact that the Regional Trial Court in the City of Malolos, in a decision dated April 8, 2003, had declared null and void the February 2, 1999, election of Marcial Soriano and his group as directors and officers of Odeco, a decision which had been affirmed by the Court of Appeals in a decision dated September 9, 2008.

Bulacan Gov. Joselito Mendoza welcomed the decision of the DENR which settled the ownership dispute in the mining company, saying it should cause the resumption of operations at the mine site, thereby benefiting workers and residents, as well as concerned local government units.

Mendoza said the dispute between the claimants has displaced local workers in the area for a long time, but that it should be a thing of the past now.

Representing Odeco, Mercader informed on March 27, 2008, the regional office of the DENR in Central Luzon that a new board of directors led by him had been organized during the stockholders’ meeting of Odeco on December 6, 2006.

Soriano, on the other hand, entered at the time into a partnership with mining subcontractors to extract iron ore at Odeco’s mine site.

The actions of Soriano’s group prompted Mercader to advise the MGB in Region 3 that the Soriano group no longer had authority to represent Odeco or to enter into agreements with Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp. owned by the group of James Ong, Jowood Industries Inc. and Royal Picanto Mining Corp.

Mercader also endorsed the application of Matatag Mining to be allowed to operate in the area covered by Odeco’s mining lease pursuant to a mining operating agreement they had, as amended.

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5698:denr-resolves-mining-row-in-bulacan&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63

World’s fourth-biggest diamond mine to slash production as demand slumps

By: Keith Campbell

Published on 6th February 2009

Updated 7 hours ago

Angola’s Catoca mine, the fourth-big-  gest diamond mine in the world, is to  reduce production for this year. The mine also stopped its exploration activ- ities on December 11. Both steps were the  result of the sharp drop in global demand for the gemstones. It is currently planned to  restart exploration at Catoca next year.

These decisions have been announced by Catoca’s biggest foreign shareholder, Russian diamond major Alrosa. On the other hand, Alrosa, the world’s second-largest diamond producer, denied it was planning to pull out of Angola. Alrosa holds 32,8% of Catoca, and Catoca, in turn, is responsible for about 70% of Angola’s diamond production; its other shareholders are Angolan State diamond company Endiama, Daumonty Financing of Israel, and Odebrecht of Brazil.

In 2006, Catoca earned $425-million from the sale of the diamonds it produced. The mine’s reserves are estimated at 271-million tons of diamondiferous ore, which could, over the next 40 years, produce 189-million carats.

Catoca is one of three Alrosa projects in Angola. The other two are the Luo-Camatchia-Camagico mining project and the HydroChicapa-2 hydroelectric power project on the Chicapa river. Luo-Camatchia-Camagico is also a joint venture, with Portu-guese company Escom Mining (unrelated to South Africa’s elelctricity utility, Eskom) – Alrosa’s share is 45%.

Further, Alrosa is a member of a consortium which also includes Angolan national  oil company Sonangol, which has a licence from the country’s Ministry of Oil to explore for oil and gas offshore, and onshore in the Lower Kongo and Upper Kwanza areas and in the Etosha, Okavango and Kassanje river basins. This makes Alrosa the first Russian company to receive a licence for large-scale  hydrocarbon prospecting in Angola.

Mean- while, in Russia, Alrosa revealed that it stopped  selling diamonds on the world market in December, owing to the collapse in demand prices. Instead, it is selling only to Russia’s State-owned stockpile agency, Gokhran.

Alrosa produces 97% of Russia’s, and some 20% of the world’s, rough diamonds. The company reports that geological surveys  indicate that its diamond reserves are sufficient to maintain production at 2008 levels for the next 50 years.  In 2007, its rough diamond sales totalled an estimated $2,36-billion and its polished diamond sales came to $146,7-million. Although the name Alrosa dates back only to 1993, the company can trace its history back to 1954 and the discovery of Russia’s first diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe.

Alrosa is not the only company cutting back its diamond production. Thus, world number one diamond producer De Beers has already announced global production cutbacks,  reduced capital expenditure, and job losses, for this year. And Rio Tinto last month  unveiled production cuts, and the postponement of expansion plans at its Argyle mine in Western Australia. Argyle produces 90% of the world’s pink diamonds. In South Africa, DiamondCorp stated that the retreatment of diamond tailings had been rendered uneconomic by the 50% reduction in the prices it received for its stones during the last quarter of last year, causing the company to stop this operation. (DiamondCorp’s mining operation is unaffected, however.)

World diamond prices are reported to now be, on average, between 30% and 50% lower than they were in the middle of last year. The major cutting and polishing centres, in Belgium, India and Israel, are experiencing their lowest demand in at least 20 years.

Retail diamond and diamond jewellery sales are reported to have fallen to levels last seen 20 to 25 years ago. Global diamond  demand, which stood at 160-million carats last year, could fall to 120-million carats this year, a drop of 25%.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article.php?a_id=152046

Questions linger about uranium, nuclear power

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 9:22 AM EST

Can someone answer my questions about uranium mining and nuclear power plants?

Can pro uranium mining people tell me names of the clean uranium mines and locations of mines that do not pollute?

Can pro-uranium mining people tell me the names of the clean nuclear plants that do not pollute?

Can pro-uranium mining people tell me the cost of electric bills the French people pay since they use

France

as a role model on nuclear power plants?

Can pro-uranium mining people tell me how they clean up the uranium mill tailings and where they are stored when the mine shuts down?

Can pro-uranium mining people tell me how they reclaim the land and the locations of reclaimed uranium mining locations?

Can pro-uranium mining people tell me how uranium contaminated Orange County, Calif., water, which comes from the West where the uranium milling ponds are close to the Green and Colorado rivers?

I emailed Virginia Uranium Inc with these questions and they have never responded to my email.

I have emailed Areva; they never responded to my email. I emailed all the Canadian companies; they never responded to my questions.

Can the pro-uranium people and the pro-nuclear power answer my questions?

Why do pro-uranium people and pro-nuclear power people oppose any Green Power?

Japan

depends on nuclear power (the local people do not have the choice to oppose nuclear power), but they use other forms of power. I saw huge wind mill farms on their mountains.

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/02/05/chatham/opinion/opinion01.txt

Other News – India

Bihar to set up Scheduled Tribes commission

Feb 5th, 2009 | By Sindh Today | Category: India

Patna, Feb 5 (IANS) The Bihar government has decided to set up a commission that will recommend measures for the socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes in the state, a minister said Thursday.

The move to set up the Scheduled Tribes Commission is to implement an all-inclusive growth in the state, said Jitan Ram Manjhi, minister for backward class welfare.

Manjhi said a census of tribal population in the state would be undertaken soon to survey their problems.

He said that the government was in the process of implementing Right to Forest Act, 2006, in 14 districts with substantial tribal population.

The Scheduled Tribes Commission will be set up on the lines of the comission for Maha Dalits, most deprived and marginalised section.

The Maha Dalit commission was established in 2007 for the welfare of certain Dalit sub-castes, which are socially and educationally more backward than others.

Bihar was the first state in India to constitute a commission and study the status of the neglected sub-castes among Dalits and to suggest ways to uplift them.

The commission in its first interim report to the government a few months ago painted a bleak picture of these Dalit sub-castes. The report said there were no high school teachers or senior officials from these castes in the state despite reservations in government jobs for them.

http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/60000.htm

9 tiger deaths in Kaziranga in 3 months

6 Feb 2009, 0450 hrs IST, Naresh Mitra, TNN

GUWAHATI: If the disappearance of tigers from Sariska National Park was shocking, this news is absolutely chilling. Authorities at Kaziranga

National Park have admitted to the deaths of nine big cats in the past three months, the biggest casualty ever in a national park over such a brief period.

Wildlife experts fear the numbers are much higher and suspect forest officers at Kaziranga are deliberately quoting a lower figure to avert a full-blown investigation.

Speaking to TOI, Kaziranga National Park director S N Buragohain claimed the reason behind the deaths ranged from poisoning by villagers to infighting among tigers and old age. Experts, however, rubbished the argument and said several deaths had occurred due to poaching at the park.

“Rhino poachers are behind the killings. I have credible information that the poachers have confessed to killing at least four tigers in the recent past. The real figure must be higher,” said P K Sen, former director of Project Tiger.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority had sounded an alert a few days ago but the authorities at Kaziranga turned a deaf ear. “The Park authorities should immediately pull up socks and report the deaths to the Centre,” Sen said.

A decomposed tiger carcass was found at Agoratoli range on December 21 and bones of a male tiger were recovered on January 10. On January 21, the body of a tigress was detected at the Park.

The Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) 2008 country-wide status of tigers pegged the figure in

Assam

at 70. Though forest officers here had refuted the study and claimed there were 86 tigers at Kaziranga alone, the claims have now come under a cloud. There has been no official census at Kaziranga since 2000 when the 86 headcount was reported. But forest authorities continue to quote the figure to buttress their claim that the 863 sq km reserve has a healthy cat density.

Buragohain, however, insisted that poaching was not the sole reason behind the deaths. “Since tigers are highly territorial animals, there are frequent incidents of infighting. With their habitat shrinking, the big cats often stray into neighbouring villages in search of food. Regular cases of cattle-lifting makes the endangered animal vulnerable to retaliatory killings by humans,” he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/9_tiger_deaths_in_Kaziranga/articleshow/4084317.cms

India’s first public cord blood bank set up

Express News Service

First Published : 06 Feb 2009 03:03:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 06 Feb 2009 10:09:29 AM IST

CHENNAI: Jeevan Blood Bank and Research Centre on Thursday inaugurated the country’s first non-profit public cord blood bank - ‘Jeevan Stem Cell Bank’- here on Thursday.

Cord blood is the blood of the placenta and umbilical cord, which is a rich source of stem cells. While private banking of cord blood has becoming increasingly popular over the years, Jeevan’s bank will be unique in that it asks parents to donate cord blood for storage and potential use in the future by anyone who needs it.

The bank will not charge for collection and storage of the cord blood. The stored blood will offer potential stem cell treatment to children and adults with several diseases, especially blood cancer and thalassemia.

“For families living below the poverty line, the cord blood will be given free of cost when they need it. For those who can afford we intend to ask for an outermost cost of Rs 1 lakh,’’ said Dr P Srinivasan, managing trustee and co-founder of the centre.

MP Kanimozhi inaugurated the facility.

“This project marks a new revolution in the field of medicine and also offers credibility to this venture. It will help bring new developments in the reach of those who cannot afford them,’’ she said.

“In India there are around 1 lakh people born everyday giving us huge numbers of potential cord blood units that can be stored.

Every year about 2,000 transplants are performed across the world using cord blood and the numbers are growing,’’ said Dr Saranya Narayan, medical director of the centre.

“There are about 70,000 people with thalassemia in the country and every year there are around 7,000 new cases. The blood transfusion cost for a thalassemia patient is about Rs 2 lakh per year,’’ she said. With stem cell treatment, with luck, it would be a one-time cost of Rs 5 to 8 lakh.

To donate, parents have to only provide details of their current pregnancy and medical and family history. The centre will decide who is eligible to donate. Once collected, the blood will be screened for the usual and additional diseases and then stored.

The shelf life for cord blood is 21 years and the cure rate for thalassemia and leukaemia has been found to be 80 per cent through stem cell transplants, Dr Srinivasan said.

The centre has already received 20 donations and hopes to collect 30,000 units over the next five years. The project is due to cost Rs 115 crore over the next five years.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=India%E2%80%99s+first+public+cord+blood+bank+set+up&artid=bSmx9tnfyiA=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&SEO=Jeevan+Stem+Cell+Bank&SectionName=rSY|6QYp3kQ=

Fish-dependent countries face climate change threat: study

10 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Climate change poses a grave threat to dozens of countries where people depend on fish for food, according to a study published Friday that said catches are imperilled by coastal storms and damage to coral reefs.

The WorldFish research centre identified 33 countries as "highly vulnerable" to the effects of climate change because of their heavy reliance on fisheries and limited alternative sources of protein.

Many of the group, which takes in the African nations of Malawi, Guinea, Senegal, Uganda; Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam in Asia; and Peru and Colombia in South America; are among the world's poorest countries.

"Low-lying highly populated countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia will face major inundations of crop land with rising sea levels and this will cause a loss of productive land and impact their economies badly," the study's lead author Edward Allison told AFP.

"As fish is central to many economies and diets, people in the tropics and subtropics will be affected as they have a limited ability to develop other sources of income and food in the face of such change," he added.

"The damage will be greatly compounded unless governments and international institutions like the World Bank act now to include the fish sector in plans for helping the poor cope with climate change."

Global fisheries provide more than 2.6 billion people with at least 20 percent of their average annual protein intake, the study said, citing UN data.

The report, prepared by the Malaysia-based WorldFish and a number of universities and research groups, said climate change threatened to destroy coral reefs, push salt water into freshwater habitats and produce more coastal storms.

It said that the 33 "highly vulnerable" countries produce 20 percent of the world's fish exports and that they should be given priority in efforts to help them adapt to climate change.

Two-thirds of the most vulnerable nations are in Africa, where fish accounts for more than half of the daily animal protein consumed and where fish production is highly sensitive to climate variations.

In South Asia, the report said potential problems including bleaching of coral reefs and changes in river flows as a result of reduced snowfalls present a danger to freshwater habitats.

Allison said the next step would be to investigate the impact climate change will have on these countries and the cost of adapting to the new environment.

He said a lack of data meant researchers were unable to include 60 nations including the tiny Pacific states of Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, and the military dictatorship of Myanmar, that were likely to be highly vulnerable.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jExPR6uL6XNXAF8lQBLUXCI0Z3Rw

News & Views !!

Feb 6, 2009

06-02-09

Mining – India

Mala Mahanadu wants bauxite mining stopped