02/04/09

Mining – India 1
1. SAIL signs MoU with Steel Ministry 1
2. Tribal leaders vow to oppose false propaganda by NGOs 1
3. HC nod for MSPL mining in Hospet 3
4. Steel cos in state to lose sheen 4
5. Sand mining threatens Valley's major bridges 5
6. Adani Power, Monnet Ispat line up to join NMDC’s coal venture 7
7. Availability of uranium improving for N-plants: Kokodkar 8
8. Fire rages in abandoned mines at Sangramgarh 9
Mining – International 9
9. Quicker mining approvals sought 9
10. Canadian miner defies Rio Tinto over Namibia 11
11. Geologist supports uranium mining 12
12. Jamaica's Windalco halts bauxite mining amid crisis 14
13. Consolidated cuts mineral sands mining 15
14. Chinese buy OZ Minerals' mines 15
Other News – India 16
15. Notice to govt on forest land 16
16. Storage of Important Reservoirs in the Country 17
17. Working of NREGA — Voices from Panchayats 18
18. 'Charter won't elevate Aboriginal law' 24
19. Indigenous organisation demands new uncontacted tribes' reserves 26

Mining – India

SAIL signs MoU with Steel Ministry
NEW DELHI: Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Steel Ministry to produce around 12 million tonnes of salable steel during 2009-10 despite the current economic slowdown. The MoU, according to a SAIL statement, focusses on production of higher volume of value-added steel products of over three million tonnes during the year to meet the growing requirements of high-end user segments. — Special Correspondent
http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/02/stories/2009040252831400.htm

Tribal leaders vow to oppose false propaganda by NGOs
By Kailash Tudu, Thu, 02 Apr 2009 NI Wire









“Villages still exist in the foothill of the mining site and people are engaged in agricultural activities. However, the NGO people misguided us by saying that our entire hill be destroyed and rivers and streams shall dry up. I will reveal this reality to entire Dongria Kondh Community”.
This was the first reaction of Taalu Sikoka, after he visited Panchapatmali bauxite mining site and interacted with tribal villagers in the periphery area. Taalu was not only persons to have such reaction. Seven others from Dongria Kondh Community had similar reaction.
In order to verify several misinformation by some of the NGOs regarding bauxite mining from Niyamgiri hill, a team of eight persons, from Patsali, Guma, Luma and Dangamati villages visited Panchapatmali bauxite mining site, Asia’s largest bauxite reserve. The tribal leaders were amazed to see the positive impact of bauxite mining.
In spite of repeated propaganda that bauxite mining will dry up all rivers and streams from the hill, they found that water flow in the streams is as usual and in some cases more than usual. “Forest Cover is also increased with the plantation by the mining company,” said Maandi Sikoka.
While interacting with local villagers they found that the villagers were doing double crop. None of the villagers is displaced; neither the hill has been collapsed. Rather the development activities taken up by the mining company has enhanced lives of people in the area.
“We won’t allow these NGOs to misguide us further. Now we see the reality and will let others know about this in our villages. If mining can change our lives so positively, then it was our foolishness to oppose the Mining from Niyamgiri,” said Drika Kadraka.
Some of the NGOs were mobilizing people against bauxite mining from Niyamgiri with their false propaganda. They were telling that the entire hill will collapse due to mining. Similarly, the rivers and streams will vanish. And agricultural activities will be severely affected. There will be lot of tree cutting and the tribal cannot collect any livelihood from the forest. Even the villagers shall be displaced.
In order to check the reality, they visited the nearest operational bauxite mining site. “It has opened our eyes,” said Taalu.
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/80950

HC nod for MSPL mining in Hospet
Express News Service
First Published : 02 Apr 2009 03:48:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 02 Apr 2009 09:17:39 AM IST
BANGALORE: In its first order, the green bench of the High Court on Wednesday allowed Mineral Sales Pvt Ltd (MSPL) to carry out mining activities at Vyasanakere village in Hospet taluk.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice P D Dinakaran and Justice V G Sabhahith set aside the order of Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Bellary dated December 29, 2008, suspending mining activities of MSPL on the forest land allegedly encroached by it and beyond its lease area.
However, the bench has rejected the petitioner’s request for the quashing of the FIR registered against it by the forest guard of Hospet, regarding alleged encroachment of forest land for dumping mining waste.
The court has observed that the DCF of Bellary shall have liberty to conduct an inspection in mining area of MSPL regarding its alleged encroachment of forest land. Before inspection, showcause notice has to be issued to MSPL and inspection should be conducted in the presence of the officers of the Controller of Mines and Indian Bureau of Mines, the court observed.
During inspection, if MSPL finds any encroachment of forest land for dumping waste, the same has to be rectified by MSPL by removing the waste from the forest land. And for such violations, the forest guard is at liberty to take action against MSPL, the court said.
The petitioner stated that it had been carrying out mining activities at Vyasanakere village on 858 acres of land since five decades. It has been dumping overburden waste within the area granted by the government and the Indian Bureau of Mines approved it, the petitioner said.
But without issuing notice, the DCF suspended mining activities on the grounds that MSPL had dumped its waste outside its leased area and thus encroached forest area of 20.25 hectares, the petitioner argued.
Before the suspension order was issued, the forest guard had registered FIR against MSPL for the alleged encroachment. MSPL had sought quashing of both the suspension order and FIR. The court partly allowed the petition, by passing the aforesaid directions.

HC refuses to permit early polls for societies

The High Court has refused to permit early elections for the 6500-odd co-operative societies in the state. The court has directed that no elections shall be held to co-operative societies until Parliamentary elections are over. While hearing an appeal by H D Revanna, president of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), a division bench headed by Justice N Kumar, refused to grant interim order on the petition. In view of Parliamentary elections and model code of conduct that is already in force, elections to co-operative societies cannot be conducted, the government submitted to the court.
The court accepted the same and declined to pass an interim order in favour of Revanna.

HC pulls up govt

The High Court on Wednesday pulled up the state government for not arresting culprits who are involved in illegal stone quarrying in Shikaripur taluk. The court directed the government to take action against officers who have failed to discharge their duties.
While hearing a public interest litigation, Chief Justice P D Dinakaran and Justice V G Sabhahith, directed the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and secretary to the revenue department to take action against the officials concerned within one week.
During the argument, the government advocate submitted that stone quarrying was going on in the forest area and the government had stopped the quarrying activities, besides seizing two tractors. The government advocate further stated that an FIR had been lodged against the offenders. The offenders escaped, but investigation was on, he added. The court disapproved the government’s contentions and said, “Your (government) officers have not been able to arrest two accused in the case. It is just an eyewash that an FIR has been filed against them. We are not satisfied with the action taken by the government. Some big people may be involved in these illegal mining activities”, the bench observed.
The petitioner G P Satishkumar, a resident of Shikaripura, alleged that illegal stone quarrying was taking place in Yerekatte, Harogoppa and Bannuru villages of Shikaripura taluk. The authorities have not taken any action against the quarry owners, despite several representations made, the petitioner argued. In its earlier order, the court had directed the government to stop illegal quarrying and take action against quarry owners.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=HC+nod+for+MSPL+mining+in+Hospet&artid=vsPJ66L2isU=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==&SEO=

Steel cos in state to lose sheen
2 Apr 2009, 0531 hrs IST, TNN

BANGALORE: Nearly 14 steel companies in Karnataka are facing the threat of closure due to purported indifference of the
Centre.

The Union ministry of mines is in the process of preparing a draft to reserve large extent of area at Ramanadurg range in Sandur taluk of Bellary district in favour of the country's largest trading company, Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC), ignoring petitions and high court directives to this effect, sources said.

Some time ago, the state government had endorsed steel entrepreneurs
' request and formally written to the Centre to drop the idea of reserving the land in favour of MMTC, but it was apparently disregarded.

The present turn of events go back to early 1990s when the state government invited several steel entrepreneurs to set up plants in the backward regions of Karnataka following liberalization of industrial policy. Only after an assurance from the state that they will make provision for captive iron-ore mines in Bellary, the steel companies agreed to invest and applied for mining lease applications even before they started setting up the plants.

On the request of petitioners, the state government sent these proposals for the Centre's approval. But the Centre rejected the same and asked the the state to first conduct environmental impact assessment study in Bellary-Hospet region.

Though an agency conducted a detail study and recommended for grant of mining lease, the state did not consider it for reasons unknown. Instead, it came out with a fresh notification inviting applications for fresh mining license.

When the aggrieved steel entrepreneurs later approached the high court, it directed the state government to consider the applications of steel entrepreneurs (value adders) on a priority without cancelling the notification. "But neither the state nor the Centre is ready to abide by the court ruling,'' sources said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Steel-cos-in-state-to-lose-sheen/articleshow/4346846.cms


Sand mining threatens Valley's major bridges
KOSH RAJ KOIRALA
KATHMANDU, April 1: Illegal sand mining on Bagmati and Bishnumati Rivers has threatened the life of crucial bridges in the capital city.

While one of the 26 bridges in Kathmandu Valley collapsed recently, three others are also on the verge of falling down due to illegal sand mining near the bridges, according to an assessment by Divisional Road Office (DRO), Kathmandu.

"Illegal sand mining near major bridges coupled with the tendency of people to encroach upon river course through illegal settlements has greatly reduced the load bearing capacity of major bridges," said engineer Binod Kumar Mauwar at DRO, Kathmandu.

Engineer Mauwar said that the bridge over Bagmati at Tinkune and another bridge over Dhobikhola at Chabahil are on the verge of collapse. The bridge over Bagmati River near Gaushala has also descended three meters below its original level due to sand quarrying.

Sinamangal Bridge.
Bikash Karki

A 40-meter long bridge over Bagmati River in Sinmangal collapsed some five months ago due sand quarrying near it. Thousands of commuters and motorists are undergoing difficulties these days as Department of Road (DoR) is yet to fix the bridge for want of necessary resources.

It costs about Rs 600,000 to Rs 800,000 to build just a meter of Reinforced Cement Concrete bridge.

"Sand is no more just sand. It has become like gold. All bridges in Kathmandu will collapse sooner than later if mining persists," said engineer Krita Nanda Thakur, who heads the Bridge Section at DoR.

"We had to lose a bridge over Bagmati River at Thapathali some 20 years back due to sand quarrying," he added. "The same happened with a bridge in Sinamangal."

The life expectancy of all road bridges in Kathmandu is 100 years.

But they are collapsing quite young due to sand mining and encroachment of their normal course, according to DoR officials.

Sinamangal Bridge.
Bikash Karki

There is a heavy demand for sand in Kathmandu Valley as some 5,000 new houses on an average are built each year in Kathmandu Metropolitan City area alone. The number of new houses stands far higher if you put together the statistics of Lalitpur Sub-metropolis and three other municipalities and those built in the suburbs of the Valley.

This does not mean that there is no law to curb illegal sand mining.

The existing Road Law says it is illegal to collect sand in areas falling 200 meters from the bridge. But the law does not specifically mention the kind of action to be taken against such perpetrators.

"The government first needs to amend the existing laws with a clear provision of punishment," said Thakur, adding, "Police also have to cooperate with our requests to check such illegal sand mining."

It is equally important that locals keep vigil on sand mining near bridges in their localities and inform concerned authorities. "After all, it is the locals who suffer the most in the event of bridge collapse," Thakur further said.

Officials at the DoR complained that their requests are not taken seriously by police and local administration. "Police and local administration have failed to take action against such persons despite repeated requests," added Thakur. "We are helpless as we do not have our own mechanism in place to take action against such persons."

However, police do not agree with this. Superintendent of Police Nawa Raj Silwal, chief of Metropolitan Police Range Office, Kathmandu, said they are making all possible efforts to curb sand mining. "This is just not case of bridge collapse. The unchecked sand mining is putting the entire city at risk of big environmental hazard," said Silwal.

"We are focused more on crime-related things," added Silwal. "Police alone can not check this practice unless all stakeholders make a collective effort."

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=3267


Adani Power, Monnet Ispat line up to join NMDC’s coal venture
Tags: Companies
By Press Trust of India
Four companies — Adani Power, KSK Power, Monnet Ispat and Sophia Power — have evinced interest in partnering with state-run mining giant NMDC to develop new coal blocks in the country, a top official of the PSU said.
“Responding to our expression of interest, the companies recently gave their presentations for jointly developing new coal properties,” NMDC chairman and managing director Rana Som said. A final decision on whether to rope in a single company or more for the proposed joint venture has not yet been taken, as it would depend on allotment of fresh coal blocks, he said.
The country’s largest producer of iron ore, NMDC, plans to diversify into commercial coal mining to meet the dry fuel requirement of its proposed pellet and steel plants in Chhatisgarh and Karnataka.
As it would also require electricity for the proposed units, it intends to forge tie-ups with power companies. While NMDC would take care of mining operations, the power firms would set up coal-fired units to produce electricity.
NMDC has two thermal coal blocks in Madhya Pradesh and is expecting one more in West Bengal. It has also applied for mining leases of five new coal blocks in Chhatisgarh and a few others in Jharkhand.
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/adani-power-monnet-ispat-line-join-nmdc%E2%80%99s-coal-venture-756


Availability of uranium improving for N-plants: Kokodkar

Published: April 1,2009

Lalitha Vaidyanathan.
Tarapur (Mah), Apr 1 With the arrival of imported natural uranium and improvement in production at indigenous mines and mills, the starved nuclear power plants in India are getting a new lease of life, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said here today.

The department of atomic energy expects an increase in production of uranium by 25 per cent from Jaduguda and Turamdih mills at the end of this year, Kakodkar told media here after the commemoration function of 40 years of nuclear electricity in India.

The expansion of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) is going on to augment the fabrication of uranium fuel to make available for the reactors, he added.

There has been a mismatch of uranium in the country but efforts are on to reduce the mismatch of fuel, he said adding that few mines are already underway.

Expansion of fabrication units takes less time while the expansion of mining and milling takes a long time, but we are seriously working on it on a programme mode in order to keep the mismatch to the least, he said.

From 1967, the government-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) has been producing uranium at Jaduguda in the Singhbhum (East) district of Jharkhand and is working a vein type deposit with an ore grade in the 0.042%-0051% U range

http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/538497/National/1/20/1


Fire rages in abandoned mines at Sangramgarh
Express News Service
Posted: Apr 02, 2009 at 0330 hrs IST

Kolkata For the last five days, a massive fire has been raging in the abandoned Sangramgarh coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL).
On Wednesday morning, the underground fire in the coal seam produced thick black smoke of carbon monoxide and methane that started billowing out of the rat holes dug up by illegal miners.
Fifty-eight families residing in the adjoining Muchipara area have been shifted to the nearest ECL quarters. No casualty has been reported.
The officials of the ECL said that the company lacks proper equipment to control a fire of this magnitude and blamed rampant illegal mining for the reason behind frequent incidents of fire in the area.
“As unscientific methods are used by illegal miners, so there are incidents of spontaneous combustion of coal,” said an official of the ECL. According to him, lack of ventilation in the mines, coupled with methods where miners use candles and lanterns, usually cause these fires.
A year ago, a similar fire had erupted in illegal pits at Benali when Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi had visited the place to access the situation.
ECL officials said efforts were on to bring the underground fire under control within 15 days by using the blanketing method. He added that, if required, heavy earth moving machinery would be borrowed from private agencies to bring the blaze under control.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/fire-rages-in-abandoned-mines-at-sangramgarh/442116/

Mining – International

Quicker mining approvals sought
Posted on April 2, 2009, 6:06pm , 6 views
South Australia’s mining authorities have set a goal of granting mining licences within six months of submission as the state seeks to maintain and protect its resources investment against increasingly competing government-backed exploration incentives emerging in Western Australia and Queensland particularly.
The six month approvals target was outlined today at the second day in Perth of the Paydirt 2009 Australian Gold Conference by Paul Heithersay, executive director of Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA).
Details of the approvals objective come as Western Australia’s Mines Minister, Norman Moore, is due to unveil tomorrow (Friday 3 April) a detailed incentive program to attract more exploration drilling activity into that State.
Addressing Paydirt delegates, Mr Heithersay said “imitation” is the kindest form of flattery “and South Australia’s pioneering introduction in 2004 of its PACE drill incentive program had substantially invigorated the State’s exploration impetus for both precious and base metals”.
“To a point, we reported in 2008, exploration expenditure of A$314 million - three times our target of $100 million per annum by 2010,” Mr Heithersay said.
“However, we need to ensure South Australia retains, and builds on, its ability to win exploration investment, in partnership with a mining focused and supportive government.
“This is particularly so for the two stand-out commodities offering high exploration upside in South Australia – gold and uranium.
“Concerningly, South Australia has 26pc of Australia’s inferred gold resources yet accounts for only 3% of Australia’s total gold output.
“That imbalance needs to be addressed if the State is to optimise its gold potential during not only the current high gold price environment, but as part of our total mining mix going forward.”
Mr Heithersay said there was a string of new gold contributors ready to add to the State’s gold output including an expansion of the existing Challenger mine, the start-up to mainstream gold production at the 7.4 million ounces of gold Prominent Hill gold and copper mine, and Olympic Dam’s ongoing expansion potential for the precious metal.
New gold projects on the blocks included Carrapateena, Hillside, Tunkillia, the 2010 start-up at the 8000 ounces of gold a year Kanmantoo copper project, the current mining application for Portia and various projects at pre and feasibility studies – including Bird-in-Hand and Kalkaroo.
“South Australia is very clearly host to multi-million ounces of gold primarily in IOCG systems yet has many targets in open ground awaiting testing,” Mr Heithersay said.
“Ongoing geological surveys are generating drill ready targets and the existing PACE incentive program – which has seen more than $10 million to date invested by the Government in exploration drilling incentives in just five years, is providing valuable new data.
‘On that basis, we have every confidence that if an explorer or existing producer discovers a new commercial deposit, we will target processing any mining lease application within six months of submission.”

http://www.borderwatch.com.au/archives/2649


Canadian miner defies Rio Tinto over Namibia

Peter Koven, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Related Topics

A group of investors are engaged in a battle of wills with mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd., which they feel is trying to get control of a prized uranium deposit without paying a full price for it.

The group includes Canadian mining entrepreneur Stephen Dattels, who has invested heavily in the project in recent days and wants to see it properly auctioned off. Also lingering in the background is the government of Iran, which is involved with Rio Tinto and has a controversial nuclear program.

The project in question is the Rossing South deposit in Namibia. It is controlled by a Toronto-listed company, Extract Resources Ltd., which is based in Perth and is 40%-owned by London-based Kalahari Minerals PLC.

Recent drilling has confirmed that Rossing South is a world-class resource. That drew the interest of Rio Tinto, which already owns the nearby Rossing uranium mine (together with the Iranian government and other investors).

Rio acquired stakes in Extract and Kalahari last year. It then supported a merger between the two miners, which would have allowed it to buy shares in the combined company without being subject to a 20% cap under Australian takeover provisions. The merger was called off over concerns that Rio could get control of the company without paying a premium for it.

Now Rio is talking to other Extract and Kalahari shareholders to try to gain support for a joint venture that would allow it to run Rossing South. But it is having little success.

"Why should Rio Tinto be able to muscle the shareholders of Extract and Kalahari around to suit its own benefit? In my point of view there is a much better alternative, which is to have both companies sold to the highest bidder," Mr. Dattels, one of the key executives at Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. in its formative days, said in an interview.

Mr. Dattels sold uranium company UraMin Inc. for US$2.5-billion in 2007, and he is convinced that Rossing South is the next big thing. He bought major interests in Extract and Kalahari through two mining companies that he runs, and believes there are many potential buyers for the deposit.

"This could easily wind up being the most valuable uranium deposit in the world," he said.

One of the shareholders Rio Tinto was talking to is Toronto-based NWT Uranium Corp., which has an indirect stake in Kalahari. But those talks broke off abruptly, and NWT issued an extraordinary statement on Monday night saying it had "concern with certain questionable acts by Rio management which were not in keeping with the spirit of the discussions."

John Zorbas, managing director at NWT, said that he would also like to see Rossing South sold through a "serious bid" or an auction. He declined to comment on Rio Tinto's conduct.

The unusual situation is further complicated by the government of Iran, which is Rio's joint venture partner on the Rossing mine. In Rio's last annual report, the company stated that is transferring its interest in Extract into the Rossing mine joint venture, effectively putting it in the hands of the Iranian government and other investors.

http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1453493

Geologist supports uranium mining
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer
A geologist from the Virginia Museum of Natural History said Tuesday he does not forsee major health or environmental risks from a proposed uranium mining operation in Pittsylvania County.
Dr. Jim Beard told the Martinsville Rotary Club that he hopes a state study will allow mining to proceed at the Coles Hill deposit in Chatham.
With 119 million pounds of untapped uranium ore worth about $10 billion, the deposit is believed to be the largest trove in the country and the seventh largest in the world.
The Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy voted in November to study whether uranium can be safely mined there. No uranium can be mined in Virginia unless the General Assembly lifts a 1981 ban.
“Uranium has this aura of horribleness around it, but it’s not that toxic,” Beard said.
“I would have no objection to living a mile from that mine myself,” he added. “I think the risks are going to turn out to be small.”
Beard said he thinks the state “is proceeding in a responsible fashion” by doing the study.
“If they determine it should be mined, I think it should be mined,” he said. “I hope for the sake of Virginia, and Southside Virginia in particular, that it works out.”
Beard said uranium mining would create an important domestic source of energy for the United States.
“The energy potential of that mine is 100 times the total potential of offshore drilling” for oil off Virginia’s coast, he said, adding that the uranium’s potential equates to one-fourth of the country’s oil reserves over the next 15 to 20 years.
“If we’re going to have some energy stability in this country, we have to make some choices,” he said.
Nuclear power is “the wave of the future” and already is widely used in Europe, Beard said.
“This is an opportunity for Southside Virginia to move forward in an industry that will be very, very important in the 21st century,” he said.
Beard said there is “certainly a problem with the waste” created from using nuclear energy, “but everything has a cost.”
He added that there is “not a huge volume of waste from nuclear power. I think that’s a solvable problem.”
One of the biggest concerns is whether contaminants from the mining will leach into groundwater.
“I don’t think it will be a problem,” Beard said, because he said the ore minerals are stable.
Mining opponents have expressed concern that communities downstream of the mine could experience serious water contamination, but “no way is that going to happen,” Beard said.
Another concern is whether mining would release radioactive dust into the air.
“Airborne dust is going to be a problem with any mining operation, not just uranium,” Beard said.
Radon already is escaping from this deposit, he said. More radon probably will be dispersed if mining begins, he said, “but it’s going to be so dispersed, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
The mine would be roughly the scale of the quarry in Fieldale and would entail some of the same disruptions, with “trucks and blasting,” Beard said.
“You can’t say everything’s going to be rosy and perfect” near the mine site, he said. “But there’s very little disruption for a lot of good.”
In uranium mining, ore is taken out of the ground and processed into yellow cake. The substance does not become dangerous until it is enriched, Beard said.
The Martinsville Rotary Club has heard opinions from both sides of the uranium mining issue. Past speakers have included a geologist from Virginia Uranium Inc., the company formed by families whose land sits above the uranium, and the head of Southside Concerned Citizens, an organization that opposes the proposed mining operation.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=18313

Jamaica's Windalco halts bauxite mining amid crisis
Wed Apr 1, 2009 3:51pm BST
KINGSTON, April 1 (Reuters) - Jamaica-based West Indies Alumina Co, whose majority shareholder is United Company RUSAL of Russia, has suspended bauxite mining as part of a plan to temporarily shutter the Jamaican company's operations due to a world downturn in demand, company employees said on Wednesday.
Windalco employs 1,119 people and produces 1.2 million tonnes of alumina annually at its two plants in Kirkvine in the south central region and Ewarton in the northeast. Alumina, from which aluminum is made, is processed from bauxite ore.
"We stopped mining yesterday and we don't know how long this will continue," a veteran Windalco employee, Paul Anderson, told Reuters.
Windalco had announced earlier this year it would suspend production of bauxite and alumina for one year initially, due to the fall in demand for the products worldwide, caused by the global recession.
About 850 workers would be affected by the suspension, but the company had decided to keep them on the payroll working reduced hours on reduced pay.
Some employees, in particular the accounts staff, would continue their normal duties, while the majority of production personnel would undergo a period of retraining and also be involved in maintenance of the plants.
The rapid fall in the price of aluminum has affected production in Jamaica, with all of the companies that produce bauxite and alumina cutting staff and production.
Earlier this month, Jamaica's largest bauxite and alumina producing company, Alumina Partners of Jamaica, announced it would suspend operations in May due to the global economic crisis and flagging demand, and that this would mean layoffs.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding told supporters on Sunday he was holding talks with international entrepreneurs, whom analysts said included Chinese officials, to try to find new investors and markets for Jamaica's bauxite and alumina.
(Reporting by Horace Helps, Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Marguerita Choy)
((pascal.fletcher@thomsonreuters.com; +1 305 810 2688)) Keywords: JAMAICA BAUXITE/
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http://uk.reuters.com/article/tnBasicIndustries-SP/idUKN0128848220090401?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0


Consolidated cuts mineral sands mining
April 2, 2009 - 9:24AM
Consolidated Rutile Ltd says full year output will be at the lower end of its forecast range after scaling back mineral sands mining due to reduced demand.
The mineral sands miner has suspended production from one of its two mining units at the Yarraman site in Queensland for three to six months.
The company said its combined rutile and zircon output for 2009 was expected to be at the lower end of the range of 107,000 to 114,000 tonnes previously indicated.
The suspension of mining also will lead to the loss of five jobs, the company said.
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-business/consolidated-cuts-mineral-sands-mining-20090402-9k8x.html


Chinese buy OZ Minerals' mines
4:00AM Thursday Apr 02, 2009
Jesse Riseborough

China Minmetals, the nation's biggest metals trader, agreed to buy most of debt-laden OZ Minerals' mines for US$1.2 billion ($2.15 billion) after Australia last week blocked a takeover on national security grounds.
Minmetals will get the world's second-biggest zinc mine, as well as assets in Australia, Laos and Canada, OZ Minerals said yesterday.
Melbourne-based OZ Minerals also gained a one-month extension on about A$1.2 billion ($1.48 billion) of debt, it said.
The sale allows OZ Minerals to retain its major Prominent Hill copper and gold mine and pay most of its debt, which ballooned last year as the credit crunch and global recession slashed asset values.
Treasurer Wayne Swan last week rejected Minmetals' A$2.6 billion offer for the whole company as he mulled more than US$20 billion in investments by Chinese companies.
Minmetals has "left, undoubtedly, the jewel in the crown behind and are willing to accept the other assets so it just shows you their appetite to enter into transactions," Anthony Anderson, a trader at MF Global in Sydney, said.
"All the debt is paid off, they are a company with A$600 million in cash. This is a pretty good result."
The Minmetals takeover offer was worth A82.5c a share and the new proposal means no cash will flow directly to shareholders.
"There's a number of investors who'd been in the stock with the expectation that the original 82.5c cash deal would get up and are now exiting their positions," said Matt Riordan, who works at Paradice Investment Management in Sydney.
OZ Minerals, created less than a year ago by the merger of Oxiana and Zinifex, reported a A$2.5 billion loss in February. UBS values Prominent Hill, located near BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam operation in South Australia, at A$1.6 billion.
"The OZ Minerals skeleton appears very vulnerable to a takeover," said Greg Canavan, head of Australian research at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney.
"BHP is an obvious contender, given Prominent Hill's proximity to Olympic Dam."
The offer needs approvals from China and Australia as well as OZ Minerals shareholders.
- BLOOMBERG
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10564727


Other News – India

Notice to govt on forest land

User Rating:starstarstarstarstar / 0 Wednesday, 01 April 2009


Hyderabad, April 01 : The High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to file its reply to a petition that challenged the alienation of reserve forest land of 6467 acres in Mamidipalli of Ranga Reddy district for a hardware park.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, while hearing the petition filed by Forum for Better hyderabad, gave time upto April 17 for filing the counter.

The petitioner contended that alienation took place without denotifying the land from the reserve category which is against the provisions of Forest (conservation) Act, 1980.

--Agencies—

http://www.siasat.com/english/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=333285&Itemid=79&cattitle=Hyderabad


Storage of Important Reservoirs in the Country
________________________________________
15:35 IST

Central Water Commission (CWC) under Ministry of Water Resources is monitoring storage position of 81 important reservoirs spread all over the country, of which as many as 36 reservoirs are having significant hydro-power benefits with installed capacities of more than 60 MW each. The combined live storage in these 81 reservoirs at the beginning of monsoon i.e. 1st June, 2008 was 19 % of their designed capacity and stood at 26 % of the designed capacity as on 26th March 2009. The present storage is 79 % of last year’s storage and 95% of last 10 years average storage during the same period. Out of these 81 reservoirs there are presently 37 reservoirs where this year’s storage is 80 % or less than the average of previous 10 years and in remaining 44 reservoirs the storage is more than 80 % of the average of previous 10 years.

In order to derive the best possible benefits from the available water, Central Water Commission is keeping in touch with the Department of Agriculture and Co-operation and providing information of the weekly storage position to the Crop Weather Watch Group for evolving suitable crop strategies and also appraising the situation to various Departments and Ministries involved in Water Resources Planning.

Basin wise storage position as on 26th March’09 is as follows:

The storage position in 4 basins namely, Indus, Narmada, Rivers of Kutch, and Krishna are better than average of previous 10 years. Ganga, Tapi, Mahi, Cauvery and Neighbouring East Flowing Rivers and West Flowing Rivers of South basins are flowing close to normal and Godavari, Mahanadi & Neighbouring East Flowing rivers and Sabarmati are flowing deficient.

Out of 36 reservoirs with significant hydro potential, 22 reservoirs have storage build up less than the average of last 10 years capacity.

SK/BS

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=48423

Working of NREGA — Voices from Panchayats
by Bidyut Mohanty, 2 April 2009
Introduction
Bureaucratic implementation of the NREGA has bypassed the Panchayati Raj Institutions which were intended to play an important role in planning and executing this flagship programme to respond to the local needs of the people. As a result several problems ranging from corruption to poor planning and the arbitrary management of the scheme have crippled the potentially valuable measure to provide sustenance to the rural poor. This was the tenor of the deliberations of some 1200 panchayat delegates who assembled in New Delhi at a National Conference on NREGA and Panchayats organised by Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), New Delhi on October 14-15, 2008. (Similar issues were raised during another conference organised by the ISS on Thirty Years of Panchayati Raj in West Bengal at Kolkata on December 12-13, 2008.)
The NREGA was passed in 2005 with twin objectives in mind. First, it ensured the legal right to work for a hundred days to poor people whoever is willing to work at a minimum wage rate, particularly in the rural areas, which in turn would reduce the flow of rural to urban migration. (Dreze et al. 2006) In addition to this, another important objective of the Act has been to strengthen the PRIs. (Aruna Roy, 2008) As result the institutional machinery at the grassroots level would be stabilised to address both short term and long term measures to eradicate poverty, facilitate rural development and promote social equity in consultation with the local people. Under the Act the Gram Panchayat has a pivotal role in the implementation of the NREGS. It is responsible for planning of works, registering those households which are entitled to get work, issuing job cards, allocating employment, executing 50 per cent of the works, and monitoring the implementation of the scheme at the village level. All these activities are to be done in consultation with the gram sabha. In view of the complexities and sheer volume of work, the implementation of the NREGA assigns a considerable organisational responsibility at the level of the Gram Panchayat.
For example, the role of the Gram Panchayat in the registration of beneficiaries is significant. In order to authenticate the registration, the Panchayat verifies whether the applicant resides in that village and is an adult. The unit of registration is the household. After verification, the Gram Panchayat issues a Job Card to the household.
The Intermediate Panchayat will be responsible for planning at the Block level, and for monitoring and supervision. It can also be given the responsibility of executing works from among the 50 per cent that are not to be executed by the Gram Panchayat. The Programme Officer at the Block level will assist the Intermediate Panchayat in its functions.
As per the norms, the Gram Panchayat/Programme Officer should send letters to the applicants informing them where and when to report for work. A public notice has to be displayed at the Gram Panchayat office and at the Programme Officer’s block office, providing information on the date, place of employment and the names of those provided employment.
The District Panchayats will be responsible for finalising the District Plans and for monitoring and supervising the Employment Guarantee Scheme in the district. District Panchayats can also execute works from among the 50 per cent that are not to be executed by Gram Panchayats. (ISS, ’NREGA—Concept Note’, 2008)
To perform the assignment efficiently the panchayats representatives and functionaries need to undergo orientation training on various aspects of the Act ranging from micro planning to technical inputs. They also need coordination between all three tiers of panchayats. Further, these institutions need additional functionaries at their disposal. Vertical integration of all three tiers of panchayats is also necessary.
But it became apparent from the deliberations of the delegates that neither have the funds been devolved nor has the decision-making process from the lines departments been fully decentralised. The Gram Panchayats are still dependent upon the block level and district level officers. What is more, in the process of getting sanction from them the PRIs have to give commissions to the concerned officers. On top of it, they don’t have Secretaries of their own.1 Two to three panchayats have just one Secretary who is always overburdened. Besides, the Secretary declines to take the additional responsibility of the NREGA in some States. A junior Rozgar Sachiv, who is appointed to look after the NREGA at the panchayat level, is quite inexperienced in the matter of keeping accounts. The functionaries of the panchayats are also quite inexperienced in handling a massive amount of money while having limited skill of micro planning. These and other issues emerged from the two-day Conference.
Voices from the Field and Findings of a Survey*
The convention delegates had come from all parts of India including the North-Eastern States as well as Lakshadweep and Puduchery. They were mostly Zilla Panchayat and Block Panchayat chiefs and also those of Gram Panchayats. About 33 per cent elected women representatives were present. The delegates discussed various issues not only recounting some positive impacts of the scheme but also highlighting the problems which they face while implementing it at the villages level. At the end of the conference they adopted a Charter of Demands which was passed uninanimously. All of them agreed that the scheme should be implemented by enabling the panchayats to operate more efficiently.
Effect of NREGA
Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, the Minister for Rural Development, Government of India, reeled out impressive data to show how the NREGA is creating a revolution in the countryside. He said the NREGA has already created 2900 million person days work throughout India. As many as 339 million families have benefited because of the scheme. A sum of Rs 160,000 million has already been spent on this, while 422 million accounts have been opened in the post office. He observed that the scheme is working well in Jharkhand and Orissa. Answering a query he said that the budget for the NREGA has not been reduced. But apart from highlighting the need for training he did not go into details as to what kind of problems the elected representatives were facing in implementing the scheme; these came out subsequently at the convention and those points are discussed here.
Coverage
First of all it is to be noted that the NREGS has not been implemented in all districts of India though legally it has been done so since April 2008. Out of a total 416 respondents 79 per cent said that the NREGS has already started in their panchayats but the rest replied in the negative. Delegates from Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and some districts of other States informed that the scheme is yet to start. The delegates from J&K pleaded that the scheme should be implemented as soon as possible so that women have access to employment, whereas Nagaland reported that they don’t know anything about the NREGS yet. (Nagaland, incidentally, does not come under the purview of the 73rd Amendment Act. On the other hand they have the Autonomous District Council.) Obviously the initiative to start was still lacking with the implementing machinery. Vijaya Bai Tai, the awardee of nirmal gram puruskar from Maharashtra, said that her district was agriculturally prosperous and hence they were yet to start the scheme even though it had been in operation. In other words, the agricultural schedule and that of the NREGA don’t match. Even many delegates from Uttar Pradesh informed that the scheme was yet to start in some parts of their region. Similarly the delegates from the Mewat region of Haryana, and Koppali in Karnataka pleaded ignorance about the scheme.
Training
As for training to all the PRI members who were supposedly the main implementers of the scheme, the Minister for Rural Development recommended that training and awareness programme should be imparted to all the 34 lakh representatives in a phased manner. He even suggested that institutions like the IIT and Agricultural University should start training on the NREGS. The same view was expressed by the delegates from Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka etc. A president of a panchayat, who happened to be a male and hailed from Karnataka, observed that women presidents are more ignorant than men about the budget and social audit, vigilance committee, budget and micro planning.
According to the survey, 25 per cent of the respondents were silent about the training, whereas 34 per cent of them said that they got training only for two days which is really inadequate to learn about the complicated procedure of the scheme. About 29 per cent of them said that they attended only one-day training. Regarding the contents of training 89 per cent of the delegates replied that they were given training relating to the panchayats and NREGS. Regarding other important issues such as Right to Information, social audit, village development, only one per cent in each category replied in affirmative! The training was mostly given by the SIRD followed by NGOs as per the survey.
Representatives from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam pointed to the weak structure of the PRI system in their States and explained how they are unable to handle the scheme. In Arunachal Pradesh, therefore, the Zilla Parishad directly selects the beneficiaries ignoring the role of the Gram Panchayat!
Funds and Functionaries
Regarding funds and functionaries, the delegates were candid about the shortage of everything. Under the scheme, the panchayat is supposed to get Rs 10 million per year but in reality only 39 per cent of the delegates informed that their panchayats get more than Rs three lakhs and then 29 per cent of them said that they get a small amount of money, namely, Rs one lakh. But the most shocking point was that rest of the delegates did not reply to this question!
On top of it the panchayats don’t get adequate number of technical functionaries such as junior engineers to carry out the NREGA activities. In many places, Rozger Sevaks have been appointed to advise them about the technical points or preparing the budget or village level planning needs. But they themselves are not adequately trained. Further, the panchayats do not have Secretaries of their own to manage the routine work. Besides, some gram panchayats don’t have the own offices, let alone sitting space for the personnel meant for the NREGS. Insofar as the nature of activities is concerned, the predominance of construction work became quite clear from the survey. For example, 52 per cent of the work was in the nature of road construction, repairing of boundary wall, creation of check dam etc. followed by digging of water bodies (41 per cent) and agriculture related work(20 per cent). Thirteen per cent of the funding is spent on increasing the forest cover. A high proportion of delegates—32 per cent—did not reply to this question!
Corruption
On corruption almost all the representatives expressed concern about the commission that they have to pay to get the project sanctioned. It included many levels from patwaries to other officers. A patwari took 25 to 50 rupees per job card with photographs, a pradhan from one of the panchayats in Saurastra region reported. A Zilla Parishad member from Sitamadhi, Bihar informed the gathering that even the officers took bribe to sanction the NREGS money. As per the survey, 57 per cent of the delegates felt that the block and panchayat officers have a share in the total amount of money sanctioned for the NREGS work, whereas 23 per cent were silent.
According to the delegates, the contractors also cheated the labourers on measurement at the work site, or duplicating the job cards or measuring the earth work after a lapse in order to show it as less amount than the actual weight particularly after the rains. In the process the labourers got less than the actual wage rate which was invariably lower than the minimum wage.
A common complaint of the delegates was that even though the panchayat chief was likely to handle millions of rupees, the members of the panchayats did not at all benefit. The functionaries were not even considered to be entitled to employment opportunity offered by the scheme. Further he/she got only three to four hundred rupees per month and the ward member got Rs 30 as sitting fee.
Some Block Panchayat chiefs said that there is hardly any coordination between the three tiers of panchayats whereas the Act clearly mentioned about such coordination. In many places it was the CEO who ordered to start the work through contractor.
About political interference the delegates from West Bengal and Tripura shared the same opinion, namely, if the villagers were not from the same political party as that of the elected represen-tatives, the contractor took six months to issue the job card.
Duration of the Activities and Minimum Wage Rate
Further, they also said that employment was created only for fifteen person days and the minimum wage rate which was paid to the labourers was not adequate in some panchayats. Subhas Pradhan, a Panchayat Samiti member of Ganjam, Orissa, reported about the discrepancy between the male and female wage rates. He explained that since the nature of work was very arduous, women being anaemic are unable to earn the full wage rate. Others also commented on the minimum wage rate pointing out various malpractices adopted in deciding the amount. The President of the Banda District Panchayat of UP was of the opinion that even though the labourers worked for fifteen days, they were paid only for a couple of days by the CEO and BDO. It took fifteen days to five months to get the amount in spite of the fact that the daily labourer lived from hand to mouth, observed the elected representatives from Uttarakhand. Regarding the duration of the work, it is surprising that about 61 per cent of the of the delegates who answered other questions, did not respond to this question. But one quarter of them said that the activities lasted for 20 to 30 days, followed by 18 per cent who were of the opinion that it lasted for more than three months. About 31 per cent of the respondents at the time of survey confided that labourers got more than Rs 80 followed by 15 per cent who were of the opinion that labourers got below Rs 50. At the same time a significant percentage of the respondents, 23 per cent, did not reply to the query at all. In Gujarat, interestingly, 50 per cent of the delegates said that the workers get less than Rs 50 followed by another 50 per cent who did not respond to the question!
Some Positive Impact
The delegates were quite aware of the impact of the Act. For example, they noted that the migration process had declined throughout India. This was stated not only by the elected representatives from Punjab but also those from Bihar. Both agreed that the migration flow has declined. However, the Up-sarpanch of Bolangir district of Orissa said that since the work begins in September and October, by that time the seasonal labourers have already been committed to contractors for dadan migration to Hyderabad or Raipur. Hence the whole impact of the availability of work is not being utilised fully.2
Many specific recommendations were made by women members from the different States for allocation of employment opportunity under the NREGS. Representatives from Bangalore suggested that labourers should get a chance to work in international airport modernising schemes. Bihar representatives felt that efforts should be made to canalise the course of the Kosi river to prevent massive floods through this work. Others opined that a provision should be there to meet the needs of skilled persons or physically challenged persons in the villages. So far as the division of material and labour cost is concerned, the delegates suggested to make it 50:50 instead of 60 to 40.
Conclusion
From the panchayat perspective it is clear from the above discussions that the NREGA has not been able to help in deepening grassroot democracy or strengthening the PRIs even though the scheme has brought about some positive impact on the beneficiaries. The members of local government lack knowledge about micro planning, social audit, vigilance committees etc. Since they don’t have functionaries of their own, they depend on the line departments and hence the BDO, CEO, patwaries, and other officers get the opportunity to take extensive bribes in order to get the scheme sanctioned. In order to make the decentralised decision-making process a reality the NREGA should be implemented through the panchayats by proper devolution and without having any undue interference from the block and district officers. n
References
ISS (2008), ‘Concept note on NREGA’ prepared on the occasion of the Conference.
Dreze, J. et al. (2006), Employment Guarantee Act: A Primer, New Delhi, NBT.
Narayanan, Sudha (2008), ‘Women’s Work and Children’, Economic and Political Weekly, March 1, 2008.
http:/www.pria.org/ NREGA %20 Press Release%20 Release NREGA.Eng.pdf.
Roy, Aruna (2008), Lecture delivered at the Conference organised by the ISS.
Vijayanand, S.M. (2008), ‘NREGA, Kerala Experiences’, Lecture delivered at the Conference.
Footnotes
1. PRIA which had conducted extensive survey in twenty districts of 13 States in 2007-08 reached the same conclusions. Source http://www..pria.org/NREGA per cent 20 Press Release per cent20 Release.NREGA.
2. Sudha Narayan (2008) pointed out as to how not only has it become women’s programme but also the flow of migration has decreased. She had conducted a survey in Tamil Nadu. Vijayanand (2008), presenting the experience of Kerala panchayats, narrated how the Kootumbashree members monitor the NREGA; but he also added that the panchayats get untied fund for implementing the scheme.
Dr Bidyut Mohanty belongs to the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. She can be contacted at dr_ mohanty@yahoo.com
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1256.html

'Charter won't elevate Aboriginal law'
Julian Drape
April 2, 2009 - 6:49PM
A legal expert has dismissed coalition concerns the Rudd government's move to endorse a UN declaration on indigenous rights will elevate customary law above domestic law.
Labor will on Friday make good on its election promise to endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The former Howard government voted against the declaration in 2007 on the grounds it would elevate customary law above Australian law.
Last week, opposition legal affairs spokesman George Brandis said the UN document was deeply flawed, and supporting it would have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences.
But Megan Davis, director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of NSW, says the coalition is seriously misguided.
"It's completely incorrect and I don't know where they get that argument from," Ms Davis told AAP.
"The declaration is non-binding and has no legal effect in Australia, and there's no way it could elevate Aboriginal customary law above domestic Australian law."
But that's not to say Labor's somewhat belated support will be inconsequential.
Ms Davis says the declaration, which she describes as a set of aspirational guiding principles, will be used by Aboriginal people in negotiations with local and state governments, as well as in the courts.
"Politically and legally it will be used a lot."
The declaration sets out the rights of the world's estimated 370 million indigenous people.
Unlike a ratified treaty, it doesn't gives rise to binding obligations, but courts will still use it as a guiding light, human rights lawyer Sarah Pritchard says.
Australian courts could have regard to the UN declaration in two main ways.
First, in the development of the common law and, second, when interpreting statutes.
"It's a very uncontroversial principle of statutory interpretation that the courts will strain to interpret legislation consistent with international obligations," Dr Pritchard said.
It's also possible the government could schedule the declaration to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act.
The commission could then receive complaints regarding breaches and seek to conciliate them.
There's speculation Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin will make a qualifying statement when she offers Australia's support for the declaration on Friday morning at Parliament House in Canberra.
Ms Davis says that would be "disappointing" but not surprising.
"I'm not surprised the Australian government would have reservations," she said.
"But I don't think that undermines the political significance of it or Aboriginal peoples' capacity to use it."
Labor says apart from meeting an election promise, changing Australia's position is an important symbolic step for building trust and resetting black and white relations.
But others are more cynical, suggesting the move is aimed at garnering support for Australia's bid for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council.
"I suspect it has something to do with the bid for the Security Council," Ms Davis said.
"They're getting their human rights house in order."
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner Tom Calma says Labor's endorsement of the declaration must be backed by a renewed commitment to improve Aboriginal health.
"Formal support for the UN declaration specifically protects the right of indigenous peoples to participate in decision making in matters that affect their rights," Mr Calma said in a statement.
"The next step is to develop a comprehensive, long-term and properly resourced national action plan to achieve indigenous health equality and to do it in genuine partnership with indigenous peoples."
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/charter-wont-elevate-aboriginal-law-20090402-9kn0.html


Indigenous organisation demands new uncontacted tribes' reserves
1 April 2009


A Nahua man. Shortly after first contact in 1984, more than 50% of the Nahua died.
© Survlval
Peru’s national indigenous organisation, AIDESEP, has urged the Peruvian government to create five new reserves for uncontacted tribes living in the remote rainforest.

The demand was made in the lead-up to a key meeting coordinated by Peru’s indigenous affairs department, INDEPA, to discuss the new reserves.

AIDESEP’s president, Alberto Pizango Chota, emphasized that the Anglo-French company Perenco is currently working in one of the possible new reserves.

‘What is development?’ Pizango Chota asked. ‘It is not about destroying the environment – on the contrary, it is about conserving it, protecting it, and allowing it to flourish. For indigenous people that is the real definition of development.’

INDEPA’s meeting was held yesterday, 31 March, in Iquitos in northern Peru. Five reserves have already been created for uncontacted Indians, but oil companies are permitted to work there and loggers often invade illegally.
http://www.survival-international.org/news/4409