21/05/09

Mining – India 1
1. Asia Iron Ore-India price steady, China steel mills buying 1
2. Exposed - Vedanta’s ‘lies’ about tribe 3
3. Anti Vedanta activists and NGOs loosing grounds in Lanjigarh 4
4. Asia Iron Ore-India price steady, China steel mills buying 5
5. Maoist fear disrupts bauxite supply 7
Mining – International 8
6. Puda Coal to acquire more mines to boost profitability 8
7. Zimbabwe seeks Namibian advice on diamond mining 9
8. UPDATE 2-ArcelorMittal says delays Liberia iron ore mine 9
9. New Mining Safety Standards to Be Implemented Worldwide 10
10. Global crude steel production in April 2009 dips by 24% YoY 11
11. Peak Gold: The New Paradigm 12
12. Baosteel and POSCO to strengthen bilateral cooperation 14
Other News – India 14
13. A future imperilled 14
14. India: does the Congress election victory signal an investment opportunity? 16
15. The victory by India's ruling Congress and the subsequent stock market bounce has reignited investor optimism. 16
16. New buffer zone gives Project Tiger a boost 19
17. Govts urged to show respect for rights of indigenous people 19
18. HC refuses interim stay on plastic bag ban 21
19. UNICEF: Need to improve the quality of primary education in South Asia 21
20. ConocoPhillips poses 'deadly' threat to uncontacted tribes 22


Mining – India

Asia Iron Ore-India price steady, China steel mills buying

Thu May 21, 2009 3:23pm IST

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-Text+* Iron ore at $52-$54/tonne FOB, same as last week
* East India talks of deals done at $67-$68 with freight
* Coming monsoon slows ports, vessels wait up to 7 days
By Ruchira Singh
MUMBAI, May 21 (Reuters) - India's iron ore prices were steady from last week, buoyed by slow but continuous demand as Chinese traders kept feeding local steel mills despite warnings of a steel glut.
"Demand is good. Almost all steel mills in northern China, which used to consume domestically produced iron ore, are buying ... imported ore accounts for more than 80 percent of their total demand now," said a senior manager at a state-owned trading house in Beijing.
China's iron ore port stocks fell by 2 percent this week, reflecting good demand from the steel industry, which is the world's biggest. [ID:nSHA267189].
China's purchases come against the backdrop of its long-standing talks with Australian and Brazilian iron ore suppliers over setting annual benchmark prices and warnings that its steel industry was oversupplied. [ID:nSHA267189] Indian traders and a trade body head said Chinese demand was just as good as last week, keeping prices well supported.
"The market is on the positive side. Prices asked by sellers are $67-$68 a tonne (with freight) and someone has sold at that rate," said one east India-based miner and exporter.
The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) quoted benchmark prices at $52-$54 FOB, on par with a week earlier but higher than $45-$46 in early May.
Deutsche Bank's one-month iron ore swaps were quoted at $68, firmer than end-April's $64.75.
PORTS SLOW DOWN
The impending closure of iron ore fines exports from Goa port in west India due to the monsoon, has pressured other ports. An increase in stocks waiting to be shipped out was seen especially at Paradip port in the east.
"Goa port was supposed to closed on Wednesday but because the weather is fine, it is continuing to load," said a miner and exporter in Goa. "But the season is as good as over."
India's annual south westerly monsoon is expected to hit the country's south-western coast in the next few days, inching its way up to Goa, halting exports of iron ore fines till August-September.
Other ports felt the effects of the imminent port closure. A trader in the eastern state of Orissa said Paradip and Haldia ports were slowing down as well with vessels having to wait for up to seven days.
"I have to look after port planning and logistics so I am not selling this week," the east India miner said. "We are fully sold till June first week."
For a graphic on Indian iron ore exports, click: here
To see historical iron ore prices, click [ID:nSEO328422] (Additional reporting by Alfred Cang in Shanghai; Editing by Ben Tan)

http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINBOM41618720090521?sp=true
Exposed - Vedanta’s ‘lies’ about tribe
20 MAY 2009
'Behind the lies' - Survival's new website debunking Vedanta's PR offensive
© Survival
An exposé of the ‘lies’ of British FTSE-100 company Vedanta Resources was launched today by Survival International.
http://www.survival-international.org/behindthelies/vedanta
Vedanta plans to build a massive bauxite mine on land sacred to the Dongria Kondhtribe in India. If it goes ahead, swathes of forests will be lost, rivers polluted and the Dongria Kondh destroyed.
However, while hundreds of Dongria Kondh and neighbouring tribespeople mount large-scale protests against the mine, Vedanta’s PR machine (London PR firm Finsbury and ‘corporate social responsibility’ consultancy CO3) has launched a sustained offensive against the tribe’s efforts to stop the mine.
A host of anonymous pro-Vedanta videos have appeared on the internet in recent months in which grateful Dongria Kondh express their thanks to Vedanta for providing them with healthcare and education. Vedanta propaganda, spread in the local media, makes claims that tribal people have ‘demanded that their land should be taken’ by Vedanta and that mining will improve the quality of the rivers and forests.
Much of this material has been manipulative; some has been completely untrue. For example, Vedanta has stated that there are no Dongria Kondh villages within 12 kilometres of the proposed mine. In fact, there are more than sixty.
Survival gave Vedanta advance notice of the exposé website and invited it to provide evidence to support its claims, but the company failed to do so.
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The tactics of Vedanta and its agents are a throwback to colonialism: a mix of belief in their own superiority; the conviction that the ‘backward’ natives are really grateful for losing their land; and straightforward concealment of the facts. Vedanta may have funded some projects for those about to be destroyed by their mine, but that doesn’t buy the company a licence to violate human rights.’
For more information and images please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org

http://www.survival-international.org/news/4560


Anti Vedanta activists and NGOs loosing grounds in Lanjigarh
Thursday, 21 May 2009
It is reported that the sustained efforts of Vedanta have started giving results and the change has begun and is to be seen to be believed.

People support including support from Dongria Kondhs is increasing every day. Launching of Mid-Day meal program in Lanjigarh for increasing nutrient value of over 17,000 under-privileged children , training of 120 women from Dongria Kondhs in leaf-place making, Strawberry cultivation to enhance the income of the farmers, Mobile Health Units to cater to health requirement of villagers - specially tribals, at their door step, 70 child care centres, adoption of 800 Anganwadi Centres benefiting 31,500 under-privileged children, to name a few, have brought Vedanta Group much closer to villagers, particularly the tribals who were being mislead by social activists and distant NGOs.

Tudu Majhi, a villager of Khemptipadar Village of Lanjigarh says, ‘we have changed because of Vedanta Aluminium. Today Mobile Health Units of Vedanta look after our health and we need not go to far off hospitals for small treatments.’ Kataru Majhi is happy because Vedanta Group company helped him in better understanding of land and seeds and also fertilizers and pesticides. Today his agriculture income has increased multi-fold.

When a team of 8 from Dongria Kondh community from Patsali, Guma, Luma and Dangamati village visited Panchapatmali bauxite mining site, Asia’s largest bauxite reserve in order to see for themselves the reality of bauxite mining, one of the member’s, Taalu Saikoka while interacting with tribals reacted, ‘there is NO environment damage, NO damage to tribals culture, NO scarcity of water, then why these NGOs are misleading tribal people. Maandi Sikoka saw forest cover increased due to plantation by mining company.

Drika Kadraka said, ‘we won’t allow NGOs to misguide us further. Now we see the reality and will let our people (Dongria Kondhs) know about this. If mining can change their lives, it would change our lives too. It was foolishness to oppose the mining from Niyamgiri by Vedanta Aluminium and listen to useless propaganda.’

Only Vedanta Group came forward during the recent epidemic in Lanjigarh, district Kalahandi and provided instant medical care to help people suffering from Diarrhea and Cholera. Most of these people belonged to Dongria Kondhs in Kurli Gram Panchayat in Bissamkatak Block of Rayagada District. Dongria Kondh, understand now what is good for them and what would be ultimately helping their children and their community. They have stopped listening to vested interest people and NGOs.

There have been many attempts by the Dongria NGOs and groups, to mobilize Dongria tribal community against Vedanta Group for mining from Niyamgiri Hill but as Dongria Kondh community now know the reality, they do not come in their trap rather have been working very closely with Vedanta Group. These groups have faced frustration and failure many times. Recently May 14, 2009 they again attempted to incite Dongria Kondhs but failed again. Dongria Kondhs refused to listen to them and are happy to be part of growth and prosperity. These vested groups planned a rally on May 11, 2009 but could muster support of not even 10 people from Dongria Kondhs in less then 50 people gathered. Those 10 also did not stick to them. The rally was cancelled. On May 14, 2009 these activists again tried to take out rally, went home to home to muster support but were highly disappointed.

Vedanta Group has very clear focus relating to community development and they are going ahead with it. Every day people are joining hands and the development has started showing tangible results. “We know now these NGOs are outsiders and outsiders should not be allowed to unnecessary interfere in our development. We know these NGOs and activists have used us for their interests”, voiced a Dongria Kondh who was happy his wife getting plate making training.

It is true, large Corporates have been always instrumental in bringing changes in the lives of people, specially those, who have not seen how the world has grown. Along with Corporates, Governments and NGOs and activities supporting developments have also joined hands to bring desired results. It is important to support growth and development and be part of the positive change rather opposing developmental activities.

Dongria Kondhs now understand the different between meaningful development that would go a long way in upbringing their lives, lives of their children, their livelihood, education, agriculture, health, sanitation, infrastructure and their community development rather heed ear to selfish propaganda of vested NGOs and activists.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/21/OTUzMTA%3D/Anti_Vedanta_activists_and_NGOs_loosing_grounds_in_Lanjigarh.html


Asia Iron Ore-India price steady, China steel mills buying
Thu May 21, 2009 3:23pm IST

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* Iron ore at $52-$54/tonne FOB, same as last week
* East India talks of deals done at $67-$68 with freight
* Coming monsoon slows ports, vessels wait up to 7 days
By Ruchira Singh
MUMBAI, May 21 (Reuters) - India's iron ore prices were steady from last week, buoyed by slow but continuous demand as Chinese traders kept feeding local steel mills despite warnings of a steel glut.
"Demand is good. Almost all steel mills in northern China, which used to consume domestically produced iron ore, are buying ... imported ore accounts for more than 80 percent of their total demand now," said a senior manager at a state-owned trading house in Beijing.
China's iron ore port stocks fell by 2 percent this week, reflecting good demand from the steel industry, which is the world's biggest. [ID:nSHA267189].
China's purchases come against the backdrop of its long-standing talks with Australian and Brazilian iron ore suppliers over setting annual benchmark prices and warnings that its steel industry was oversupplied. [ID:nSHA267189] Indian traders and a trade body head said Chinese demand was just as good as last week, keeping prices well supported.
"The market is on the positive side. Prices asked by sellers are $67-$68 a tonne (with freight) and someone has sold at that rate," said one east India-based miner and exporter.
The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) quoted benchmark prices at $52-$54 FOB, on par with a week earlier but higher than $45-$46 in early May.
Deutsche Bank's one-month iron ore swaps were quoted at $68, firmer than end-April's $64.75.
PORTS SLOW DOWN
The impending closure of iron ore fines exports from Goa port in west India due to the monsoon, has pressured other ports. An increase in stocks waiting to be shipped out was seen especially at Paradip port in the east.
"Goa port was supposed to closed on Wednesday but because the weather is fine, it is continuing to load," said a miner and exporter in Goa. "But the season is as good as over."
India's annual south westerly monsoon is expected to hit the country's south-western coast in the next few days, inching its way up to Goa, halting exports of iron ore fines till August-September.
Other ports felt the effects of the imminent port closure. A trader in the eastern state of Orissa said Paradip and Haldia ports were slowing down as well with vessels having to wait for up to seven days.
"I have to look after port planning and logistics so I am not selling this week," the east India miner said. "We are fully sold till June first week."
For a graphic on Indian iron ore exports, click: here
To see historical iron ore prices, click [ID:nSEO328422] (Additional reporting by Alfred Cang in Shanghai; Editing by Ben Tan)
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINBOM41618720090521


Maoist fear disrupts bauxite supply
AMIT GUPTA


A bauxite mine of Hindalco Industries Limited in Lohardaga. File picture
Gumla/Lohardaga, May 20: Dispatch and transportation of bauxite from mines in Gumla and Lohardaga districts to different units of Hindalco Industries Limited — a flagship company of Aditya Birla Group — has come to a standstill since May 12 because of Maoist menace.
Hundreds of trucks carrying bauxite used to ply on the Netarhat-Bishunpur-Ghaghra-Lohardaga route. But the vehicles have disappeared after Naxalites torched at least six trucks on this stretch in the Ghaghra police station area on May 12. Fear of more trouble by the rebel outfits — more than four groups are active in this area — have kept the drivers away.
Bauxite from Lohardaga and Gumla is ferried to Hindalco’s integrated plant in Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh that has a metal production capacity of 3.5 lakh tonnes and Muri in Jharkhand, which produces 5 lakh tonnes alumina refinery every year.
“It seems that the Hindalco management has either failed to strike a peace deal with the rebel outfits or the truck owners are too scared to ply on this route,” said a businessman of Ghaghra. Daily activities in the area were also affected, as villagers, who are dependent on these mines for their livelihood, have no work for over a week.
Although Hindalco officials are tight-lipped, a senior employee said that dispatch and transportation from the mines of Serengdag and Gurdari in Gumla district and Bagru and Pakhari in Lohardaga district had taken a hit since May 12. General manager of the company’s mines division K.K. Dave is apparently in Mumbai, the headquarters of Aditya Birla Group, to discuss the matter with the higher authorities.
Hindalco officials voiced concern that disruption in movement and transportation of bauxite from the mines in Jharkhand would affect production in Muri and Renukoot plants.
Gumla deputy commissioner Rahul Sharma, who held a meeting with Hindalco officials yesterday, told The Telegraph that they had decided to provide escort to bauxite-carrying trucks. “Today, a few dumpers transported bauxite ores from Gurdari mines plateau near Netarhat. There is a possibility that dispatch and transportation will resume from Serengdag mines from tomorrow,” said Sharma, adding that the rebels torched the vehicles on May 12 probably in protest against the killing of their area commander Sanjay Oraon.
“The Maoist rebels may not demand levy but the new incumbent, who has replaced Oraon, wants to make his presence felt. A rumour of bandh is enough to force the businessmen down their shutters. Vehicles have also stopped plying. This has taken a serious toll on mining activities,” said a businessman of the area.
Such is the fear that vehicles do not ply at night on the route. This despite the fact that a school to train combat forces is being commissioned near Netarhat.
Hindalco has leases in four functioning major bauxite plateaus of Lohardaga and Gumla. Besides, it has two leases in Latehar, which are yet to become operational. Many other individual-owned mines operate in Gumla district. They have been forced to close down since last week.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090521/jsp/jharkhand/story_10995728.jsp

Mining – International


Puda Coal to acquire more mines to boost profitability
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Bloomberg citing Mr Laby Wu CFO of China’s Puda Coal Inc, whose shares have doubled this year, as saying that, the company is planning to buy more mines to boost profitability.

Mr Wu said “Puda’s traditional business is coal washing so its margin is relatively low. Entering upstream coal mining will increase the gross margins of the company. He said that we hope that we can get final approval in the following two months.”

He added that the company’s Q1 gross margin narrowed to 7.8% from 14.7% a year earlier. The average gross margin for coal miners is about 30%.

Mr Wu said “Puda has a plan to upgrade to a main board exchange like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. If all goes according to plan, we could upgrade in the Q3.”
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/21/OTUzMjc%3D/Puda_Coal_to_acquire_more_mines_to_boost_profitability.html


Zimbabwe seeks Namibian advice on diamond mining
Written by Toivo Ndjebela
Thursday, 21 May 2009
ZIMBABWE could be sending a delegation to Namibia and two other SADC countries to seek advice on how to profitably exploit the controversial Marange diamonds and avoid a world market ban.

An independent Zimbabwean sunday newspaper, The Standard, reported that the country’s new inclusive government would dispatch teams to Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, where diamonds are being profitably exploited.
The newspaper quoted a senior official saying Government has arranged visits to Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and possibly Angola among other countries that are global models in diamond exploitation.
The Marange diamond deposits remain a major bone of contention between the President Robert Mugabe-led Government and British mining giant African Consolidated Resources (ACR), which in 2006 won a court order to continue mining in Marange despite tough opposition from the Mugabe Government.
Reports at the time suggested that even after the British firm had acquired a court order to continue mining, a strong police contingent was deployed to the site, denying mine workers entry to the concession.
In April, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses called for a ban on trade in Zimbabwe’s diamonds, claiming revenues generated had been used to fund human rights violations by Mugabe’s previous regime.
Government’s consultations with its neighbours is, however, met with mixed feelings since African Consolidated Resources is still adamant that it has valid legal title to mining claims on nearly all of the land incorporating what is commonly known as the Marange diamond fields.
ACR was issued mining claims and certificates in 2006 after it had discovered and made public the Marange diamonds.

http://www.informante.web.na/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4080&Itemid=101

UPDATE 2-ArcelorMittal says delays Liberia iron ore mine
Wed May 20, 2009 1:09pm EDT
* Falling demand for iron ore forces delay
* Jobs lost at company and subcontractor
(Adds job losses, background)
By Patrick Worsnip
MONROVIA, May 20 (Reuters) - The world's biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) has delayed the launch of a planned $1.5 billion iron ore mine in Liberia as a result of falling demand, the company said on Wednesday.
ArcelorMittal, which reported slightly worse than expected first-quarter results in April, has said it expects world steel demand to fall by 15-20 percent this year, and that it will lay off nearly 1,000 workers in the United States.
"If we cannot sell the iron ore it becomes difficult for us to continue on the pace that we thought we would be on by now," company spokesman Arthur Massaquoi said on a conference call with journalists travelling with a United Nations Security Council delegation to the West African country.
ArcelorMittal is a key investor in the poor former British colony, whose President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made attracting foreign investment into its natural resources a centrepiece of her efforts to rebuild the country after a 1989-2003 civil war.
"As a consequence of the global crisis ... after reviewing all of our operations we thought it would be necessary at this moment to slow down our operations," Massaquoi said.
Earlier this year chairman and chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said he expected prices for iron ore, the main steelmaking raw material, to fall substantially in 2009.
"We earlier envisaged July of this year, then later on we thought it would not be feasible and we thought it will be next year," Massaquoi said when asked when the firm originally planned to start shipping ore from Liberia.
"I cannot say definitely what the time frame looks like."
ArcelorMittal had subcontracted some railway rehabilitation work, Massaquoi said, as a result of which the subcontractor had taken on 1,200 workers. But he added the steelmaker had now terminated that contract, and cut 80 jobs of its own in Liberia.
The firm employs 570 people in Liberia.
On Tuesday, the firm said it may have to halt production at its loss-making unit in Kazakhstan. [ID:nLJ567082]
(Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Editing by David Cowell)
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSLK98120720090520


New Mining Safety Standards to Be Implemented Worldwide
The CSIRO technology could save many lives By Tudor Vieru, Science Editor
20th of May 2009, 20:59 GMT
Adjust text size:

Just recently, the Mackay-based company Mining Logic Solutions has signed a contract with the Queensland University of Australia, which awarded it with the license to produce the new Nexsys™ real-time risk-management system, to be implemented at a global scale. The new system is expected to boost mine productivity, and also to offer a safer working environment for hundreds of thousands of miners around the world.

According to the QU researchers who developed the new management system, Nexsys™ will centralize massive amounts of digital data, coming in from a variety of sensors installed in modern mines, but which have thus far operated as systems independent from each other. The innovation allows experts in a central control room to monitor the conditions inside their mines in real-time, and can also draft up emergency response plans, in case it discovers something out of the ordinary in one of the exploitation's hundreds of parameters.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Exploration and Mining is the main developer of the new Nexsys™ system. Representatives from Australia's largest research group say that the innovation could benefit mines around the world, and that the management at such facilities should not pass on the opportunity of having their exploitations upgraded with state-of-the-art technological advances.

“The potential market for Nexsys™ is not limited to Australia, it is ideally suited for export to many other countries including India, China, the USA and Canada. Today, about 60 per cent of mining software used globally originates in Australia – and Nexsys™ will help that market share grow,” Dr. Mike McWilliams, who is the Exploration & Mining chief at CSIRO, explained.

“[The organization] has created a new safety tool that did not previously exist. They recognized it should be made available to the industry as soon as possible and have negotiated with Mining Logic Solutions to make that happen,” Mark Bennetts, the executive director of the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP), added.

“We are Queensland built and owned, and are delighted to gain access to a technology that has the potential to improve safety and save lives. Nexsys™ will also bring new levels of efficiency to underground coal mines. For example, this technology will enable accidental damage to equipment or breakdowns to be pinpointed and repaired within minutes. We will ask operators exactly what they need to know in real-time and look at additional ways the technology can be used to streamline mine operations,” Mining Logic Solutions Director Dean Kirkwood concluded.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Mining-Safety-Standards-to-Be-Implemented-Worldwide-112030.shtml

Global crude steel production in April 2009 dips by 24% YoY
Thursday, 21 May 2009
World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 89 million tons in April. This is 23.6% lower than in April 2008.

China's crude steel production for April 2009 was 43.4 million tons down by 3.9% than April 2008. Japan produced 5.7 million tons of crude steel in April 2009 down by 43.6% as compared to the same month last year. South Korea showed a decrease of 10.5% from April 2008 producing 4.1 million tons of crude steel in April 2009.

In the EU, Germany's crude steel was 1.9 million tons in April 2009, a decrease of 53.1% from April 2008. Spain produced 1.2 million tons of crude steel in April 2009 down by 38.2% than the same month last year. France showed a decrease of 50.5% from April 2008, producing 0.8 million tons in April 2009.

The US produced 3.9 million tons of crude steel in April 2009, a decrease of 53.4% as compared to the same month last year. Brazil produced 1.7 million tons of crude steel in April 2009 down by 40.4% than in April 2008.

Turkey produced 2.0 million tons of crude steel in April 2009 down by 13.4% from April 2008. Iran produced 0.9 million tons crude steel in April 2009, 3.2% more than in April 2008.

World crude steel production for the first four months of 2009 was 354 million tons, a 22.7% decrease over the same period of 2008. Asia produced 231 million tons of crude steel a decline of 9.5% over the first four months of 2008. The EU produced 40 million tons of steel from January to April 2009, down by 44.2% compared to the same months of 2008. North America showed a 48.5% decline, producing 23.5 mmt during the first four months of 2009.

China produced 171 million tons of crude steel for the first four months of 2009, a slight increase of 0.1% while all the other major steel producing countries showed a decrease for the first four months of 2009.

(Sourced from worldsteel.org)

http://steelguru.com/news/international.html

Peak Gold: The New Paradigm
May 21, 2009 | about stocks: GLD
By now, almost everyone is familiar with the concept of “peak oil”. This notion, which has been accepted as fact by many, has two components to it.
First of all, we have new supply fundamentals which demonstrate conclusively that any increases in supply cannot be maintained due to the permanent inability of the petroleum industry to find and develop new sources for crude as fast as current reserves are depleted.
The second component of the “peak oil” model is a demand “curve” which projects large increases in demand which are totally above the upper parameters of supply. In other words, barring some currently unforeseeable miracle, we will be forced (through dramatically rising prices) to curb our demand – or else we will “fuel” (pardon the pun) even more extreme prices.
More recently, some “gold bugs” have been quietly discussing their own paradigm for the future: “peak gold”. The first component of this model already equates to the current realities of the oil market: global gold producers are unable to increase supply – despite a greater than tripling of the price of gold this decade.
The only country which has been able to substantially increase production is China. If not for dramatic increases in Chinese gold mining, global production would be inching lower despite a tripling of the price. However, as we have also recently discovered, the Chinese government has no inclination to sharethis increased production with the rest of the world (see “China now has 5th largest gold reserves”).
Today, thanks to the World Gold Council, we have now been provided with the second component necessary to make the case for “peak gold”: soaring demand. The WGC just reported that 1st quarter demand for gold has risen by a stunning 38%.
As I stated in a recent commentary (“Gold demand now driven by investment...PERIOD!”), this rising demand has come entirely through investment demand, and more particularly retail investment demand – which exploded upward by nearly 400% in 2008.
A further indication of this new paradigm for the global gold market is that this HUGE increase in demand came without any support from the Indian gold market, which historically had always been the largest and most important market for gold. Indian gold imports were virtually non-existent in the first quarter, thanks to large domestic supplies of “scrap”. Along with other factors, this has led me to speculate that India has ceased to be a driver of the global gold market (see “Is India now IRRELEVANT to the gold market?”).
Clearly, when the world's largest consumer can STOP buying gold, and yet demand has still skyrocketed by 38%, this alone is a powerful argument that the gold market will start behaving much more like the oil market: specifically, it will become much more susceptible to powerful “spikes” in the price any/every time some gold-bullish news reaches the markets.
This in turn, suggests yet more new trends in the gold market. Traditionally, Indian gold-buyers have been patient and savvy: able to do the majority of their buying when troughs in the price of gold occur. Suddenly, there is no guarantee there will EVER be another “trough” in the price of gold – at least nothing below the current, grossly-manipulated price. Now, with their deepcultural attachment to gold, and their own supplies depleted, they may be forced to "chase" the price of gold higher - in order to meet domestic needs.
And speaking of “manipulation" these new demand numbers also strongly suggest a new paradigm of behavior for the anti-gold cabal of bankers. Specifically, we are likely to observe genuine fear in their behavior.
If you are a player in the market, sitting with an illegal “short” position – many times larger than anything every witnessed in any other commodity market – and you now realize that the commodity you are “shorting” is prone to huge, upward gyrations in price, you must now be constantly fearful of your own annihilation.
Keep in mind that when the position of the manipulators was much stronger earlier this decade, the best they could do was to hold back the price of gold to slightly less than a quadrupling of the price. With their reserves of bullion seriously depleted, and record-demand now eating up supply sources in a ravenous manner, a logical projection of the price of gold over the nextdecade now obviously points to a four-digit price at or approaching $5000/oz.
If the price of gold could quadruple when the manipulators were “strong”, then a quintupling of the price – now that they are “weak” - is not unreasonable in any sense.
“Peak gold” is here. Those who have sat on the sidelines until now, paralyzed by the anti-gold propaganda of the Manipulators have one, last opportunity to purchase cheap gold: right now.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/138820-peak-gold-the-new-paradigm


Baosteel and POSCO to strengthen bilateral cooperation
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Source from Baosteel said officials from POSCO and Baosteel had a senior meeting in Shanghai recently.

Mr Xu Lejiang the chairman of Baosteel said "The global financial crisis has affected the physical economy negatively we believe our two sides should strengthen the cooperation in both raw materials and technology innovation."

Mr Joon-Yang Chung the new CEO of POSCO said the global steel production and research center have gradually moved to China, South Korea and Japan. The total steel capacity of three countries is now taking 50% of world's total. Mr Joon-Yang Chung said "Asian steel mills should consolidate our cooperation and coordinately upgrade Asian steel industry. He also said Baosteel is POSCO's most important partner in China and wish the two sides could further strengthen their bilateral cooperation in various sectors.”

Both Baosteel and POSCO are the world's renowned steelmakers.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/21/OTUyNDg%3D/Baosteel_and_POSCO_to_strengthen_bilateral_cooperation.html

Other News – India

A future imperilled

Raghu Dayal / May 21, 2009, 0:56 IST

A resource economist with 25 years of varied experience in the water industry, Steve Hoffmann has put out this deeply insightful treatise on variegated aspects of global water supply and demand, its unique character as a resource or commodity, technological and ecological challenges it faces, and vast investment opportunities the sector offers. The “story of water for the twenty-first century” is lucidly retold in the eminently readable volume, “a guide for investing in water as a thematic strategy”.
There is about 1.3 billion cubic kilometres (331 million cubic miles or some 3.26 x 1020 gallons) of water on the planetary scale. With 97 per cent of saltwater contained in the oceans, freshwater is only about 3 per cent, of which only 1 per cent is surface freshwater . Again, only about 0.36 per cent of the planet’s water supply is found in rivers and lakes. While global water supply has remained constant, demand for it increased six-fold in the last century, increasing more than twice the growth rate of global population, now 6.7 billion. About three billion, or 40 per cent of the world’s population, live in water-scarce conditions, the number likely to increase to at least 60 per cent by 2025. In fact, 90 per cent of all available freshwater, it is estimated, will be used by 2025, if per capita consumption continues to rise at the current rate.
Water is varyingly viewed as a public good, commodity, or resource. While it amounts to no denial of water as a human right, the trend is toward incentive-based or market-based water regulations, which, for Hoffmann, implies no “ideological preoccupation with the process orientation of free markets.” As the cost of water rises, water becomes like other economic goods (as opposed to public goods). Since there is no “market” price for water, it is even more difficult to “build” an intrinsic value for water stocks.
The author believes that as wars are waged over oil, there will certainly be conflicts over water. Scarcity is often cited as a prominent similarity between oil, the commodity, and water, the resource. Because water can become scarce, it has economic value. Yet the way in which markets deal with scarcity is very different for oil than for water. Water, like oil, is a critical factor in global economic development and the source of potential competitive advantage and conflict, asserts Hoffmann. Its value will ultimately far exceed that of oil; “it is the world’s most valuable resource”.
Strongly maintaining that water is not scarce on Planet Earth, the author bemoans its “allocational and distributional mismanagement”. Lack of water is a major factor in poverty, food insecurity, human disease, economic development and, ultimately, geopolitical conflict. According to World Health Organisation estimates, 1.1 billion people worldwide have no access to proper drinking water; 2.6 billion people live with no proper means of sanitation; half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from water-related diseases; 1.8 million deaths occur annually from diarrheal diseases alone, 90 per cent of them children under the age of five, mostly in developing countries. The health burden also includes the annual expenditure of over 10 million person-years (worth $63.5 billion per year), carrying water from different sources.
The penultimate chapter enlightens how climate changes can significantly affect the hydrologic cycle and therefore water resources. Technological, environmental, social, and regulatory changes in the water industry operate to influence the way in which water is provided.
The “business of water” is succinctly discussed. The world’s third largest industry, behind oil and gas production and electricity generation, the water industry is “ill defined and ultra fragmented”, comprising companies ranging from cottage businesses to global behemoths. Taking into account the full attainment of the Millennium Development Goals target and utilising a WHO scenario above the base cost case, the magnitude of global water costs, from 2008 through 2025, is projected at $16 trillion, equivalent of $830 billion per year. Hoffmann advocates the advantage of investing in water as “water has intrinsic (i.e. inherent) value” “all along the continuum”. For him, any discussion of the merits of investing in water must necessarily address the regulatory institutions, including the role of NGOs, that touch every aspect of the industry.
Part three of the book visualises water being the “resource that defines the twenty-first century”. Pleading for the need to recognise that the existing approach to water must change, the author hopes that, “since our future depends on looking at the glass half full, that change necessarily equates to opportunity”.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/a-future-imperilled/358732/


India: does the Congress election victory signal an investment opportunity?
The victory by India's ruling Congress and the subsequent stock market bounce has reignited investor optimism.

By Paul Farrow
Last Updated: 10:44AM BST 20 May 2009

Does the election result offer an investment opportunity? Photo: AP
The victory by India's ruling Congress and the subsequent stock market bounce has reignited investor optimism.
As the outgoing cabinet tendered its collective resignation ahead of the formation of a new government, the benchmark 30-share index on Monday, the Mumbai stock exchange soared more than 17pc to 14,272.63, up 2,099.21 points.


It was the biggest single-day gain in nearly 20 years and could have gone higher, but the soaring index triggered a series of circuit breakers that automatically halted trading for the day to allow the market to cool down.
Confounding expectations of a close result and a fractured parliament, the Congress-led alliance won 262 seats at the weekend – a mandate nobody had predicted when voting began last month.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Shelley Kuhn, manager of the Neptune India fund. "Because there was no exit polls everybody was taken by surprise by the result, hence the euphoria."
Investing in India was in vogue not so long ago. The rationale made sense. With a population of 1.1bn and an economy that is expected to be second only to China by 2040, India was going to be difficult for investors to ignore.
A McKinsey consumer report on India in May 2007 reckoned that of India's 207m households in 2005, 14.5m were deemed middle class or rich. By 2025 it forecasted the number of households will rise to 280m, of which 157.5m will be middle-class or rich owned.
Experts pointed to another advantage India had over its emerging market peers. Services accounted for more than 50pc of GDP, whereas exports as a percentage of GDP was only 18pc, which would make it much more resilient to outside shocks.
Several fund managers pounced on the opportunity, launching new funds investing in India. Fund managers, such as Fidelity, Jupiter and Neptune, launched India-only funds, while others, such as Allianz Global Investors and HSBC offering BRIC funds (investing in Brazil, Russia, India and China).
Their timing could not have been much worse – they joined the India party post 2006, which was a bumper year for Indian shares.
This is illustrated by one of the longest serving India funds, JPMorgan India investment trust. It has returned 122pc over the past five years, but much of that performance can be attributed to 2005/6 when it climbed 98pc.
In the past year, shares in India companies have been dragged through the mire along with every other global market, despite generating healthier economic growth numbers.
"India's economy has not been immune from the effects of the global economic crisis, but so far it has weathered it better then most. Growth is likely to fall to around 4pc this year from around 8pc in 2008, but in the context of conditions elsewhere this is impressive," said Hugh Young at Aberdeen.
"India's economy is more domestically oriented than those of other emerging countries. Its export sector is more related to provision of services, such as call centres and software, than it is to the manufacture of goods, demand for which has been so badly battered."
Such statistics will do little to comfort investors who bought into the India story in the past couple of years – they will still be nursing hefty losses. The First State, Jupiter and Neptune funds are all down by around 20pc over the year, so too is JPMorgan investment trust.
But fund managers are breathing a sigh of relief because the victory for the Congress Party removes one of the greatest risks to investing in emerging markets such as India – it removes the political risk for now.
A near majority for the ruling Alliance ensures political continuity and should lead to a stable government for the next five years, they said. Furthermore it is anticipated that a large single party at the helm and marginalisation of regional and left parties mean less hurdles and speedier decision-making.
Teera Chanpongsang, manager of the Fidelity India Focus said: "A strong mandate for the Congress Party should lead to a stable government at the centre, which increases the likelihood of speedier and more focused economic reforms at a time when India’s fiscal situation is deteriorating. I expect that the new government will take steps to improve public finances, accelerate infrastructure spending and raise funds through privatisation of government assets."
Kuhn said that with the reduction of political risk, the risk premium for India will come down significantly and the equity market will re-rate. She said that she sees market strength as being quite broad initially as Indian equities are re-rated on an improved political outlook.
Specific sectors, Kuhn said, that will benefit directly from Dr Manmohan Singh's reform agenda, such as banks, insurers, infrastructure plays and potentially the mining sector, will eventually outperform the broader market.
However, Kuhn admitted that investing in India still had its issues and a correction in the short-term could not be ruled out. "Political reform in India can be tedious and clumsy so the reform may come slowly, plus the market may have priced in a blue-sky scenario," she said. "The market was flat the day after the 17pc rise so it could be the shares have been re-rated already."
The consensus among fund managers is that India has its long-term credentials in tact. Jupiter said the election will "have a big impact on business sentiment", while JPMorgan said that it continues "to believe that India, like China, remain the true long-term growth opportunities for equity investors".
But investors hoping to make a quick rupee or two might want to reconsider. The market has recovered so much so that shares are not as cheap as they once were. Sanjiv Duggal, manager of HSBC GIF India Equity fund, looks after US$4bn in Indian equities, the world’s largest single holding of Indian equities outside the nation.
Although HSBC Global Asset Management is optimistic about India longer term, it is wary of further upside in the near term.
"Although there were a lot of announcements by the governments on their plans (infrastructure, social and physical), the government has announced no intention to strategically privatise and no reform of labour law. Questions remain over whether the surge of government expenditure pre elections will now slow down," said Duggal.
Raj Nair, portfolio manager at JPMorgan agreed that the budget was a key milestone for investors.
He added: "What's more, within the next several weeks, the government will be formed and cabinet positions will be filled. With the Congress party less dependent on other parties, they should have substantial leeway to fill key ministries, such as that of Finance and Commerce".
Michael Konstantinov, manager of the Allianz RCM BRIC Stars fund said that a correction after the big jump 'is possible’
Before you jump to invest in India, investors should remember that it is an emerging market and therefore it will not take much to make share prices wobble. Any fall in confidence in stock markets generally, and emerging markets will bear the brunt of investors' flight to safety.
Advocates claim that India remains one of the truly exciting places in the world to invest, but potential investors need to weigh carefully the shorter-term risks against the long-term benefits many experts reckon that investors are better placed opting for a general emerging markets or Asia fund which invests in India, rather than a country specific fund.
Jason Walker from AWD Chase de Vere, said: "Investing in developing markets is a volatile play, as the recent events highlight, and our advice would be to diversify further where possible. Look at investing in a BRIC fund like Allianz or emerging markets funds like Ignis Hexam Emerging Markets or Martin Currie Emerging Markets.
Meera Patel, Hargreaves Lansdown, admits that India is not as cheap as it once was, and she expects to see some corrections in the short term.
She said: "But looking at the next 10 years, we think India's growth prospects are back on track given the strength of its domestic demand, infrastructure spend. Be brave to buy on the dips as long as investors have a long term time frame in mind."
Patel suggests either Jupiter India or First State Indian Subcontinent for such brave investors.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/5352414/India-does-the-Congress-election-victory-signal-an-investment-opportunity.html


New buffer zone gives Project Tiger a boost
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): In a fillip to Project Tiger, the Uttar Pradesh government has given its nod for incorporating nearly 150 km-long stretch of north Kheri division into the buffer zone of the Dudhwa National Park.
"The decision was the outcome of the National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) strict guidelines to demarcate the buffer zone after frequent movements of tigers, rhinos, leopards, elephants and other wild species were reported in north Kheri division at regular intervals," Deputy field director, Dudhwa National Park PP Singh said.
He said the buffer zone status of north Kheri division would bring it under the ambit of Project Tiger and a unified protection cover would be available to the wildlife, which will be a major boost for its protection.
"The government has given its nod to north Kheri division being included in the buffer zone of the park and a detailed project has been sent to the authorities for further approval," District Conservator of Forest Kartik Kumar Singh told PTI.
With the inclusion of north Kheri district in the buffer zone, restrictions on human movement and encroachments would be strictly imposed.
The district is 150 km from state capital Lucknow.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/002200905211002.htm

Govts urged to show respect for rights of indigenous people
Rezaul Karim
The 8th annual session of Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples continued in New York yesterday with indigenous speakers decrying the governments' near-total disregard for their rights in the development of roads, waterways and extractive projects, negotiation of free trade agreements and drafting of national legislation that have impacted their lives.
A representative of the Asian Indigenous Peoples Caucus said the situation was desperate in his part of the world where indigenous peoples were losing their lands at an alarming rate due to development of hydropower and other projects, according to a message of UN Economic and Social Council received here.
Saying that they needed technical support to protect their natural resources, he called on the states, the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to consider alternative systems to fossil fuel-based energy, bio-energy and hydropower dams.
Echoing that call, a representative of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organisations of the Amazonian River Basin (COICA) said people in his region were being repressed by the governments that signed contracts with multinational companies without considering their right to free, prior and informed consent.
Moreover, indigenous peoples' access to water was not being prioritised and he condemned the governments' refusal to declare water as a human right. He asked the forum as well as participating countries to demand implementation of environmental and social standards of the projects carried out in indigenous territories.
In the daylong meeting where almost 60 speakers took the floor, indigenous representatives from all regions called on the states that had not yet done so to swiftly endorse the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and redress what they viewed as an entrenched lack of respect for their values -- even existence -- laid bare in unjust laws and “policies of territorial manipulation”.
Indigenous peoples had a right to be consulted on the issues on which they were vulnerable and yet they lacked the ability to make real decisions in social, political and environmental spheres, they added.
Responding to those calls, a participant from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) discussed a training programme that aimed to strengthen indigenous representatives' ability to negotiate improvements in all areas under the forum's mandate: Health, education, culture, environment, economic and social development and human rights.
Most cases focused on the two greatest challenges to indigenous peoples: Conflict over land and resource issues and marginalisation from political and economic processes.
The meeting also heard from representatives of the governments -- participating as observers -- and international financial institutions who stressed the need for conservation and the equitable sharing of benefits. For their part, the representatives defended measures taken to address challenges faced by indigenous peoples and outlined steps to improve health, education and other services in the areas in which they lived.
Offering another way forward, a representative from the Convention on Biological Diversity said the natural resources stewardship circle of the aromatic, perfume and cosmetics industry adopted a declaration that supported the goals of convention, declaration, global compact and ILO Convention No. 169.
That industrial sector -- a more than $40 billion annual industry -- was sourced largely by natural extracts directly from indigenous and local communities. Such “win-win” creative partnerships between the private sector and indigenous people benefited biodiversity, the environment and indigenous communities.
Also speaking were state representatives from Nicaragua, Brazil, Finland, Spain, Guatemala and Ecuador. A deputy director of special projects of the office of the prime minister of Namibia and assistant deputy attorney general of Canada made their statements.
Representatives of Colombia, Chile, Spain and Vietnam spoke in exercise of the right of reply. Forum members from Bolivia, Morocco, Spain, Congo and Uganda also spoke. Speaking on behalf of the UN's specialised agencies and other intergovernmental organisations were representatives of ILO, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and IOM.
Also delivering statements were representatives of the caucuses, umbrella organisations and indigenous groups, including Asian Indigenous Peoples Caucus, IUCN, International Indigenous Women's Forum, Global Indigenous Women's Caucus and Australian Caucus of Non-Governmental Organisations.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=89210

HC refuses interim stay on plastic bag ban
Express News Service Posted: Thursday , May 21, 2009 at 0202 hrs IST
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant an interim stay on the January 7 notification, banning plastic bags from public places in the Capital.
A Division Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and A K Pathak, however, asked the Delhi government to consider the objections raised by plastic manufacturers. The Bench had earlier sought a response from the government on a petition filed by plastic bag manufacturers against the “blanket ban”.
The All-India Plastic Industries Association criticised the January 7 notification this year issued by the Department of Environment and Forests and Wildlife under the Delhi Degradable Plastic Bag Act, 2008, as “arbitrary”. The Association had argued that the present notification is contrary to earlier ones on June 2005 and May 2006, which allowed the use of degradable plastic bags in “certain places”.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/HC-refuses-interim-stay-on-plastic-bag-ban/463179/


UNICEF: Need to improve the quality of primary education in South Asia


(Dr Lalit Kishore)

India is committed universal elemantry education. This implies that all childern in the age group of 6 to 11 not only get enrolled in schools but at least complete eight years of schooling also.
A lot of funds from the World Bank, INGOs and UN Agencies are being invested under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan to achieve this goal. But, efforts seem to not serious enough since a lot of childern are out of school and child labour is rampant. Furthermore, the quality of school environment and classroom processes are so poor that the retention rates of government schools continue to be dismal. The situation is the same in complete south Asia.
According to Unicef Regional Office for South Asia, “When sacrifices are being made to get a child into the classroom there is nothing more discouraging than finding that the school is not providing an atmosphere where the children can achieve their potential. We know that this is one of the greatest barriers in South Asia to getting children into education and keeping them at school. Parents can not be expected to appreciate societal benefits or the principle of the right to education when their own child finishes five years of schooling and can barely read or write.”
Unicef stresses the need of harnessing a child’s curiosity, encouraging dialogue with the community and the application of principles learning are the best ways to ensure quality in education.
According to Unicef, “ Enhancing the quality of education is inextricably linked to children’s learning achievements. Focusing on what children have acquired from the learning process has emerged as a critical challenge as well as a priority for UNICEF. The demands of expanding learning opportunities have often obscured attention from the quality of learning and most importantly, what children have acquired from the learning process.”
http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=18958



ConocoPhillips poses 'deadly' threat to uncontacted tribes
21 May 2009
One of the United States’ largest energy companies, ConocoPhillips, could constitute a ‘deadly’ threat to uncontacted tribes in northern Peru, says a new report by AmazonWatch and Save America’s Forests (SAF).

The report, titled ‘ConocoPhillips in the Peruvian Amazon’, details how the energy giant owns a ‘mega-concession’ of 10.5 million hectares to explore for oil in Peru. This is a larger territory than that occupied by any other US oil company in the entire Amazon basin.

In addition to the threats posed to uncontacted tribes, AmazonWatch and SAF express their concern for the possible consequences on other, contacted indigenous peoples and the environment. The region, rich in plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, has been identified as one of the world’s ‘mega bio-diversity hotspots’.

The report explains that uncontacted tribes live in ‘voluntary isolation’ and ‘have a made a conscious decision to avoid forced contact, given the violence, decimation by disease, and cultural devastation’ that usually follows first contact. It also details evidence of uncontacted Indians in the area where ConocoPhillips is working, including several sightings of them and footprints, trails and spears belonging to them.

ConocoPhillips’s partner in the region, known as Lot 39, is Repsol-YPF. According to the report, ConocoPhillips Peru’s General Manager said that Repsol told his company ‘there was no evidence of un-contacted people’ in Lot 39.

The report was published just a day before Repsol’s president, Antonio Brufau, was quoted in the Spanish press recognising the problems faced by companies working in areas inhabited by uncontacted tribes.

AmazonWatch and SAF make several recommendations to ConocoPhillips, including the complete withdrawal of the company from the 10.5 million hectares.

http://www.survival-international.org/news/4592