Mining – India 1
1. Orissa gets raw deal on coal blocks 1
2. Paradip Port signs pact for Rs 591 cr iron-ore berth 2
3. Posco lease decision on hold 3
4. Godawari's second iron ore mine by October 3
5. Illegal sand mining in Gokak comes to fore 4
6. Allowing private players in coal mining would boost efficiency 4
7. Allowing private players in coal mining would boost efficiency 5
8. Coal mine fire threatens Jharkhand highway 5
Mining – International 6
9. Rockfalls 'could force BHP mine closure' 6
10. Vinacomin signs Laos mining deal 7
11. Mining deal junkie 8
12. Be positive despite crisis 8
13. Fiscal deficit hits $22b, busts two-month target 9
14. China lowers iron ore price cut demand-reports 11
15. PSM to import 400,000 tonnes of iron ore from Iran 12
16. Australian sharemarket falls with mining downturn 13
Other News 14
17. India's climate plan is not for internal scrutiny: Jairam Ramesh 14
18. Delhi: Protests over water shortage continue 14
19. UN chief says climate pact must be finalized 15
20. NGO challenges charges for use of Bandra-Worli Sea link 16
Mining – India
Orissa gets raw deal on coal blocks
;Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, 30 JUNE: In terms of the allocation of coal blocks, Orissa has got a raw deal from the Centre, observed the secretary for the steel and mines department, Mr Ashok Dalwai.
If Orissa were to roll out its proposed steel and power plants, the state would require nearly 100 million tonnes in excess of its allocation every year, he said. Mr Dalwai highlighted the inadequacy of the coal mines allotted to the state, both in terms of their quality and quantity, whilst addressing a gathering at CoalNEX organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on coal availability. We have not only been allocated fewer reserves, but also deficient ones, said Mr Dalwai, and went on to compare the allotments made to Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Jharkhand, whose share of the total coal reserves of the country is 29 per cent, is alloted 18.8 per cent, Chhattisgarh with 16.24 per cent of the reserves gets 19.33 per cent, and West Bengal 19.3 per cent against its share of 11 per cent of the total reserves.
Coal allotment for private sector companies is 24 per cent, and for PSUs of other states it is 29.39 per cent, whereas the state run corporations of Orissa have been allotted only 16 per cent.
Turning to the aspect of inadequate and poor quality coal blocks being given to Orissa, he said that the block provided to the Orissa Mining Corporation has a reserve of 145mt, and in another block in which the OMC has received a joint allotment with its Andhra Pradesh counterpart, the reserves are unexplored.
The Orissa Hydro Power Corporation has been allotted the Baitarani (West) alongwith others from Kerala and Gujarat.
Both OHPC and OMC had applied for coal to establish a 5000 mw power plant and their coal requirement was over 1100mt but their allocation is only about 500 mt, he said.
Mr Dalwai also dwelt on the vexed question of royalty and said there was no reason why the center should not adopt a market driven royalty rate regime.
However, he noted that forest, environment and rehabilitation related issues need to be addressed properly if there is to be any forward movement in the mining sector.Restraining himself from aligning himself with the state government's stance, Mr PR Mandal, project advisor to the ministry of coal, reminded the gathering that states which do not have mineral resources also need power. Technological improvements and adoption of best practices can lead to improvements in quality or grade of minerals, he observed. Mr Mandal also stated that the MCL had failed to achieve its targeted production, and cross the 100 mt mark, because of local problems in its coalfields, and that several mandays were lost.
He also referred to the evacuation problem. Though there is coal at that pit head, there is a hold up in its forward movement because of transport issues. The environment is another area which needs to be addressed, said Mr Mandal. Significantly, the green cover in mining areas has increased, and satellite imagery confirms that afforestation work has succeeded, said Mr Mandal. Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty, chairman of CII SS Nandurdikar also addressed the gathering in the inaugural session of the workshop.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=259710
Paradip Port signs pact for Rs 591 cr iron-ore berth
Published: July 1,2009
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New Delhi, July 1 The Paradip Port Trust today signed an agreement with a consortium led by Hong Kong-based Nobel Group for construction of a deep-draught iron-ore berth at a total cost of Rs 591.35 crore
While the construction of the berth will cost Rs 506.30 crore, the Port will spend another Rs 85.05 crore to provide support facilities like dredging.
"The project will add 10 MT per annum capacity to the Port. It will be completed in three years," Paradip Port Chairman K Raghuramaiah told reporters.
After the completion of the project, which has been awarded on a build-operate-transfer basis, the Port will be able to handle cape size vessels of up to 1,25,000 DWT capacity.
Other partners to the consortium are Gammon Infrastructure and state-run trading company MMTC Ltd. The consortium has formed a special-purpose-vehicle (SPV) Blue Water Iron Ore Terminal Pvt Ltd for executing the project.
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/612715/Business/4/20/4
Posco lease decision on hold
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Cuttack, June 30: Orissa High Court has extended the status quo order on granting mining lease for Khandadhar iron ore reserves in the state by over a month.
Posco’s proposed steel plant is largely dependent on the lease to Khandadhar iron ore reserves. The division bench of Justice B.P. Das and Justice B.P. Ray extended the status quo order till the first week of August while adjourning hearing on the case till then, following submission of an amendment petition related to the case yesterday.
Posco had signed an MoU with the Orissa government in June 2005 to build a 12MTPA steel plant by 2016 near Paradip port. The government had recommended for the grant of the prospecting licence for Khandadhar iron ore reserves in favour of Posco.
The high court, however, had on March 20, 2009, directed the Union government not to take any decision on the state government’s proposal after it was challenged through a petition by the public sector Kudremukh Iron Ore Limited.
Kudremukh, one of the 226 applicants for mining lease at Khandadhar in Sundargarh district, had sought judicial intervention against the recommendation in favour of Posco.
Essar Steels had also thrown its hat into the ring challenging the state government’s decision.
Some of the other applicants had also followed up with petitions alleging that the decision was illegal as it was taken without giving equal opportunities to all applicants, especially the applications filed earlier. All of them had been taken up for analogous hearing.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090701/jsp/nation/story_11178098.jsp
Godawari's second iron ore mine by October
Promit Mukherjee / DNA
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 3:01 IST
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Mumbai: Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd, the Raipur-based steel billet and sponge iron manufacturer, plans to commission its second iron ore mine by October this year.
The company had recently commissioned its first iron ore mine in Ari Dongri and is mining 1,000 tonnes of iron ore per day.
Dinesh Gandhi, director - finance, Godawari Power, said, "The environment and forest approval is underway and soon we will approach the Chhattisgarh government to sign a mining lease agreement."
At an analyst conference on Monday, he said the entire process will take 3-4 months and by October the company will be ready to start production. The second mine is located in Boria Tibu in Chhattisgarh.
The two mines put together have ore reserves of 15 million tonnes. "We are planning to produce six lakh tonnes per annum from the two mines at peak production," Gandhi said.In a May 29 report, analyst Akhil Jain with IL&FS, said, "GPIL's mining assets will be the key driver of margin expansion and earnings growth over FY10-11 and will also de-risk the company's business from the fluctuations in availability and prices of raw material."
In November last year, the company cut down its steel-billet production by 80% to divert the consumed power to sell on merchant basis.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_godawari-s-second-iron-ore-mine-by-october_1269925
Illegal sand mining in Gokak comes to fore
30 Jun 2009, 2315 hrs IST, TNN
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BELGAUM: The illegal sand mining, which is being carried out on the banks of Ghataprabha River on the outskirts of Gokak city despite ban, has
come to light, thanks to the information obtained by an RTI activist here.
Basavaraj Kurer, who sought information on the "alleged" illegal mining from the mines and geology department under the provision of Right To Information (RTI) Act, said the lease given to 26 persons in 2007 had ended in March. "Neither the government has given fresh lease nor renewed the old ones. But still, sand mining is going on unabated," he claimed.
The authorities concerned - those in the departments of police, mines & geology, revenue, assistant commissioner and tahsildar - have been mute spectators to this. "The mining lobby is strong, so much so that the illegal mining is carried out from near the tahsildar's office," Kurer said in a release.
There are around 40 such illegal mining points in the taluk. Huge amount of sand is being mined and kept in villages on the banks of the river, he said.
When contacted, Gokak tahsildar Oudram rejected the "allegations" of Kurer that authorities were "inactive" over the issue. "We have been acting against illegal mining activities. Three days ago, Mudalgi police seized 10 lorries used for carrying sand without having relevant documents. A fine of Rs 5,000 has also been collected from each those in the lorries," he told `The Times of India'.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hubli/Illegal-sand-mining-in-Gokak-comes-to-fore/articleshow/4721652.cms
Allowing private players in coal mining would boost efficiency
Source : Livemint
Coal mining in India is 235 years old. The pace of growth of this sector was sluggish till the late 1940s, with the production being a mere 30 million tonne (mt) in 1946. Soon after independence, the government realized that coal mines were not adopting scientific and safe practices. Also, due to the growing domestic consumption, an urgent need was felt for a more systematic and scientific development of the industry.
Importing still? Workers at a coal mine. Coal reserves in the country are estimated at 267 billion tonnes—one of the richest in the world. Hindustan Times
Thus began the task of nationalization of the coal sector.
The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973, was passed vesting ownership and management of coal mines with the Union government. As of date, Coal India Ltd (CIL), through its various subsidiary colliery companies, and the Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd are the two public sector mining companies.
By an amendment to the Nationalisation Act in 1976, two exceptions were made:
(i) coal mining for captive consumption by private companies producing iron and steel, and (ii) sub-lease for coal mining to private parties in isolated small pockets not amenable to economic development and not requiring rail transport. A 1993 amendment further allowed captive mining for generation of power, washing of coal obtained from mines and other end uses as notified by the government from time to time.
Also Read More on Budget 2009
The ministry of coal estimates a shortfall in coal supply of around 51mt by fiscal 2011-12.
With several power projects being developed in India, demand for coal is bound to increase, adding to the demand-supply gap. Coal reserves in the country are estimated at 267 billion tonnes—one of the richest in the world. However, instead of being an exporter, India has to import coal to meet its requirements. A long-term policy for the development of coal resources is, therefore, essential.
Further, factors such as emergence of coal mafia, unhealthy working conditions, capital requirement for augmentation of mining capacities and the government’s own divestment policy have prompted the government to rethink allowing private sector participation in non-captive coal mining.
In February 1997, the cabinet approved a proposal to amend the Nationalisation Act to allow non-captive coal mining.
However, this met with stiff opposition from trade unions, who expressed concerns over unscientific mining and possible labour exploitation. Due to this, it took at least three years for the Bill to be formulated and it was introduced in Parliament in 2000. The Bill is yet to be passed even after eight years.
In February 2006, the government permitted 100% foreign direct investment under automatic route for captive coal mining by power projects, iron and steel, cement production and other eligible activities permitted under the Nationalisation Act.
Since coal mining is a highly capital intensive industry and the gestation period is very long, the government will have to provide incentives to private players to ensure viability of operations. Already, local and foreign players are waiting for the government to announce opening up of the mining sector for private participation. Rio Tinto, ArcelorMittal, Titan Mining, Reliance, Sterlite and JSW Steel, among others, have evinced interest in the recently floated global expression of interest by CIL for developing abandoned mines.
The day is not far when the government will suggest a road map for allowing private sector companies to carry out non-captive development and extraction of coal. This will bridge demand-supply gap and also improve quality. Additionally, it would benefit large coal-consuming industries such as thermal power, steel, cement and fertilizers and chemicals. Greater efficiency would be achieved when public sector mining companies face competition.
Nanda Shah is associate director and Deepak Bahirwani is manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com
Allowing private players in coal mining would boost efficiency
Coal mine fire threatens Jharkhand highway
July 1st, 2009 - 3:17 pm ICT by IANS -
Ranchi, July 1 (IANS) The National Highway 33 of Jharkhand may be damaged if an ongoing underground fire further engulfs an abandoned mine of Central Coal Field Ltd (CCL) in Ramgarh district.
“The fire has reached the national highway which is situated near the closed coal mine,” a police officer said. According to CCL authorities, the fire has spread in an area of around 3,000 sq metres.
The fire was detected by local residents last week in the mine near Lohagate of Kuju colliery in Ramgarh, about 70 km from state capital Ranchi.
“The ‘rat hole’ was made during illegal mining and spontaneous heating of the coal caused the fire. We have started filling the void to stop spread of fire. Safety measures have been adopted,” CCL General Manager (Safety) T.B. Mitra told IANS.
Though the filling work started Monday, the fire spread further Tuesday.
“Coal companies are not allowed to mine around national highways. Illegal mining is the cause of the fire,” said Mitra.
Mines should be filled in after being closed by the coal companies. The companies say they fill in the mines but illegal miners become active after the mine is closed.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/coal-mine-fire-threatens-jharkhand-highway_100211791.html
Mining – International
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Rockfalls 'could force BHP mine closure'
Posted Wed Jul 1, 2009 8:50am AEST
Updated 11 hours 49 minutes ago
BHP Billiton's Perseverance Nickel mine at Leinster
• Map: Leinster 6437
The West Australian Government is investigating whether part of BHP Billiton's Leinster operations should be closed, after a second rockfall at the site in three weeks.
One worker was injured and another ordered to stay underground for two hours after an earth tremor triggered the collapse at BHP's Perseverance nickel mine on Monday night.
It is the same mine where a worker was trapped for 16 hours because of a rockfall three weeks ago.
The Minister for Mines, Norman Moore, says he is very concerned about BHP's safety record and has launched an investigation into whether the operation should be closed down.
"I've asked the State Mining Engineer whether there are any other measures we should be taking immediately," he said.
Mr Moore says a prohibition notice, preventing BHP from operating the affected part of the site, will remain in place until he receives the engineer's advice.
"We're not satisfied with the level of performance in terms of safety that's happening at this particular mine," he said.
"We'll be taking a very long and hard look at the two incidents, which have happened in recent times, and we'll be getting advice from the State Mining Engineer about whether the mine should remain open."
In a statement, BHP said operations close to the rockfall remain suspended but operations have resumed in other parts of the mine.
The company described seismic events as a "common occurrence" in deep underground mines but said this was an "unusually high" magnitude event.
BHP says the latest rockfall occurred in an different area of the mine to that affected by the mine collapse last month.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/01/2613244.htm?section=business
Vinacomin signs Laos mining deal
Wednesday, 01 Jul 2009
Vietnam News reported that Vietnamese mining giant Vinacomin will mine coal in a 142 square kilometers area of Vieng Phouka District in Laos’s Luang Namtha Province under a contract signed by Vinacomin and the Lao Government on Thursday.
Mr Nguyen Dinh Bien head of Vinacomin’s planning and cost management department said that under the agreement, Vinacomin would use the coal to feed a coal fired plant in the province and sell electricity to Laos. Signatories to the contract were Mr Doan Van Quang deputy director of Vinacomin and Mr Thongmy Phomvixay Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment.
The deal marks Vinacomin’s third project in Laos, following a 2007 deal to mine iron ore in the northern Lao province of Xiangkhouang and a chemical salts project in the southern Lao province of Savanakhet signed in April this year.
Vinacomin said that geological exploration has been completed on the iron project, with the company planning to report the results to the Lao Government next month.
A survey undertaken by the Lao Ministry of Industry with the help of Chinese experts in 2006 found over 570 mineral deposits with potential economic viability throughout Laos including deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, zinc, gypsum and lignite. Over 90 companies were conducting additional mineral surveys in Laos, 34 of which were foreign-owned, according to Lao officials.
(Sourced from Vietnam News)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/07/01/MTAwNjA4/Vinacomin_signs_Laos_mining_deal.html
Mining deal junkie
Published: July 1 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 1 2009 03:00
It would take a lawyer who was once described as a "mild adrenaline junkie" to work with Mick Davis at Xstrata. Structuring deals over the past decade has required a good deal of legal ingenuity to build it into an industry predator.
Benny Levene joined Xstrata in 1997, when it was a South African alloy miner with a market worth of just £500m. He helped turn it into one of the world's biggest mining houses as Xstrata's chief legal counsel.
Born in 1964, he began his career at Werksmans attorneys in South Africa in 1989, after completing his law degree in the unlikely field of landlord and tenant law. He trained as an M&A lawyer at Werksmans, where he became a partner in 1993, covering M&A, equity and debt capital raising, gaining broad experience. While at Werksmans he worked for Willy Strothotte at the Swiss trading house Glencore, then owner of Xstrata, helping buy its Ferroalloys assets, before going inhouse. It wasn't until 2001 that he teamed up with Mr Davis when Glencore hired the former Billiton finance director as chief executive. A year later they structured Xstrata's legally ground-breaking dual Swiss and London listing, followed by the acquisition of Glencore's Australia and South Africa coal assets. According to The Lawyer, he has a tight team of lawyers that report to their commodity business heads.
A lean and keen long-distance runner, he also likes skiing, cricket and rugby.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5cea4ada-65d5-11de-8e34-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
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Be positive despite crisis
By Stabroek staff | July 1, 2009 in Local News
-Barrow urges Linden high school graduates
Graduating in a climate of economic and social decline means graduates will have to make certain sacrifices and create opportunities to ensure that they are not left behind, a Linden entrepreneur told recent high school graduates.
At Linden the situation is especially bleak. There is an estimated 60% unemployment and underemployment rate among persons below age 30 and high school graduates are forced to compete with skilled, semi-skilled and university graduates for the few available jobs.
Long time entrepreneur and former CEO of the bauxite company under Guymine, Dunstan Barrow, in his guest speaker address told the 99 graduates at the 38th convocation exercise of the Mackenzie High School (MHS) on Thursday that the situation “isn’t going to get better anytime soon.”
In an interview, Barrow said he told the students that they “need to treat the world as an area ready to be conquered by students from the MHS,” and emphasized that “critical thinking will never go out of style…[and that they should] look at the world from a critical point and not with rose-coloured shades on.” He said too, “The problems are massive and the payoffs will be massive,” from a monetary, activity, or career satisfaction standpoint.
In the light of the current global economic crisis Barrow said there has been a decline in remittances to developing countries, in some cases 30%-40% and Linden is among the top three communities in Guyana that receives a hefty chunk of the remittances sent to the country. Barrow, who operates a Money Gram franchise, said entire savings are being wiped away as persons lose their jobs worldwide; and businesses are losing billions, filing for bankruptcy or merging to stay afloat while no automobile company is currently profitable as sales drop and manufacturing plants of other goods and services close.
Companies such as CLICO (Guyana), which operated an office in Linden, have now closed their doors, together with those from around the country, since its Trinidad and Tobago parent company went bankrupt and the Guyana subsidiary lost over 50% of its value in investments overseas. This has left hundreds of persons out of work, locally and in the Caribbean. The Linden bauxite industry has laid off over 100 workers this year, due in part to the slowing overseas demand for bauxite. It was further noted that stock markets worldwide that sell the world goods, commodities, technologies and manufactured goods are all in “negative territory” compared to 18 months ago, as demands drop. Barrow said the meaning of the graduation theme, ‘Venturing Out into Today’s World as an Optimistic Visionary’ can be linked to the words of US President Barrack Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s motto to “never allow a crisis to go to waste there are opportunities to do big things.” In explaining he told the graduates that despite the world crisis they must have a positive outlook that things will get better. He advised them to be optimistic as he believes that the economy will improve some time in the future. The entrepreneur also encouraged graduates to consider the world’s economics as well as social problems including health, sanitation, hunger, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and urban living and plan futures that in some way will lead to solutions. He also told them that by 2024 a student who has now graduated from high school should have achieved his/her goals.
In the light of the current social and economic problems Barrow pointed out that careers in medicine, caring for the elderly (as people live longer), physical assistants, hospital administrators, financial analysts for the stock markets and to manage personal finances and finances of world economies, technology experts would be in great demand in the future. He said too some time ago attaining an MBA was regarded as a ‘big deal’ now the same buzz surrounds gaining qualifications such as a Master’s Degree in financial engineering.
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/07/01/be-positive-despite-crisis/
Fiscal deficit hits $22b, busts two-month target
Published: Wednesday | July 1, 2009
Finance Minister Audley Shaw doubled the deficit target relative to 2008, but the funding gap is even wider than he expected. - File
Two months into the fiscal year, Jamaica's fiscal deficit has topped $22 billion, an outcome that has already busted targets for the period, even though the finance ministry had more than doubled its projections in anticipation of a massive gap in operational funding than it saw a year ago.
And the primary surplus is showing equal signs of wear and tear at one-seventh the level it was in the 2008 period.
The ministry when it crafted its budget earlier this year knew that the fiscal deficit would have been huge, predicting a gap of $20 billion at the end of May, compared with the $9.6 billion deficit actually recorded at the same period in 2008.
But underperforming tax revenues at the outset has thrown the first two months even further off-track than Finance Minister Audley Shaw and his technocrats envisaged.
The treasury collected $39.3 billion in tax revenues, but that amount was short by $4.4 billion, moving to a $5.5-billion shortfall in overall revenue when fees, grants and capital inflows are taken into account.
The Government managed to offset some of the shortfall by slicing $3.4 billion from its spending plan over the period - the savings were generated substantially from reductions in capital projects, down $1.4 billion, and a $2 billion cut in loan servicing charges - but still overshot the mark by $2.1 billion.
Underperforming taxes
Instead of $63.3 billion in wages, interest payments on the debt and project fundings, Jamaica spent just under $60 billion.
The underperforming taxes were SCT on imports whose $1.86 billion of collections was $1.6 billion below target; and general consumption tax on locally bought goods and services which brought in $6.3 billion, compared with $7.4 billion of budgeted collections.
Notably, the only revenue stream to overperform was Jamaica's struggling bauxite sector which brought in $37.7 million in levy payments, or $17 billion more than the $20.6 million of inflows expected.
Still last year, the bauxite levy brought in $1 billion of revenue for Jamaica in the months of April and May, and negligible corporate income tax of about $200,000.
To help finance its income gap, Jamaica has so far borrowed $28.4 billion - a billion less than programmed - but has shelled out $15.4 billion to pay down existing debt.
The primary balance, though, in surplus at $1.45 billion at the end of May is at one-third its targeted level of $4.7 billion.
At last fiscal year end March 2009, the primary balance, which assesses the amount of financial coverage the Government has when debt-servicing charges are stripped from its accounts, was $50 billion. The target, however, was $80 billion.
The fiscal deficit, too, had ballooned out of control to $75 billion, compared with a target of $43 billion.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090701/business/business2.html
China lowers iron ore price cut demand-reports
Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:13pm EDT
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World stocks begin new quarter on upbeat note
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SHANGHAI, July 1 (Reuters) - China has softened its demands for a large iron ore price cut after failing to agree terms with global miners by Tuesday's deadline, Chinese media reported, the first sign of a possible compromise meant to restore annual supply deals and avoid a total breakdown of the benchmark system.
Citing officials attending a closed meeting of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) on Tuesday, Caijing magazine and the official Shanghai Securities News said China was still expecting a better deal than the 33 percent reduction agreed by Rio Tinto with Japanese steel mills, but offered an olive branch.
China is now ready to discuss a smaller price cut of 33-40 percent rather than its previous demand of a 40-45 percent reduction and hopes to end talks quickly, the Shanghai newspaper quoted a source close to the situation as saying.
No substantive discussions between CISA and the three global miners -- Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) of Australia and Brazil's Vale (VALE5.SA) -- had taken place over the last two weeks, Caijing reported.
Rio Tinto has shown no inclination to go lower than the one-third price cut, saying it is ready to sell to its customers on whatever basis they prefer.
Spot iron ore prices to China have risen by a fifth in just a month, and now trade at a 4-month high above $80 a tonne on a delivered China basis, equivalent to around $65 free on board. This is higher than the contract price of $61 that the Japanese and South Korean mills secured, giving miners the upper hand.
"By abandoning the benchmark price... Chinese mills run the risk that if the spot price rallies further, they could end up paying higher prices than the rest of the world," Macquarie analysts said on Wednesday in a report.
"The fact that spot and new benchmark prices have converged already must be a source of concern for the Chinese given that European, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese import demand remains extremely depressed."
In another development, some domestic big steel mills have tacitly reached agreements with miners and issued letters of credit to buy iron ore at the price accepted by Japanese mills, the official China Securities Journal citing industry sources as saying.
Small Chinese mills, eager to fix production costs and prepare for demand upturn, had already signed private deals, ignoring threats from CISA that it would not recognise the deals and revoke import licenses. (Reporting by David Stanway and Alfred Cang; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSSHA13490120090701
PSM to import 400,000 tonnes of iron ore from Iran
Wednesday, 01 Jul 2009
Business Recorder reported that Pakistan Steel Mills will import 400,000 tonnes of iron ore from Iran, to meet its requirements.
As per report “Of the 15 pre qualified ship owners or operators, 12 had collected the documents, whereas only six parties submitted their offers for transportation of the required iron ore from Bandar Abbas to Port Qasim.”
Noble Chartering, of Hong Kong, represented by Pacific Chartering, Karachi, which had quoted USD 14.73 per tonne, was declared successful when the bids were opened on Monday morning by a committee headed by director finance of Pakistan Steel Millin the presence of the bidders.
The report added that “Other five bidders were STX Panocean Co Ltd of Korea, which had quoted USD 14.87 per tonne, Ocean Wise Services at USD 15.05 per tonne, PNSC at USD 16 per tonne, Pacific Lloyds Ltd, of Malta at USD 17.95 per tonne and Shahdab Pty Ltd of Australia at USD 18.18 per tonne.”
Pakistan Steel Mills imports about 1.6 million tonnes iron ore, and 1 million tonnes of coal annually.
(Sourced from Business Recorder)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/07/01/MTAwNTI0/PSM_to_import_400%252C000_tonnes_of_iron_ore_from_Iran.html
Australian sharemarket falls with mining downturn
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UPDATE: Allison Jackson | July 01, 2009
Article from: The Australian
SHARES opened the new financial year in the red, falling 1.7 per cent after losses on Wall Street and in the mining sector.
Shaky ground: Consumer pessimism in the US and a fall on Wall Street combined to give the Australian sharemarket a dismal start to the new financial year. Picture: Bob Finlayson
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 67.7 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 3887.2 in early deals, and the All Ordinaries was down 64.4 points to 3883.4.
The All Ords clocked its worst performance in 27 years in the financial year that ended yesterday, falling 26 per cent.
The Australian dollar was trading at US80.71c, down from yesterday’s close of US81.28c.
The losses on Wall Street and in base metal and oil markets were triggered by an unexpected fall in US consumer confidence last month, which eroded hopes for a fast economic recovery.
BHP Billiton, the biggest company on the Australian market, fell 2.6 per cent to $33.83 and its smaller rival Rio Tinto dropped 2.6 per cent to $50.82.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 82.38 points (1 per cent) to 8447.00, leaving the measure up 11 per cent for the second quarter.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 declined 7.90 points (0.9 per cent) to 919.33. The broad measure jumped 15 per cent in the second quarter.
The Nasdaq slipped 9.02 points (0.5 per cent) to 1835.04, leaving it up 20 per cent in the second quarter.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25717389-643,00.html
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India's climate plan is not for internal scrutiny: Jairam Ramesh
1 Jul 2009, 0306 hrs IST, TNN
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NEW DELHI: India's national action plan on climate change will not be put up for international scrutiny or monitoring. This was stated by
environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday.
Internationally, there has been pressure building on developing countries like India to put their entire set of domestic actions on climate change up for international verification even though the money provided by the international community through the UN process may be limited to a part of it.
Taking a strong position ahead of the crucial July G8+5 meeting in Italy that the Prime Minister would be attending and where climate change is slated to be a key issue, Ramesh told reporters that India would under no circumstances undertake any commitment for quantified reduction of greenhouse gases.
Sharing India's international climate stance for the first time, he laid down eight non-negotiable points that the country would stand by as the negotiations progress towards the key meet in Copenhagen in December this year.
While asking for a new intellectual property regime on existing climate change technologies, he said India was asking for a collaborative approach on research for future technologies. He said India could itself become a technology leader in the climate business.
He also reiterated India's stand that the existing UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) was not under renegotiation and India was only negotiating for enhanced action and new commitments and actions under the existing framework.
Environment and forests secretary Vijai Sharma also added that the UN convention classified the countries into industrialized countries -- expected to undertake quantified emission cuts -- and the non-industrialised nations. He said there was no space for a "mezzanine floor between the two classes of countries".
Ramesh also lambasted the climate change Bill passed in the US House of Representatives, calling its clause seeking to penalize exports from countries like India which do not undertake emission cuts, as pernicious. He was, however, thankful to US President Barack Obama for having asked the Senate to vote against the clause.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Indias-climate-plan-is-not-for-internal-scrutiny-Jairam-Ramesh-/articleshow/4721809.cms
Delhi: Protests over water shortage continue
1 Jul 2009, 1553 hrs IST, IANS
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NEW DELHI: 'Na bijli, na paani, yeh kaisi rajdhani' (No power, no water - what kind of a capital is this?) asked angry residents of the national
capital as protests continued on Wednesday over power cuts and water shortage.
Angry residents of the capital protested the erratic water supply by shouting slogans and breaking earthern pots in the middle of the road.
Complaining that there is no water supply for nearly two weeks and the little that they get is murky, people took to the roads in areas like Dabri, Janakpuri and Durga Park in west Delhi.
People also protested outside the local office of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in Janakpuri.
"There is no water for the last two weeks and whatever little water we get is very dirty and unfit for consumption. When we go to complain to DJB office, no one listens to us," said Shalini Sinha, an exasperated homemaker in Janakpuri.
Ashok Das, another resident of the area, said: "All these officials are involved with the water mafia. They sell water to the mafia who make ice and sells it."
Protests have been on in the national capital from more than a week now over water and power scarcity.
In the last few days, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has held meetings with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and power distribution company BSES. While BSES has been warned by the chief minister to take care of power outages, DJB has been asked to penalise anyone found wasting water.
Delhi's estimated 14.8 million people require 3,973 million litres of water per day (MLD). According to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report, while the DJB purportedly supplies 3,336.9 MLD - which is far lower than the demand - the actual quantity reaching the end user is just 1,768.56 MLD.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Water-shortage-continues-in-Delhi/articleshow/4724506.cms
UN chief says climate pact must be finalized
By SHINO YUASA
Associated Press
2009-07-01 09:37 AM Fonts Size:
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the world must seal the deal on a new treaty to curb pollution at a crucial climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December, urging global business leaders to join efforts against global warming.
Ban, who has put climate change among his top priorities, said he would mobilize "every effort" to reach an agreement at the U.N. meeting to adopt an ambitious global treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
"We must seal the deal in Copenhagen in December this year," the U.N. chief told a group of Japanese business leaders.
"It will be a moment of truth in Copenhagen whether we will set ourselves on course for disaster by taking business as usual attitude or we will find the path of sustainable green growth," he said. "We know the answer. We must take the course of sustainable green growth."
Ban is on a three-day trip to Japan before heading to Myanmar on Friday. The U.N. chief will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso later in the day.
The two leaders will likely discuss Ban's upcoming visit to the military-ruled country as well as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
On climate change, Ban told Japanese business leaders that they should do more to help the world reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Your role is extremely, crucially important. I count on your leadership," Ban said.
The U.N. chief was stopping by Japan ahead of his trip to Myanmar.
On Tuesday, Ban urged Myanmar's ruling junta to release all of its political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The pro-democracy icon is being held in Myanmar's Insein prison and is being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home in Yangon in May and stayed two days.
Ban is set to arrive in Yangon _ Myanmar's commercial capital _ the same day Suu Kyi's trial resumes.
Suu Kyi's trial has drawn outrage from world leaders and human rights groups who say the junta is using the incident as an excuse to keep the pro-democracy icon behind bars through elections scheduled for 2010. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The junta called elections in 1990, but refused to recognize a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy.
The U.N. chief _ who is scheduled to meet with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe _ said he would use the trip to convey the concerns of the international community "to the highest authority" of Myanmar's government.
But he did not say whether he would meet the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has already spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial, mostly under house arrest.
The U.N. chief leaves for Singapore Thursday before heading to Myanmar on Friday.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=991229&lang=eng_news
NGO challenges charges for use of Bandra-Worli Sea link
30 Jun 2009, 1403 hrs IST, PTI
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MUMBAI: A city NGO has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the charges levied by the authorities for using the Bandra-Worli sea link being inaugurated by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday.
The monthly pass charges amounting to Rs 2500 was not logical and was on a higher side, said Bombay Youth Association President Pradeep Bhavnani in a letter to the Chief Justice.
The return entry fees was Rs 75 and if a motorist travels every day using this sea link it would amount to Rs 2250 for 30 days in a month. Therefore, charging Rs 2500 for the monthly pass was not logical, Bhavnani pleaded.
The Association President urged the Chief justice to convert his letter into a suo motu writ petition as the issue concerns public interest at large.
If the court does not consider the letter, he would then file a regular petition in the form of Public Interest Litigation, he said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/NGO-challenges-charges-for-use-of-Bandra-Worli-Sea-link/articleshow/4719821.cms
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