03-07-09

Mining – India 1
1. CIL ECL and BCCL should be listed 1
2. Coal unions oppose disinvestment of CIL 2
3. IIFL recommends to buy Neyveli Lignite at Rs 140 3
4. PPT awards iron ore terminal work to Blue Water 3
5. CIL seeks tax exemption for workers on housing perks 4
6. Coal India shortlists 10 parties 4
7. Godawari second iron ore mine by October 2009 5
Mining – International 6
8. Thomson Reuters 6
9. FACTBOX-Mines and plants hit by low prices, high costs 6
10. 3 mines collapse, water rushes into houses 12
11. Massey loses last appeal over Cannelton mine 12
12. Shutdown at Hibbing mine to last into next year 13
13. 277 miners die in S.Africa in past year-minister 15
14. Areva could buy renewable mining assets 16
15. Days numbered for sand mine operators 17
16. Citigold Takeover Bid for Gateway Mining Limited 18
Other news 19
17. Worst is over but complete recovery eludes 19
18. Wishful thinking 20
19. Climate change costs India over 2.6% of GDP: Survey 20
20. Climate change is shrinking sheep 21
21. Severe Water Scarcity Boosts The Desalination Market 23


Mining – India

CIL ECL and BCCL should be listed
Friday, 03 Jul 2009
PTI the pre budget economic survey on Thursday mooted for listing of Coal India's 2 sick subsidiaries Eastern Coalfields Limited and Bharat Coking Coal Limited by divesting 49% government stake in the companies.

It also prescribed that transfer of management control of the 2 firms to a private party may be done partially through auction of 26% of the government's shareholding.

The Economic Survey tabled in Parliament said "The 2 sick subsidiaries of CIL namely ECL and BCCL should be listed, 49% of shares sold to public and management control transferred to a private party."

The suggestion to revive the 2 firms by such measures comes at a time when the government is considering divesting up to 10% of its stake in the country's largest coal producer, Coal India Limited, paving way for its early listing.

Eastern Coalfields, which operates 110 mines mostly in West Begal and Jharkhand has an estimated reserve of 40 billion tonne. It aims to produce 31 million tonne of coal in this fiscal from 28 in the last fiscal.

While BCCL with 78 mines has an annual production capacity of about 20 million tonne, it aims to grow its output manifold and has already announced multi billion dollar program to procure mining equipment.

(Sourced from Press Trust of India)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/07/03/MTAwODc0/CIL_ECL_and_BCCL_should_be_listed.html

Coal unions oppose disinvestment of CIL
New Delhi (PTI): Five major coal unions on Thursday opposed the government's move to sell its stake in Coal India saying the firm is competent enough to meet its financing needs and demanded infrastructure status for the sector.
"We express our strong resentment at the proposal of the government of India to disinvest the shareholding of Coal India in the share market," Centre of Indian Trade Unions said in a statement here.
The government is considering divesting up to 10 per cent of its stake in Coal India, paving way for its early listing on the bourses.
CITU, on behalf of the five unions, including the Indian Mine Workers Federation, said, "Coal India is competent enough to produce all requirements if the government provides and gives adequate facilities and the coal industry is given infrastructure status."
The trade unions are opposed to any amendment in the present act to facilitate the stake sale in CIL and the entry of private firms into mining coal. Moreover, they are not in favour of allotting blocks to private firms for their captive use.
The unions said they are opposed to allotment of virgin coal blocks in general and allotment of coal blocks within the command area of CIL given to private sector companies. "We demand that all the blocks should be handed over to Coal India.
"We resolutely oppose the amendment to Coal Mines Nationalisation Act and request the government of India to desist from doing so," CITU said.
The workers' body said the National Coal Wage Agreement-VIII signed between Coal India and its workers should be the benchmark for the private firms, involved in captive mining, to pay salaries to their miners.
While demanding parity in wages amongst permanent mining workers at government and private firms, the trade union sought minimum salaries for the contractual employees.
"We demand that the contract workers should not be allowed to be engaged in permanent and perennial nature of jobs and in other coal sectors they should be paid minimum of the scale in the coal industry."
In view of CIL outsourcing some of its jobs, CITU said, "We are opposed to contracterisation and outsourcing of coal industry jobs to private parties."
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200907021552.htm

IIFL recommends to buy Neyveli Lignite at Rs 140
By siliconindia news bureau
Friday,03 July 2009, 01:43 hrs



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Bangalore: With the stock being very active in the past few days, India Infoline (IIFL), a brokerage firm has recommended to buy the shares of Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NEYVELILIG) at a target price of Rs 140. According to IIFL, the stock has broken out from a symmetrical triangle pattern. The stock had been moving back and forth within the context of the triangle from third week of June 2009. In the above formation, it has converging trend lines that come together at an apex. It is considered a bullish set up.


Neyveli Lignite is an open-cast mechanized lignite mine. The company mines 24 million tons of lignite annually and generates power with installed capacity of 2490 megawatts of power. The Company has 50 percent joint venture with Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Recently, the company announced its plans to invest about $8.2 billion on power generation and mining capacity augmentation by 2017. The plan also includes development of power projects using other fuel feed. Of the proposed investment, $2.04 billion has already been spent on ongoing projects.

With the recommended target price of Rs 140, if the stock is bought at yesterday’s closing price of Rs 130.80, the percentage of gain would be 7.03 percent.

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/IIFL_recommends_to_buy_Neyveli_Lignite_at_Rs_140_-nid-58820.html

PPT awards iron ore terminal work to Blue Water
2 Jul 2009, 1756 hrs IST, Nageshwar Patnaik, ET Bureau

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BHUBANESWAR: Paradip Port Trust (PPT) on Wednesday signed a concession agreement for construction of a Rs 506.3-crore iron ore terminal on build,

operate and transfer (BOT) basis with Blue Water Iron Ore Terminal Private Ltd (BWIOTPL).

The agreement was signed by PPT chairman K Raghuramaiah and Harindar Pal Singh Banga on behalf of BWIOTPL in the presence of Union minister of shipping GK Vasan and other senior officials of the shipping ministry, an official release issued here on Wednesday said.

As part of the public-private partnership (PPP) model of the Centre, PPT had floated global tenders for construction of deep draught iron ore berth on BOT basis. Five bidders were shortlisted, including the successful bidder BWIOTPL, a consortium of Noble Group, Gammon Infrastructure Projects and MMTC.

The iron ore terminal will be developed by the concessionaire at an estimated cost of Rs 506.30 crore. Paradip port will provide supporting facilities like dredging of channel and berth, railway lines and back-up area at an estimated cost of Rs 85.05 crore. Besides, the port will also incur an expenditure of Rs 20 crore towards shifting of CISF complex and Rs 15 crore towards upgrade of electrical reception facilities in order to facilitate implementation of the project.

"On completion of the iron ore terminal, capacity addition to the Port will become 10 mtpa. Since the dredging of the channel is in progress and the depths at the proposed channel and berth will be 17.1 metres, it will facilitate handling of cape-size vessels up to 1,25,000 DWT. The concessionaire has offered a revenue share of 36.802% to the port during the concession period of 30 years," the release said.

The concessionaire will complete the construction of the project facilities within 36 months from the date of award of concession. This is the first project under PPP to be implemented in the port sector as per the new Model Concession Agreement (MCA) approved by the Cabinet and the tariff has been fixed upfront by Tariff Authority of Major Ports (TAMP), it added.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Indl-Goods-Svs/Metals-Mining/PPT-awards-iron-ore-terminal-work-to-Blue-Water/articleshow/4729536.cms

CIL seeks tax exemption for workers on housing perks
New Delhi (PTI): The country's largest coal miner, Coal India Ltd, expects the government to exempt its mining labourers from paying tax on housing allowance in the Union Budget, a move which will save Rs 144 crore for the workers in a year.
The company says that such a move will give an option to its non-executive employees "working in difficult conditions" to stay in houses of their choice rather than the government-provided accommodation.
"We expect the government to exempt our employees from paying tax on housing perquisites. On average, every year our non-executive workers pay about Rs 144 crore to the government on account of such tax. Exemption will motivate our employees, working and living in difficult conditions," Coal India Ltd Chairman P S Bhattacharyya told PTI on the phone.
The company employs about 4.16 lakh people, of whom about 3 lakh non-executive workers stay in government accommodation, he said, adding that the tax outflow on housing stands at about Rs 400 per head per month, which could be done away with. The workers are paid about Rs 15,000 a month.
"For a company which pays around Rs 6,000 crore as corporation tax, it's not a (big thing to ask for). The workers will not be forced to live in the provided accommodation," he added.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200907031351.htm

Coal India shortlists 10 parties
1 Jul 2009, 1657 hrs IST, ET Bureau

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KOLKATA: Coal India has shortlisted 10 parties for participating in tenders for extracting coal from abandoned mines. About 12 entities had

shown interest.

"Parties shortlisted are Arcellor Mitta India Ltd, Rio Tinto, Titan Mining Company, JSW Steel, JSW Energy Ltd, Monnet Ispat, Essar Mineral Reserves, SNT Mining and Sunflag Iron & Steel," said a senior CIL official close to the development.

Titan Mining Company is a member of the South Africa Angecor Group which specializes in equipment manufacturing and supply. It offers specialised contract mining services also. Rio Tinto is an UK-based mining major.

The final tenders, however, will be invited by CIL subsidiaries whose abandoned mines are being put on the block for mining. Selected parties will then have to form a JV with CIL, as CIL-subsidiaries are not allowed to form any JV.

"A draft notice inviting tender (NIT) has been sent to all these 10 parties. We have now decided to hold a meeting with them to discuss any issues involved or doubts on the draft tender. The meeting has been scheduled on the 20th of July.

Following this the NITs for respective mines will be finalised and tenders invited. The entire process of selection of final JV partners for abandoned mines is likely to be completed by the end of 2009," N C Jha, director technical, CIL told ET.

ArcelorMittal, was the first to express its keenness to extract coal from abandoned mines jointly with CIL, and had approached the government for jointly extracting coal from CIL's abandoned mines. In view of this the ministry had asked CIL to take forward the proposal. Subsequently, CIL decided to invite EoI from all interested parties and floated an EoI sometimes during August last year.

The public sector coal major had offered 18 abandoned or derelict mines with a total reserve of 1647 million tonnes from its subsidiaries including Eastern Coalfields (6 mines), Bharat Coking Coal (8 mines) and Central Coalfields (4 mines).

"We have received anything between 6 and 10 applications for every mine offered under BCCL and CCL jurisdiction, while for ECL it is between 2 and 7," said Mr Partha S Bhattacharyya, chairman CIL.

Nevertheless, CIL has decided to select only one party for a single mine. However, in case only one company is selected for more than one mine, all such mines will be the subject of a single JV with that party.

Private companies that ink JVs with CIL or its subsidiaries will have access to only 50% of the total production where CIL or its subsidiaries will hold equal stakes with private parties.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Indl-Goods--Svs/Metals--Mining/Coal-India-shortlists-10-parties/articleshow/4724835.cms

Godawari second iron ore mine by October 2009
Friday, 03 Jul 2009
DNA reported that Godawari Power and Ispat Limited, the Raipur based steel billet and sponge iron manufacturer plans to commission its second iron ore mine by October 2009. It had recently commissioned its first iron ore mine in Ari Dongri and is mining 1,000 tonne of iron ore per day.

Mr Dinesh Gandhi director, finance of Godawari Power said "The environment and forest approval is underway and soon we will approach the Chhattisgarh government to sign a mining lease agreement."

Mr Gandhi said the entire process will take 3 to 4 months and by October the company will be ready to start production. The second mine is located in Boria Tibu in Chhattisgarh.

He said the 2 mines put together have ore reserves of 15 million tonne. We are planning to produce 0.6 million tonne per annum from the 2 mines at peak production.

In a May 29th report, analyst Mr Akhil Jain with IL&FS said "GPIL's mining assets will be the key driver of margin expansion and earnings growth over FY 2010-11 and will also de risk the company's business from the fluctuations in availability and prices of raw material."

(Sourced from DNA)

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/07/03/MTAwODc1/Godawari_second_iron_ore_mine_by_October_2009.html
Mining – International

Thomson Reuters
FACTBOX-Mines and plants hit by low prices, high costs
07.02.09, 07:59 AM EDT



July 2 (Reuters) - The global financial crisis and sharp falls in metals prices have forced several companies to abandon or put on hold their plans to bring new mines onstream.
Some existing producers also have shut down or curtailed output at mines and plants and announcements continue to trickle through despite the recent metals price rises.
Below are details of major projects and facilities affected in recent months, as well as other related news.
July 2 - The Philippines' Samirara Mining Corp said its 50-percent held unit has suspended operations a nickel project north of Manila due to low prices.
June 25 - Russia's UC RUSAL plans to reduce output at its Guinea alumina plant by more than 50 percent from July 1. Plans to return to normal production levels in August.
June 18 - HudBay Minerals said it would close its ageing Flin Flon, Manitoba copper smelter before July 2010 and its White Pine, Michigan refinery shortly thereafter, citing the deteriorating economics of the operations.
June 16 - Mirabela Nickel Ltd said a delay in financing had impacted delivery of equipment. First concentrate at Brazilian mine is now expected in September.
June 12 - Ormet Corp said it had cut production capacity to five potlines from six as of May 20 at its Hannibal primary aluminium smelter in Ohio after trimming output to 5-1/2 potlines on May 1. Cites lack of alumina.
June 10 - Kazakh metals firm Kazakhmys said it had suspended zinc production at its Balkhash plant. Produced 48,000 tonnes of zinc and 138,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate in 2008.
June 9 - The Philippines has slashed its investment target for the mining sector this year to just over $600 million from an earlier goal of up to $1 billion.
June 5 - Glencore said it had placed its 80,000 tonnes per year (tpy) lead production line at Portovesme in Sardinia on temporary care and maintenance.
June 2 - Century Aluminum said it had delayed repairing damaged pots at its Hawesville, Kentucky primary aluminium smelter.
June 2 - Doe Run Peru said it would halt all operations at its La Oroya polymetallic smelter because financial and environmental setbacks had prevented it from buying concentrates.
May 26 - PT International Nickel Indonesia revised down its capital expenditure budget for this year by more than a quarter.
May 20 - Alcoa Inc reduced primary aluminium production at its three smelters in Spain by some 18 percent in line with global cutbacks announced already by the company.
May 13 - Denison Mines Corp said development of the Midwest uranium project had been postponed.
May 12 - BHP Billiton said planned to stop mining at the Rocky's Reward open-pit mine at the Leinster Nickel Operation in Australia.
May 11 - Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) said it had put plans to boost its production capacity to 1.2 million tonnes per year on hold.
May 11 - The future of an aluminium smelter project at Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Economic City is 'uncertain', an executive of state-owned smelter Dubai Aluminium Co (Dubal) said.
May 11 - Dubal said it expected Q2 aluminium sales to fall 20 percent from a year earlier.
May 10 - Oman's Sohar Aluminium, part-owned by Rio Tinto , said it had put the second phase of its plant on hold.
May 8 - PT International Nickel Indonesia asked the government for more time to assess plans for a new 20,000-30,000 tonnes per year (tpy) plant after a study showed the project may not be feasible.
May 7 - Breakwater Resources said if base metals prices returned to late 2008/early 2009 lows they may cut mill throughput and mine only gold-bearing deposits for the rest of 2009 at Toqui zinc-lead-gold mine in Chile.
May 6 - Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation said annual production rate of smelter-grade alumina at Gramercy refinery in the United States halved to 500,000 tonnes per year (tpy). It continues to evaluate options to cut purchase cost of alumina, including assessing the curtailment of Gramercy.
May 5 - Suriname Aluminium Company LLD (Suralco) said it would cut about 40 percent, or 870,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of production at its Paranam alumina refinery. Suralco is part of the Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals group.
April 30 - Hydro Aluminium, the German unit of Norway's Norsk Hydro said it may stop production at its loss-making aluminium smelter at Neuss in Germany in June.
April 30 - Eramet's said nickel output would continue to be adjusted in relation to the market surplus and low prices. Also said it would continue to limit capital expenditure.
April 30 - Kazakhmys posted a 20 percent fall in Q1 copper cathode output from the previous quarter as part of stated move to cut production. Said it suspended output at sections of a fifth mine in addition to four mines previously announced.
April 29 - Alcoa Inc said to cut aluminium production at Portland smelter in Australia by a further 38,000 tonnes to 305,000 tonnes per year.
April 29 - Belgium's Nyrstar said its zinc output dropped by 30 percent in Q1 2009 from Q4 2008. It said it planned to transform cost structure across the company, resulting in over 50 million euros ($65.1 million) in cost savings per year from 2010.
April 28 - Russia's Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant said it produced 36.7 percent less zinc and zinc-based alloy in Q1 2009 than in the same period last year. Production cuts part of company's cost-cutting measures.
April 24 - Century Aluminum said it may cut its smelter output further. One official said it may soon decide to close another potline at its Hawesville, Kentucky smelter.
April 24 - BHP Billiton said the viability of its Bayside aluminium smelter in South Africa was at risk following a sharp fall in demand for value-added products.
April 23 - Mexico's mining chamber said it saw new investments in exploration and expansion projects in the country dropping by 25 percent this year from last year to $2.73 billion.
April 23 - Southern Copper said it had further trimmed its 2009 capital and exploration budget to $328 million from $415.3 million.
April 22 - Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc said its spending plans continue to be reviewed and may be revised based on market conditions.
April 22 - BHP Billiton said output from its Escondida copper mine in Chile will fall by 30 percent this fiscal year. Said all its operations would remain under review.
April 22 - Indonesian state-owned miner, PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, said its first-quarter ferro-nickel output fell 24 percent from a year ago on slowing demand.
April 22 - Indonesian tin production may not reach 90,000 tonnes this year as production adjusts to slowing demand, a director general at the country's energy ministry said. He said Indonesia had initially planned to limit output to 105,000 tonnes.
April 21 - China's Yunnan Copper Co Ltd said its production in the first quarter fell 34 percent from a year earlier due to the global financial crisis.
April 21 - Russia's United Company RUSAL said it was halfway towards its goal of cutting costs by $1.1 billion in 2009 after reducing them by $554 million in the first quarter. Aluminium production fell 7.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. Plans to cut 2009 output by 500,000 tonnes.
April 21 - Noranda Income Fund said May output of zinc and sulphuric acid would be reduced by about 20 percent.
April 17 - FNX Mining said it was considering suspending its remaining production in Sudbury, Ontario due to Vale Inco's decision to temporarily shut down its operations there.
April 16 - Vale said it would delay the start-up of its Onca Puma nickel project in Brazil by at least one year. Previously expected to come on line in January 2010. Company also said it would shut its Sudbury nickel mines and processing plants in Ontario, Canada for eight weeks from June 1.
April 14 - Indonesia's PT Timah Tbk said it expected to cut its refined tin output by as much as 8 percent this year.
April 13 - Anvil Mining said budgeted capital expenditure for 2009 had been cut to the minimum necessary to sustain the operation of the Kinsevere HMS plant.
April 10 - Zambia's Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) would delay to June a resumption in its operations after some creditors refused to accept only half of the money they were owed by the mine owners, a government minister said.
April 9 - Russia's UC RUSAL said it would cut output at its Novokuznetsk smelter from mid-April by a third from 317,000 tonnes produced in 2008.
April 9 - Xstrata Plc said it planned to suspend operations at its Sinclair nickel mine in Australia in August if metals prices did not rebound.
April 9 - Vedanta said it shut down a part of the BALCO Plant I smelter in India in Q4 due to higher operational costs.
April 8 - Greece's Larco said it would cut nickel in ferro-nickel output to between 10,000-12,000 tonnes this year from about 18,500 last year.
April 7 - Alcoa expects its Q2 alumina output to decline slightly to match smelter demand. Company projects weak global demand and expects another 1.4 million tonnes of primary aluminium output cuts in coming months.
April 7 - Rio Tinto said it would cut bauxite production at its Weipa mine in northeastern Australia by about 23 percent. It also said it would slow the expansion of the Yarwun alumina refinery in Queensland.
April 7 - Tajikistan cut aluminium output by 16.8 percent year-on-year in Q1 2009, a source at state-owned TALCO aluminium company said. Tajikistan has said it plans to produce 377,000 tonnes this year, down from 399,450 tonnes in 2008.
April 2 - Alcoa Inc said it would curtail about 120,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of aluminium smelter output at its Massena, New York operations in May, raising total cuts to the firm's production to over 850,000 tonnes, or 20 percent of annualised output.
April 2 - Most of Japan's refined lead and zinc producers plan to reduce output in the first half of the year to end-March 2010.
April 1 - Bosnia's sole alumina plant Birac said its 2009 output would fall almost two thirds to 120,000 tonnes of alumina because of the economic crisis.
April 1 - Montenegro's loss-making KAP aluminium smelter will temporarily suspend 20 percent of its workforce.
April 1 - Jamaica-based West Indies Alumina Co, whose majority shareholder is Russia's United Company RUSAL, suspended bauxite mining as part of a plan to temporarily shutter the company's operations.
April 1 - United Company RUSAL and Russian hydro-electricity giant RusHydro said they had agreed to postpone launching the Boguchany aluminium smelter project for two years to 2012. But on April 16 UC RUSAL proposed reversing earlier decisions to postpone the Boguchany and Taishet smelter projects to provide an outlet for a major hydro power station.
April 1 - Japan's copper smelters plan to keep output either flat or lower in the first half of the business year.
March 31 - Glencore said it had suspended operations at its Iscaycruz lead-zinc mine in Peru.
March 29 - Two Chinese aluminium producers, Shengxin Aluminium and Shanghai Unison Aluminium, have halved their output, executives said.
March 27 - Sweden's Boliden said it was maintaining cutbacks announced in late January. At that time the company said it would reduce output by about 68,000 tonnes on an annualised basis in the first quarter of 2009.
March 26 - Norway's Norsk Hydro said it would cut metal output at its Sunndal smelter in Norway by 100,000 tonnes, bringing total curtailments to half a million tonnes.
March 26 - Metallica Minerals deferred feasibility work indefinitely on its 8,000 tonnes per year (tpy) Nornico mine project in Queensland, Australia.
March 26 - A $500 million nickel pig iron project planned for Indonesia had been scrapped, Shanghai Tshingshan Mineral Company Ltd, the majority partner in the venture, said.
March 26 - Doe Run Peru halted work at 95 percent of its La Oroya poly-metallic smelter because of financial trouble. On April 2, the company said it would restart work as soon as possible afer reaching a new credit deal.
March 25 - Russia's UC RUSAL may widen output cuts to up to 20 percent and is taking steps to cut costs as it faces peak debt repayment of $8 billion this year, the firm and analysts said.
March 25 - UC RUSAL said it would halve aluminium output at its loss-making ZALK unit in Ukraine this year due to high energy costs, as part of plans to slash 11 percent of total annual output. Alumina output will also be cut.
March 25 - Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation said it would maintain output cuts since a recovery was unlikely until 2010. Also said it had cut its long-term capex expansion programme to $2.4 billion from $6.9 billion.
March 23 - Yamana Gold's Argentinian unit, which has been working on the Agua Rica copper-gold project, last week said it would temporarily slow work on the project. Mine close to final approval, but company undecided on how it will proceed with plans for the property.
March 23 - India's state-run National Aluminium Co plans to lower output if inventory levels keep rising, the Business Standard newspaper reported.
March 20 - U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC shut its rod and cake plants in Amarillo, Texas and is planning periodic slowdowns at the copper refinery beginning March 22.
March 20 - South African ferrochrome producer Hernic said it shut all its four furnaces at the start of this year.
March 20 - Geovic Mining Corp. said it would slash costs, reduce in scale and delay by at least a year its Nkamouna cobalt-nickel-manganese project in Cameroon.
March 19 - European Goldfields said further ramp up of output at its Stratoni lead-zinc mine in Greece would be delayed.
March 19 - Uranium miner Denison Mines will temporarily suspend production at its Sunday and Rim mines in the western United States and will likely shut its White Mesa mill in May.
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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/07/02/afx6612117.html


3 mines collapse, water rushes into houses
3 Jul 2009, 0644 hrs IST, TNN

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BICHOLIM: Three mines, one each at Poira, Advalpal and Valshi in Bicholim taluka, collapsed on Wednesday night leading to mining rejects and rain

water rushing into some 60 houses, including a temple, in the villages.

Torrential rains during the night flooded the already water logged mines leading to their collapse. Heavy mining machinery standing on top of the mine at Valshi also toppled.

Poira was the hardest hit, as about 50 houses from the village were affected and people were shifted to safer places. Similar incidents were reported at Advalpal.

Most of the residents of the affected houses were shifted to safer destinations, and on Thursday morning were seen clearing mud from the houses.

At Gawthadi-Valshi mining silt entered the Sateri temple and the idol of the goddess was buried under the mud. The force of the water destroyed the temple's compound wall.

It may be recalled that at Valshi, Bicholim in 1983 in a similar mine collapse two persons had died.

Besides damage to property, several roads were submerged, electric wires snapped, trees uprooted and a passenger bus turned turtle at Sarvan, Bicholim. At Dhumashe Menkure due to short circuit a crusher was damaged.

Meanwhile, Bicholim mamlatdar Pramod Bhat, has convened a meeting of the mining officers on Friday to discuss the situation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/3-mines-collapse-water-rushes-into-houses/articleshow/4730669.cms

July 2, 2009
Massey loses last appeal over Cannelton mine
4th Circuit upholds Judge Goodwin's 2008 ruling that coal firm violated labor laws
By Paul J. Nyden
Staff writer
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Massey Energy violated federal labor law by refusing to keep union coal miners on its payroll after it bought Cannelton Industries in October 2004, according to a federal court ruling issued late Wednesday.
Massey acquired Cannelton from Horizon Natural Resources, then in bankruptcy.
The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va., upheld an August 2008 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in Charleston. Both rulings upheld the November 2007 decision by Paul Bogas, administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board.
Bogas ruled that Massey discriminated against former Cannelton employees by refusing to hire them, "on the basis of their membership in the predecessor's bargaining unit and their pro-union sentiments."
Massey set up two new non-union companies -- Spartan Mining Co. and Mammoth Coal Co. -- to operate Cannelton's mines and coal preparation plant County along the Kanawha River in eastern Kanawha.
United Mine Workers President Cecil E. Robert praised Wednesday's decision.
"We look forward to the day when miners who were illegally discriminated against get their rightful jobs back, and to all the miners at the Mammoth mine having the benefit and protection of working under a UMWA contract," Roberts said.
A Massey Energy statement noted, "Although we disagree with the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, it is important to note while appealing ... Goodwin's decision requiring Mammoth Coal Co. to hire these individuals, Mammoth Coal made job offers to these 85 miners.
"From these 85 extended offers of employment, only nine miners accepted the employment opportunity. Today, seven of these miners remain with the company," Massey stated.
"Massey had to extend offers to hire these guys back," said UMW spokesman Phil Smith, "but Cannelton was a non-union environment, and most of those miners did not want to work in that environment."
Bogas issued his ruling after a two-week trial held in Montgomery in 2007. Massey appealed his ruling to the full NLRB.
http://wvgazette.com/News/200907020377

Shutdown at Hibbing mine to last into next year
Workers at Hibbing Taconite who already have been off duty for seven weeks learned Thursday they probably won’t return to work before April 2010.
By: Peter Passi, Duluth News Tribune
• 1

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A shovel loads a production truck with crude ore at Hibbing Taconite. (2002 file / News Tribune)
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Workers at Hibbing Taconite who already have been off duty for seven weeks learned Thursday they probably won’t return to work before April 2010.
Most of the 650 to 675 people employed by the company have been on leave since May 16 as part of what was to have been a 15-week shutdown. Hopes of an Aug. 30 restart
of the taconite-processing plant were dashed Thursday morning when United Steelworkers Local 2705 received a news release issued by Cliffs Natural Resources. The rest of the day, the union hall’s phone seldom stopped ringing.
Hibbing Taconite — often called HibTac for short — idled two of its production lines in March before ceasing production completely in May.
“We’re extending the idling because it’s necessary to bring production in line with demand, which has weakened significantly because of the economic downturn. It was an unfortunate but necessary decision,” Cliffs spokeswoman Maureen Talarico said.
The shutdown is getting painful for Hibbing.
“We’re losing people, we’re losing income and, you know, those families, they’re having to suffer through some pretty tough times,” said Tim Harkonen, acting mayor. “It’s huge for us.”
Aprille Caroon, a sales associate at Bender’s Shoe and Sport in Hibbing, said the layoffs haven’t affected sales yet, “but, being that the layoff is going further into back-to-school and Christmas, it’ll be interesting to see the effect.”
Caroon said she knows how hard shutdowns can be because she grew up in a mining family.
“You never knew whether dad was going to have a job or whether he wasn’t,” she said.
Talarico said the shutdown at HibTac is no reflection on the mine or its workers.
“It’s an extremely efficient operation, and it has a dedicated, driven work force,” she said.
Built in the late 1970s, HibTac boasts some of the newest taconite-processing equipment on the Range.
“HibTac has good equipment, but its ore recovery rate has been slipping in recent years, and its costs have been going up,” said Peter Kakela, a Michigan State University taconite industry analyst.
Kakela said HibTac’s declining efficiency is more a function of the ore body it’s mining than anything else. He said the highest-quality and most-readily accessible ore already has been exploited, leading to greater challenges going forward.
Meanwhile, iron ore pellets have been declining in value.
Brazil-based Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies, recently agreed to charge a European steelmaker 48 percent less for pellets than it had been.
In light of this global development, Cliffs projects North American pellet pricing also will soften. The company now expects to receive an average of $75 in revenue for every ton of pellets it delivers to market — about 18 to 19 percent less than it garnered last year.
Cliffs expects to drop its North American iron ore pellet production sharply, from 35.2 million tons in 2008 to 15 million tons in 2009 — a 57 percent reduction.
Hibbing Taconite is expected to deliver 1.7 million tons of pellets in 2009. That’s just 21 percent of the mine’s rated production capacity.
Mine owners are cutting back production to keep the price of pellets from collapsing.
“We’re all concerned about the workers at HibTac, but mines need to respond to the market conditions at hand,” said Craig Pagel, president of the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota.
Pagel remains optimistic that steel demand will improve as the federal economic stimulus package kicks in. Even the nation’s sustainable energy initiative could help the industry, he said, pointing out that a single 3-megawatt wind tower consumes about 335 tons of steel.
But the real key to a steel comeback lies in the hands of the consumer, Pagel said.
“The real recovery will come as people regain their confidence and start to buy cars and appliances again,” he said.
News Tribune staff writer John Myers and Fox 21 News reporter Nicolette Helling contributed to this story.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/account:login/

277 miners die in S.Africa in past year-minister
Thu Jul 2, 2009 11:48am EDT

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CAPE TOWN, July 2 (Reuters) - Some 277 workers have died in South African mines in the past year, almost half of them in illegal operations, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said on Thursday.
"The number of deaths due to mining incidents for the period of June 1, 2008 to June 1, 2009 were 142 deaths of miners lawfully employed (and) 135 deaths of illegal miners," Shabangu said in a written reply to a question in parliament.
South Africa, which has the world's deepest mines, has one of the highest rates of work-related mining deaths in the industrialised world.
Shabangu gave no comparable figures for the same period the previous year. For the whole of last year 168 workers died in legal operations, down 24 percent from 2007 when 221 fatalities were reported, according to data.
The South African government has resorted to shutting down mines temporarily as it tries to enforce safety measures and curb deaths that have hurt output in the world's top platinum producer and No. 3 gold producer.
But it has had little or no impact on illegal mining operations, which have increased because of higher metals prices especially for gold, and the first recession in 17 years in Africa's biggest economy.
In one of the country's worst death tolls in an illegal mining operation, 76 miners died in May when a fire broke out in an abandoned shaft belonging to Harmony Gold (HARJ.J).
A presidential mine safety audit released in February revealed "disappointing" levels of safety compliance in the labour-intensive industry.
Parliament has passed new laws calling for tougher fines and criminal sanctions. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; editing by Sue Thomas)

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSL244882620090702

Areva could buy renewable mining assets
Friday, 03 Jul 2009
Reuters reported that French state owned nuclear reactor maker Areva could look at buying mining or renewable energy assets.

Ms Anne Lauvergeon CEO of Areva said she could envisage existing partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries or financial investors including sovereign wealth funds, for example in the Gulf, participating in the capital raising it announced on June 30th. But electricity providers Areva's customers or suppliers would not be among the groups taking a stake.

Ms Lauvergeon said that she believed the group should remain open to acquisition opportunities that exist in the mining sector, as the group needs more uranium. We are going to remain very attentive in the renewables sector. The group already has offshore wind energy activities but is not yet present in the solar energy sector, but this is something we're looking at.

(Sourced from Reuters)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/07/03/MTAwODc2/Areva_could_buy_renewable_mining_assets.html

Days numbered for sand mine operators
By GEETHA KRISHNAN

YOUR days are numbered and you have been warned. This was the stern warning issued to illegal sand mine operators in the Hulu Langat and Kuala Langat districts of Selangor because the authorities are stepping up enforcement efforts.
Of the 28 illegal sand mines found to have been operating in the districts since last year, 19 have been shut down. Authorities are keeping a close watch on the nine remaining mines and will clamp down on the operations soon.
Big-scale ops: Heavy machinery is left abandoned at the illegal sand mine in Sungai Medang.
In briefing Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk T. Murugiah on the illegal sand-mining activities in the districts, Hulu Langat district officer Zainal Abidin Aala said 271 arrests were made in 2008 while 35 suspects were arrested up till May this year.
Murugiah, who is the Public Complaints Bureau coordinator, visited Sungai Medang in Kampung Sungai Lalang, Semenyih, on Wednesday after complaints of river pollution from residents there due to illegal sand-mining activities upstream.
“The operators have been given sufficient warning yet they continue to flout the law. This is a grave matter because the activities are carried out near the water intake points like in Sungai Semenyih and Sungai Langat.
Site visit: Murugiah (left) and Zainal (right) at the illegal sand mine in Sungai Medang, Kampung Sungai Lalang, Semenyih recently.
“Besides pollution, we have received complaints from farmers that they can no longer depend on rivers as water sources for their land. Illegal sand-mining in Sungai Medang has further shrunk the river,” he said.
Kampung Sungai Lalang resident Maj (Rtd) Hashim Ismail said he had also lodged numerous complaints with the Hulu Langat Environment Department on the pollution.
“The water used to be crystal clear but due to sand-mining, it is now murky. The stream which used to run through my orchard is on the verge of drying up,” he said.
Murugiah said he would highlight the need for river-widening to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas and report the presence of illegal Indonesian workers at the illegal sand mine in Sungai Medang to the Immigration Department.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/7/3/central/4236608&sec=central

Citigold Takeover Bid for Gateway Mining Limited
3 July 2009: Brisbane, Australia - Citigold Limited ("Citigold") (ASX:CTO) (Nasdaq
Dubai:CTO) (FSE:CHP) is pleased to announce an off-market takeover offer for all of
the shares in Gateway Mining Limited ("Gateway") (ASX:GML). Under the terms of
the offer, Citigold is offering Gateway shareholders two (2) Citigold shares for each
five (5) Gateway shares held.
Citigold is currently a substantial and the single largest shareholder in Gateway. This
shareholding of 16.3 million shares represents 15% of the issued capital of Gateway.
Citigold is keen to expand its holding to gain further exposure to this Australian based
pure exploration play.
Gateway is an established gold and base metals explorer with several early stage
prime prospects being explored wholly and in joint venture with other companies in
New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.
Citigold is an Australian gold producer and explorer focused on developing the
Charters Towers goldfield. Our management and technical team will continue to focus
on expanding gold production at Charters Towers. It is Citigold's current intention that
Gateway will remain as an exploration entity under its own management.
Citigold has 842 million shares on issue and a market capitalisation of $152 million at
a share price of 18 cents. Gateway has 110 million shares and a market capitalisation
of $8 million at share price of 7 cents. (Share prices based on previous 20 trading day
VWAP)
Full details of the offer will be set out in the formal Bidders Statement document to be
sent to all Gateway shareholders. See Annexure `A' herewith for additional details.
For further information contact:
Mark Lynch
Matthew Martin
Managing Director
Company Secretary

Citigold Corporation Limited ; telephone +61 7 3834 0000

Or visit the Company's web site at : www.citigold.com

http://newsstore.theage.com.au/apps/previewDocument.ac?docID=GCA00966489CTO
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Worst is over but complete recovery eludes
3 Jul 2009, 0346 hrs IST, Amiti Sen, ET Bureau

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The government may ease curbs on foreign direct investment (FDI) and introduce an array of reforms to reverse a decline in industrial growth

witnessed in the last two fiscals. An indication to this effect was given in the Economic Survey, presented to Parliament on Thursday. However, the Survey said there were a number of positives such as a revival in power generation, an improvement in cement dispatches and higher creditofftake indicating that the worst may be over for the Indian industry.

The reforms could include allowing FDI in multi-format retail, starting with food retailing, raising FDI limit in defence industries to 49%, decontrolling sugar and fertiliser industry, limiting drug price control to essential drugs and creating an internet-enabled data system to help small and micro businesses, the survey said. It also suggested a review of labour laws to encourage economic activity.

One of the main reasons for the poor performance of the industrial sector over the past year was high raw material prices. In July 2008, Indian crude oil basked was priced at $132 per barrel. The persistent rise of crude prices impacted petro-based industrial inputs adding to fuel cost.

An increase in the prices of other commodities, particularly metals and ores, from the latter half of 2006-07 to the second half of 2008-09 also hurt the manufacturing sector. In fact, cost on account of consumption of raw materials rose by as much as 38% and 44% during the first two quarters of 2008-09, compared with 16% and 12% in the first two quarters of the previous fiscal.

A sharp increase in interest costs, especially from the third quarter of 2007-08, also added to the woes of the sector. The country is pinning its hopes of an industrial revival on a fall in raw materials prices. The decline in crude prices, low raw material cost and declining interest rates should help the industry to improve profit margins, which have been under pressure, the survey said. Lead indicators and other related information collected by various research analysts also point to an upward movement in terms of demand and supply, it added.

A sustained inflow of FDI points to foreign investor confidence in the Indian economy. The survey said India, on account of its market size, output generation and prices, would continue to be an attractive destination for foreign investment at a time when most industrial economies are struggling on industrial front.

The survey said that a decline in the number of strikes and lockouts indicated an improvement in industrial relations in the country. During 2008, Tamil Nadu experienced the maximum instances of strikes and lockouts followed by Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Industrial unrest was concentrated mainly in financial intermediation, textiles, transport, mining of coal and food products.

The survey said it was imperative to facilitate the growth of labour-intensive industries, especially by reviewing labour laws and labour market regulations. The government, however, has always been cautious about proposing changes in labour regulations as labour is a sensitive issue and all state governments need to be brought on board.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Worst-is-over-but-complete-recovery-eludes/articleshow/4731121.cms



Wishful thinking
3 Jul 2009, 0210 hrs IST, ET Bureau

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The good thing about Economic Surveys is that unlike politics, which according to our economist-turned- politician prime minister is about the

art of the possible, Surveys are not so constrained. They do not have to bother about what is possible and what is not. The bad thing about them is that they are often so far removed from ground reality that they cannot be regarded as anything more than a wish list of the technocrats in the finance ministry.

Economic Survey 2008-09 is no exception. So if Survey 2007-08 called for phasing out control on sugar, fertiliser and drugs, allowing FDI in retail trade, raising FDI in insurance to 49%, amending the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act to allow private entry, listing all public sector undertakings and selling a minimum of 10% to the public (none of which was done), the latest Survey’s wish list is no less extravagant.

It calls for decontrolling petrol and diesel prices, phasing out subsidies on kerosene (ignoring the fact that Wednesday’s price hike carefully omitted kerosene), limiting LPG subsidy to 6-8 cylinders per annum per household (a hare-brained idea, given the inherent corruption in such a scheme), introduction of new Income Tax Code (yawn!), implementation of the goods and services tax from 1 April 2010 (never mind the requisite amendments are unlikely to be in place by then). It also wants to link small savings interest rates to market-related rates (something three committees in the past have suggested but to no avail).

There is more along the same lines. Suffice it to say it’s hard to object to most of the reforms proposed. It’s equally hard to believe the government will act on many of them. Consequently, with the exception of the Survey’s projected growth rate for the current fiscal (7%, +/- 0.75%), with which this paper is more or less in agreement, albeit with a bias on the downside, on the rest we’d prefer to retain a healthy dose of scepticism.

Yes, we also accept the Survey’s author, chief economic advisor Dr Arvind Virmani’s submission to ET Now that it is the job of his team of professional economists to recommend ways to up the growth momentum. Virmani co
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Wishful-thinking/articleshow/4731044.cms

Climate change costs India over 2.6% of GDP: Survey
2 Jul 2009, 1641 hrs IST, IANS

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NEW DELHI: India is now spending over 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product to adapt to climate change, says the country's annual Economic

Survey, tabled in parliament Thursday by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The effect of climate change on "agriculture, water resources, health and sanitation, forests, coastal-zone infrastructure and extreme events" are "specific areas of concern", says the survey.

Climate change, due to increase in concentration of greenhouse gases - mainly carbon dioxide - in the atmosphere, is being caused by ill-planned industrial activities.

Looking at the way forward, the survey says technology forms a critical component of actions aimed at responding to climate change. "Availability and/or dissemination of existing climate-friendly technologies and goods to developing countries as public goods and at affordable costs is essential to enhance the actions of developing countries to pursue sustainable development policies.

"The collaborative R&D effort has to be promoted, with multilateral financial support under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in order to facilitate rapid and widespread dissemination, absorption and application of climate-friendly technologies.

"A Copenhagen package incorporating this component, with an accompanying multilateral financing package, would be an outcome necessary to address climate change in a manner consistent with goals of sustainable development."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Climate-change-costs-India-over-26-of-GDP-Survey/articleshow/4729180.cms

Climate change is shrinking sheep
By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News


The mystery of Hirta's shrinking Soay sheep has finally been solved


Climate change is causing a breed of wild sheep in Scotland to shrink, according to research.
Scientists say milder winters help smaller sheep to survive, resulting in this "paradoxical decrease in size".
Classic evolutionary theory would predict that wild sheep gradually get bigger, as the stronger, larger animals survive into adulthood and reproduce.
Reporting in Science journal, the team says this shows the "subtle interplay" between evolution and the environment.
Scientists first began studying Soay sheep, on the island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago, in 1985.
Since then, the sheep have decreased in size by 5% - their legs getting steadily shorter and their body weight decreasing.
This strange phenomenon was first reported in 2007, but the reason for it remained under debate.
'A natural laboratory'
The lead researcher in the study, Tim Coulson from Imperial College London, said the island provided an ideal opportunity to tease apart the factors driving the sheep's physical change.


In the past, only big, healthy sheep... could survive the harsh winters on Hirta

Tim Coulson
Imperial College London
"The island is almost like a natural laboratory - there are only the sheep and the vegetation there," he said.
He and his team had access to detailed information about the sheep that had been collected over more than two decades.
"We have so much great data," said Professor Coulson, "that we were able to write a ledger of how much of an effect each of the different factors had on the sheep."
They used a formula called the "Price equation", which was designed by evolutionary theorist George Price to predict how a physical trait, such as body size, will change from one generation to the next.
With all of this data, the team was able to "rearrange the equation" and use it to work out how much of a contribution each driver made to the sheep's body size.
They found that the local environment had a stronger effect on the animals than the evolutionary pressure to grow larger.
"In the past, only the big, healthy sheep and large lambs that had piled on weight in their first summer could survive the harsh winters on Hirta," said Professor Coulson.
Because of climate change, he explained, grass for food is now available for more months of the year on the island.
"Survival conditions are not so challenging - even the slower growing sheep have a chance of making it, and this means smaller individuals are becoming increasingly prevalent in the population," he said.

"Young mums" tend to give birth to smaller lambs
The team also found that younger sheep tended to give birth to smaller lambs - a phenomenon they termed "the young mum effect".
This effect, said Professor Coulson, combined with environmental changes had "overriden what we would expect through natural selection".
As for the future of the sheep, the team believes that they are still shrinking.
"The next step is to extend our description of past change into a predictive model," said Professor Coulson.
"But it's too early to say if, in 100 years, we will have chihuahuas herding pocket-sized sheep."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8130907.stm

Severe Water Scarcity Boosts The Desalination Market
July 3, 2009
Demand for fresh water is increasing around the world, especially in regions with rapidly growing populations and badly affected by long, drought seasons. Water is only going to become scarcer and many governments are looking at desalination and investing in this technology to supply water to their populations. These factors are driving the desalination market that shows a strong growth according to Frost & Sullivan.
The focus is particularly high in the Mediterranean region where in the last few years we have been witnessing an increasingly severe water scarcity. Frost & Sullivan has been looking at this sector with particular interest and will soon publish a comprehensive study on the Spanish water market with trends, challenges and opportunities.
Why Spain? Frost & Sullivan Analyst, Nuno Oscar Branco, who has been researching the market and conducting extensive interviews with market participants, confirms: "Spain is the largest desalination market in the Mediterranean region, but countries such as Algeria, Morocco or Libya, to name just a few, have joined the desalination bandwagon and are investing heavily on this source of fresh drinking water".
Spain built its first desalination plant in 1965 and was one of the first countries in the Mediterranean region to consider desalination as a viable solution to solve water shortage issues in large urban areas. "Spain is close to reaching the peak of its desalination programme and is on the forefront of the desalination markets, leading the way in employing new technologies and plant design", says Frost & Sullivan analyst Nuno Oscar Branco.
Spurred by the PROGRAMA A.G.U.A., Spain has an estimated investment plan of about $5.5 Billion for the period 2004 to 2015 in desalinization treatment plants in an effort to increase the production capacity of fresh water by 1,100 hm3 per year.
At a time when the construction market is in trouble, investments by the Spanish Government in the water infrastructure is proving to be a good opportunity for EPC companies, construction companies, project engineering firms and technology providers. "The Spanish desalination market still offers opportunities for local and international companies that have expertise especially in key areas of energy efficiency as well as process and operation optimisation" according to Nuno Oscar Branco. Desalination is looking at the opportunity of going green through renewable energy options. And in fact, there are technologies already available that would use wind or off-shore solar power units as their energy source for desalination.
The presence of Spanish companies is also very strong in other geographical markets: "Albeit the desalination market in Spain is at its peak", concludes Frost & Sullivan's analyst Nuno Oscar Branco, "Spanish companies have developed strong know-how in the construction and operation of large desalinization plants and are winning important contracts in Algeria, India and Australia".
Drivers for investment in water desalination plants will continue to remain strong in the Mediterranean countries for the next decades.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents. For more information, please visit http://www.frost.com.
SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan

http://www.wateronline.com/article.mvc/Severe-Water-Scarcity-Boosts-The-Desalination-0001