01-08-09

Mining – India 1
1. Vedanta Resources net falls 52% on lower metal prices 1
2. CIL tender for abandoned mines by August-end 2
3. Minister overrules green watchdog over mines 3
4. Coal smuggling exposes chinks in admn’s armour 4
5. Govt OKs Rs 9,773cr rehab plan for 'simmering' Jharia 5
6. SC begins hearing on minor mineral mining in Aravalis 6
7. 491 million tonne cement grade limestone in Sundergarh 6
8. Essar Energy acquires 50% in Kenyan firm 7
Mining – International 8
9. Public consultation under way on Coro Mining's Argentina project 8
10. As Oklahoma mining town fades, holdouts give up 9
11. Vedanta sees overall Q1 growth in mining segments 10
12. Mining Companies Need Assurance of Tenure, Zambian Chamber Says 11
13. Mining union in Western Australia rejects foreign labor 12
14. Alcoa Completes Deal to Acquire Bauxite and Alumina Interests in Suriname 13
15. Alcoa mine to clear 25,000 acres of rainforest, suck 133,407 gallons of water per hour from the Amazon 13
16. Brazil's Vale sees metals markets rebound in 2009 14
17. Pinnacle calling back 100 employees 15
18. Activists battle new uranium mine 15
19. Kensington decision to be early test of Obama on mining issues 17
20. Judge dismisses mining case against County 20
Other News 20
21. Govt assures Rs 100 wages under NREGA 20
22. Left battered for rural inaction 21
23. HIV infected share experiences, views 22
24. Stir to kick off in tribal belt 24
25. Scrap-dam clamour gets shriller 24
26. Mandatory energy efficiency ratings in the offing 25

Mining – India

Vedanta Resources net falls 52% on lower metal prices

The company curbed spending by at least $5 billion and suspended some aluminium operations last year after raw-material demand plunged

London: The largest copper producer in India, Vedanta Resources Plc., said its June quarter profit slumped 52% after prices of metals declined.
Optimistic approach: Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal. The firm hopes to buy the government’s stake in its two group firms soon. Indranil Bhoumik / Mint
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or ebitda, fell to $354.7 million (around Rs1,710 crore) in the three months ended 30 June, from $739 million a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement on Friday.
Vedanta curbed spending by at least $5 billion and suspended some aluminium operations last year after raw-material demand plunged. Copper, used to make wires and pipes, averaged $4,707.80 a tonne in the quarter, 43% lower than a year earlier. Zinc averaged 30% less and aluminium 49% less. Quarterly sales dropped 33% to $1.36 billion, Vedanta said.
Production of copper cathode, a finished form of the metal, rose 15% to 78,000 tonnes at Vedanta’s Indian and Australian units. Copper output in Zambia increased 19% to 43,000 tonnes.
Output of refined zinc, used to make steel rust-proof, rose 8.6% to 139,000 tonnes, while aluminium production gained 26% to 125,000 tonnes.
The Anil Agarwal-controlled firm has at least doubled this year in London trading, the second biggest gain in the 14-company FTSE 350 Mining Index after Kazakhmys Plc.
The firm hopes to buy out the government’s minority equity in its group firms Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd, or Balco, and Hindustan Zinc Ltd in the next three-four months, vice-chairman Naveen Agarwal said.
The government now holds a 49% stake in Balco and a 29.5% stake in Hindustan Zinc. The balance of Hindustan Zinc’s equity is held by the public.
“As far as our call options are concerned, in the case of Balco, we are currently in arbitration; a couple of arbitration meetings have taken place, and, hopefully, we believe that based on the arbitration proceedings, we should see a successful closure of this in the next three to four months,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal said he hoped the company would be able to also acquire the minority stake of the government in Hindustan Zinc by the end of this year.
“We continue to be engaged with the government on this matter and we believe that in view of the current environment on disinvestment, (the company) should see the closure during the current year,” he added.
(‘PTI’ contributed to this story.)
http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/31223643/Vedanta-Resources-net-falls-52.html

CIL tender for abandoned mines by August-end
Nandini Goswami / DNA
Saturday, August 1, 2009 3:47 IST
Kolkata: Coal India Limited (CIL) will invite tenders for proposed joint ventures to extract coal from abandoned mines by the end of August. It has shortlisted 10 parties for participating in the tenders, and is likely to start extraction by middle of 2010.
The parties shortlisted are said to be Arcelor Mittal India, Rio Tinto, Titan Mining, JSW Steel, Monnet Ispat, JSW Energy, SNT Mining, Essar Mineral Reserves, GVK Power & Infrastructure and Sunflag Iron and Steel.
CIL chairman Partha S Bhattacharya said, "Early last week, we had a meeting of the parties shortlisted... The notice inviting tenders (NIT) for the proposed JVs will be floated by next month, following which, we would give four months for submission of bids. By December, all bids would be in place and by middle of next year, the JVs would start operating."
CIL has offered 18 abandoned mines with a total estimated reserve of 1,647 million tonnes from its three subsidiaries.The abandoned mines of Eastern Coalfields include
Sangramgarh, Seetalpur, Kapasara, Shyampur A, Sripur and Girimint.
Bharat Coking Coal has eight abandoned mines, at Dharmaband, Gastilan, Industry, Kendwadih, Kustore, Kujore, Victoria and Begunia. Central Coalfields has four mines -- Hindegir, Associated Karanpur, Khas Karanpura and Papradih.
Bhattacharya said that reviving the 18 abandoned mines, developing seven large underground mines and 18 coal beneficiation (washing) plants are part of the company's strategic expansion programme.
Meanwhile, the coal major is contemplating a price rise soon to shore up profits. The company posted a decline of 60% in net profit at Rs 2078.69 crore in 2008-09, from Rs 5243.27 crore in the previous fiscal.
"Costs have gone up and there is a government understanding that CIL needs to protect its topline and bottomline. Over the last nine years, our prices have been moderately increased. There is a huge volatility in global prices and we certainly need a hike in coal prices," Bhattacharya said. CIL's wage bill for FY09 was Rs 8,349 crore.
On the production front, CIL plans increase production to 435 million tonnes by 2009-10, a growth of 7.7% from the current 403 mt. In the first quarter of this fiscal (ended June), it posted an 11% growth in production at around 96 mt.
CIL will shortly introduce forward e-auction, which is largely selling the coal from mines which are operating at a loss. As per the New CoalDistribution Policy, 10% of coal can be sold through e-auctions (spot and forward combined). CIL hopes to sell about 43 million tonnes through the e-auction route.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_cil-tender-for-abandoned-mines-by-august-end_1278856

Minister overrules green watchdog over mines
Saturday, 01 Aug 2009
It is reported that Australia ‘s state government has rejected the advice of its own environmental watchdog by giving the green light to iron ore mining at a biodiversity hotspot in the Mid West, sparking accusations it is putting Chinese mining interests ahead of the environment.

As per report Ms Donna Faragher environment minister approved two iron ore mining proposals by Karara Mining AUD 1.8 billion joint venture between WA’s Gindalbie Metals and China’s Ansteel group.

The move overrode an Environmental Protection Authority recommendation that mining not be permitted in the area surrounding Mungada Ridge part of the Blue Hills Range 225 kilometer east of Geraldton because of its unique and vulnerable ecosystem.

The EPA assessment said that mining posed a risk of species extinctions on the Mungada Ridge and the neighboring Terapod iron formation and recommended that the site be a class-A conservation reserve.

But Ms Faragher overturned the advice after Karara pledged to conserve 995 hectare at the ridge’s eastern end. She granted permission to mine the Terapod deposit, accepting Karara’s appeal that it was geologically distinct from Mungada Ridge.

Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen said the decision was a clear indication the Barnett Government was willing to override our own environmental watchdog in the interests of foreign investors.”

Shadow environment minister Sally Talbot accused Premier Colin Barnett of applying Cabinet pressure to fast track mining approvals for Chinese firms, after his comments this week that Chinese investment should be encouraged. Ms Faragher said the eastern portion of Mungada Ridge would become the region’s first conservation reserve and she was confident it was big enough to protect endemic species.

(Sourced from thewest.com.au)

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/08/01/MTA1MDY1/Minister_overrules_green_watchdog_over_mines.html


Coal smuggling exposes chinks in admn’s armour


Bijay Rout
First Published : 31 Jul 2009 03:33:00 AM IST

TALCHER: Smuggling of coal from Talcher coalmines is a regular phenomenon if the seizures by the Mining Department and the police are anything to go by. In 2007-08, 93 vehicles carrying illegal coal were seized by Mining Department officials and police while in 2008-09, the number stood at 83.
From April till date, 28 vehicles have been seized for carrying illegal coal, according to Mining Department records. Interestingly Mining Department has seized more vehicles than police in last two years. Out of the 28 vehicles seized from April till date, Mining Department officials account for 18 while the rest have been seized by police.
The busting of coal smuggling gang by police recently has lent credence to complaints of intelligentsia who had been alleging regular coal pilferage from seven coalmines of Talcher over the years.
Ten ten-wheeler vehicles and 100 tonnes of coal were seized and 24 persons arrested. The moot question is how the police despite regular patrolling could not get inkling of such smuggling activities. Why did not the SP feel it necessary to raise a special squad earlier, like he did recently, to check coal smuggling in the peak season? Angul SP Pratik Mahanty was not specific in his answer to a question and simply said he would take action if there is any particular complaint about any police officer’s complicity.
Repeated coal smuggling points to the fact that there is no mechanism in place in the mines to curb coal pilferage.
In 2004 in the height of organised coal smuggling the then district police authorities introduced a foolproof mechanism in all the mines in coordination with police, Mining Department, MCL officials and private coal transporters.
That worked very well in checking the menace in 2005. When the police officers were transferred, the system was conveniently put in the cold storage thus paving way for organised smuggling by the mafia.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Coal+smuggling+exposes+chinks+in+admn’s+armour&artid=RHvPFQnpA1Q=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&SEO=Angul+SP+Pratik+Mahanty,+MCL&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=

Govt OKs Rs 9,773cr rehab plan for 'simmering' Jharia
Sanjay Dutta, TNN 1 August 2009, 02:53am IST
Print
Email
Discuss Bookmark/Share
Save
Comment
Text Size: |
NEW DELHI: In one of the biggest rehabilitation

plans in the world, the Centre will launch a scheme to relocate to safer areas some 1.12 lakh


families whose houses face the threat of being sucked in by underground fires raging for the last 40 years or so in vast stretches of coalmines in Jharkhand's Jharia and land subsidence in Bengal's Raniganj areas.

Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told TOI the scheme will be implemented under the supervision of the National Disaster Management Authority and housing finance firm Hudco at a cost of Rs 9,773 crore. State-run Coal India Ltd will fund the plan from its accruals and a Rs 6 per tonne increase in storage duty. The increase will have negligible impact on coal prices.

A study conducted some 12 years ago estimated the fires destroying over 37 million tonnes of coking coal, valued in excess of $3.7 billion at today's value. The actual loss would be higher since more coal would have been destroyed since then in the Jharia area. The fires and subsequent land subsidence also threaten the Grand Chord rail link between Delhi and Howrah and National Highway 1.

The rehabilitation plan, first drawn up by the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute in 1999, was cleared by the Cabinet on Thursday. "It (underground fires and subsidence) is not a local problem. It is a national disaster involving human lives and the environment,'' Jaiswal said. The plan will be completed in 10 years during which 13 satellite townships will be built. About 79,000 relocated families will be from Jharia and the remaining from Raniganj. The rail and road links too will be re-routed.

The underground fires have been raging for the last 40 years or so and were first noticed when coal mines were nationalised in 1971. Initially, 70 patches of fire were noticed, which have come down to some 66. The overall area of the underground fires, however, has shown a marked decline to 4 sq km in Jharia from 18 sq km at the time of nationalisation. "While old fires were being extinguished, new fires started. That is why the number of fires do not show a marked decline but the overall area has shrunk due to the fire-fighting measures,'' Coal India chairman Partho Bhattacharya said.

The fires were sparked due to unscientific mining methods before mechanised mining was introduced. Earlier, miners dug man-size holes to go underground. The miners did not fill these holes when they were abandoned. The pillars of coal that were left to prop the ground caught fire as they remained in contact with air coming from the surface which heated up due to underground heat.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Govt-OKs-Rs-9773cr-rehab-plan-for-simmering-Jharia/articleshow/4843514.cms

SC begins hearing on minor mineral mining in Aravalis
TNN 31 July 2009, 11:18pm IST
Print
Email
Bookmark/Share
Save
Comment
Text Size: |
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, after suspending all mining operations in the ecologically sensitive Aravali Hills, on Friday began hearing on the


issue relating to permissibility of mining for minor minerals and the fate of the colonies constructed in the environmentally threatened area in Faridabad district.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices S H Kapadia and Aftab Alam was told by amicus curiae Ranjit Kumar that the court in its recent judgment banned all mining activity being appalled by the degradation caused by the mine lease owners who carried out no reclamation of the mining pits.

Kumar said the process of mining for both major and minor minerals was the same and if the apex court was so convinced by the danger to ecology because of mining of major minerals, it would be futile to grant permission for mining of minor minerals. The arguments remained inconclusive and would be taken up again on October 8.

After dealing with a part of the central empowered committee (CEC) report, the apex court would now consider arguments of all parties on the issue relating to the recommendations of the high-powered-court-appointed panel on Aravali Hills.

CEC had recommended demolition of encroached constructions in Kant Enclave, Lake Wood View and many owned by Karmyogi Shelter Pvt Ltd. The CEC had said that regularising these buildings would fatally damage the eco-fragile Aravali Hills area in Faridabad district.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Delhi/SC-begins-hearing-on-minor-mineral-mining-in-Aravalis/articleshow/4843568.cms

491 million tonne cement grade limestone in Sundergarh
Saturday, 01 Aug 2009
BS reported that the total deposit of cement grade limestone in Sundergarh district has been assessed at about 491 million tonne.

As per report, 2 lessees, out of those given mining lease in the district, are making value addition to the limestone reserves at their disposal and manufacturing cement.

OCL India Limited, which has set up a cement plant at Rajgangpur, is sourcing its raw material from Lanjiberna limestone mines spread over 893.55 hectares.

According to Mr Raghunath Mohanty minister of steel and mines, similarly, Shiva Cement Limited having its cement manufacturing plant at Teleghana is sourcing it raw material from its captive mines at Khatukhurbahal.

Mr Mohanty said “During last 2.5 to 3 years, 3 companies have signed MoU with the Orissa government for setting up of cement plants in the state. These companies are Grasim Industries Limited, ASO Cement Limited and OCL Cement Limited. Out of these companies, Grasim Industries and ASO Cement have signed MoU with the state government to set up Greenfield cement plants in Sundergarh district. Both have applied for prospecting license (PL) or mining license (ML) and are waiting for grant of PL/ML. The government has already granted one PL in favor of Grasim Industries.”

He said “There were 105 graphite mines and 27 processing plants in the state. Graphite was processed in Kalahan, Bolangir, Koraput, Phulbani, Talcher and Cuttack mining circles.”

(Sourced from Business Standard)

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/08/01/MTA1MDY0/491_million_tonne_cement_grade_limestone_in_Sundergarh.html

Essar Energy acquires 50% in Kenyan firm

Reeba Zachariah, TNN 1 August 2009, 05:07am IST
Print
Email
Bookmark/Share
Save
Comment
Text Size: |
MUMBAI: Essar Energy's acquisition of a 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries signals Corporate India's ravenous appetite for Africa.




The move adds to a series of other developments where Indian companies have actively sought a footprint in that continent. Be it the big boy Bharti Airtel trying to connect with MTN, or the mid-sized cement maker Sanghi pumping in $80 million for a plant, also in Kenya.

Besides its booming market that remains untapped, Africa also scores because of its rich natural resources. Indian companies, although far behind the Chinese in terms of FDI in Africa, have increasingly been investing in the continent's infrastructure, mineral extraction and telecom sectors.

The first Indian entity to set foot in Africa was the Tata group, which in 1977 opened an office in Zambia and sold vehicles. Since then the group's operations has expanded to tea, hotels, coal mines, telecom and soda ash, with investments over $1.5 billion across seven countries.

Over the last several years, major Indian groups like the Jindals, Godrej, Kirloskar, Infosys, Vedanta, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dabur and L&T, besides others, too have sought to tap the underdeveloped markets of Africa, either through acquisitions or through delivery centres and manufacturing facilities.

Essar, that now owns a 50% stake in 80,000 barrels-a-day refinery in Mombasa, said it will invest $350-450 million towards upgrade of the facility. It bought the stake from three oil majors — Shell, BP and Chevron — with the balance held by the Kenyan government. This is Essar's second business venture in Africa, where it is also a cellular operator under the Yu brand. The quest for energy security has driven companies including ONGC Videsh hold stakes in exploration blocks in the region.

Essar's Prashant Ruia said the Mombasa refinery will allow the company raise its involvement in the region's oil and gas business that is gaining visibility due to recent discoveries of oil in Uganda.

As a tourist destination, Africa features in the travel itinerary of Indians, but mostly for business purposes. For instance, about 52,000 Indians visited South Africa in 2008. This number is growing and is estimated to touch 61,000 in 2009.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Business/India-Business/Essar-Energy-acquires-50-in-Kenyan-firm/articleshow/4844302.cms

Mining – International

ARGENTINA

Public consultation under way on Coro Mining's Argentina project
0 COMMENTS |
ADD A COMMENTPRINT EMAIL |


By: Francisca Pouiller
31st July 2009
TEXT SIZE


BUENOS AIRES (miningweekly.com) – A formal public consultation period has begun on Coro Mining's San Jorge project, in the Argentine province of Mendoza, and will continue until October 13.

The Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the project is currently also being evaluated by the National Technical University on behalf of the government, and this technical review is expected to be finalised soon.

This will be followed by a ministerial project review and public meetings, before it can be approved by the Mendoza government.

Meanwhile, Coro is working to improve communication with the local communities and has opened an office in a nearby town.

The company is also quick to assure Argentinians that the mine will not have a negative effect on the local environment.

“I can assure you, we will not pollute,” Fabián Gregorio, who was recently appointed president of local subsidiary Minera San Jorge told online newspaper Mdzol.

He said the company will use froth flotation to avoid toxic, polluting chemicals.

Minera San Jorge head of environmental aspects and community relationships Pablo Alonso repeated that the project will “neither pollute nor ransack”.

In fact, 57% of the proceeds will remain in the country, he said.

Coro also points out that it is proposing the use of paste tailings, which minimise water use through recycling.

The San Jorge copper/gold operation, near the town of Uspallata, is expected to have a life of 17 years.

Coro filed the EIS in October last year, and has said it will advance the project to feasibility study stage “subject to continuing positive feedback from stakeholders in Mendoza”.

During the two years it would take to build the plant, some 3 900 jobs could be created, plus 1 900 permanent positions once the mine starts production, according to a report from the Los Andes newspaper.

An April 2008 preliminary economic assessment estimated that the operation could produce 35 000 t to 50 000 t a year of copper in concentrates, with a “significant” gold credit.

If everything goes as planned, the company expects to start building in January 2011.

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/public-consultation-under-way-on-coro-minings-argentina-project-2009-07-31

As Oklahoma mining town fades, holdouts give up
By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS – 12 hours ago
PICHER, Okla. — Two years ago, Orval "Hoppy" Ray vowed it would take someone meaner than him to make him leave the town where he was born.
But now the crusty, 84-year-old former miner is moving out, leaving behind a blighted, ghostly landscape, its soil, water and air poisoned by generations of lead-ore extraction that produced bullets for both world wars.
After two heart attacks and a tornado that badly damaged his house, Ray lost whatever fight he had left and decided to accept a government buyout, as nearly all his neighbors in Picher have already done.
"You can't fight City Hall," said Ray, who worked Picher's lead mines in the 1940s and, for now, runs a musty pool hall on the main drag. "They've got you squeezed seven ways from Sunday."
Under the $60 million cleanup program, homeowners and businesses in and around Picher are being bought out, and the buildings will eventually be bulldozed. Some of the contaminated soil has already been hauled away; next to go are the 100-foot-high mountains of lead mining waste that loom over the town.
By early next year, Picher will be little more than a name on a map. From 20,000 people at its peak and about 1,700 when the buyouts started two or three years ago, about 80 are left.
Ray and a few dozen other people who had hoped to make a last stand here changed their minds after a tornado tore through Picher in May 2008, killing six people and leveling more than 100 homes.
"Dad had to say yes to a buyout," said his 62-year-old son, Steven. "I had damage. Wallpaper's buckling. I got to get the hell out of there."
Some guess as few as four residents, a dozen at most, will stay, in many cases because they are too stubborn or fearful or sentimental to move, despite buyout offers of around $60,000 for a modest house.
The people who do try to stay, like Jean Henson, will have to survive in a near-wasteland without utilities, police or laws.
"I grew up in the country; we had to haul water," said Henson, 58, who has asthma, emphysema and other ailments. "If I have to, I can do it again."
These are scenes from a town marking its final days: A dust-coated General Electric wall clock sits in a store window, its hands stopped at 2:20. Dogs and cats roam Main Street, searching for scraps of food.
Hoppy's pool hall is one of the last places still open. The thrift store is gone; so is the post office. The schools closed in July, and City Hall will be shuttered by September. Most of the traffic through Picher comes from the dump trucks hauling tons of lead waste.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently warned those who stay behind that the water will eventually be shut off.
"Some people still just don't believe it," said Larry Roberts, operations manager of the federal fund that helps families move out of lead-polluted communities. "I guess when the taps are shut off, they'll realize the situation they're in."
Picher is probably among the bleakest, most contaminated spots in one of the biggest Superfund cleanup sites in the country, a 40-square-mile expanse of former lead- and zinc-mining towns that extends into Missouri and Kansas. Within that zone, the creek spews orange from pollution, mine cave-ins and sinkholes threaten, and lead dust has fouled nearly everything.
At the pool hall, Ray recalled the glory days in Picher before the mines closed nearly 40 years ago: The football game in which Picher's broad-shouldered mining boys demolished a neighboring town's team 115-0. The one-room houses on Fourth Street that made up the red-light district. The saloons with names like the Bloody Knuckle.
The pool hall doubles as a museum. Hardhats line the walls, and hunks of calcite, dolomite and galena hewn from the town's mines are displayed in a glass case as if they were championship trophies.
"This is Dad's life," said his son, who is also waiting to be bought out. "This is the heart and soul of who he is."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iV2kcDS4TayFhSLJVUy_tTM-GxPAD99PM5IO0

Vedanta sees overall Q1 growth in mining segments

Press Trust of India / London July 31, 2009, 21:31 IST

Anil Agarwal-run Vedanta Resources Plc today reported an increase in production of aluminium and zinc, copper, iron ore from its operations for the first quarter of 2009-10 financial year.
The company's aluminium production increased to 1.88 lakh tonnes, up 38.2 per cent from the year-ago period, a company statement said.
In the year-ago period, the metal and mining major produced 1.36 lakh tonnes of aluminium.
The increase was primarily due to the ramp up and phased commissioning of the first phase of the 500 kilo tonne per annum at the Jharsuguda aluminium smelter in Orissa, the company said in a statement.
"We are in the process of starting the phased commissioning of the second phase of 250 ktpa for completion by end FY 2010. During Q1, we completely ramped down our BALCO Plant I aluminium smelter," it added.
The company said its mined zinc metal production was up by 17.4 per cent at 1.62 lakh tonnes in the reporting quarter The company produced 1.38 lakh tonnes of the metal in the first quarter of the last fiscal.
It attributed the increase in zinc output to the commissioning of the new concentrator at its Rampura Agucha mines in Rajasthan.
Vedanta Resources produces aluminium and zinc from its India-based units.
The company's copper cathode production from Tuticorin smelter in India stood at 78,000 tonnes compared with 68,000 tonnes in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
"Cathode production was lower than its rated capacity, primarily on account of low copper in concentrate," it added.
During Q1, Vedanta's African subsidiary KCM produced 43,000 tonnes of copper cathodes, significantly higher than the production of 36,000 tonnes in the year-ago period.
"Production benefited from the ramp up of the new Nchanga smelter and a 55 per cent increase in production from the tailings leach plant to 14,000 tonnes," it added.
At Sesa Goa, production of iron ore in the first quarter was at 4.9 million tonnes, compared to 4.6 million tonnes in the year-ago quarter.
The company said it has been selling surplus power in commercial power markets to optimise returns following the closure of our aluminium smelters at MALCO and BALCO Plant I.
"Currently, the power business comprises 123 Mw of wind power generation, a 100 Mw power plant at MALCO and the 270 Mw power plant at BALCO Plant I," it added.
Vedanta Resources said it had sold 470 million unit

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/vedanta-sees-overall-q1-growth-in-mining-segments/69614/on


Mining Companies Need Assurance of Tenure, Zambian Chamber Says
Share | Email | Print | A A A

By Geoffrey Kapembwa
July 31 (Bloomberg) -- International mining companies want assurance of tenure on their assets and a clear legislation process before “ploughing their money” into countries with mining potential, Zambia’s Chamber of Mines said.
Higher copper prices will benefit copper miners in Zambia provided the government’s mining policies satisfy the needs of investors, Nathan Chishimba, president of the chamber, said in an interview in the capital, Lusaka, today.
“Higher copper prices are a good development for copper producers like Zambia, but government policies should be consistent to encourage more investment,” he said. “The chamber is happy with the political will shown by the Zambian government to increase production of the metal, but investors need policies that benefit them as well.”
The Zambian government plans to raise its stake in all foreign-owned copper mines to 25 percent from 15 percent, Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale said March 21. The move will allow the government to have a bigger say in the running of the mines and prevent closures, he said. Labor unions have also asked the government to increase its stake in mines to end job losses.
Copper has gained almost 87 percent in London this year, after plunging 64 percent in the second half of 2008. Copper makes up two-thirds of exports in Zambia, Africa’s largest producer of the metal, and the slump in prices slashed fiscal revenue and forced the government to seek more than $200 million in emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund to boost foreign currency reserves.
Existing and potential investors are watching the situation “with keen interest,” Chishimba said.
“We believe that the government will do its best to ensure both parties benefit from the higher copper price and increased demand for the metal,” he added.
To contact the reporter on this story: Geoffrey Kapembwa in Lusaka via the Johannesburg bureau at +27- abolleurs@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 31, 2009 08:40 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=akpXKUHbcflo

Mining union in Western Australia rejects foreign labor
Saturday, 01 Aug 2009
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has questioned the need to increase the number of foreign workers in Western Australia to ease a forecast skills shortage in the resources sector.

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy predicts an additional 26,000 jobs will become available by 2013 once a number of major resources projects come online in the Midwest and Northwest.

Mr Colin Barnett premier said that West Australians will have to be prepared to accept Chinese labor if the overlap causes a skills shortage. Mr Barnett wants to discuss relaxing foreign working visa requirements with the Commonwealth. B

Mr Gary Wood mining division secretary of CFMEU said that there is no need to make the 457 visa process more lenient.

He said that "We need specialist skills, that's always been the case and bringing in foreign labor to fill a particular void in that area, but you can't have a general relaxation of the visa system simply because of that.”

Mr Wood believes there will be enough local workers to cover the forecast shortage. He said that "That's the challenge the Government put out that they were looking to up skill and retrain people during the current downturn.” He further added that "I don't see that you can relax the laws in anticipation, and we would say that there's adequate training in place at this particular time to cover that."

(Sourced from ABC.net)

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/08/01/MTA1MDYz/Mining_union_in_Western_Australia_rejects_foreign_labor.html

Alcoa Completes Deal to Acquire Bauxite and Alumina Interests in Suriname
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) today announced that Alcoa World Alumina LLC has completed its previously announced transaction to acquire BHP Billiton’s bauxite and alumina refining interests in Suriname. Terms are not disclosed.
Suriname Aluminum Company LLC (Suralco), a subsidiary of Alcoa World Alumina LLC, and N.V. BHP Billiton Maatschappij Suriname (BMS), a BHP Billiton subsidiary, have been participants in mining and refining joint ventures in Suriname since 1984. BMS had a 45% interest and Suralco a 55% interest in the joint ventures. Prior to the establishment of the joint ventures, BMS had separately conducted mining operations in the country, while Suralco has been active in Suriname for almost 100 years.
Suralco is a part of Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) a joint venture between Alcoa and Alumina Limited, with Alcoa holding 60 percent.
erschienen am 31.07.2009 um 19:17 Uhr

http://newsticker.welt.de/?module=smarthouse&id=923480

Alcoa mine to clear 25,000 acres of rainforest, suck 133,407 gallons of water per hour from the Amazon

mongabay.com
July 31, 2009


A bauxite mine under development by Alcoa, the world’s second-largest primary aluminum producer, will consume 10,500 hectares (25,900 acres) of primary Amazon rainforest and suck 133,407 gallons of water per hour from the Amazon, reports Bloomberg News in an extensive write-up.

Located in the Juruti region of the Amazonian state of Para, the project will produce millions of tons of bauxite ore — used in the production of aluminum — per year, but more than half the mine will lie within a sustainable use forest reserve set aside for locals, according to Bloomberg. Further, state and federal officials are questioning the legality of the mine. Alcoa maintains the mine has the proper permits.

Michael Smith and Adriana Brasileiro write:

Bauxite mining road in Suriname.
A growing array of evidence in court documents puts Alcoa among the multinational corporations that prosecutors accuse of destroying or causing destruction of the world’s largest rain forest.

Brazilian federal and Para state prosecutors sued Alcoa’s Brazilian mining subsidiary in 2005 in an effort to block the Juruti mine, saying the company had circumvented the law by not applying for a federal permit and instead seeking a license from the state of Para.

After four years of legal haggling, the suit is still pending. Alcoa, which denies any wrongdoing, has already completed construction of the railway, port and processing plants. It’s now ready to start mining.

“The state agency has no power to give anyone full rights to exploit land, especially in the case of a reserve,” state prosecutor Raimundo Moraes says. “Alcoa invaded the area, undeterred. Alcoa has no shame.” For the full story:Alcoa Razes Rain Forest in Court Case Led by Brazil Prosecutors

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0731-alcoa_amazon.html


Brazil's Vale sees metals markets rebound in 2009


Rio De Janerio: Brazilian miner Vale the world's largest iron ore producer has said it expected metals markets to continue recovering as the world economy emerges from the financial crisis, writes Reuters. Vale on Wednesday posted an 84% year-on-year drop in second-quarter earnings caused by the tumble in iron ore prices from their peak at the height of the commodities boom and production cuts to adjust for collapsing demand.

"Global industrial production has started to recover, that's clear, and our business is deeply connected to industrial production," Vale cfo Fabio Barbosa said in an investor conference call. "There is a clear convergence toward better performance in the second half 2009."

Barbosa and other company officials on the call pointed to iron ore spot market prices in China, which are now above $90 per tonne, and demand recovery for both non-ferrous metals, such as nickel, as well as stainless steel as signs of improvement.

The officials did not provide specific guidance on possible ore prices later this year or how much Vale's production could increase following earlier moves to idle capacity.

Ferrous Minerals Director Jose Carlos Martins said Vale is now selling around 70% of its ore to China on a cost and freight basis, meaning the sender covers shipping, in efforts to ensure space in the growing Chinese market. Previously Vale had said it sold only free on board, or FOB, in which the buyer paid the shipping costs.

When markets collapsed after the economic crisis Vale had to change its usual procedure of waiting for Asian clients to pick up ore in Brazil and began building up its own fleet as shipping rates rose to almost $40 per tonne, Martins said later in a press conference.

With the soaring spot market price of ore in China, Asian clients are again sending ships to pick up ore on an FOB basis -- but Martins said the company was now much less dependent on spot market shipping rates.

The spot price for Vale's ore in China is now above the benchmark sale price agreed on last year, he said. When asked about talks with China, Martins said Vale was waiting for Australia's BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to complete negotiations before closing a deal with Chinese mills.

Martins said Vale believes the benchmark has already been set through agreements between major miners and other Asian clients to cut prices between 28 and 33% for iron ore. "The Chinese are accepting neither 33% nor 28%," said Martins.

China recently detained executives from Rio Tinto on charges of espionage, adding additional tensions to talks with the two Australian giants. [31/07/09]

http://www.seatradeasia-online.com/News/4430.html

Pinnacle calling back 100 employees

From Staff Reports
The Register-Herald
PINEVILLE — Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced Friday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pinnacle Mining Co., LLC, is calling back about 100 employees back to work at its Pinnacle and Green Ridge No. 1 mines. Employees are expected to return to work early in August.

The callback was prompted by a modest improvement in current orders and in the market expectations going forward. Both mines had been idled.

The Pinnacle and Green Ridge No. 1 mines are located near Pineville and produce metallurgical coal for the steel industry. Metallurgical coal demand has been reduced as the steel industry has cut back production in the face of the global economic slowdown.

In April, Cleveland-based Cliffs announced it was indefinitely idling the Green Ridge No. 1 mine, reducing operations at the Pinnacle preparation plant and halting production at the Pinnacle mine for approximately two months. The moves resulted in the layoffs of about 290 employees.

Cliffs Natural Resources is an international mining and natural resources company. It is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, a major supplier of direct-shipping lump and fines iron ore out of Australia and a significant producer of metallurgical coal.

The North American business unit is composed of six iron ore mines owned or managed in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and two coking coal mining complexes located in West Virginia and Alabama. The Asia Pacific business unit is composed of two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia and a 45 percent economic interest in a coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The South American business unit includes a 30 percent interest in the Amapá Project, an iron ore project in the state of Amapá in Brazil.

http://www.register-herald.com/business/local_story_212214832.html?keyword=topstory

Activists battle new uranium mine
Environment » They want a closer look taken by regulators.

By Judy Fahys
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 07/31/2009 09:37:07 PM MDT


Two environmental groups are trying to block Utah's first new uranium mine in three decades.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Uranium Watch want theU.S. Bureau of Land Management to rethink its approval of the Daneros Mine, located about 10 miles from Natural Bridges National Monument.
The groups also want the federal agency to stop Australia-based White Canyon Uranium from mining its Daneros claim until BLM's Utah director, Selma Sierra, determines whether her agency studied the environmental consequences sufficiently.
"There are a lot of issues associated with uranium mining that were not adequately assessed before the permits were issued," Liz Thomas, an attorney for SUWA, said Friday.
Peter Batten, managing director of White Canyon, did not respond to requests for comment. And BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall, said only: "We have agreed to review the request for a stay."
A company news release in May said White Canyon would begin developing the site immediately and planned ore shipments in September.
Sarah Fields, director of Moab-based Uranium Watch, said the project needs more thorough reviews of its potential impacts on water and air. For instance, she said, the BLM did not look at the possible emissions of radon.
Thomas submitted a nearly 50-page critique of BLM's analysis. Besides possible harm to the air and water, she said, the cumulative impacts of the Daneros Mine and other nearby uranium
________________________________________
Advertisement

________________________________________
operations should be considered.
For instance, mine waste, called "tailings," from past uranium mining remains piled up on the Daneros site, Thomas noted. In addition, if old mines reopen in the area, there will be more ore trucks traveling the backcountry roads on their way to the uranium mill in Blanding.
Uranium activity in the Four Corners has eased in recent months with a decline in uranium prices from a recent high of $135 per pound two years ago to about $47 a pound this month. Denison Mines, which owns the Blanding mill, has put four of its seven active mines in the region on standby, Ron Hochstein, Denison's chief executive officer, told the Utah Radiation Control Board in June.
There is no deadline for the BLM to respond to the groups' request, Crandall said, although the agency generally tries to provide an answer within 30 days. She added that the Utah director's review will include staff input on all the concerns.
"It's more important," Crandall said, "to conduct the review in as thorough a manner as possible to ensure we cover the entire breadth of issues raised."
The BLM released its final decision on the permit, plus a "finding of no significant impact," on May 27.
fahys@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12969036

Kensington decision to be early test of Obama on mining issues
The public comment period closes Aug. 3 on minor revisions to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Section 404 fill permit for the Kensington Mine near Juneau.
However, the big uncertainty hanging over the project is whether the Corps will accede to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's July 14 request for an extended delay in the permit.
If the Corps doesn't go along with the EPA, the environmental has authority to veto the Section 404 permit, according to the Corps of Engineers' Alaska spokeswoman, Pat Richardson.
Kensington is a medium-sized underground gold mine near Berners Bay, about 40 miles north of Juneau.
The controversy is shaping up to be an early test of policies of President Barack Obama's administration on mining and environmental issues because it will ultimately be resolved in Washington, D.C.
There are no deadlines for decisions by the Corps or the EPA, so the issue could drag unresolved into the fall, jeopardizing hopes by Kensington developer Coeur d'Alene Mines to get the mine finished and into production this year.
EPA's Region 10 wrote the Corps July 14 asking for the delay, citing new information that was not available when the Corps approved a permit allowing mine developer Coeur Alaska Inc. to dispose of Kensington mine tailings in a small lake. That permit was hotly contested, and the case wound its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In June, the high court ruled 6-3 that mine tailings could be disposed of in Lower Slate Lake near the mine.
The court issue revolved around whether the tailings are viewed as fill material like gravel or whether tailings are a form of waste that cannot be placed in a water body, as conservation groups and the EPA argue.
Despite the legal win for the company, the battle flared anew when the EPA sent its letter. If the Corps judges the new information cited by EPA as important enough, it may have to agree to the agency's request. Or, if the Corps doesn't agree, EPA may use its veto authority over the federal permit. Section 404c of the Clean Water Act gives the EPA that authority.
Alaska's congressional delegation is wading into the fight. The state's two senators, Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, criticized the EPA's action and met with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson July 24. Then-Gov. Sarah Palin and current Gov. Sean Parnell also expressed concern about potential further delays.
"In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to permit Kensington mine to deposit rock waste into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest. EPA's letter appears to do an end run around the Supreme Court," Murkowski said in a statement.
Parnell said, "This is frustrating. Once the Supreme Court speaks it's supposed to be 'game over.' We thought we were in the end zone, but the Seattle EPA office is trying to move the goalposts."
Ironically, Coeur may have helped create the problem the project now faces. The most substantial new information is a proposal that Coeur developed for an alternative dry-land tailing disposal method, which environmental groups supported, and which the company put forth when it looked as if the lake disposal plan would founder in the courts.
Coeur backed away from the dry-land disposal after it had applied for permits, and took a gamble that the Supreme Court would approve its earlier plan to use the lake, which it did.
The company feels it has now a valid federal permit for the lake disposal and that it should be allowed to finish the mine and get it into production.
"The company has a valid and legal 404 permit (Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 permit) as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision, and as supported by the EPA and the corps in nine years of permitting and nearly three years of litigation," Coeur spokesman Tony Ebersole said in a statement.
In its July 14 letter, EPA Region 10 Deputy Regional Administrator Michael Gearheard said that Coeur's alternative on-land disposal plan, a paste tailings facility, which was put forth by the company in 2008, was well along in the process of being approved by federal agencies, including the EPA, when the company withdrew its application.
"The Corps did not evaluate the paste tailings facility in its analysis of alternatives at the time it issued the current Kensington 404 permit in 2005," Gearheard wrote.
The alternative plan had not yet been proposed by Coeur at the time.
"EPA believes that the paste tailings facility could have less environmental impact than the Lower Slate Lake disposal site that was permitted, and therefore the permit should be reevaluated in view of the new information concerning this alternative," Gearheard said in the July 14 letter.
Gearheard cited two other new factors, one that the mining rate now proposed - 1,250 tons per day - is less than the rate studied in the project's environmental impact statement - 2,000 tons per day - which translates into a change in the amount of tailings produced and the environmental effects.
A second new factor is the recent excavation of sulfide-bearing rock near Lower Slate Lake that resulted in acid rock drainage into a settling pond near the outlet from Lower Slate Lake and East Fork Slate Creek. The presence of this potential environmental harm needs to be assessed, Gearheard said.
Both of those will be weighed by the Corps in its decision on the 404 permit but Southeast community officials say they believe it is the existence of the paste and fill proposal made by Coeur, and which was not evaluated by the Corps, that may loom larger in the final outcome.
Murkowski said she believes the EPA's objection is legally and factually flawed, and that the EPA is now trying an end run around the courts.
"The Slate Lake disposal option was first developed in cooperation with the EPA. The Corps issued a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit to the project in 2002. Environmental groups sued Coeur in 2006, claiming the mine's owners should have applied for a permit from the EPA," Murkowski said in her statement.
"EPA was part of the federal government's defense of the validity of the Corps' Section 404 permit. At no time in the development of the proposal during the Clinton administration, during the Bush administration when the suit was filed, or during the Obama administration while the high court's decision was pending, did the EPA object to the Slate Lake disposal plan," Murkowski said.
The mine is basically finished but completion and production are being held up over the controversy of the mine tailings.
Coeur has about 40 workers on staff now doing maintenance-related work and has told Juneau city officials it would put about 100 to work right away to complete the project if it gets the go-ahead. In production, the mine would add more than 200 new jobs in Southeast communities.

http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/073109/loc_9_003.shtml


Judge dismisses mining case against County
Judge James Duvall dismissed a civil suit Tuesday in which a Pierce County resident was asking the court for an order permanently suspending the highway department’s gravel mining operation in the Town of Trenton.
By: Jason Schulte, Pierce County Herald
Judge James Duvall dismissed a civil suit Tuesday in which a Pierce County resident was asking the court for an order permanently suspending the highway department’s gravel mining operation in the Town of Trenton.
Paul Greenhaw, Hager City, had filed suit last month, alleging the operation caused continuous damage to houses in the Hiawatha Heights residential development and interfered with “preexisting residential quiet enjoyment, peaceful use, health and safety” of the residents and their property.
Greenhaw and six other neighbors submitted affidavits documenting cracks in basement floors and walls, cracks in blacktopped driveways and damage to sheetrock. His complaint also said, along with damaging houses and diminishing the value of homes in the area, the blasting sometimes results in CTH VV being obstructed by debris and truck traffic.
Hearing
Tuesday’s hearing was well attended, as the courtroom was nearly full, made up of supporters for Greenhaw and county officials.
It started out with the county’s request to dismiss the case, stating Greenhaw had failed to give a written notice of the circumstances of the claim within 120 days of injury to his property as well as a claim containing an itemized statement of the relief sought.
For more please read the Aug. 5 print version of the Herald.
Tags: local news, mining operation, news, judge, dismissed, county
http://www.piercecountyherald.com/event/article/id/20891/
Other News

Govt assures Rs 100 wages under NREGA

2009-07-31 17:20:00

Rural Development Minister C P Joshi on Friday said that 100 rupees wages per day under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) will be provided as soon as the budgetary allocation process in the Parliament is over.
Informing members of Lok Sabha of this, Joshi requested state governments to be more transparent in the implementation of NREGA scheme.
Admitting to leakages in the programme, Joshi said no state has been able to provide 100 days employment under the NREGA so far.
"The steps are being taken to ensure greater transparency by making the payments for NREGA through post offices and bank accounts," he added.
NREGA, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005, provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. (ANI)




http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=jh5rugcgiff&title=Govt_assures_Rs_100_wages_under_NREGA

Left battered for rural inaction
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT




Kalyan Banerjee, Gurudas Dasgupta
New Delhi, July 31: Pointing fingers at others for failing to prevent job losses can be tricky if your own record in providing employment to some of the poorest is poor.
Left MPs initiating a discussion on rising retrenchment today came under fire from Trinamul Congress counterparts and even the labour minister for the Bengal government’s poor record in implementing the UPA’s flagship rural job scheme.
Their allegations of government inaction on rising job losses were drowned out in repeated, aggressive reminders that Bengal was among the country’s worst performers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Bengal has provided just 14 days’ work annually for each worker registered under the NREGA till date as compared to the national average of 32.
“What have you done in Bengal? What is the situation there? How is the NREGA doing there?” Trinamul MP Kalyan Banerjee shot back at CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta who initiated the discussion in the Lok Sabha.
Along with Dasgupta, CPM leader Basudev Acharya and Kerala MP A. Sampath started the discussion by alleging that the Centre was ignoring the plight of retrenched workers while assisting struggling industries.
“It is fine that you show your compassion for the corporate sector by showering them with stimulus packages. But what about workers losing their jobs in the slowdown?” Dasgupta asked.
The CPI leader cited the absence of concern on rising unemployment in the President’s address to Parliament last month, and in the Union budget, to suggest that job loss was a “non-issue for this government”.
Acharya asked whether the government had made industries benefiting from stimulus packages commit that they would not retrench workers.
Throughout their argument, the Left MPs were needled by Trinamul and Congress MPs — with ministers Saugata Roy, Mukul Roy and party whip Sudip Bandopadhyay firing barb after barb.
Earlier, during question hour, Trinamul MP Ratna De asked for the number of working hours Bengal was providing per registered person under the NREGA.
As labour minister Mallikarjuna Kharge reeled off statistics on Bengal’s performance, Trinamul MPs shouted: “Shame! Shame!”
Kharge, a former Karnataka minister who usually sits silent in the House, didn’t spare the Left either. “What is happening in the places you are ruling?” he asked.
As Dasgupta and Acharya alleged that the labour ministry’s response on the job loss discussion had been drafted by Pranab Mukherjee’s finance ministry, Kharge said: “I am in this House for the first time after being elected to the Karnataka Assembly seven times. I had expected to learn behaviour from seniors like Gurudas Dasgupta. I was wrong.”



http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090801/jsp/nation/story_11307524.jsp

HIV infected share experiences, views
TNN 31 July 2009, 09:47pm IST
Print
Email
Discuss Bookmark/Share
Save
Comment
Text Size: |
VARANASI: The UNICEF, in association with the Banaras Network for Positive People with HIV/AIDS Society (BNP+), organised an interactive session


for HIV positive affected children and their mothers with mediapersons on Friday.

Around 20 such children and their mothers from Varanasi and adjoining districts took part in the programme to express their views and problem. According to Manoj Singh, the key person of the BNP+ affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Welfare for People Living with HIV/AIDS Society, there are around 1,000 persons living with HIV in the district. They are members of the network and around 500 of them take active part in various activities organised from time to time. The network holds programmes like counselling, awareness campaign and eliminating social stigma.

According to another member, Gopal Gond, the vice-president of the network, around 10,500 persons are infected with HIV in eastern region of UP. Speaking on the occasion, women like Anita and Manorama pointed out the problems of poor people in getting the treatment. Gond spoke about the practical problems related to livelihood of the HIV infected people. According to him, such persons are deprived of benefits of the government programmes like NREGA due to physical weakness. The stigma like social ostracism, rejection and avoidance of people with AIDS (PWAs) were also raised during the session. They, however, said situation was changing slowly with the people coming forward with a broader outlook. The programme was also addressed by Augustine Veliath, the communication specialist of UNICEF.

Fast Facts

# The second line treatment for those HIV patients who have become resistant to the standard first line ART has been started at the ART Centre of the Institute of Medical Science, Banaras Hindu University (BHU)

# The BHU ART Centre has been upgraded to the Centre of Excellence for HIV Care. The second linetherapy was started at BHU in December last

# There are seven ART centres in the state, including CSMMU Lucknow, IMS-BHU Varanasi, LLRM Medical College Meerut, Motilal Nehru Medical College Allahabad, Baba Raghav Das Medical College Gorakhpur, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Aligarh and SN Medical College Agra

# According to UPSACS reports, there were 7,063 HIV patients, including 6,710 adults and 353 children on ART at the seven centres in the state till December last

Uttar Pradesh Welfare for People Living with HIV/AIDS Society

# Uttar Pradesh Welfare for People Living with HIV/AIDS Society (UPNP+) is a community-based organisation representing the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

# UPNP+ promotes holistic and participatory approach for community empowerment and gives priority to PLWHA (especially women and children) and has outreach in 24 districts

# The mission of the network is to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV and AIDS in the state

# The goal is to reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality in adults and children, and mitigate the impact of HIV on children and women headed households

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4842260.cms

Stir to kick off in tribal belt
TNN 31 July 2009, 10:11pm IST
Print
Email
Discuss Bookmark/Share
Save
Comment
Text Size: |
VADODARA: With little progress on the front of giving titles of forest lands to tribal residents cultivating land in forest reserve areas,


various NGOs working for tribal rights will start an agitation from Monday. The activists claim the Forest Rights Act is not being implemented properly by the state government and was even violating it.
They said at a recent meeting of state-level monitoring committee for the act, it was claimed that only 10 percent of the claims for titles filed by tribals were genuine and the rest were bogus and without any supporting documents. "For us this was the first indication that the state government was back-tracking from proper implementation of the act," said Ambrish Mehta of Adivasi Mahasabha, Gujarat.

Mehta said as many as 20,000 claim files had been deposited by the gram sabhas. "Of these only 2,000 were found to be genuine. This is far from the truth. The fact is that the 2,000 claims that were approved before the Lok Sabha polls were of persons cultivating the land before 1980. These were already approved vide a government resolution in 1992, but were not given titles. The remaining 18,000 claims were not even looked at," he added.
Another activist father Xavier Manjooran from Narmada district said it seemed the government only intended to give user rights to the tribals. "This is against the act that clearly states that ownership of the land must be given to tribals," he said.

Manjooran pointed out that while the Forest Department was a respondent to the land claims that were made to the gram sabhas, it was not willing to accept that status. "The village-level committees are like quasi-judicial bodies. It seems that the Forest Department is finding it difficult to accept this," he said.

Protest marches, demonstrations and other activities will be held at various locations throughout the state. On Monday, programmes will be held at Rajpipla, Dharampur and Ahwa.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Vadodara/Stir-to-kick-off-in-tribal-belt/articleshow/4843372.cms

Scrap-dam clamour gets shriller
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Imphal, July 30: The Committee on Land and Natural Resource constituted by various Naga NGOs and anti-dam groups today reiterated their demand for scrapping the Tipaimukh project.
The committee comprises the United Naga Council, the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights, the All Naga Student Association, the Manipur and Naga Women Union, Manipur.
The committee, the Citizens Concern for Dam and Development and the Action Committee against Tipaimukh Project said in a joint statement: “Tipaimukh dam should not be constructed without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples of all affected peoples in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Bangladesh along the Barak River.”
The groups’ renewed demand for scrapping of the project came on the eve of a proposed visit by a parliamentary team from Bangladesh to the project site at the tri-junction of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam.
The Bangladeshi team arrived in Delhi yesterday and is expected to visit the dam site tomorrow.
The state power department and the Churachandpur district administration have sent officials to Tipaimukh to explain about the project to the visitors.
Sources here said the army and the Assam Rifles have been deployed around the site in view of the proposed visit by the foreign dignitaries.
The Hmar Peoples Convention (Democratic), which is very active in the area, is also strongly opposed to the construction of the dam.
“We would also like to express our condemnation to the environmental clearance accorded by the Union ministry of environment and forest despite the affected people’s opposition during public hearings,” the groups said in the statement.
It said the Tipaimukh dam to be built over Barak, an international river, is now resisted from all sides, upstream and downstream. The continuing resistance demands abandonment of the dam.
“CCDD, COLNAR and ACTIP will continue to fight against forceful damming of Barak river, we will defend against forceful dislocation of our peoples, resist any attempt to disregard and sacrilege our culture, economy and identity,” it said.
Any form of compensation, compensatory forestation or other benefits could not replace what had evolved over generations, they said.
On the visit of the parliamentary team from Dhaka, the statement said the organisations welcome them as representatives of our neighbour. “We would respectfully urge them to desist from any unilateral agreement with India. By agreeing to this dam, impacts on the downstream in Bangladesh, Assam, Manipur or Mizoram will not go away. We will continue to work with our friends living downstream to stop this dam from coming up,” the groups said in the statement.


http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090731/jsp/northeast/story_11301464.jsp

Mandatory energy efficiency ratings in the offing
New Delhi (IANS): Refrigerators, air-conditioners, distribution transformers and fluorescent lamps will need mandatory ratings from the Indian government's Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) from Jan 7 next year, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced here on Friday.
"The necessary notifications are being prepared," Mr. Ramesh told reporters. "The mandatory standards will include all these appliances made and sold in India, including those meant for export."
Six months after the mandatory energy efficiency ratings are introduced, they will be expanded to cover all electric motors, cooking (LPG) stoves and colour television sets, the minister added.
Energy efficiency is one of the eight thrust areas in India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh June 30 last year.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200907311952.htm