Mining – India
1. Tata Steel shifts 'zero date' for Kalinganagar plant to Dec
2. Discussion on mining planned
3. Two mine owners get GSPCB nod to start activity
4. Union mining minister confirms illegal mining in Orissa
Mining – International
5. Sovereign funds interested in Ivanhoe Mines
6. The Hypocrisy of Ghana Chamber of Mines is killing the Economy
7. Probe Mines Commences Phase II Drilling on Its Black Creek Chromite Discovery
8. Indonesia says Newmont mine woes won't hit '09 output
9. Large-cap mining companies show little interest in taking over juniors
10. Sagittarius Mines eyes 2016 gold, copper operation in Sarangani
11. 3rd Annual Investing in African Mining Seminar
Other News
12. Electronic benefit transfer for NREGA payments
13. Implementation of Forest Rights Act causes ‘bureaucratic confusion’
14. Climate talks: ‘wrong to blame India for deadlock’
15. Obama’s Ability to Deliver Climate-Change Measure Questioned
16. Gujarat’s port projects in troubled waters
17. India's tiger protection plan 'failing': experts
Mining – India
Tata Steel shifts 'zero date' for Kalinganagar plant to Dec
BS Reporter / Bhubaneswar September 23, 2009, 0:24 IST
After jumping several targeted timelines for resuming construction work for its 6 million tonne per annum greenfield steel project at Kalinganagar in Orissa's Jajpur district, Tata Steel has finally exuded confidence to start the work on the plant by December this year.
“There is a group of 100-odd anti-displacement people who have held up construction work on our steel plant. However, of late, the district administration has shown resolve in persuading these people and we are going to commence construction work on our steel project positively by December this year”, BK Singh, vice-president (Orissa project) of Tata Steel told reporters here.
Singh admitted that Tata Steel had not been able to resume construction work on the proposed steel plant according to its targeted timelines owing to resistance from the anti-displacement people belonging to the affected villages.
“Tata Steel has already shifted 740 out of the 1,195 families and we are in talks with the rest. The company can kick off construction work on its steel plant even without shifting all the families but displacement being a sensitive issue, we don't want to thrust anything on the affected people,” Singh said here, on the sidelines of a CII meet on Rehabilitation & Resettlement
Stating that the gory incident on January 2, 2006, which resulted in the killing of 14 tribals,. is still fresh in the mind of Tata Steel, Singh said company preferred to move forward through building bridges of trust and understanding rather than coercion.
Asked if Tata Steel was contemplating to offer shares to the displaced people, Singh said, “We don't think that offering shares is a good option as the locals in Kalinganagar hardly understand the intricacies of shares and the stock market.”
It may be recalled that during his last visit to Orissa, HM Nerurkar, executive director (India and South-East Asia), Tata Steel Ltd, had announced that the company expected to start construction work on the Kalinganagar plant by middle of August this year.
Tata Steel's Kalinganagar steel project has been marred by delay of over four years that has scaled up its project cost. The original project cost, which was Rs 15,400 crore, has now gone up to Rs 21,000 crore.
The steelmaker had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government in November 2004 for setting up the integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar.
The protest against Tata Steel’s project is spearheaded by Visthapan Virodhi Jana Manch (VVJM).
VVJM was formed after the death of 14 people in a police firing on January 2, 2006 when the tribals clashed with the police while opposing the construction of the steel plant’s boundary wall.
Meanwhile, Tata Steel had placed orders for construction equipment worth Rs 6,000 crore for the steel plant.
The company had also started offsite steel fabrication for hot strip mills in an area leased out from the state government-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) near Jajpur Road to reduce the construction time for the project.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/tata-steel-shifts-\zero-date\-for-kalinganagar-plant-to-dec/370965/
Discussion on mining planned
TNN 23 September 2009, 07:16am IST
PANAJI: The Goa Federation of Mines Affected People will organize a public discussion on open cast iron ore and manganese mining activities that
are affecting schools and other educational institutions in mining areas.
The discussion will be conducted on Wednesday at Institute Piedade hall, near Bank of India, Panaji, at 4pm. There will be a power-point presentation by advocate Krishnendu Mukherjee with a case study of Government Primary High School, Sonshi, Sattari.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/goa/Discussion-on-mining-planned/articleshow/5045037.cms
Two mine owners get GSPCB nod to start activity
TNN 23 September 2009, 07:18am IST
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PANAJI: The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will revoke its earlier orders issued to two mines asking them to suspend operations.
Of the thirteen mines that were asked to stop operations, two have obtained the necessary forest clearances as per the requirements laid down by the state pollution control board, sources said.
Kunda Gharse's mine in Tudou, Sanguem and mines owned by Manuel D'Costa in Patiem, Uguem and Sanguem have now resumed operations as they have managed to get the necessary permissions.
Sources said that five other mines that were issued orders to suspend work have appealed to the administrative tribunal against the orders. Of these, the Sesa Goa mine at Codlim has managed to get a stay on the directives of the GSPCB and has began operations, sources said. The matter pertaining to the four other mines is fixed for hearing on September 25, 2009. While three of these belong to V S Dempo, one is owned by Hiru Bambo Gawas.
Chairman of the GSPCB Simon de Souza said that the rest of the mines will not be allowed to operate as they have not approached the Board with the necessary clearances as directed. In the meantime, the GSPCB is also assessing the responses received from some of the 74 mines whose owners were told to produce the necessary forest and wildlife clearances before the Board as required in order to remain functional. The Board is set to take action against those who do not have these the necessary permissions.
The GSPCB is in the process of verifying with the forest department the claim of some of these mine owners that fresh forest clearances are being processed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/goa/Two-mine-owners-get-GSPCB-nod-to-start-activity/articleshow/5045043.cms
Union mining minister confirms illegal mining in Orissa
22 Sep 2009, 2226 hrs IST, Nageshwar Patnaik, ET Bureau
BHUBANESWAR: It’s official now with the union mining ministry confirming illegal mining of iron ore and manganese in Orissa’s mineral-rich
Keonjhar district.
Union mines minister Bijoy Krishna Handique, replying to a letter by Pradesh Congress Committee president K.P. Singhdeo, has said investigation carried out by the Indian Bureau of Investigation (IBM) has found sufficient evidence to substantiate illegal mining in Keonjhar district.
“Independently, we had asked the IBM, a subordinate office under the mines ministry, to conduct a detailed investigation into the matter. IBM, after surveying, has found evidence to substantiate illegal mining in the area,” the one-page letter dated September 17, 2009 said.
The minister has, however, expressed the union government’s inability to order an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] into the Rs 4,500-crore mining scam. “A CBI probe can be ordered only on the recommendation of the state government,” the minister has clarified.
Stating that the state government is the custodian of the minerals under its jurisdiction, Mr Handique has sought to assure that the Centre has taken a “serious view on the matter of illegal mining in the country in general.”
Emboldened by the union government’s admission of illegal mining, All India Congress Committee general secretary Harendra Mirdha and the PCC president Mr Singhdeo on Tuesday urged the centre to order a probe into the multi-crore mines scam by the newly constituted National Investigating Agency (NIA).
“Illegally exploited minerals such as iron ore, manganese and chromite – which are of strategic importance – are being clandestinely transported to China and Bangladesh by a racket. As far as my experience goes as a former Brigadier in the Indian Armed Forces, these strategic minerals are being used for making war arsenals, including submarines and fighter jets. Since, the country’s security is involved with the illegal exploitation and transportation of minerals, the union government should immediately entrust the investigation responsibility to the NIA,” Mr Singhdeo said, adding, any delay might pose threat to the sovereignty of the country.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/indl-goods-/-svs/metals-mining/Union-mining-minister-confirms-illegal-mining-in-Orissa/articleshow/5043989.cms
Mining – International
Sovereign funds interested in Ivanhoe Mines
Elisabeth Behrmann | September 23, 2009
Article from: Dow Jones Newswires
IVANHOE Mines said it is fielding investment proposals from several sovereign wealth funds for a stake of up to 9.9 per cent in the miner.
Canada-based Ivanhoe, which is expecting to sign a long-awaited investment agreement for its giant $US3 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia soon, has agreed to cooperate with existing 9.95 per cent shareholder Rio Tinto in considering potential investments.
Ivanhoe chief executive John Macken said several sovereign wealth funds are among potential investors who have expressed unsolicited interest in the company.
Rio, which may raise its stake in Ivanhoe to a maximum of 46.65 per cent for about $US2.4bn, has agreed not to exercise its right of first offer for third-party equity financing.
Ivanhoe has been waiting to sign an investment deal for the mine, seen as a framework for future resources development in Mongolia, since late August, when parliament abolished a windfall tax on copper and gold profits.
Rio is due to complete a second investment tranche in Ivanhoe by October 27, but the companies have agreed on a month-on-month extension in light of the approaching deadline.
Rio took its initial stake in 2006 for $US303m.
Ivanhoe shareholders are due to vote on the proposal October 20.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,26114171-5005200,00.html
The Hypocrisy of Ghana Chamber of Mines is killing the Economy
By Stephen Yeboah
Feature Article : "The Author's/Authors' views do not necessarily reflect those of ModernGhana.
“The economy will not see significant development unless it is linked to controlling the growing hypocrisy of the Ghana Chamber of Mines”
Obviously, the people of Ghana have had enough of the politics of the benefits and detriments associated with mining our natural resources. It is a fact that minerals contribute a lot to the country's foreign exchange and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) especially gold which earned as much as US$2,246.25 million in 2008 as revenue as stated in the Budget Statement for the 2009 financial year. In the same vein, the negative connotation that goes with the term “Resource Curse” is vigorously sweeping across to the corners of the already ailing economy. As such it is true that the recorded and unrecorded disasters in the mining industry have rendered these gains in the industry completely useless.
Not to mince words, apart from the fact that the Minerals and Mining Act 703 (2006) is too frail and that multinational mining companies easily skirt these laws to manipulate the livelihoods of the poor local people, the operations of Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) of late are skewed towards strongly supporting these companies to carry on with their nefarious acts. This article is in reaction to the statements made by Chief Executive Officer of GCM, Ms Joyce Aryee at the 'Zone One inter-mine safety/first aid competition' at Obuasi regarding that the shift in focus of illegal miners (galamsey) from encroaching on mining concessions of large scale mines to exploration is one of the serious challenges confronting the mining industry. She said “this is very worrying as it threatens the very life of the mining industry, since without a vibrant exploration programme, the long term life of the mining industry would not be assured” (GNA, 21 September, 2009)
It is clear that she is talking from the standpoint of complete support to the growth of the mining companies and neglecting the welfare and plights of the poor and the urgent needs of the economy. What should they expect the local people whose large farmlands have been seized illegally to do? Galamseying into the mining concessions would hysterically erupt with attempts by the disenchanted youth in these mining communities to have a respected livelihood. Does one even need to be told that the mining industry is obsessed with serious challenges? It is very disgusting when such series of statements that come from the Chamber is, in no doubt, directed towards supporting and concurring to the inimical operations of mining companies in Ghana. The Chamber considering recent happenings has been supporting the all-encompassing inhuman exploitations (environmental, social and economic lives of the people) of the people by various companies.
Ms Aryee and the Chamber should know for a fact that the mining industry has long been threatened even before the upsurge of these illegal mining operations. The Ghana Chamber of Mines is silent over the increase in human rights abuses in the limelight of the media where the ordinary people are denied access to their own land, rendered homeless by deposits of rock debris and the astronomical increase abject poverty resulting from unemployment. Rather, they are so particular about revenues earned by the country, royalties (which are not transparent) and donations made by mining companies. The existing challenge to the industry is indeed the hypocritical attitude of the Ghana Chamber of Mines that serves to be potential affiliates to or subsidiary of these multinational mining companies but not the attitude of the local people. They reserve every right to make a living.
Ms Aryee and her chamber should give us a break. All they know is trying to go at all length to please these companies; possibly to have their financial appetite satisfied. They should declare their stand; whether for the benefits of the country and as such the welfare of the people or the selfish interest of these companies. Or are they a Non-Aligned Chamber? This is hypocrisy at the highest point.
The Ideal
Indisputably, mining is doing more harm than good considering the fact that the economic, social and environmental functions of the people are completely malfunctioning. There is no gainsaying that almost all multinational mining companies are making a mess of the state of the local people and the economy at large. The ordinary people are still being subjected to the tremors of serious environmental and health hazards and even physical attacks from expatriates as if to say there are no laws regulating the mining sector. All that Ghana Chamber of Mines can do is incessantly refuting and quashing clear and true allegations and claims made by advocacy groups, civil society organisations and human rights groups, purportedly to gratify the wishes of these mining companies. “The Ghana Chamber of Mines stated not long ago that the view that mining companies are destroying agriculture in the country is not borne out by the fact”. This reaction to the allegations that the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) raised concerning the large tracts of agricultural lands currently under mining concession is highly uncalled-for. What fact do they need again? Agriculture is on the verge of collapsing in these communities especially Obuasi. They should move down from Accra to the apparently inaccessible mining communities to see for themselves the existing reality which I am sure they perfectly know.
But for the timely, significant intervention and purposeful operations of the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) over the years and some human rights groups, the lives of people in mining communities would have been very devastating. The spate of enlightenment brought to the local people through education by WACAM has caused these companies to resort to using the Ghana Chamber of Mines as tool to support and make secret their wicked acts. One is right to say that they are now the unofficial mouthpiece of these companies. This is very sad and as such leaves much to be desired. All that the country needs for now is the amendment of the weak sections of the Minerals and Mining Act 703 (2006) and making it readily enforceable. Ghana Chamber of Mines should lead the country to achieving this objective and stop the vain asymmetrical statements! Mining can never be a strategic pole to growth and development in Ghana if things do not change now.
It is worthwhile of note that this hypocrisy of the chamber has cost and is costing Ghana a lot. No wonder the “Paradox of Plenty” remains significant and is increasing in alarming trends even with increase in the so-called donations made by these companies under the guise of reducing the impact of poverty. It's a lie. It is the people's money that is being spent like that. Where does Ghana want to go? If the mining industry had received the adequate attention and care and that the Ghana Chamber of Mines had not reneged on its responsibilities, the state of the economy would have been a livable one for the majority poor and not the few rich.
“Their” hypocrisy is indeed killing the economy. This makes the dream to realise development in Ghana a mocking mirage.
The author Stephen Yeboah (stephenyeboah110@yahoo.com) is at the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/240137/1/the-hypocrisy-of-ghana-chamber-of-mines-is-killing.html
Probe Mines Commences Phase II Drilling on Its Black Creek Chromite Discovery
Probe Mines Limited
Published: Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009
probemines.com V.PRB
Probe Mines Limited
Probe Mines Limited is a well financed, Canadian base and precious metal exploration company with approximately $4.0M in treasury and a portfolio of highly prospective mineral properties. The Company is currently focused on the McFaulds Lake area where it owns 931 claims covering almost 15,000 hectares, including joint venture properties with Noront Resources covering 87 of these claims. Probe currently has an option-joint venture agreement with West Timmins Mining on its Bristol Township gold project adjacent to the million-plus ounce gold deposit owned by Lake Shore Gold Corp. Recent exploration results from Lakeshore include an 83.4m intersection grading 12.75 g/t gold 800 metres from Probes claims. Probe also maintains a 5% net smelter royalty on a portion of Agnico Eagles Goldex Mine near Val dOr, Quebec, which began production in 2008. The Company has only 33,516,472 shares issued and outstanding, which trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PRB.
David Palmer, President
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 22, 2009) - The Directors of Probe Mines Limited (TSX VENTURE:PRB) ("Probe") are pleased to announce that the mobilization of field crews has commenced for Phase II drilling on its Black Creek high-grade chromite discovery in the McFauld's Lake area of the James Bay Lowlands. The Black Creek horizon is located on the Probe/Noront McFauld's West joint venture property and represents the latest discovery in the "Ring of Fire". Results from the summer drilling program yielded up to 62.4 metres of 34.5% Cr2O3, including 34 metres of 41.4% Cr2O3. Values are amongst the best found in the McFauld's area to date.
The Black Creek horizon was identified over 100 metres of strike length and to a vertical depth of 186m and remains open in all directions. The chromite-bearing horizon, which is hosted by a thick package of peridotite comprised of olivine-bearing ultramafic rocks, lies directly between the Black Thor chromite discovery of Freewest Resources ('Freewest') and the Freewest/KWG Resources/Spider Resources Big Daddy chromite zone and northeast of Noront Resources Blackbird discoveries. Phase II drilling will comprise up to 14 holes totaling approximately 2,100m and will focus on expanding the high-grade chromite zone. Results will be announced upon completion of the program.
McFauld's Lake
The McFauld's area continues to receive considerable attention with recent reports of high-grade chromite and PGE mineralization from Noront and Freewest Resources, in addition to continuing intersections of high-grade nickel and copper at Noront's Eagle One, Eagle Two and AT-12 discoveries. A preliminary economic assessment of the Eagle One Ni-Cu deposit reported an estimated resource (indicated) of 1,834,000 tonnes averaging 1.96% Ni, 1.18% Cu and 5.1g/t combined platinum, palladium and gold.
The discovery of chromite at McFauld's has added significantly to the area's value. The first massive chromite horizon was identified by Spider Resources in January 2006 while exploring for VMS mineralization. Noront Resources identified further chromite mineralization on its Black Bird 1 and 2 showings, while Freewest Resources returned significant intersections of massive chromite in its Black Thor and Black Label deposits. Highlights from the Freewest drilling include a 124m intersection grading 30% Cr2O3. The chromite occurrences are all located along a laterally extensive magnetic high that can be traced for approximately 20km in a northeast direction, along which many of the Probe-Noront joint venture claims occur.
About Probe Mines:
Probe Mines Limited is a well financed, Canadian base and precious metal exploration company with approximately $4.3M in treasury and a portfolio of highly prospective mineral properties. The Company is currently focused on the McFauld's Lake area where it owns 931 claims covering almost 15,000 hectares, including joint venture properties with Noront Resources. Probe also has an option-joint venture agreement with West Timmins Mining on its 100%-owned West Timmins gold project adjacent to the million-plus ounce gold deposit of Lake Shore Gold Corp. and the recently announced Porphyry Zone discovery (83.4m of 12.75 g/t Au) of Lake Shore-West Timmins. In addition, Probe maintains a 5% net smelter royalty on a portion of Agnico Eagle's Goldex Mine near Val d'Or, Quebec, which began production in 2008. The Company has only 33,516,472 shares issued and outstanding, which trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PRB.
David Palmer, Ph.D., P.Geo., is the qualified person for all technical information in this release. To find out more about Probe Mines Limited, visit our website at probemines.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Probe, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially form those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Probe's expectations are exploration risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Probe with securities regulators.
Shares Issued: 33,516,472
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/mining/releases/detail.html?id=439
Indonesia says Newmont mine woes won't hit '09 output
Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:12am EDT
JAKARTA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A suspension of operations at Newmont Mining Corp's (NEM.N) Indonesian copper and gold mine due to a rockslide will not hit production this year given available stocks, a senior Indonesian mining official said on Wednesday.
Newmont said on Tuesday there had been a "geotechnical failure" on Sept. 18 and 19 in the west wall of the open-pit mine on Sumbawa island, which produces most of Newmont's copper, along with a small amount of gold.
"Newmont has reported to me about the mine suspension following the rock slide. We will send a team today to inspect the mining side," Bambang Setiawan, director general of mining, coal and geothermal at the energy and mines ministry, told Reuters.
"There will be no problem for production this year because Newmont has a lot of stock to be processed," he added.
Newmont's Indonesian affiliate, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, continued to process lower-grade ore from stockpiles at the Batu Hijau mine, the Denver-based company said in a statement expanding on an earlier filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Batu Hijau uses an advanced monitoring system that measures movement in the pit walls, so no workers were in the pit at the time of the wall movement, Newmont said.
Initial assessments indicated nominal damage to infrastructure and equipment at the pit, which is located on the remote island of Sumbawa, about 950 miles (1,530 km) east of Jakarta.
For 2009, the company expects equity gold sales from the Indonesian mine of between 225,000 and 250,000 ounces, along with between 210 million and 230 million pounds of copper.
(Reporting by Muklis Ali; Editing by Ed Davies)
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSJAK16955020090923
Large-cap mining companies show little interest in taking over juniors
BY PETER KOVEN, FINANCIAL POSTJULY 29, 2009
When the markets melted down last year, the assumption among most experts was that we would see a new wave of mining consolidation in 2009 as senior producers picked off undervalued juniors. But, it didn't really happen.
As Canaccord Adams analysts Wendell Zerb, Eric Zaunscherb and Nicholas Campbell pointed out in their Junior Mining Weekly report, the real trend has been juniors merging with each other. In a couple of recent cases ( Klondex Mines Ltd. and Northern Continental Resources Inc.) junior companies actually outbid senior companies for assets. That is not the way the game is supposed to be played.
The analysts suggested four reasons why the larger-cap companies have been reluctant to take over junior: they have older and more conservative boards, they have been chilled by litigation risk (you could call that the "HudBay Effect"), they are using more conservative commodity price assumptions, and they have focused on mergers of equals to create "mega" companies (Xstrata PLC's approach to Anglo American PLC would be one example).
But all that said, the analysts noted that it may just be a matter of time before large-cap companies with deeper pickets take a more active role in this latest wave of M&A activity.
"The intermediate and senior mining companies, in general, possess far superior balance sheets and higher market valuations, which should ultimately make potential mergers and acquisitions more accretive and easier to finance," they wrote.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/Large+mining+companies+show+little+interest+taking+over+juniors/1842802/story.html
Sagittarius Mines eyes 2016 gold, copper operation in Sarangani
\
Regions
Written by Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter
WEDNESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2009 00:09
DAVAO CITY—The Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) has set its eyes on 2016 as the likely year it will start mining its gold-and-copper concession that traverses the south-central Mindanao triboundary in what could yet be the country’s biggest operation of a confirmed world-class deposit.
SMI’s corporate-community sustainability manager Elvie Grace Ganchero told the 18th Mindanao Business Conference in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, on Friday the operation would commence after the completion of several studies and legal requirements.
“Subject to the completion of a positive final feasibility study and all necessary community, government and company approvals, SMI estimates production may start by 2016 of what could be the biggest mine in the Philippines, and one of the top copper producers in the world,” Ganchero said.
SMI has begun what it claimed as “extensive specialist studies for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (Esia) of its world-class Tampakan copper-gold project located in Southern Philippines,”
Ganchero said SMI is spending $74 million on its feasibility study and Esia.
“As we embark on the Esia, a range of specialist studies on environmental and social aspects are underway,” Ganchero said. “To ensure a well-informed environmental management plan, all the studies are being conducted by international and local experts who are recognized authorities in their fields.”
Only last month, Ganchero said, “international experts conducted the soil-and-land capability study to determine the properties of the soil within the project area, and its suitability for use in postmining rehabilitation.”
Experts from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños assisted in the study, she said, while another group of experts conducted the survey of flora and fauna “to determine the ecological importance of the proposed mine area, and develop appropriate conservation programs for these plant and animal species.”
“The University of Queensland and its local counterpart, Visayas State University, are now working on a robust forest rehabilitation and management program,” she added.
Ganchero said SMI has already “conducted extensive studies of water [hydrology] and aquatic biology that commenced before the Esia phase.” She said SMI has collected more than two years “of high-quality data on these environmental components through international experts on hydrobiology.”
Studies on air, noise, rehabilitation, waste management, terrestrial biology, water, health and visual and socioeconomic impacts have been lined up, as well, for the next round of activities of SMI.
“This transparent and open engagement will ensure that all stakeholder concerns are gathered and considered in the conduct of our technical studies and, eventually, in the development of plans to mitigate and manage the effects of our operation,” Ganchero said.
In April this year, SMI posted a statement on the Internet which informed its “funding shareholders” that the likely final average output of its Tampakan copper-and-gold productions would use the open-pit mining operation.
SMI president Peter Forrestal was quoted on the Internet statement as saying that the “results of its work programs associated with the extended prefeasibility study for the Tampakan copper-gold project in Southern Mindanao” would likely get its first production output by 2016.
In the statement, Forrestal said the work program identified in the study has already determined the average output, the extraction method, mill-recovery rates and the capital outlay for its initial stage of operation.
He said, “These results are still subject to a final feasibility study and that the work program outlines a potential mining operation” based on indications that the mining project covering the boundary villages of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur would have “an annual average copper production of 340,000 tons per annum and 350,000 ounces of gold per annum, based on a 20-year operation.”
The study also suggested an “open-pit mining and land-based waste rock and tailings storage.”
“Mill recovery rates [are] 83 percent to 90 percent for copper and 60 to 80 percent for gold, with a copper concentrate grade of 37 percent to 34 percent,” the statement said.
Forrestal said the company would need “an initial stage-one capital outlay of $5.2 billion,” which he added would include a “provision for associated infrastructure.”
“A potential schedule for development with commissioning and first production [would be] in early 2016,” he said.
“We are pleased to have completed the work programs associated with our extended prefeasibility study and to have delivered the results to our management committee,” Forrestal said. He added that the committee was comprised by representatives from Xstrata Copper, Indophil Resource NL and Alsons Corp.
“Those organizations are currently evaluating the results of this study,” he said. SMI planned “to commence the public consultation phase for the project’s Esia process later this year,” he added.
“This phase will involve a series of extensive, open and transparent public consultations with the project’s stakeholders. The consultation will cover the proposed mining process, the scale and extent of the proposed project, including the infrastructure requirements, the potential environmental and social impacts and benefits of the project; SMI’s planned environmental management systems and socioeconomic development programs,” he said.
“Most important, it will give our stakeholders the opportunity to understand the project better, and to express their views and any suggestions they may have in respect of the proposed project,” he added.
“Our aim is to develop the Tampakan project in line with leading environmental and social practices, working in partnership with our stakeholders to create mutual benefits for shareholders, the communities associated with the project and the Philippines,” Forrestal said.
In a December 2007 statement, SMI corrected previously held estimated figures of the copper-and-gold deposits in the project and said the project holds ore deposits “of over 12.8 million tons of 0.6-percent copper and 15.2 million ounces of 0.2 grams per ton of gold.”
“The Tampakan copper-and-gold project is reportedly the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region,” Forrestal said in that statement..
The Switzerland-headquartered Xstrata Copper owns 62.5 percent of SMI. The Xstrata has 19.9-percent stake with another Swiss-based Indophil Resources, which acquired the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement of the Tampakan project in the late 1990s from the original rights holder, the Australian-owned Western Mining Corp. (WMC).
In 2002 WMC sold its rights to Indophil, which later sought financial assistance from Xstrata. Under their arrangement, Xstrata has the option to exercise full management rights the operation and which Xstrata opted to exercise in 2007.
The Alcantara and Sons Inc. acquired a third of the stake in SMI in a bid that started last year. The stake was bought from the shares of Indophil.
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/16365-sagittarius-mines-eyes-2016-gold-copper-operation-in-sarangani.html
3rd Annual Investing in African Mining Seminar
23 September 2009
Date Commences: 30 November 2009
Date ends: 30 November 2009
MineAfrica's Investing in African Mining Seminars are the premier platform for reaching a senior level audience of international mining and financial executives with an interest in mining in Africa. We are holding our 3rd Annual Investing in African Mining Seminar at the Andaz Hotel in central London on November 30 - the day before the start of Mines and Money. Standard Bank has renewed their Premier Sponsorship for the event.
Our first two seminars featured an average of 16 presenters and 135 participants. For a full list of applicable benefits see the chart at the end of this section. You can participate as a presenter or as a sponsor.
More information on the seminar including detailed audience composition, previous programs and photo galleries from past seminars can be found at our website at www.mineafrica.com.
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page63?oid=89677&sn=Detail
Other News
Electronic benefit transfer for NREGA payments
BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar September 23, 2009, 0:56 IST
With an aim to achieve financial inclusion and provide door step banking to the rural people, the Orissa government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the public sector State Bank of India (SBI) for implementing the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) scheme for National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) beneficiaries.
Shiva Kumar, chief general manager (CGM) of the State Bank of India (SBI) and J P Agarwal, director, Panchayatiraj department of the Orissa government signed the documents in the presence of the Panchayatiraj minister, Prafulla Kumar Samal.
Since the beneficiaries under NREGA were complaining about the delay in getting the payments, the workers were discouraged to work under the scheme. In this context, the EBT is expected to help in increasing the utilisation of funds under the scheme. Orissa is able to utilise about Rs 650 crore per annum under NREGA, compared to about Rs 6000 crore utilised by states like Rajasthan.
As per the agreement, SBI will set up ‘banking outposts’ in all Gram Panchayats of the state in the form of ‘Customer Service Points (CSPs). The Zero Mass Foundation (ZMF) has been roped in as a Business Correspondents (BC) to pay wages under NREGA.
Importantly, Orissa is the first state in the country where all the GPs will be connected by SBI through BC. The bank has selected ‘A Little World’ (ALW) as one of the technology partner for its project in Orissa. ALW is linked with bank’s technology platform and the data transfer is seamless.
The enrolment process of the beneficiaries will be facilitated by the government officials at the Gram Panchayat level to complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The photograph and six finger prints will be taken at the time of enrolment and subsequent operations will be based on physical identification and bio-metrics authentication of the beneficiaries.
Speaking on the occasion, S N Tripathy, secretary, Panchayatiraj department said, the Business Correspondent will sit for 4 days in a week and the sitting hours will be flexible. This will create employment opportunities in the rural areas and depending upon the success of the scheme, electronic payments for schemes like Indira Awas Yojana may be adopted.
While Rs 1100 crore will be placed with SBI, the amount may increase to Rs 3000 crore if a similar payment system is introduced for other social schemes, he added.
The Panchayatiraj minister said, the main intention of the scheme was to prevent migration. Earlier the payment used to take about a month, discouraging the workers to join the scheme. As a result, out of 52 lakh beneficiaries registered for work under NREGA, only 14 lakh workers worked for an average of 40 days during the year, he added.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=370916
Implementation of Forest Rights Act causes ‘bureaucratic confusion’
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Tribal Development and Forest departments at loggerheads over conflicting interests in land claims
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The implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, popularly known as the Forest Rights Act, is now causing ‘bureaucratic confusion’ between the Department of Tribal Development and the Forest and Environment Department.
THE issue pertains to the conflict of interests between the Forest Rights Committees and the Forest Protection Committees.
The Rights Committee is constituted in every village by the Tribal Development Department (TDD) under Section 6(1) of the Forest Rights Act, for the verification of land claims by the tribals before they are screened and approved at the taluka and district levels.
The Committee is granted access to non-timber forest products and share in timber revenue in return for protecting the forests from fire, grazing and illegal harvesting as well as carrying out plantation works.
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The Protection Committee is constituted by the Forest and Environment Department under its Centrally-sponsored Joint Forest Management scheme, and though both committees involve the local village communities, they perceive their interests as conflicting in nature.
This is evident from such incidents reported in the Devgadh Baria taluka of Dahod district, where the Protection Committee members vehemently opposed the land claims submitted to the gram panchayat by the Rights Committee.
Roop Singh Chauhan, Secretary, Eklavya Sangathan, an organisation based in Limkheda village in Dahod that has been fighting for tribal forest rights said: ”Nearly 200 such cases have come to our notice where the land claims have been contended in the gram sabhas. The Protection Committees do it, as larger forest cover means larger incentives by the Forest Department.”
In order to avoid such conflicts between the two committees, various panchayats have even approached the district and state level authorities to prevent the Protection Committees from plantation works until the Rights Committees in every village settles all land claims.
Chauhan said: “We have submitted a memorandum to this effect to T L Patel, Joint Director, TDD, in-charge FRA in the state.”
Meanwhile, Patel acknowledged that there have been cases of misunderstanding between the two committees leading to such conflicts.
He said: “One basic difference between the two is that while Protection Committees are constituted as a co-operative, the Rights Committees are constituted by the democratically elected gram panchayats. According to the Section V of the Forest Rights Act, all issues pertaining to community rights have to be dealt by the democratically formed Rights Committees. These include the rights of minor forest produce, fuel and fodder (grass collection and feeding to the cattle), natural water resources as well as joint forest management.”
He added: “If FRA itself provides for joint forest management, where is the need for Protection Committees to be constituted by the Forest Department. Once the Forest Rights Act is in full enactment, either the Protection Committees will be abolished or even if these remain, they will be superceded by the Rights Committees. Till that time, the TDD is trying to spread awareness regarding this in every village to avoid further conflicts.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/implementation-of-forest-rights-act-causes-bureaucratic-confusion/520440/0
Climate talks: ‘wrong to blame India for deadlock’
We want to be deal-maker, not deal-breaker: Jairam Ramesh
Photo: PTI
PUSHING FOR ACTION: Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh (right) and climate change expert Rajendra Pachauri address a press conference in New York on Monday. —
United Nations: Blamed for the deadlock in climate change talks along with China, India has said it will be a “deal-maker” and not a “deal-breaker.”
Ahead of the United Nations climate summit of world leaders on Tuesday, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters that India would like to be part of a solution to hammer a new global climate pact.
Mr. Ramesh said the present crisis on climate change was the “inability” of the United States to put on the table credible emissions reduction targets for 2020.
“We are not part of the problem but we want to be part of the solution,” he said.
It was wrong to blame India for the deadlock on the global climate change talks. It was prepared to be an “active player in working towards an agreement.”
Asked about India being dubbed unhelpful and stubborn, Mr. Jairam said: “Not at all. I think the world is completely wrong on this. We have got an image that is contrary to what we have been doing. The message that I am trying to convey is that we have not caused the problem of global warming but we want to be part of the solution at Copenhagen. We want to be a deal-maker, not the deal-breaker.”
India’s national climate plan envisaged voluntary mitigation measures by 2020, he said.
Mr. Ramesh and climate change expert Rajendra Pachauri also underlined the need for the U.S. to bring about a “lifestyle change” to combat climate change. — PTI
http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/23/stories/2009092356191000.htm
Obama’s Ability to Deliver Climate-Change Measure Questioned
By Kim Chipman
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, who challenged world leaders to overcome “doubts and difficulties” and reach a global accord on climate change, faces skepticism over whether he can deliver legislation in his own country.
Obama said in a speech to a United Nations conference on global warming yesterday that “we cannot meet this challenge unless all the largest emitters of greenhouse gas pollution act together.”
About 190 nations face a deadline to craft a new climate- change agreement at a meeting in December in Copenhagen. Environmental groups and government officials are asking whether Obama can win Senate approval of climate-change legislation the House passed in June. The president and lawmakers remain entangled in debate about overhauling the U.S. health-care system.
“People are waiting to see the signal from the White House about what comes next after health care and how important it is to him to have some momentum going into Copenhagen,” Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in an interview. “They are starting to get more impatient.”
The House passed legislation that would reduce emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. It would create a cap-and- trade system to limit carbon dioxide emissions tied to global warming and then establish a market for the trading of pollution allowances.
The measure is opposed by most Republicans, and a number of Democrats in the Senate have said they won’t support it in its current form. Committee action on cap-and-trade legislation was delayed from early September and hasn’t been rescheduled.
‘Doubts Linger’
“Doubts linger on whether the U.S. will pass a bill before the meeting in Copenhagen,” said Neal McAliley, head of the climate change initiative at the New York law firm White & Case LLP.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said yesterday that senators will “push climate as hard and as fast as we can.”
“The failure of the Senate to pass meaningful climate and energy legislation is hampering the president’s ability to make substantive commitments to the global community,” Keya Chatterjee, acting director of the World Wildlife Fund’s climate program, said in a statement after Obama spoke yesterday. “With the Copenhagen summit convening in just 10 weeks, the Senate has a narrow opportunity for salvaging the reputation of the U.S. abroad.”
The health-care fight has dominated Washington’s attention, said Carol Browner, Obama’s top adviser on the environment and energy, in a briefing yesterday for reporters in New York.
“Health care has obviously taken up more time than was originally anticipated,” Browner said.
‘Twiddling Their Thumbs’
John Bruton, the European Union’s ambassador to the U.S., voiced impatience in an opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sept. 17 that the U.S. is preoccupied with health care instead of global warming.
“The rest of the world cannot be expected to sit around the negotiating table in Copenhagen twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the Senate of one country (however big) to deal with other business,” Bruton said.
The administration will make its best case in Copenhagen even if the Senate fails to act by December, Todd Stern, Obama’s top climate negotiator, said at the briefing with Browner.
“In the event that there’s not domestic legislation done by the time of Copenhagen, we will negotiate with that in mind,” Stern said. “But certainly the most progress we can get would be helpful.”
Kyoto Protocol
Without Senate action, the administration risks a repeat in Copenhagen of what happened during crafting of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which then-President Bill Clinton signed.
The Senate and later President George W. Bush rejected that pact on the grounds it would hurt the economy and because China and other developing countries aren’t required to cut greenhouse-gas emissions under the accord.
Former Vice President Al Gore, speaking at the UN forum yesterday, said Obama’s influence in Copenhagen would be “greatly enhanced” if he could go with finished legislation to back up his commitments on climate change.
“The hour is late and it may well be he will be forced to go with the legislation still in process,” Gore said. “It is very important to pass the legislation.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in New York atchipman@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 23, 2009 00:00 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1cLRPV94TIg
Gujarat’s port projects in troubled waters
Rajiv Shah, TNN 23 September 2009, 05:08am IST
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GANDHINAGAR: Centre’s move not to grant environmental clearance to fresh ports as well as expansion plans of existing ones, has put a number of
projects in Gujarat in the dock. The decision may also jeopardise prospects of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
The Centre has decided not to receive any new proposals till a proper policy to regulate activities along the coastline is formulated.
Investment promises worth Rs 85,720 crore for about 50 port projects were made during the Vibrant Gujarat summit held earlier this year. Among the big projects likely to get hit include expansion at Kandla (Rs 12,000 crore) and Mundra (Rs 15,000 crore), apart from big-ticket investments like Port of Rotterdam’s project at Poshitra (Rs 5,000 crore), said a government official.
The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has already issued letters of intent to two projects — Nirma for developing Mahua and Infrastructure Lease and Financial Services for Khambhat. The state maritime regulator has also short-listed seven companies to develop shipyards along Gujarat’s coastline. None of these can now go to Delhi for clearance. Moreover, the state’s move to develop greenfield port projects at Vansi Borsi, Maroli and Poshitra, is also likely to get delayed.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying such blanket moratorium runs contrary to Planning Commission guidelines, which want rapid expansion of port capacity. Gujarat accounts for a third of India’s port cargo traffic.
The Centre has simultaneously decided to impose a three-month moratorium on proposals it has received for environment clearance on new ports or fishing harbours.
“This has delayed implementation of projects like Shapoorji Pallonji’s multi-product port for Rs 1,200 crore at Chhara on southern Saurashtra coast and GMB’s fishing harbour project,” said a senior official. “The refusal to take new projects for environmental clearance is worrying Gujarat more.”
The state government believes that the plan to study the carrying capacity of ports before giving environmental clearance is an “eyewash”.
In his letter, Modi said the DMIC heavily depends on future port projects in Gujarat. “The ban, however temporary, will affect efforts to bring in fresh investment in the DMIC,” the official said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Gujarats-port-projects-in-troubled-waters/articleshow/5044996.cms
India's tiger protection plan 'failing': experts
By Rupam Jain Nair (AFP) – 6 hours ago
NEW DELHI — India's efforts to stop poaching of its endangered tigers are failing despite millions of dollars of funding, a new protection force and experiments with animal transfers, experts say.
The federal government swung into action in 2007 after India's tiger population plunged to just 1,350 -- just over a third of the 3,700 estimated to be alive in 2002.
A new tiger conservation plan chalked out some bold and urgent steps to end the poaching menace, move forest dwellers away from reserves and transfer tigers from one reserve to another while monitoring their movements.
Wildlife experts and directors of the 38 Indian tiger reserves met in Delhi last week for a conference on the highly-prized animals which were estimated to once number about 40,000 before independence from Britain in 1947.
"India has framed all the policies and is doling out ample monetary aid to save the tiger but it is clearly not trickling down," said Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection of India who attended the conference.
"Poaching cases are just not stopping."
In the last nine months, 25 tigers have been killed by poachers and another 43 have died due to other causes.
On average, poachers kill 30 tigers every year in guarded reserves with demand driven by China where pelts, claws and bones are prized in traditional medicine.
In August, an Indian delegation in Beijing asked China for full co-operation for controlling cross-border trafficking of tiger parts and to send a clearer message to smugglers, but no official agreement was reached.
"Every single tiger faces threat. It is a shame that poachers' networks are not being cracked by the police," said P.K. Sen, a retired forest official who heads a tiger conservation programme in New Delhi.
Sen says India should implement all its conservation plans before calling on China to crack down on the tiger trade.
"We have to fix our problems first before telling China what they should do," Sen said.
Ineffective bureaucracy, corruption, pressure on land for use by developers, a domestic insurgency and lack of modern equipment are to blame, say campaigners.
Sen said Maoist rebels are active in seven of the 38 tiger reserves established to protect the animal, meaning no official tiger census has been conducted since the year 2000.
"Forget tiger census and forest management as in the past nine years even officers avoid entering these Maoist-infested reserves," said Sen, who stressed that ending extremist left-wing violence was the key.
Tiger hunting is illegal worldwide and the trade in tiger parts is banned under a treaty binding 167 countries, including India.
Experts said the porous border between India and Nepal continues to serve as a smuggling corridor for the poachers, who bribe poor forest dwellers to guide them through the dense jungles.
Alarmed by the dwindling numbers, the government has recruited retired army personnel to form a "tiger protection force" to guard sanctuaries.
New young field officers have been trained up, cameras have been installed to guard the reserves and many tigers have been radio-tagged to monitor their movements.
In 2008, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also set up a national wildlife crime prevention bureau, drawing experts from the police, environmental agencies and customs in a bid to break up the poaching network.
But the idea of bringing together different arms of the state has been handicapped by bureaucratic infighting.
"The state governments are just not understanding how critical the issue is," a senior official at the ministry of forests and environment said. "Most are very slow in implementing the conservation plan. We are losing the plot."
India's 29 state governments enjoy independent power on land issues and most of them continue to sell land around the tiger reserves for development for hotels, tourist resorts or even mining, he said.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) wants commercial use of land near the protected forests to be banned and buffer zones created.
The NTCA, which has a budget of 125 million dollars for 38 tiger reserves over four years, has also started moving tigers from one area to another to help protect numbers.
Two tigers have been transferred from reserves in Madhya Pradesh, central India, to Sariska, a reserve situated in Rajasthan, a western state.
The experiment is designed to ensure a wide distribution of tigers and revive the sanctuary in Rajasthan, but conservationists say success now depends on the new state protecting them from poachers.
"If we don't learn from our mistakes then all experiments will fail and the tigers could easily be found in the list of extinct animals," warned NTCA chief Rajesh Gopal.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jM5buuf9y-zxZiI9amFFSLtqUOIw
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