Short news minerals
Sep-04-2014 By : fcccadmin
- Chinese investment in the Australian mining sector this year is set to reach the highest level since 2011, when China poured in AUD11.7 billion. Major investments in recent years in Queensland include Yanzhou Coal’s AUD3.5 billion purchase of Felix Resources in 2009 and CNOOC’s agreement with BG Group to invest AUD1.93 billion in the QCLNG gas project in 2012. In May, Guangdong Rising Assets Management offered AUD1.46 billion for Brisbane-based miner Pan-Aust.
- Datang International Power Generation said it would sell part or all of its loss-making coal-to-chemicals and coal-to-natural-gas projects to state-owned China Reform Corp. The deal is expected to be completed by early next year. China Shenhua Energy’s coal-to-chemicals project in Inner Mongolia posted a net profit of CNY1.26 billion last year, but Datang’s Duolun project, also in Inner Mongolia, struggled to resolve technical problems after two years of trial operations.
- The Chinese government will offer subsidies to producers of rare earths to encourage them to improve their technology levels and use environmentally-friendly means of extraction. The subsidies include one-time awards to local governments that have completed supervisory and monitoring systems for rare earth exploration. Companies that have met national environmental protection standards for mining and refining rare earths will also receive awards.
- The government will increase exploration and production quotas for rare earth companies by 10% this year to bring output in line with the sector’s capacity, Huang Libin, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said. Giving more quotas to the large companies will allow them to replace those that have closed during a campaign to consolidate the industry. The total quota for production is 105,000 metric tons this year. Baosteel got a production quota of 59,500 metric tons for light rare earths, an increase of nearly 20% from last year.
- China’s coal sector is taking steps to escape the triple trap of falling prices, weak demand and continued losses. Shenhua Group, the country’s biggest coal producer, raised its coal price to CNY489 a metric ton at the start of August, while China National Coal Group raised its price by 4% a ton for a range of coal products. Coal prices may have bottomed out and the supply-demand situation might become balanced in the short term. According to data from the China National Coal Association, 70% of coal companies are losing money. As of June 30, national coal inventories stood at a record high of 99 million tons.
- Australian exports of iron ore to China from Port Hedland, which handles a quarter of the world’s seaborne shipments, rebounded in July to hit a record high. Shipments to China rose 4.8% from June to 30.57 million tons, and 50% on July last year.
- China said it “strongly regrets” a decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to uphold its ruling that the country violated global trade rules by restricting exports of rare earth elements. The decision is final and, in principle, WTO member states are obliged to follow the ruling. China has argued that the export restrictions are related to the conservation of its natural resources, and are necessary for reducing the pollution caused by mining.
Short news minerals
Jun-05-2014 By : Gwenda
- Though the rate of coal mine accidents in China has declined over the past decade, more coal mines will be closed, Yang Dongliang, Director of the State Administration of Work Safety, said. The death rate per 1 million metric tons of coal has also dropped, from 3.08 to 0.288, a decline of 90%. Yang said coal production in 2013 reached 3.7 billion tons and that the supply of coal in China still exceeds demand, which has brought coal prices down and raised costs for coal enterprises. About 2,000 small coal mines will be closed this year and in 2015. Currently, there are about 13,000 coal mines in China.
Baosteel and Aurizon launch Aquila take-over bid
May-08-2014 By : agxadmin
Baosteel Group Corp and Australian rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings have launched a bid for Aquila Resources in a deal that values the iron ore and coal miner at AUD1.4 billion. The bid could potentially open up a new iron ore export region in Australia for Asian steelmakers. Baosteel, which already owns 19.8% of Aquila, will hold 85% if the deal succeeds while Aurizon will own 15%. “This proposal represents an unprecedented opportunity to co-develop world-class rail and port infrastructure in Australia, utilizing Chinese and Australian capital, to deliver much needed Australian commodities to China,” Aurizon Chief Executive Lance Hockridge said. Aquila advised its shareholders to take no action now and will form an independent board sub-committee to assess the offer. Aquila is among smaller miners in Australia trying to break the hold of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton on the country’s iron ore exports. It owns 50% in the West Pilbara Iron Ore Project. Through the take-over, Baosteel and Aurizon plan to develop western Pilbara’s iron ore project and Eagle Downs hard coking coal project in Queensland. The partners are expected to start producing iron ore at the West Pilbara project in 2017-18. The project has more than two billion tons of resources. As designed, it would produce 30 million tons a year in its first stage, dwarfed by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which together are expected to be producing about 620 million tons a year by 2017. But more importantly for Asia’s steel producers, Baosteel and Aurizon plan to build a rail line and port at Anketell Point that would be open to other iron ore producers, unlike Rio Tinto’s rail and ports, providing an outlet for resources that have been stranded with no transport routes up to now. The port had been designed to handle up to 300 million tons a year.
Short news minerals
By : agxadmin
- China’s major rare earth producer Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Group said its net profit slumped 71.71% year-on-year to CNY69.38 million in the first quarter. Its revenue tumbled 52.76% from the same period of last year to CNY1.09 billion, according to the company’s financial report for the January-March period. The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on March 26 that China’s regulation on rare earth exports was inconsistent with the organization’s rules, signaling the country may have to further open its rare earth supply. Chinese rare earth producers have suffered since 2011 from continuing price falls due to excessive exploitation.
- China has appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over its ruling that the country violated global trade rules by limiting exports of rare earth minerals, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. “China will make the utmost efforts in the appeal process to guard its national interests,” said Ministry Spokesman Shen Danyang. The WTO panel report said China’s export duty, export quota and export quota administration and allocation measures imposed on rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum products were inconsistent with WTO rules.
- China has started releasing a monthly non-ferrous metals conditions index in a move to increase the nation’s influence in setting global commodity prices. The index for March was 46.7, indicating worsening conditions. The index is jointly compiled and released by the China Non-ferrous Metals Industry Association, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Economic Daily newspaper. Despite being the biggest producer and consumer of non-ferrous metals, China doesn’t carry much weight in global pricing, said Jia Mingxing, Vice Chairman of the Association. According to Jia, 2,339 companies in the industry reported deficits for the first two months of the year, accounting for 26.9% of all companies in the industry. The profit for the whole industry for the first two months declined 9.3% year-on-year to CNY15.54 billion.
- China expects coal imports to be more or less the same this year as the 267 million tons in 2013, when they grew 14%. Chinese coal markets remain well-supplied even though domestic producers have seen profits slashed by low prices. Domestic output rose 0.9% to 535 million tons in the first two months of the year compared to the same period last year.
- Turkey and China are in talks on a USD10 billion to USD12 billion investment in the Afsin-Elbistan coalfield and power plant project in southern Turkey, said Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz. Turkey is keen to make the most of its coal resources to reduce the country’s imports of natural gas and signed a deal with Abu Dhabi National Energy on the project in January last year. However, Taqa said in August that it was delaying investment and Turkey subsequently began talks with other companies. The Afsin-Elbistan region holds up to 45% of Turkey’s lignite reserves and the project includes the construction of a 8,000 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant.
Short news minerals
Apr-03-2014 By : agxadmin
- Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Resources is seeking additional financing to avoid a default on USD250 million in debt, hurt by low prices and weaker-than-expected demand from Chinese buyers. Based on forecasts for this year, SouthGobi will not have enough cash flow to meet obligations including interest payments on debentures held by China Investment Corp (CIC), the Vancouver-based company said. SouthGobi, controlled by a Rio Tinto unit, operates the Ovoot Tolgoi coking-coal mine, which lies about 40 kilometers from Mongolia’s border with China.
- The World Trade Organization (WTO) released a report, saying China’s export restrictions on rare earths, molybdenum and tungsten are incompatible with WTO rules. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said it regretted the ruling. The panel report said China proved that the production of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum could damage the environment and the health of animals and plants, but that it did not provide proof that the duty served a protective purpose or made a substantive contribution to protection. China can appeal to the appellate body within 60 days of the report’s distribution.
- China’s first rare earth products exchange opened in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after a three-month trial. The Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange is expected to regulate the country’s rare earth market, improve the way prices are formed and promote development of the industry, said Jia Yinsong of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The exchange will introduce price bidding, listed trading and real-time trading online, with more than 10 trading items including cerium oxide, praseodymium-neodymium oxide and europium oxide.
- Chinalco Mining has shut down operations at its Toromocho copper mine in Peru after the country’s environmental regulator found that it was contaminating two lakes high in the Andes in the district of Morococha, 150 kilometers east of Lima. A video on the regulator’s web site showed yellowish water running down a hillside into a blue lake. Toromocho began operations in December following an investment of USD4.8 billion in the mine.
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