| 02 | May |
| 2013 |
Short news minerals
- Anonymous Analytics has accused Chinese coal-mining equipment maker International Mining Machinery (IMM) of committing fraud by claiming a customer base Anonymous Analytics describes as bogus. IMM was delisted in Hong Kong in June last year after it was acquired for USD1.4 billion by Joy Global. Most of IMM’s biggest customers appear to be shell entities set up to transact with it on paper, or related parties owned by IMM employees, Anonymous Analytics alleged.
- En+ Group is to start a feasibility study for a project in Siberia it is jointly developing with Shenhua Group to produce millions of tons of coal for delivery to China. The two companies will invest USD2 billion on coal mining, build basic transport infrastructure, develop or improve port facilities in the Far East region and handle the transport and sale of coal. Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer and a subsidiary of En+, also signed a memorandum with Aluminum Corp of China to jointly work on technology innovation, mining resources development and investment.
- Chinese companies attempted USD107 billion worth of mining takeovers over the past five years, with about USD45 billion, or 42% by value, of deals ending in failure.
- African Minerals, the Sierra Leone iron ore producer that got a USD1.5 billion investment from a Chinese steel mill last year, may seek debt funding from China for a mine expansion scheduled for 2016. African Minerals began shipments from the Tonkolili mine in November 2011 and said it expects to reach its targeted production rate of 20 million metric tons annually this quarter.
- A Puda Coal investor sued a unit of Citic Group Corp, claiming it conspired with Puda’s Chairman to transfer control of the company’s most important asset to insiders, leaving Puda an empty shell company without operations or revenue. After transferring the company, Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co, Puda sold shares to investors who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when this became public, the investor, Thomas Tarsavage, said in a complaint filed in Manhattan Federal Court.
| 04 | Apr |
| 2013 |
Short news minerals
- Greenland may award one of its biggest mining exploitation licenses this summer, a USD2.3 billion project by UK-based London Mining that will supply China with around 15 million tons of iron ore a year. But while Greenland has approved about 140 exploration licenses, not one mining project has secured financing. About 2,000 Chinese workers may be flown in for the construction of the London Mining project if it goes ahead.
- Mongolia-focused coal miner SouthGobi Resources posted a loss for last year of USD103 million as Ulan Bator forced it to suspend its only producing mine in response to a takeover bid from China’s state-owned Chalco. But SouthGobi, which is now controlled by Rio Tinto, has resumed operation at its flagship Ovoot Tolgoi mine and aims to produce 3.2 million tons of semi-soft coking coal this year.
- A landslide at a Tibetan mine in the vicinity of Lhasa buried 83 miners. Copper, some gold and silver are mined at the facility, the largest investment project of the Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Co, a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group. The corporation was the first state enterprise to develop a mine in the Tibetan region. Production began in 2010. China Gold International Resources is under pressure as the mine may be temporarily closed. 66 bodies have been recovered so far.
- Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group of China and the Democratic Republic of Congo created a joint venture to mine diamonds in Eastern Kasai province and plan to take the company public. The 50-50 venture between Anhui and the central African country may produce 6 million carats a year by 2016. Anhui Group, based in Hefei, will pay USD4.2 million for its half, plus a signing bonus of as much as USD61 million, and invest an estimated USD100 million in infrastructure.
- Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) has written off CNY3 billion on its much-delayed Sino Iron project in Western Australia, which recently went over budget for the fourth time. MCC is obliged to compensate Citic Pacific USD5.1 million per day for the delay in construction, which would translate to USD530 million in total. The construction contractor veered to a CNY6.95 billion loss last year from a CNY4.24 billion profit in 2011, mainly due to write-offs on its Cape Lambert iron ore project in Australia, Huludao nonferrous project in Liaoning province and Sino Iron.
- All coal mines in Jilin province were ordered to halt production after two gas blasts in four days killed 36 people. An explosion at Babao Coal Mine in Baishan’s Jiangyuan district killed 29 miners and rescue workers and left 13 injured. A second blast occurred a few days later when rescuers entered the mine to extinguish a fire. That blast killed seven more rescuers and left another eight injured. Ten remain missing. Jilin authorities decided to suspend operations at all coal mines for safety checks.
| 07 | Mar |
| 2013 |
Short news minerals
- Zijin Mining, China’s largest listed gold miner by output, says its unaudited net profit for last year was CNY5.2 billion, down 9% from 2011. Operating revenue rose 21.9% to CNY48.5 billion. Zijin attributed its first profit decline as a listed firm to lower prices of metal products except gold, losses in some smelting units, lower grades of ores processed and higher production and management costs.
| 07 | Feb |
| 2013 |
Short news minerals
- Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, Mongolia’s largest state-owned coal company, halted deliveries to China after failing to pay a company that provides logistical support, its CEO said. Exports to customers, including Aluminum Corp of China, stopped on January 11 as Erdenes couldn’t pay Altangovi, said Yaichil Batsuuri, who has led the company since October. Altangovi provides warehousing services at the border with China, the biggest buyer of Mongolia’s steelmaking coal. The halt comes as Erdenes seeks a government loan for as much as USD500 million to repay debts and fund infrastructure construction.
- China discovered more than 1.4 billion tons of new proven oil reserves last year, its third-highest annual haul ever, while its proven reserves of natural gas rose by a record of nearly 900 billion cubic meters over the year, the Ministry of Land and Resources said. The country also added more than 7 million tons of copper reserves and nearly 400 million tons of bauxite over the year. Coal resources increased by 132 billion tons, gold resources by 604 tons, and iron ore resources by 5.4 billion tons.
- China exported 16,265 tons of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds last year, falling below the annual export quota of 30,966 tons, and down 3.5% on 2011. In December, China exported 3,252 tons of rare-earth ore, metals and compounds. In December, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) set the first batch of rare earth export quotas for 2013 at 15,501 tons, which will be shared by 24 companies. The value of China’s exports of rare earths tumbled 66.1% to USD906 million last year.
- China’s output of iron ore fell to 119.48 million tons in December, down 4.1% from November, with freezing weather in northern regions hitting production. Full-year production jumped 14.5% from the previous year to 1.31 billion tons last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. China has long sought to increase its domestic iron ore supply to cut its reliance on imports, which hit a record level of 70.94 million tons in December. China typically produced 120-130 million tons of low-grade iron ore per month last year, and imported around 60 million tons.
- The price of coal is likely to remain bearish this year because of surplus production and the probable further decline of power production, Zhang Guobiao, former Director of the National Energy Administration (NEA) said. The coal price has declined by CNY200 per metric ton since May, and the price at Qinhuangdao Harbor remained in a trough at around CNY645 per ton even during the peak demand period in winter. China’s coal production grew by 4% in 2012, down 4.7 percentage points from the previous year.
| 10 | Jan |
| 2013 |
Short news minerals
- A Hunan company has invested USD20 million in an open-pit gold mining project in North Korea. The Hunan Weijin Investment Group announced that it had joined in building the country’s first five-star hotel in order to get Pyongyang’s approval to develop the project in Unsan county. It is the first Hunan company to invest in the country.
- China’s Shenhua Group has held talks with Australia’s Whitehaven Coal about a potential corporate or asset deal. Shenhua, China’s biggest coal producer, recently discussed taking an equity stake in Whitehaven in return for Shenhua’s Watermark coal assets in New South Wales. Whitehaven said it routinely has talks with other coal companies about opportunities, including corporate and asset transactions. Whitehaven has been under pressure after its biggest shareholder, Nathan Tinkler, scrapped a USD5.5 billion bid to take Whitehaven private last year.
- China abolished a price ceiling on power-station coal on January 1, 2013 as rates have fallen this year amid increased supplies. Prices will have to be negotiated between miners and power plants, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
- Metallurgical Corp of China said the unit running its Cape Lambert magnetite project in Australia will withdraw most of its Chinese staff as it struggles with rising costs. MCC Australia will close its office in Perth by the end January, leaving no more than five people in a smaller location to maintain its Australian mining license.
- The Ministry of Land and Resources allocated CNY26.8 billion from central government and provincial funds to mineral resources exploration in 4,674 projects between 2006 and 2011. A total of 585 new mineral deposits were found during the period, including the discovery of a uranium mine in Inner Mongolia. In 2011, CNY8.5 billion was invested, with funds in mineral resources exploration taking up 86.3% of the country’s total fiscal investment in exploration that year.
- The Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-earth (Group) Hi-tech Co will continue to suspend rare earth roasting and smelting separation operations, which began on October 23, for another month, the company said in a statement filed in late December to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. “The rare earths market recovered a bit in the past two months but did not improve fundamentally,” the firm said.
- The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the first round of rare earth export quotas for 2013, which will be 15,501 tons, about half the quota set for all of 2012. Of the total, 13,563 tons are allocated for light rare earths, while 1,938 tons are for medium and heavy rare earth metals. Twenty-four companies will share the quota, including Inner Mongolia’s Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co, the country’s largest rare earth producer. China usually issues the quotas in two batches. China supplies more than 90% of the world’s demand for rare earths, but holds only 23% of the world’s rare earth reserves. China exported 13,014 tons of rare earth ores, metals and compounds in the first 11 months of last year, less than half of the full-year quota.
- The Guizhou provincial government plans to close 2,100 mines by 2016 and cap the number of operating mines at 4,000. Most of the mines slated for closure are small privately owned operations, with outdated equipment and poor safety records. The government expected the restructuring would strengthen large state-owned mines and reduce the frequency of accidents.
