Coal Trading Blog

The robot is ready

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 22:30:00 +0000

Credit: Reuters/ Nigel Roddis

1 of 11. Employees of Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) work on a subsea mining machine being built for Nautilus Minerals at Wallsend, northern England April 14, 2014.

Beyond PNG, in international waters, regulation and royalty terms for mining the planet's subsea wealth have also yet to be finalized. The world waits for the judgment of a United Nations agency based in Jamaica.

"If we can take care of the environment we have a brand new day ahead of us. The marine area beyond national jurisdiction is 50 percent of the Ocean," said Nii Odunton, secretary general of the U.N.'s International Seabed Authority (ISA).

"I believe the grades look good, the abundance looks good, I believe that money will be made," Odunton said from the ISA offices in Kingston.

High-tech advances, depleted easy-to-reach minerals onshore and historically high prices have boosted the idea of mining offshore, where metals can be fifteen times the quality of land deposits.

In Newcastle, the "beasty", as engineer Keith Franklin calls his machine, lies in wait, resembling a submersible tank with four meter wide cutting blades.

Built by Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD), it will put Canadian listed Nautilus Minerals (NUS.TO) on course to become the first company to commercially mine in deep water.

Nautilus' primary resource, Solwara 1, about 1,500 meters underwater, is a Seafloor Massive Sulphide (SMS) deposit, which forms along hydrothermal vents where mineral-rich fluids spurt from cracks in the ocean crust.

Equipped with cameras and 3D sonar sensors the robot is driven by two pilots from a control room on the vessel above, attached via a giant power cable.

"The cameras aren't enough by themselves because the machine will be working by vents where black soot spurts from the ocean crust and it will sometimes be near impossible to see anything," said Stef Kapusniak, business development manager for mining at SMD. "The 3D sonar will allow it to make images and send it back to the control room."

The machine then cuts up the sea floor and sucks the rocks through a pipe to deposit it in mounds behind - "like icing a cake," Kapusniak said. Another machine, yet to be built, will then help suck the ore to the surface.

Nautilus aims to produce 80,000-100,000 metric tons of copper and 100,000-200,000 ounces of gold - equivalent to a modest onshore mine. It was supposed to be producing by now, but disagreements with the PNG government over financial terms have set it back.

Chief Executive Mike Johnston told Reuters he was confident a resolution would be sorted out and the company would be mining within two to three years.

Most of the world's best deposits lie even deeper than Nautilus' Solwara 1, at around 6,000 meters in an area known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone.

Large numbers of manganese nodules - potato sized rocks rich in copper, cobalt and nickel - lie across this 4.5 million square kilometer abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico.

LICENSES ALREADY AWARDED

The U.N.'s ISA is drawing up a code to deal with some environmental concerns and the commercial terms for deep-sea mining. It predicts it will be finished in around two or three years, with mining still 5-10 years away.

"It's only after the code is in place and people are happy with it that the huge investments needed to start deep-sea mining will occur," ISA's Odunton, a Ghanaian, said.

ISA is, however, already doling out exploration licenses - 19 have been approved. Odunton said interest in them had "catapulted" in the past five years.

In order to get a license through ISA an applicant must be sponsored or partnered with a country. For nations like Japan which lack their own resource wealth, deep-sea mining is a potential way to secure mineral supply for the future.

China, the world's largest metals consumers, is also one of the most active in exploring the area.

Britain has an exploration license in partnership with UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of defense firm Lockheed Martin

"These are the days you have to take a position, especially as a government," said Martijn Schouten, managing director at IHC's mining division - an equipment maker which targets seabed mining as its next growth driver.

IHC is the leading partner in an European Union funded project called Blue Mining, begun in February, and will look at the business case and technology for deep-sea mining over the next four years.

This new frontier is an exciting prospect for developing island nations like Tonga and Nauru, which both have exploration licenses. For Tonga, where Nautilus says it has been collecting encouraging exploration results, it could be a game changer.

"The revenue stream and taxes from a medium sized mine would have an enormous benefit to the country," Nautilus' Johnston said.

The main companies looking to mine the seabed, like Nautilus and UK Seabed Resources, are not, however, traditional mining firms, although Anglo American (AAL.L) does have a 5 percent stake in the former.

IHC said most of its contracts were with technology-based companies that were not in the mining industry, although it would not specify further due to confidentiality clauses.

IHC said it has had discussions with oil majors who are beginning to show an interest in deep sea mining.

But, with little of the deep ocean mapped or explored, environmentalists worry about the potential loss of fauna and biospheres whose existence is not yet understood.

"Only 3 percent of the oceans are protected and less than 1 percent of the high seas, making them some of the least protected places on earth. The emerging threat of seabed mining is an urgent wake-up call," Greenpeace said in a report last year.

"I think we really have to be careful about what happens to the environment," said ISA's Odunton. "We don't know enough to take some of the risks we've taken on land."

(Editing by William Hardy)

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Deadline lapses in Peru for illegal gold miners

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 19:59:00 +0000

LIMA, Peru (AP) - The clock has run out for an estimated 40,000 illegal gold miners who had until Saturday to legalize their status in a region of southeastern Peru where fortune-seekers have ravaged rainforests and contaminated rivers. The government's vow to enforce a ban on illegal mining is raising fears of bloody confrontations.

The miners already have been clashing with police while intermittently blocking traffic on the commercially vital interoceanic highway that links the Pacific coast with Brazil, protesting government attempts to squeeze them out by drastically restricting shipments of the gasoline they use for their machinery. One miner has been killed and more than 50 wounded.

But officials insist this time they're serious about combatting the multi-billion-dollar illegal mining trade that accounts for about 20 percent of Peru's gold exports.

"We're not backing down even one inch," said Daniel Urresti, the former army officer leading the task for President Ollanta Humala.

The unrest already has left the region's cities short of food, inflating prices, and local authorities who support the miners have traveled to the capital to press for more time. They were denied an audience with Urresti and other officials.

"I don't know what's going to happen after the government deadline lapses. I think the violence will begin," said Jorge Aldazabal, the governor of the Madre de Dios region who has spent more than a week camped out on a mattress in front of a 17th-century church to protest the crackdown and demand a solution.

Peru criminalized unpermitted mining in rivers and other protected natural zones in 2012 but repeatedly delayed implementing the law, which imposes up to 12 years in jail and fines of up to $54,000 on violators.

Now, with the government preparing to host global climate talks in December and the world's eyes upon it, authorities insist they are determined to end the illegal mining, even if critics say that invites mayhem because no economic alternatives have been offered to the miners, most of them dirt-poor migrants from the Andean highlands.

Very few qualify to legalize their operations because any permission they may have to use the land is questionable at best. Some have paid bearers of reforestation permits to mine on that land. Others mine on indigenous reserves. The government says most are squatters with no claims at all.

Urresti told The Associated Press that authorities will first go after a group of about 20,000 miners centered near the interoceanic highway in an area called La Pampa. They already have been clashing with riot police sent from Lima.

Those miners, who began arriving in 2008, populate shantytowns carved into jungle along the interoceanic highway where coerced prostitution and tuberculosis thrive and the glow of welder's torches mending overworked machinery burns well into the night.

As they separate flecks of gold from the sandy, alluvial soil, the miners use mercury to bind it. Tons of the toxic metal have been dumped into rivers, contaminating fish, humans and other animals and plants.

No one knows how much gold Madre de Dios contains. But officials say more than 159 metric tons, worth more than $7 billion at current prices, have been mined in the Austria-sized region over the past decade. The region is among the planet's most biodiverse and includes indigenous tribes that shun contact with outsiders and are vulnerable to diseases.

Peru as a whole ranks sixth globally and first in Latin America in gold production

Urresti said the La Pampa group is bankrolled by about 50 individuals.

"They move $2.9 billion dollars a year. It's a very big mafia," Urresti said, refusing to identify the individuals by name. He said prosecutors are gathering evidence against them for crimes including money-laundering.

In September, the government moved for the first time against companies accused of refining illegally mined gold. Previously, only illegal dredgers in Madre de Dios had been targeted.

Authorities destroyed 400 trucks and dynamited 13 illegal refineries valued at more than $30 million in the coastal towns of Chala and Nazca, far removed from Madre de Dios.

In an unprecedented move, it also seized 2 tons of gold and installed machines designed to detect gold at five airports in the country's southeast.

"They know we're serious and that we're going to smash the most expensive machinery and that we won't be stopped," Urresti insisted.

For their part, the miners interviewed by the AP at protests in Lima said they're unable to comply with government legalization requirements.

"What are we going to do if they boot us out?" said Reimundo Barrios, a 51-year-old miner who moved to Madre de Dios in 1980. "I sent my son to university doing this work."

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1jU1xRT

Deadline lapses in Peru for illegal gold miners

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 18:28:00 +0000

FILE - This Sept. 13, 2013 aerial file photo shows tailings produced by informal mining in Peru's Madre de Dios region. A study of mercury contamination from rampant informal gold mining in Peru's Amazon says indigenous people who get their protein mostly from fish are the most affected, particularly their children. The clock has run out for an estimated 40,000 illegal gold miners who had until Saturday to legalize their status in a region of southeastern Peru where fortune-seekers have ravaged rainforests and contaminated rivers. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File) The Associated Press

LIMA, Peru (AP) - The clock has run out for an estimated 40,000 illegal gold miners who had until Saturday to legalize their status in a region of southeastern Peru where fortune-seekers have ravaged rainforests and contaminated rivers. The government's vow to enforce a ban on illegal mining is raising fears of bloody confrontations.

The miners already have been clashing with police while intermittently blocking traffic on the commercially vital interoceanic highway that links the Pacific coast with Brazil, protesting government attempts to squeeze them out by drastically restricting shipments of the gasoline they use for their machinery. One miner has been killed and more than 50 wounded.

But officials insist this time they're serious about combatting the multi-billion-dollar illegal mining trade that accounts for about 20 percent of Peru's gold exports.

"We're not backing down even one inch," said Daniel Urresti, the former army officer leading the task for President Ollanta Humala.

The unrest already has left the region's cities short of food, inflating prices, and local authorities who support the miners have traveled to the capital to press for more time. They were denied an audience with Urresti and other officials.

"I don't know what's going to happen after the government deadline lapses. I think the violence will begin," said Jorge Aldazabal, the governor of the Madre de Dios region who has spent more than a week camped out on a mattress in front of a 17th-century church to protest the crackdown and demand a solution.

Peru criminalized unpermitted mining in rivers and other protected natural zones in 2012 but repeatedly delayed implementing the law, which imposes up to 12 years in jail and fines of up to $54,000 on violators.

Now, with the government preparing to host global climate talks in December and the world's eyes upon it, authorities insist they are determined to end the illegal mining, even if critics say that invites mayhem because no economic alternatives have been offered to the miners, most of them dirt-poor migrants from the Andean highlands.

Very few qualify to legalize their operations because any permission they may have to use the land is questionable at best. Some have paid bearers of reforestation permits to mine on that land. Others mine on indigenous reserves. The government says most are squatters with no claims at all.

Urresti told The Associated Press that authorities will first go after a group of about 20,000 miners centered near the interoceanic highway in an area called La Pampa. They already have been clashing with riot police sent from Lima.

Those miners, who began arriving in 2008, populate shantytowns carved into jungle along the interoceanic highway where coerced prostitution and tuberculosis thrive and the glow of welder's torches mending overworked machinery burns well into the night.

As they separate flecks of gold from the sandy, alluvial soil, the miners use mercury to bind it. Tons of the toxic metal have been dumped into rivers, contaminating fish, humans and other animals and plants.

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Mining Bill needs proper scrutiny

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 12:42:00 +0000

Mining Bill needs proper scrutiny

By Cliff Otega

The long awaited Mining Bill 2014 has finally been published despite lack of a comprehensive policy stating what Kenya wants to achieve from this industry. Given the hype that has surrounded the industry lately, we should expect vigorous debate both inside and outside Parliament.

However, the Bill would not be up for public debate if it did not contain some contentious clauses.

It proposes that the State have pre-emptive rights to all strategic minerals ahead of other buyers, based on an offer for sale of the mineral by the holder to the State. The State has a right to accept or reject the offer but is silent on what happens upon rejection.

There are two key issues here. The definition of strategic minerals is discretionary and any mineral can be targeted. More importantly, there is no reference to the market value of the mineral, meaning the seller could conceivably have to sell below market value or even below cost. That is not reassuring to any investor - local or foreign.

The recurring theme of government participation and local equity participation appears in the form of a National Mining Corporation, 10 per cent free carry interest and an obligation for larger companies to list on a local stock exchange within four years. The debate here revolves around ownership benefits, financing and return on investment considerations. Will the National Mining Corporation compete on a level playing field or will it have preferential treatment in the award of licenses, payment of royalties and so on? How does the 10 per cent free carry interest affect project economics? Is four years sufficient time to establish a large scale operation and make it attractive enough to list?

The Bill also seeks to tie the export of minerals to the principle of value addition. Value addition for any modern economy is the Holy Grail but the extent is governed by many technical and economic considerations. This can unfairly be used to deny companies export permits in the future and clear guidelines on the issuance of these permits need to be defined.

While the Bill provides for Mineral Agreements between companies and the State, it appears contradictory by stating that the agreements do not absolve parties from any requirement prescribed by law. Many aspects of the Bill will have to be clarified before its passed into law.

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Wisconsin residents blame fracking for a boom in sand mining facilities

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 00:48:00 +0000

ARCADIA, Wis. -- In Wisconsin, residents are having an emotional debate over the fuel-drilling technique known as "fracking," in which a sand mixture is blasted underground to extract oil and gas from rock. Rural Wisconsin is rich in a special kind of sand used in fracking, and mining companies are lining up to get to it. But now, some residents are lining up to stop them.

At a packed town hall meeting in Arcadia, Wis., representatives of the mining company All-Energy sought to assure residents that a proposed 725-acre mine posed no risk.

A mining advocate said, "Six seconds a week is the amount of blasting we're going to do."

But the audience was not convinced.

An opponent of the proposed mine said, "Why are we taking top-producing farmland and destroying it to produce -- to get sand out?"

Maybe if it was one mine the response would not have been as emotional. But the idyllic farmland of West Central Wisconsin has been transformed by 135 sand mining facilities -- up from five just a few years ago.

Oil and gas companies need the special crush-resistant sand to probe for fossil fuels in the process known as fracking.

Resident Brenda Tabor-Adams said, "The trucks drive past here, and there's sand on the road, there's sand on the ditch, so I do get a lot in my house."

All that blowing sand is a health concern for Tabor-Adams. Her farm is surrounded by four sand mines.

"After now dealing with it for a couple of years, I am starting to get some respiratory issues," she said. "Wheezing. It'll wake me up at night."

Professor Crispin Pierce of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire has been sampling the air near 11 local plants and found elevated levels of dust with crystalline silica, which can cause cancer. He said, "Like asbestos, it's a component of these small bits of dust that's particularly dangerous and damaging."

But while the mining boom here has created concern, it's also created nearly 3,000 jobs.

Rich Budinger, president of the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, which runs 10 mines, said, "The growth in this industry -- as long as it's done responsibly -- is an excellent, awesome opportunity for Wisconsin."

He told CBS News that if the mining companies just follow existing safety regulations, the threat from blowing sand will dissipate.

Budinger added, "Water wagons are constantly watering down the roads, we have sprinkler systems on our stockpiles."

Still, over the past two years, Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources has issued 22 citations for non-compliance with environmental regulations to 21 different mining companies.

And while the county board eventually rejected All-Energy's plant for Arcadia, elsewhere in the state there are few signs of a slowdown with 51 new mines already in the works.

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Pit's winding engine to re

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 16:15:00 +0000

EX-MINERS have restored an 18ft colliery winding wheel which was out of action for a year.

Bestwood Winding Engine will reopen today SAT as a memorial to the village's mining legacy, after a fault in the electric engine left it out of action.

Using their industry knowledge, Brian Gow, Malcolm Carter, Mick Sendall and his son Jonathan tracked down and fitted the parts needed to bring the wheel, at Bestwood Country Park, back to life.

Mr Gow was an apprentice at Bestwood Colliery in 1962 before a career spanning pits across the county. including Thoresby - the last deep coal mine in Notts which is set to close.

He said: "The winding engine is a real focal point of the community and the country park. It stands proud at the top of the village. It's been unfortunate that it hasn't been working fully over the last year and it's been a great community effort to get it up and running again."

The electric engine was installed with help from the Greater Nottinghamshire Partnership after a £1.1 million Heritage Lottery grant in 2006.

But last year volunteers noticed a steel driving rope, which drives the main winding wheel, was wearing and needed to be repaired.

They tracked down surge pads - a part used to turn the winding engine since it was electrified in 1998 - from a scrap yard in Yorkshire.

The four volunteers have put in around 350 hours of work into the project, turning up whatever the weather.

"If is was raining we'd just have to get wet," said Mr Gow. "And we've had lots of assistance from local engineering companies as well."

Heatherose Ltd in Newark and Gee Engineering in Basford both helped with their knowledge and expertise while Bestwood Women's Institute offered tea, coffee and support. The WI runs a coffee shop on Saturdays at Dynamo House at the park.

Chairman Kay Brown said: "It's part of a patchwork of things on offer in the park - all of which work better together.

She said: "It's a place where people can come and learn a bit about the history of the park, which goes back as far as Richard III through the pit years to modern times."

Kay stressed the importance of the colliery to the history and identity of the village.

"Bestwood was particularly well known in the industry and was more than just a colliery but a headquarters for a lot of things going on in Nottinghamshire," she added.

Mr Gow said: "Mining was such an important part of the village since it was built in the 1870s right through to its closure in 1969.

"The Industrial Revolution made Great Britain the biggest empire the world has ever seen and that was fuelled by the coal workers mining at pits here in the UK."

The winding engine, in a tall brick building, is the last operational relic of the pit at Bestwood used to lower miners and carry coal to the surface.

Councillor John Knight, committee chairman for culture at Notts County Council, said: "This summer season will be exciting for Bestwood and it will be a great moment when the electricity can power the winding engine wheel again later in the season.''

"There are some fascinating stories to tell related to mining and conservation at Bestwood, and a packed programme of activities to help bring these stories to life."

The winding engine opens for tours from 10am until noon on Saturdays and Dynamo House café operates the same hours. For more information, visit fbcp.org.uk.

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Mining lobby may join industry push to ban environmental boycotts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 23:51:00 +0000

Protesters block access to Whitehaven Coal's Maules Creek coalmine in NSW. Environmentalists are increasingly targeting banks that invest in fossil fuels. Photograph: Greenpeace Australia/AAP

The powerful mining lobby is considering whether to join the push by resource industries to ban environmental boycott campaigns as it battles an escalating grassroots movement calling for banks, superannuation funds and institutions to ditch fossil fuel investments.

The Minerals Council of Australia, which this week began its own "Australians for Coal" social media and lobbying campaign to argue the benefits of continued coalmining, has previously attacked "green extremists" who "have moved ... from genuine protest to dangerous and unlawful civil disobedience", saying the "extremists" would be facing the full force of the law if they were not exempted from the ban on so-called secondary boycotts under competition laws.

The mining industry has also begun lobbying investor and superannuation funds to provide information to counter the push by organisations including 350.org for them to divest from fossil fuel companies. The higher education superfund Unisuper - which has $40bn in funds under management - has announced it will exclude fossil fuel from its "socially responsible" investment options.

A spokesman for the Minerals Council said the organisation was examining an issues paper from the government's review of competition law to decide whether it would make a submission, and whether it would argue the divestment campaign could also be considered a secondary boycott.

Other resource industries, including the forestry and resource groups, are arguing that environmental groups should no longer be exempt from Australia's competition law ban on so-called "secondary boycotts" - actions that try to stop a third person buying goods from another. And it also supports the argument that more safeguards are needed to ensure the "truthfulness" of information supplied during activist campaigns.

In an article for the Guardian, the nobel laureate Desmond Tutu called for an apartheid-style boycott of fossil fuel investments. The 350.org group is leading a worldwide grassroots campaign to push public institutions, super funds, inidivudals and banks to move money away from fossil fuels.

It lists nine US colleges and universities, more than 20 US cities, 26 churches including the Uniting Church of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and many foundations that have pledged to divest.

The issues paper released by the panel appointed by the Australian government to review competition law specifically includes the possibility of changes to the secondary boycott provisions.

The minister for small business, Bruce Billson, told Guardian Australia the government had "expressly mentioned" secondary boycotts in an issues paper for its review of competition laws because "we want respondents to discuss both the exemptions from secondary boycotts and the broader concept of false and misleading representations".

But Billson said the issue raised complex legal questions, including "jurisdictional reach" and exactly what conduct constituted a secondary boycott "because you can of course run a direct information scheme, but not a campaign that threatens a business with loss or harm, so it depends on the conduct itself".

Guardian Australia has reported a push by the forestry industry and some Tasmanian MPs to remove the secondary boycott exemption for environment groups because of the impact of boycott campaigns demanding furniture retailers and overseas customers cease buying timber from unsustainably logged forests.

The parliamentary secretary for agriculture, Richard Colbeck, said the backbench rural committee and "quite a number in the ministry" wanted to use a review of competition laws to remove the exemption and that there was "an appetite in the government for changing these laws".

Groups including the Australian Forest Products Association and parts of the seafood industry are preparing submissions to the review.

The Guardian has reported Oxford University research that found the fossil fuel divestment campaign that began 18 months ago in the US has grown faster than campaigns that targeted apartheid, tobacco and arms manufacturers.

The research has shown that past divestment campaigns succeeded by stigmatising their targets and exerting financial pressure.

In Britain campaigners are targeting the £5bn of fossil fuels stocks owned by universities. The UK's most senior doctors have also called for urgent divestment.

The MCA's Australians for Coal includes TV ads and a social media campaign, which has attracted a backlash on Twitter.

The spokesman said the campaign's "primary purpose" was not Twitter, which was "a well-established echo chamber".

The MCA said its campaign was designed to give a voice to the "silent majority" and stop a "small number of noisy extremists from creating the false impression that the community does not support Australia's second-largest export sector".

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Petition to allow Cape York mining rejected by State Government

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 14:40:00 +0000

Queensland

The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on the Wenlock River in Cape York. Photo: Peter Taylor

The government has rejected a petition calling for the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve mining ban to be reversed.

The government declared the reserve on Cape York a strategic environmental area in November.

A new planning instrument, it restricts land use to those considered appropriate. In the case of the Irwin reserve, that use is environmental.

But in making the declaration, the government ended the hopes mining company Cape Alumina had of its $1.2 billion Pisolite Hills bauxite project off the ground.

Managing director Graeme Sherlock gathered just under 400 signatures asking for the decision to be reversed, claiming it would cost the Queensland economy $3 billion in 'economic economy', a $600 million loss in state royalties and payroll taxes and a loss of $375 million for the traditional owners in royalties and employment.

"The claims of this being a unique area, an exceptional piece of biodiversity and in ecologically significant part of Queensland have not been supported by scientific research," the petition read.

"This is not one of Queensland's most environmentally significant areas. The vast majority of this reserve is typical Darwin Stringybark open forest found throughout Cape York. The proposed bauxite project by Cape Alumina was planning to mine just 1.5 per cent of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve."

The petition said the mine could have co-existed with the reserve and asked the government to reverse the mining ban "and instead broker a win-win outcome for all Queenslanders".

Last month, deputy premier Jeff Seeney ruled out overturning the ban and he did so again in a response to the petition which was tabled in parliament on Thursday.

"I can assure the petitioners that the government remains committed to expanding the economy of Cape York by encouraging growth in the resource, agricultural and tourism industries," he wrote.

"...The government is creating an appropriate legislative and planning framework for Cape York that will enable new jobs, investment and economic opportunities to benefit all communities in the region while protecting important environmental areas and values.

"The government also continues to work with and discuss projects in further detail with mining companies and other proponents in the region."

Consultation has closed for the Cape York Regional Plan, with the government planning on introducing the finalised plan mid-year.

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Bizarre methodology skews World Bank survey on oil, mining “perceptions”

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 14:18:00 +0000

Results of a World Bank Institute survey on public perceptions of extractive industries in developing countries are practically useless to understanding what communities directly affected by mining and oil operations actually think.

The results of a new World Bank-sponsored survey say that "a clear majority of responses believe that mining and oil/gas are positively impacting their country."

It always pays to look at the methodology and underlying data sets.

In January the World Bank Institute (WBI) Governance for Extractive Industries Program commissioned an "Extractive Industries Public Perceptions Survey," the results of which have just been published. The survey purports to provide "unique insights into people's perceptions of the contributions of the extractive industries to their country's development, their views on the availability and reliability of information, and their knowledge of the sector."

But a huge methodological problem means that those most impacted by these projects are least represented in the survey.

The WBI says that the survey employs an "innovative nano survey approach" described as an Internet-based technology that extends a brief survey to a random sampling of respondents. Of the 14 countries surveyed, seven are in sub-Saharan Africa where Internet access is quite limited, especially in the rural areas affected by mining. The survey report does note that "responses are limited to those with internet access, typically a more urban and general public and not targeted to communities surrounding mining or oil/gas development" but then goes on to report findings as if they were meaningful, despite the admitted digital divide that plagues their results.

In Mozambique, where only 4.3 percent of the total population even has Internet access, 1155 people took the WBI survey. Exactly four people surveyed were from Tete, the province that has been the site of large-scale coal mining operations that have resettled communities! Last year Human Rights Watch report documented the plight of 1,429 households moved to make way for mining projects by Vale and Rio Tinto. Around 59% of the WBI survey respondents were based in Maputo, the capital, and are among those more likely to see benefits and not costs of resource extraction.

Also of note, only 30 percent of the Mozambican respondents were women, even though research has shown that women often disproportionally bear the brunt of the costs of mining. The WBI survey also noted that 47 percent of respondents thought that mining's impact on the environment was "negative" or "very negative" - a result that certainly would've been much higher if more people directly affected by mining had participated.

In Ghana, 98 percent (!) of those responding to the WBI mining survey were from Accra, the capital. The "perceptions" about mining of only 39 people from regions with significant mining operations were included. In the WBI oil survey, exactly three people responding were from the Western Region where the Jubilee oil discovery is! Oxfam partners such as Friends of the Nation, WACAM, the Center for Public Interest Law, and others have been working with local communities affected by mining - from human rights violations to loss and land and livelihoods - and their voices are nowhere to be found in this survey.

One useful bit of information from the WBI survey in Ghana is that when asked "Does your government publish how much money it collects from oil and gas companies?" only 31 percent accurately answered "yes." The Ghanaian government does, in fact, publish what they receive from oil companies, down to the dollar and barrel on a quarterly basis. This shows that the government and others need to do a better job spreading the word about these important disclosures.

The World Bank may be happy to highlight these so-called positive public perceptions about oil, gas and mining. The WBI says "the results of this survey should inform discussions about ongoing efforts to better govern the extractive industries and make the sector more transparent and accountable." The results, though, are practically useless to understanding what communities directly affected by mining and oil operations actually think. Actually talking - and listening - to those people must inform the work of donors as they design their programs in the sector. Tagged in

digital divide, extractive industries, FPIC, gas and mining, Ghana, human rights, mining companies, Mozambique, oil revenue transparency, public perceptions of extractive industries, World Bank

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Miners helpless as Paxton fall kills mates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:39:00 +0000

Community in shock: Workmates of the victims show their sadness and respect at the entrance to the Austar mine. Photo: Jonathan Carroll

A catastrophic rock burst, known in the mining industry as a ''pressure bump'', is suspected of causing the massive explosion of tonnes of coal that crushed two miners to death at Paxton.

Respected coalminers and fathers Jamie Mitchell, 49, and Phillip Grant, 35, are believed to have been killed instantly when a 15-metre wall of coal erupted and fell onto them as they worked on preparing a new longwall at the Yancoal-owned Austar mine on Tuesday night.

The mine remained closed on Wednesday night as rescue teams worked to determine the safest way to the site of the accident, which is about 500 metres below the surface and 10 kilometres from the mine opening.

Jamie Mitchell. Photo: Facebook

The recovery operation could take several days and the mine could be shut for weeks.

Mr Mitchell, an Aberdare-bred man who was the son and father of miners, and Mr Grant, of Metford, were part of a crew of seven using a continuous miner to gorge out new areas of the site ready for longwall mining when tragedy struck. Two of their workmates watched helplessly as the massive wall of coal rained down on them.

The five uninjured miners called for help before frantically trying to make the area as safe as they could for any rescue operation.

Phillip Grant. Photo: Facebook

University of Newcastle's Professor Garry Willgoose said the work being carried out by Mr Mitchell and Mr Grant was the most risky at the mine.

He said this was partly because a section of up to 20 metres at the front of the new tunnel, above and directly behind where they were drilling, could not be immediately secured by rock bolts.

''The development stage, where they were are effectively drilling tunnels for the construction of a longwall, is the most dangerous. They don't know the exact details of all the geology as they are drilling.''

Professor Willgoose said pressure bumps, or rock bursts, were not ''uncommon'' in the ''types of geology'' the miners were working in, but they were difficult to predict. ''I am told by people who are familiar with that mine that this has happened before,'' he said.

Yancoal Australia chief executive Reinhold Schmidt said the company would work closely with regulators and emergency services.

''Our thoughts are with the families, colleagues and friends of the two employees as well as the wider community in the Hunter Valley at this very difficult time,'' Mr Schmidt said.

''We are unable to confirm the cause of the incident and it would be inappropriate to speculate.''

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union northern district president Peter Jordan said the survivors had met union officials on Wednesday as they dealt with the loss of two workmates.

''It is having a major effect on the mine workers, on the mining community and a wider effect on the community as a whole,'' Mr Jordan said.

He said the union was not aware of any safety concerns at the mine. ''There has been nothing that has been raised our concern in the immediate past,'' he said.

Minister for Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts extended his condolences to the families, colleagues and Hunter community rocked by the deaths.

Mr Roberts said the incident could lead to widespread reform in the state's mining industry.

Mr Grant was an avid swimmer who enjoyed watching his son Shaun swim laps at The Forum at the University of Newcastle. He had been a long-time member of The Forum's adult swim squad.

Squad coach Michale Pfeiffer said Mr Grant was ''an extremely dedicated father'' who had taken delight in Shaun's interest in swimming and BMX pursuits.

''He ... did everything for Shaun,'' Mr Pfeiffer said.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1eCHUP3

Padbury keeps Oakajee backer a mystery

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 08:48:00 +0000

Mining and Resources

Controversial junior Padbury Mining has subtly changed its rhetoric this morning, in yet another request for further time to clarify who its business partners are in a $6 billion plan to revive the Oakajee Port and Rail project in Western Australia.

Padbury this morning sought to extend its trading halt for the second time this week, meaning the identity of its mystery backer will not be resolved before the Easter long weekend, if ever.

Padbury has been in the halt since Friday afternoon, when the ASX and ASIC asked it to stop trading and supply more information about how, and from who, it would source the $6 billion.

Padbury has revealed very few details, saying only that the money was set to come from a "wealthy Australian".

But today's market statement contained slightly different commentary from Padbury which has previously just stated its ambition to name the backers and publish details of their agreement.

Padbury said today it was now seeking "information in respect of their capacity to meet their funding obligations under the agreement".

It is unclear whether those comments are a sign that Padbury is beginning to publically doubt the merits of its "backer".

Padbury boss Gary Stokes would unavailable for comment on Thursday morning.

There has been speculation that Padbury may have fallen victim to a group that has been fraudulently approaching other junior miners with promises of cash in WA.

Today's extension of the trading halt is expected to last until Wednesday April 23.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1tbXftS

Bitcoin Mining: Road to Riches for Some, Road to Ruin for Others

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 22:33:00 +0000

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Bitcoin mining, the road to riches for some, is becoming the road to ruin for others, as the costs of the equipment required to mine Bitcoin spirals out of control. Early adopters have made fortunes mining Bitcoin, but late arrivals are finding it difficult to do more than break even and those who are just now entering the Bitcoin mining industry might not even recoup their original investment.

There are now more than 220 digital currencies in circulation, most of them based on the Bitcoin model. They range in price from $27,505 for 42 Coin which, as the name implies, will only issue 42 coins, to a group of 40 to 50 currencies priced at one cent or less but, for most people, Bitcoin is synonymous with digital currency.

A Brief Primer on Bitcoin Mining At its simplest level, digital cryptocurrency mining is analogous to cracking a password, a process done every day by hackers all over the world. The simplest way to crack a password is to run through all the permutations of every possible password, one at a time, varying one character at a time until the right combination of letters and numbers unlocks the program. This process requires a great many calculations, rising to an order of magnitude of trillions of calculations per second.

In the digital currency world, Bitcoin miners are doing the same thing, throwing trillions of possible solutions for the same password code into the password field on a database file until the right one is found. Each time that someone solves the password, they receive a number of Bitcoins equal to the perceived difficulty of the solution, and additional "hashes" or decimal places are added to the "key code," making it that much harder for the next Bitcoin miner to solve the puzzle again.

The Development Curve from Geek Thing to Investment Vehicle After its secretive beginnings in 2009, Bitcoin grew slowly in popularity, staying under the mass media radar, known mostly to computer geeks and currency wonks who were able to get in on the ground floor. Early adopters could mine Bitcoins with nothing more than a personal computer and an internet connection. That changed gradually, as more and more people became aware of the potential for making vast sums of money by mining Bitcoins. As more people became Bitcoin miners, the more the complexity of the code increased, to the point where faster, more powerful computer systems forced the older, slower systems out of the business, creating a kind of Bitcoin arms race to see who could build the fastest Bitcoin mining machines.

The net result of these escalations has been to radically increase the entry level costs for would be Bitcoin miners from a few hundred dollars to as much as $20,000 for the latest state of the art equipment. The problem for the Bitcoin industry is that even with this heavy duty equipment, the average break even point is around 100 days. After 200 days, the machine that was state of the art six months ago is now obsolete because the Bitcoin software automatically increases the difficulty of the code to be broken by 10 percent every ten days. After 200 days, a typical system would be running at 25 percent of its original efficiency, too slow to win any Bitcoin, when competing with the even faster next generation of Bitcoin mining hardware.

This is analogous to the historic gold rushes of the 19th century, which began with individual prospectors panning for gold nuggets in streams around each strike in an ancient, labor-intensive process, but grew into heavy duty industrial operations that grind tons of rock to extract a few ounces of gold at a time in a capital-intensive environment.

The End Game for an Apocalyptic Currency Bitcoin has now reached the level of sophistication at which individual miners do not stand a chance against Bitcoin mining consortia, called "guilds" consisting of dozens to hundreds of Bitcoin miners who are pooling their computing power and dividing the proceeds when they are awarded Bitcoins.

According to the belief system about digital currencies, each digital currency has a set number of "coins" that will be generated. With Bitcoin, no more than 21 million coins will ever be issued. According to this theory, it should take 136 years to fully deploy the 20,999,999 coins the system is designed to produce under the current rules..if you believe the people at the Bitcoin Foundation, which controls the mining process. This creates a problem for anyone investing in Bitcoins because the Bitcoin Foundation is a self-perpetuating trade organization, whose dues paying members nominate and elect candidates to the Board of Directors, which has control over the Bitcoin code, including the power to issue more coins, reducing the value of existing coins.

Once the last coin has been issued, the Bitcoin mining process will shut down forever because there will be no more fresh Bitcoins to pay the miners with. Without the miners, there will be no one testing, evaluating and forcing updates to the encryption code. Without that service, there will be nothing to protect Bitcoin database - and the value of the currency - from hackers and other miscreants, including former Bitcoin miners from attacking the system, causing the value of the Bitcoins to plummet. Anyone still holding Bitcoins will be left holding the bag....but that will not happen until 2140, when the last Bitcoin is finally distributed.

Bitcoin enthusiasts believe Bitcoin will become the world's reserve currency, replacing the dollar as the international medium of exchange, making them Bitcoin millionaires. Bitcoin critics are convinced the end is coming a lot more quickly than 2140 due to a combination of bad publicity, increasing competition from other electronic currencies, increasing regulation by national governments, tax law change, and Mt. Gox-like collapses among Bitcoin players.

Bitcoin mining may have been a road to riches for some, but it may become the a road to ruin for others because, whenever the music finally stops, some people are going to get hurt.

By Alan M. Milner Look for me on Twitter@alanmilner

See also: Bitcoin Warning Signs for New Investors

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1j1YMuo

Mining industry 'needs to look at itself' after fatal accident

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 22:19:00 +0000

Mining industry 'needs to look at itself' after fatal accident

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 16/04/2014

Reporter: Sarah Ferguson

Two miners tragically lost their lives when a wall collapsed in a mine near Cessnock, NSW, and the region's CFMEU President for Mining and Energy says the industry needs to 'look at itself' to help prevent such accidents. Transcript

SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: Dramatic and sometimes fatal incidents have been a part of the mining industry forever. And last night, tragically, two men lost their lives in a mine near Cessnock in New South Wales. Phillip Grant and Jamie Mitchell were killed when they were working with a number of other miners when a wall collapsed. Authorities expect it will take several days to retrieve the bodies. It takes the total number of mining deaths in Australia this year to six. Peter Jordan is the local mining union president in Cessnock. I spoke to him earlier.

Peter Jordan, welcome to 7.30.

PETER JORDAN, CFMEU PRESIDENT FOR MINING AND ENERGY: Hi.

SARAH FERGUSON: I understand you've just been with the men who survived the accident underground. How are they?

PETER JORDAN: They're doing OK. We've had a long discussion with not only them, but that entire crew of mine workers this afternoon here at our union office and we've said to them that they'd be very much aware that the union's in full support and we will give whatever assistance and guidance they need during this difficult period of time, but we're also talking to those individuals who were directly involved and giving them very much the assistance they would need.

SARAH FERGUSON: Can you tell us what exactly happened underground?

PETER JORDAN: Look, we understand that there were four of our members working on a continuous miner, two of them on either side of that piece of equipment. Two of them unfortunately on one side where the rib of coal - we call that the rib - the wall, one wall of the mine just collapsed and it ended up out on top of those two miners on that side. Now, miraculously, the two on the other side of the continuous miner were able to walk away unscathed. But, unfortunately, a lot of coal buried not only those two miners, but the continuous miner itself.

SARAH FERGUSON: It's an awful picture that you draw. Were those - the two men who survived, did they say what happened to the others?

PETER JORDAN: Oh, yes, they would've observed it. Look, they're right there. They were operating the continuous miner and they're working as a team there, and, look, it just happened unexpectedly, so it's taken everyone by surprise. But, look, a lot of credit to those couple of miners in particular because they - their instinct just kicked in and, look, they just got in, they shored up the situation, they immediately put some props in to make sure that the roof was stable - and, as I understand, it was stable, but they didn't know that at the time - and then immediately set about trying to retrieve their workmates. But, look, upon looking at or investigating the situation, it became obvious quite quickly to those two mine workers that their two workmates were buried alive or maybe probably instantly killed.

SARAH FERGUSON: There've been a number of mine fatalities in the last couple of tears and this makes six already this year. Are our mines simply unsafe?

PETER JORDAN: Look, I'd like to think that we do have safe mines. But, look, the point you make about six fatalities is six too many. These incidents shouldn't happen. Mine workers should be able to go to work. It is a difficult, dangerous industry, but still, the industry should be able to let these mine workers go home to their families at the end of their shift. Obviously, that's not occurred over the last few years, and last night's incident, the one in 2011 and the six you refer to, would simply indicate that the industry has to have a good look at ourselves. I don't criticise any individual party. I say that, look, the proprietors, the employers, the mine workers, the union, the regulator, the governments, we need to have a damn good look at what's happening and we need to be sure, we have to answer the question: is the industry safe? Can we send these mine workers underground into the open cuts to do their normal day's work and go home safe? Obviously we can't say at the moment that yes, we can, so, there is a lot of work that we need to do.

SARAH FERGUSON: Peter Jordan, thank you very much for joining us.

PETER JORDAN: Thank you, Sarah. Images

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1l41erb

Agnico Eagle, Yamana Gold And Osisko Mining Strike $3.6 Billion 'Friendly ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 18:43:00 +0000

It's a merger, Canadian style: Three Canadian gold mining companies - Agnico Eagle Mines, Yamana Gold and Osisko Mining - are coming together in an apparent attempt to sidestep a takeover bid for Osisko by a fourth miner, Goldcorp . But where Goldcorp's efforts were hostile, Osisko's agreement with Agnico and Yamana is decidedly friendlier.

Agnico and Yamana reported Wednesday that they have entered into a joint, "friendly" agreement to acquire 100% of Osisko's shares for $7.42 ($8.15 in Canadian dollars) per share, giving the deal a $3.55 billion value ($3.9 billion in Canadian dollars). The deal comes less than a week after competitor miner Goldcorp amped up its efforts to take over Osisko; on April 10, Goldcorp updated its January offer for the company and said it would now pay $6.97 per share ($7.65 in Canadian dollars) in a deal worth $3.28 billion ($3.6 billion in Canadian dollars). The Agnico-Yamana offer represents an 11% premium to Goldcorp's offer.

Shortly before Agnico and Yamana announced their joint agreement, Goldcorp got even more hostile, saying that it intends to replace Osisko's board of directors with its own board of nominees at Osisko's annual meeting in May, essentially launching a proxy battle. Osisko nor its new owners commented on Goldcorp's actions.

Upon the closing of the deal, Agnico and Yamana will each own 50% of Osisko, and the companies said Wednesday that they will form a joint committee to operate Osisko's Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec. The Canadian Malartic mine, estimated to have a production capacity of 500,000 to 600,000 ounces of gold per year over a 16-year mine life, is the primary reason Osisko found itself the subject of a bidding war. The mine is seen as a stable one, and Osisko has in the past said it should be valued at $4.4 billion - and therefore, that Goldcorp's prior offers for the company are just far too low.

"The Osisko Board determined that the Goldcorp offer fails to adequately compensate Osisko shareholders for, among others things, the strategic value of Osisko's world-class asset base, the significant upside potential of Osisko's Canadian Malartic Mine," Osisko said in March.

The Agnico-Yamana, however, was much more attractive to Osisko. "I believe we have delivered shareholders the superior value option to the hostile attempt to acquire our company," Sean Roosen, Osisko president and CEO, said in a statement Wednesday.

Following the close of the transaction, Osisko shareholders will own approximately 16.7% of Agnico Eagle and approximately 14.4% of Yamana.

For its part, Agnico Eagle says that the Osisko acquisition strengthens its presence in Quebec without taking on a political risk. "Agnico Eagle has approximately 50 years of operating history in Québec, and over that time the company has continued to expand its mining presence in a measured and systematic way. This transaction further enhances our Québec operating platform through the addition of a fourth producing mine," Sean Boyd, Agnico president and CEO, said in a statement Wednesday. "With this acquisition, Agnico Eagle will become Québec's largest gold producer, which demonstrates our commitment to Québec and various stakeholders in the Province.

Peter Marrone, Yamana's chairman and CEO of Yamana, echoed Boyd's sentiments, calling the deal a low risk way for it to get into Quebec, and that the acquisition "complements our existing presence in the Americas."

The deal is expected to close by early June, pending regulatory approval as well as the approval of Osisko shareholders by a two-thirds vote that will occur at a meeting to be held in May; the approval of Agnico Eagle and Yamana shareholders is not required.

Following news of the deal, shares of Agnico dropped fast and are still down 7.7%. Yamana also fell on the news and is still down 3.7%; Osisko, meanwhile, popped 6.3% while shares of Goldcorp remained relatively unaffected, and are currently trading with an 0.7% bump. Year-to-date, Osisko is the clear winner of the bunch: it has posted a 51% return for 2014 trading thus far compared to a 10.5% return for Agnico, a 4.8% gain for Goldcorp and a 6.7% drop for Yamana. Four Ways To Invest In Gold

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1hVzkFS

Two miners killed in wall collapse at Austar coalmine in Hunter Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 06:34:00 +0000

Police attend the Austar coal mine. Photograph: ABC

Two coal miners have been killed in an underground mine collapse in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

They were working 500 metres below the surface and 10 kilometres along the Austar coal mine when a wall collapsed and trapped them about 9.15pm on Tuesday.

Other miners tried to save them but had to leave because of safety fears, police said.

A rescue mission was launched but both were pronounced dead three hours later. One was a 35-year-old from Metford and the other a 49-year-old from Cessnock.

"Two local men. A tragic incident for all people involved, the co-workers and families of the men," police superintendent Garry O'Dell said. "It is close-knit community and will be traumatic to many families."

O'Dell said safety issues and the location of the accident meant it was going to take "a number of days" before authorities would be able to bring out the bodies.

"It's going to be a lengthy recovery mission," he said. "There is a fair bit of equipment and coal in the area that needs to be removed to be able to get access to them."

All mining has been stopped at the site, about 10km south of Cessnock. Workers were informed of the incident on Wednesday morning. "It's a very sad place at the moment," O'Dell said.

A crime scene has been established and will be examined by forensic officers. Several inquiries are being set up, including by the state government's trade and investment department and by Mines Rescue Services.

"Our thoughts are with the families, colleagues and friends of the two employees in this tragic incident," Yancoal Australia's chief executive, Reinhold Schmidt, said.

"The safety and wellbeing of all Austar coal mine employees and contractors is of primary concern and we are currently providing on-the-ground support to the families of the two employees and our other employees and contractors."

The NSW resources minister, Anthony Roberts, said lessons had to be learnt from the accident.

"An investigation is underway, with police and inspectors from NSW trade and investment's mine safety investigation unit currently on site," he said.

"I would like to personally extend my condolences to the families, co-workers and employers of those involved in this tragic incident."

Local federal MP Joel Fitzgibbon expressed his condolences via social media. "Thoughts & prayers for the Austar miners, their families, loved ones and mates," he tweeted.

"A shocking tragedy. And to the local families who will send a loved one to a mine today and tonight. Mine safety must never be a traded commodity."

According to Austar's website, the mine produces a coking coal with a seam "typically 4.8 - 6.5 metres thick".

The mine is the first in Australia to use the longwall top-coal caving system, a mining technique it says is "ideal for thick seams".

"Austar coal mine's parent company is acknowledged as being one of the safest and most productive users of this technique in the world," its website said.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1l4YKV7

Two men die after wall collapses at Hunter Valley coal mine

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 02:39:00 +0000

Updated April 16, 2014 10:08:57

Two men have died at a coal mine collapse in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

Police say the men, aged 35 and 49, were trapped about 500 metres below the surface, and 10 kilometres along the mine, when a wall collapsed about 9:00pm (AEST).

The accident happened at the Yancoal-owned Austar coal mine at Paxton, south of Cessnock.

Superintendent Garry O'Dell says six other workers in the area tried to help the injured men.

"The other miners attempted to render assistance to those men and unfortunately were unable to do so ... they had to come out of the mine due to their own safety as well," he said.

He said the other six men were "able to come out of the mine fine".

It is understood they suffered no major injuries.

Superintendent O'Dell says it will take "some time" before the bodies of the two men, from the nearby towns of Metford and Cessnock, can be released from the mine.

"There is a fair bit of equipment and coal in the area that needs to be removed to be able to get access to them," he said.

"Ten kilometres along the mine is quite some distance and they need to make sure all is safe along the way, so that's why it is a difficult process both to get to the point, and get the men out."

The cause of the wall collapse is under investigation by the Department of Resources and Energy as well as police.

Mining operations have ceased for the day as management informs workers of the incident.

A crime scene has been established and police will prepare a report for the Coroner. Mine has a 'chequered past': CFMEU

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's (CFMEU) Northern District president for mining and energy, Peter Jordan, says the incident occurred while a crew were operating a continuous miner.

It's a difficult mine, has been for many years.

Peter Jordan from the CFMEU

"There was a massive rip failure where a burst of coal came out from the rip - the wall of the mine - and buried part of the continuous miner and in dong so, buried two of the mine workers," he said.

Mr Jordan says he understands the "mine's been operating in a safe manner" despite having a "chequered past".

"There's nothing to immediately cause a concern to say that the mine was unsafe ... it's a difficult mine, has been for many years," he said.

"Back in and around 2000, under previous ownership, [the mine] caught on fire and it was closed."

He says the mine remained shut for many years before reopening under a new owner.

"There's certainly been some faults here and there but my understanding is that that's been addressed and the mine has continued to work in a reasonably safe manner."

The CFMEU's district secretary, Grahame Kelly, added the mining industry is "highly regulated ... which we think is a good thing".

"There are people within staff whose pure role is to look after the safety of people underground."

But Mr Kelly says for now the union's focus is on the families and colleagues of the two men who died.

"The matter here, from our perspective, is that a couple of miners have been killed ... our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those two members and also their workmates," he said.

He says more than 1,800 mine workers have been killed in the Hunter Valley coal mines since mining started.

"The good thing is, that in the more recent past, we haven't been adding too many names to the wall."

Topics:accidents---other, accidents, disasters-and-accidents, paxton-2325, australia, nsw

First posted April 15, 2014 23:15:29

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1iVaY1d

NSW mining sends thoroughbred investor elsewhere

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 01:25:00 +0000

Updated April 16, 2014 09:18:47

A flight over the Hunter Valley's open cut coal mines has prompted a major foreign player in the thoroughbred industry to change his plans about establishing a multi-million dollar stud in New South Wales.

British thoroughbred breeder David Redvers is looking to establish a stud in the Southern Hemisphere for Qatari Sheik Fahad Al-Thani.

After flying over the region last week and witnessing the Hunter coalfields, Mr Redvers says he'll now be looking to establish a stud in Victoria or New Zealand instead.

He says he doesn't believe the close proximity of mining and agriculture is an example of co-existence.

"Firstly, I was surprised by just how green it was.

"That turned to shock and sadness at seeing just how huge the scale of destruction is there of what is prime country."

His concerns have been supported by some of the country's leading thoroughbred personalities.

Managing director of Darley Stud, Henry Plumptre, says any further development of the coal industry is going to be detrimental to thoroughbred industry in the Hunter.

"We've been saying this for four or five years, in that region of the Upper Hunter, which is basically from Singleton through to Murrurundi, Muswellbrook, Scone, Aberdeen, Denman and Jerrys Plains," said Mr Plumptre.

"If any more of those exploration licences are granted a mining licence, and go from green field to active mines, every new successful application is going to be nail in the thoroughbred industry's coffin."

"If a man like David Redvers, who speaks for one of the biggest investors in thoroughbred racing of the current era, says that he doesn't want to come to the Hunter Valley, you will not get future investment.

"And that's what our industry relies on; we're no different from anyone else."

In the Hunter Valley, coal mining and agriculture have managed to co-exist for more than 100 years.

However, the recent large expansion of the region's coal sector is making winemakers, horse breeders and other farmers uneasy.

Since 2001, there has been a tenfold increase in the amount of coal coming out of the Hunter Valley.

That figure is rising by an average of 10 per cent each year.

Topics:coal, horse-racing, mining-rural, mining-industry, muswellbrook-2333

First posted April 16, 2014 08:33:59

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1eNx9UG

Two miners dead, two injured after wall collapses at Austar Coal Mine near Paxton

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:34:00 +0000

Rescue operation: Police at the scene. Photo: Jonathan Carroll

Two men have been killed and two injured after a Hunter Valley coal mine collapsed.

Emergency services were called to a deep underground longwall coal mine, located on Middle Road at Paxton at 9.15pm on Tuesday, following reports of a wall collapse at the site.

Officers have been told eight miners were working about 500 metres below the surface when the wall collapsed, two of whom became trapped.

Engineers and NSW Ambulance Paramedics attended the mine, which is about 10km south of Cessnock, to assist the two men; a 35-year-old man from Metford and a 49-year-old man from Cessnock.

Both men were pronounced dead about 12.15am on Wednesday.

A crime scene has been established, which will be examined by specialist forensic officers.All mining production has ceased at the sight pending further investigations.

Police are preparing a report for the Coroner on the death of the two men during the mine collapse and are also continuing their inquiries into the incident.

Earlier a major rescue operation was launched following reports two miners were unaccounted for after the collapse.

At 9.30pm six ambulances were on scene and an air ambulance was on standby.

Police Rescue, Fire and Rescue NSW, the Vehicle Rescue Association and the Mining Rescue Squad were also in attendance.

"A Westpac Rescue Helicopter has arrived and paramedics are preparing to go underground," an Ambulance media spokeswoman said.

"I can only say two people are injured at this stage."

The mine has previously made headlines over an emergency.

Fairfax reported in October 2004 that an underground fire crippled the ageing mine, forcing owner Gympie Gold into receivership.

The underground mine was subsequently sold to Yancoal, who re-opened the mothballed site in 2006.

According to the Austar Coal website, the underground mine produces premium semi-hard coking coal from a seam ''typically 4.8 to 6.5 metres thick''.

The re-opened site has used a mining technique known as longwall top-coal caving, which Austar describes as the first system of its type in Australia.

"Austar Coal Mine's parent company is acknowledged as being one of the safest and most productive users of this technique in the world,'' the company said.

Yancoal says the mine employs 409 staff including contractors work at the mine formerly known as Southland.

In June last year, Austar extended its operations east under an approval to re-orient its longwall panels. More from The Newcastle Herald

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1eGe5NI

Readers in mining towns angry at 100% FIFO workforce

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 22:33:00 +0000

The 100% fly-in, fly-out workforce was criticised by the LNP while it was in Opposition, but its policy has changed since taking power. Contributed

THE battle to protect local workers from being excluded from jobs in their area has hit a nerve across the state.

Frustrated at multinational mining company BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance recruiting only from Cairns or Brisbane, readers are becoming increasingly vocal.

BMA hired 1000 workers for its Daunia and Caval Ridge coal mines, locking out the Moranbah and Central Queensland communities who live within driving distance.

> SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST 100% FIFO HERE <

BMA won approval for the recruiting from the Queensland government at a time when the company struggled to fill vacancies.

A BMA spokesman said the 100% FIFO workforce spread the benefits of the mining industry across the state, allowing for a more diverse workforce.

Of its seven operating mines in Central Queensland - Caval Ridge is yet to open - six used local workers.

The 100% fly-in, fly-out workforce was criticised by the LNP while it was in Opposition, but its policy has changed since taking power.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney has put these decisions in the hands of Coordinator-General Barry Broe.

Mr Seeney said despite the 100% FIFO deal for Daunia and Caval Ridge: "There are many mining projects across the state offering employment to Queenslanders under a range of different circumstances".

Readers from Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Moranbah are telling the government they want action to stop 100% FIFO deals in their area.

A petition launched by Moranbah businessman Peter Finlay against 100% FIFO is now among the five most popular on the Queensland Parliament website.

Mackay reader Kate Battistuzzi said: "The government should be doing something about this; Mackay is emptying fast as NO jobs for those who moved here for work".

Greg McCormack from Rockhampton said: "I can't apply for the jobs that fly-in, fly-out from Cairns or Brisbane unless I relocate my family. It's wrong".

What do you think of 100% FIFO? Email owen.jacques@apn.com.au Are you opposed to 100% FIFO?

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1iW2upy

Sibanye stalks platinum assets as gold dwindles

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 20:07:00 +0000

Sibanye stalks platinum assets as gold dwindles

SIBANYE Gold is looking for platinum opportunities because of the limited scope of growing its South African portfolio of gold mines with decent assets, says CEO Neal Froneman.

If the platinum venture was successful, the miner could look to other minerals to generate cash and grow its dividend yield.

But Mr Froneman cautioned in an interview that while there was speculation in the market that Sibanye was looking at Anglo American Platinum's (Amplats') Rustenburg mines, that was not necessarily the case. Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani has indicated that these mines have been earmarked for possible disposal.

Mr Froneman said Sibanye had recently visited a number of platinum companies. "We must be clear - we are not in specific discussions with anybody.

"We have, for probably six months now, been looking intensely at different platinum companies and assets. We have gone through the front doors of these companies and said we want to build a South African precious metal champion."

Mr Froneman declined to name any of the miners, but said: "I'd be very disappointed if by the end of this year we haven't done a material platinum transaction."

An analyst, who declined to be named, said he doubted Amplats would sell its Rustenburg mines.

Mr Cutifani said last week that the labour-intensive, deep-level and technically challenging nature of the Rustenburg mines was forcing a review of the assets. "We should be focusing on the more mechanised operations, which is what I think we do much better, and allow someone who has a better skill set in those types of mines to run those kinds of assets ."

The platinum sector is a tough business, with a wage strike at mines around Rustenburg well into its 12th week, costing producers R13bn in lost revenue and workers about R6bn in wages.

More than half of South Africa's platinum mines are marginal or loss-making because of stagnant metal prices and soaring input costs, particularly labour and power.

Commenting on why the troubled platinum sector appealed to Sibanye, Mr Froneman said that in the past year the company had been able to extract value from its gold mines that had struggled as part of the Gold Fields portfolio.

Sibanye would be able to call on its experience gained in turning around gold mines that had similar geology to the platinum ones he was hoping to acquire.

Asked what Sibanye, which has taken a hard line on labour disruptions at its own mines, would do differently to prevailing platinum mining companies, Mr Froneman said: "We have created a South African champion in Sibanye. It has a lot of political support (and) because of that we have been able to engage with the unions in a more robust way and do the right things."

Sibanye, with its strategy of returning cash to shareholders, would not buy developmental assets that require large amounts of money to bring into production. "Until we get a substantial foothold in platinum it will be very difficult to invest in development companies because it won't underpin our dividend yield," Mr Froneman said.

Sibanye has had an 84% growth in its share price since it listed last February after Gold Fields unbundled three gold mines into a new company.

Gold Fields, on the other hand, has shed 52% in that time.

Sibanye is promising investors strong cash flows and healthy dividend payments. It has a number of other gold projects it will bring into production over the next five years.

Mr Froneman said Sibanye's focus remained on gold mining. But the other local gold miners were unlikely to dispose of core assets and for Sibanye's dividend yield growth it had to look at other commodities.

Platinum is a tabular, hard rock deposit, much like the gold deposits Sibanye is mining at its three mines.

Mr Froneman said Sibanye wanted to assess its ability to mine a mineral apart from gold and its success in platinum would determine if it would look at other minerals.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1iQHssl

Gleision trial: Former manager had "sixth sense" to stop mining in area men died

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:18:00 +0000

A FORMER mine manager has detailed an incident where part of the Gleision mine flooded after charges in the coal face were exploded.

Four colliers died in the Gleision mine in September 2011 after 650,000 gallons of water was released from behind a coal face they had detonated explosives in.

Brian Amber, who was the manager between 2010 and early 2011, said he had been working in the mine with David Powell and Charles Breslin.

They had set charges in the coal face while working at the bottom of the main drift - a 275m route leading from the hillside down into the mine.

Mr Amber told the jury when the charges exploded, the coal was dispersed but a crack also appeared in the roof allowing water to rush in.

He said the clay joint - an area where rock had not solidified - was only between half and an inch wide but water quickly filled the area to the top of the 6ft roof.

Mr Amber said he, along with Mr Powell, waded in to the area "up to their necks" to try and recover a pump.

They managed to recover that pump and reinstall it, further away from the coal face and that pumped the area dry within two days.

Mr Amber also described time he spent working in the stall where the four miners later died.

He said he worked that area "to its limit".

Gregg Taylor QC, for the prosecution, asked: "Why did you stop?"

Mr Amber replied: "It was coming to the end. I wasn't totally happy about it anyway...the old workings around there were flooded. We were working towards the old workings and I wasn't quite happy with the plan."

Mr Taylor asked: "Why weren't you happy?"

"The plan was old. But I couldn't inspect the old workings because they were flooded so I was a bit dubious. There was supposed to be 90 metres from me to the old workings but I just had a sixth sense."

The prosecution say the manager at the time of the disaster, Malcolm Fyfield, ordered the wall be blown through without checking whether there was any water behind it. They also allege the men were not the correct distance away from the coal face when the charges were detonated.

Fyfield, aged 58, from Caerhenllys, denies manslaughter of the four men by gross negligence.

The company which took over the mine in September 2009, MNS Mining Ltd, also deny manslaughter.

The trial continues.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1iTt4AX

Husband and wife steal $24000 of gold from mining company

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:57:00 +0000

Published: 6:30PM Tuesday April 15, 2014 Source: ONE News

A husband and wife have been sentenced for stealing more than half a kilo of gold, worth $24,000, from a mining company they worked for.

Between September - November 2012 Jarad Tickle, who was employed at Glass Earth Mining as a machine operator, and his wife Chloe, stole alluvial gold and sold it on to other companies.

They were sentenced to six and four month's home detention respectively in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.

A 24 year old West Coast woman was convicted in the Greymouth District Court in May 2013 for receiving alluvial gold from the pair.

While Police believe that the theft of gold from mines was not a common occurrence, Detective Alan Lee of Central Otago Police says mining companies need to remain vigilant.

A 23-year-old old man was also prosecuted last year for stealing a few grams of gold from his employer.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1iRNQkg

Severe drop in mining construction predicted

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 19:38:00 +0000

Posted April 14, 2014 16:29:50

An economic forecaster says mining construction will drop 42 per cent over the next five years.

According to the report, delivered by BIS Shrapnel, Queensland and Western Australia will be the hardest hit by the fall in construction.

The company's Adrian Hart says a lack of investment in the resources industry is driving the negative trend.

"Without a pipeline of major mining projects, that level of work is going to drop right off," he said.

"We've got an Australian dollar that's above 90 US cents, which is very high by historical standards.

"We've got relatively higher costs compared to the rest of the world, because of that we're probably losing out a little bit in terms of new mining projects."

Topics:mining-rural, mining-industry, building-and-construction, economic-trends, mount-isa-4825

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1gtURpJ

Shelby County coal mining plan that will close part of Road 270 gets initial ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 17:12:00 +0000

SHELBY COUNTY, Alabama -- Shelby County government is receiving $500,000 plus assurances of bonds associated with an Alabaster mining company's plans to extract coal from beneath a section of County Road 270 in the Pea Ridge area.

Jesse Creek Mining LLC plans to shut down a section of County Road 270 between County Road 10 and Piney Woods Creek for possibly up to five years in order to extract coal in the area. Travelers will be able to use County Road 260 that runs parallel to Road 270 as a detour.

Commissioner Jon Parker, who represents the district where the mining will occur, said the affected section of County Road 270 is in the Pea Ridge area off County Road 10. The closure will not affect County Road 270 through the Brantleyville area, he said.

Under a resolution approved by the Shelby County Commission this morning, Jesse Creek will pay the county $500,000 "for its expenses, management, and other costs, for the public inconvenience and loss of use by the public during the mining and reclamation operations."

Additionally, Jesse Creek Mining will post bonds to ensure "redesign, reconstruction and restoration" of the affected portion of County Road 270, according to the resolution.

"I think there was some concern about sufficient security should the company walk away from the project. I think I've gotten assurance from everybody there are multiple layers of security," Commission Chairwoman Lindsey Allison said at this morning's meeting in Columbiana.

Shelby County Attorney Butch Ellis said the company will post bonds that will ensure the road will return to its original state. "Some of those companies have a track record that's not enviable about doing what they're going to do," he said, not referring to Jesse Creek Mining.

Jesse Creek Mining will "redesign, reconstruct, and restore the public road with improved alignment, width, and drainage to the satisfaction of the County Engineer," according to the resolution.

The resolution authorizes county officials to negotiate an agreement on behalf of the commission concerning the proposal.

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1m2UWYC

Padbury Mining delays announcing who will fund Oakajee port and rail plan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 14:49:00 +0000

Posted April 14, 2014 20:25:15

Junior explorer Padbury Mining has delayed a planned announcement to the stock market on who will fund a more than $6 billion plan to build the Oakajee port and rail project.

On Friday, the company announced that unnamed local private equity investors would fund the deal.

Hours later it was forced into a trading halt because it would not name the investors.

The company had promised to reveal all tomorrow but now it says it will make an announcement by Thursday.

Last week, the company's managing director, Gary Stokes, said the company had started working on the agreement 18 months ago but that the financiers wanted to remain anonymous.

"We have a binding agreement with them executed obviously before we went into the trading halt, but we're keeping it under wraps at this stage," he said.

"The relevance here is that we have a shareholders' agreement for $6.47 billion to enable us to build a port and rail at Oakajee, which has been long wanted in the local region."

Topics:mining-industry, stockmarket, company-news, oakajee-6532, perth-6000

Original Post By: http://ift.tt/1gv30xz