Caterpillar Plans to Sell Underground-Mining Equipment Lines

Caterpillar Plans to Sell Underground-Mining Equipment Lines

kacimo samy   9:03 م

Caterpillar Plans to Sell Underground-Mining Equipment Lines

Caterpillar Inc. is retreating from the slumping coal industry, saying it plans to put its equipment lines for underground mines up for sale and lay off workers.

The Peoria, Ill., company said Thursday it will cut the workforce at its Houston, Pa., plant by about 155 jobs and will consider closing the plant if a buyer can’t be found. The plant produces a variety of coal-harvesting equipment and hauling vehicles and gear used in underground mines.

About 40 jobs also will be cut from a mining-equipment plant in Denison, Texas, where drills are made for underground mines. Caterpillar said it will stop taking orders for the for coal-mining equipment made at the Houston and Denison plants but will continue to support equipment already in use.

Demand for coal in the U.S. has fallen sharply in recent years as stricter environmental standards and low prices for natural gas make coal less attractive to burn in domestic power-generating plants. Caterpillar acquired the underground equipment lines as part of its $8 billion-plus purchase in 2011 of mining equipment company Bucyrus International.

“Caterpillar remains committed to an extensive mining-product portfolio,” said Denise Johnson, president of the mining-equipment business. “We firmly believe mining is an attractive long-term industry. At the same time, we continue to manage through the longest down-cycle in our history.”

Caterpillar is expected to log its fourth-straight year of lower sales in 2016. The mining-equipment business has been among the company’s weakest units recently amid slumping prices for mined commodities and reduced investments in mine expansions and new equipment. Caterpillar’s mining unit lost $163 million in the second quarter as sales dropped 29% during the quarter from a year earlier.

Caterpillar also announced it will revamp its plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. The plant has been producing powertrain components for giant trucks used in surface mines. But slumping demand for the trucks has left the Winston-Salem plant, as well as a plant in Decatur, Ill., where the trucks are assembled, severely underused in recent years.

The company said it will move the component assembly work to Decatur and repurpose the Winston-Salem plant for warehousing, machining or fabrication operations for its railroad-equipment business, Progress Rail. The Winston-Salem plant was opened in 2011 as part of a push by Caterpillar to expand production capacity, particularly for big mining trucks. But demand for the trucks began dropping shortly after the plant opened.

Credits: The Wall Street Journal

Newmont Mining Selling Indonasian Mine for $1.3 Billion

Newmont Mining Selling Indonasian Mine for $1.3 Billion

kacimo samy   8:22 م

An aerial view of Bitu Hijau Open pit Copper and Gold mine.

U.S. gold producer Newmont Mining Corp. said Thursday that it would sell its 48.5% economic interest in the operator of the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in Indonesia to local company PT Amman Mineral Internasional for $1.3 billion.

The announcement came as Indonesian-listed oil and gas company PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk said it had acquired a controlling stake in PT Amman for $2.6 billion.

A group of Indonesian investors led by Medco had earlier expressed interest in purchasing as much as 76% of the mine operator, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara. Medco said Thursday that it would join forces with an investment firm led by banker Agus Projosasmito and receive funding for the purchase from Indonesia’s three largest state-owned banks.

Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., Newmont’s partner in Newmont Nusa Tenggara, has also agreed to sell its ownership stake to PT Amman.

Newmont said the sale of its stake at “fair value aligned with its strategic priorities to lower debt, fund highest margin projects and create value for shareholders.”

“Our goal is to build a portfolio of long-life, low-cost assets with the technical, social and political risks we are well-equipped to manage,” Newmont Chief Executive Gary Goldberg said in a conference call to discuss the transaction, noting that earlier divestments have lowered risk.

The sale will involve a closing payment of $920 million and contingent payments of up to $403 million, Newmont said. Globally, Newmont has gained $1.9 billion from sales of noncore assets since 2013.

The latest deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, comes as miners world-wide are re-evaluating their assets, having been hit by a slump in commodities prices. In early June, mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. agreed to sell its 75% interest in Indonesia’s IndoMet Coal to local producer PT Alam Tri Abadi, in a move to pursue other growth options that BHP said were more attractive for future investment.

Colorado-based Newmont and Sumitomo operate the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine on the island of Sumbawa in Western Indonesia.

The mine—one of Indonesia’s largest copper deposits—has been a largely profitable venture for Newmont since it started commercial operations there in 2000.

Keeping production up, however, will require a hefty investment in the next phase of development at a time when Newmont has been hit by increasingly burdensome regulation and uncertainty about the future of its operating contract.

Jorge Beristain, a metals and mining analyst at Deutsche Bank, estimated that around $1.6 billion is needed for the next stage of expansion.

The company said its debt burden would “improve significantly” without Batu Hijau.

Some analysts had earlier said Newmont’s efforts to sell off its stake also suggests concerns about the long-term outlook for the Indonesian mining industry.

Vast deposits of copper, nickel and coal have lured foreign miners to Indonesia for decades and mining has contributed greatly to economic growth in the country. But growing nationalism and the desire among some officials to grab back control of the country’s natural resources has raised risks.

Rules issued in recent years have pushed foreign miners to divest majority stakes, pay higher taxes and royalties and invest in processing unrefined ores. By law, miners are also required to eventually shift from long-term contracts of work to a licensing system. Analysts and miners say the rules make little sense at a time when miners globally are re-evaluating their investments and Indonesia is trying to draw in more foreign capital.

After the rule banning the export of unrefined ores took effect, Newmont ceased exports and later declared force majeure on existing contracts. To receive an export permit—a biannual process—the U.S. Company has had to show it is making progress on refining or stop its shipments. Delays in shipments in 2015 caused Newmont’s fourth-quarter revenue to fall 10% from a year earlier.

Credits: The Wall Street Journal

The biggest issues facing Africa largest mining gathering – Indaba 2016

The biggest issues facing Africa largest mining gathering – Indaba 2016

kacimo samy   8:50 م

The biggest issues facing Africa& largest mining gathering – Indaba 2016

On Monday more than 7,000 delegates from 100 countries and territories across six continents will descend on Cape Town for the biggest mining gathering on the planet in one of arguably the toughest years in the history of African mining.

The continent is facing economic uncertainty, doubts over mining legislation and regulation, power cuts and looming strikes. Even the optimists, that is the government of South Africa, admit there could be as many as 32,000 jobs under threat in the country’s mines.

This would be a severe blow to an industry, that despite several setbacks in the last five years, is still top dog in Africa employing 400,000 people. Pay talks are expected in the platinum industry later this year, with the dominant union AMCU, that could lead to a strike costing billions and thousands of jobs. The union led a five-month strike in platinum two years ago.

AMCU will make its debut at this year’s indaba and is likely to arrive with characteristic uncompromising views on mining that could unsettle one or two foreign investors. 

“We feel it is not ok for corporations to come into our country make decisions about what is happening in our country and then leave,” says Manzini Zungu, the spokesman for AMCU.  

One of the highlights of this year’s gathering is that South Africa’s new mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane will open proceedings and give the mining world a hint of how his government plans to stem the flow of capital out.

For years a pall of gloom has formed over the Mining Indaba in Cape Town with analysts and industry insiders tutting about how pessimistic foreign investors are and how there are more supply companies and fewer mining companies every year.

“The problem is South Africa is sending out messages that it is closed for business,” one delegate and former mine boss said to me in Cape Town last year.

Infrastructure is also a worry. From  Zambia to Mpumalanga mines are suffering power cuts and a lack of roads, water and rails.

On the other side of the coin, infrastructure, along with the support for new mining projects, is the focus of the Mining Indaba with the aim of prising billions out of foreign investors.

The organizers are upbeat even if the mining industry is not. They claim billions of dollars in investment have been channelled in to African mining, through the indaba, creating 5,000 jobs since 2007.It claims 2,300 international companies will have delegates at this year’s gathering.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, clearly caught up in the sustained enthusiasm of the organizers, will be there in force in the hope of recruiting new listings. Of the 391 companies listed on the JSE, 68 are from metals mining and resources. The fact that the JSE wants more, at the very least, is a vote of confidence for a very battered industry that has seen billions in value of resources companies wiped off the board in the last few years.

When the talking starts in Cape Town there are likely to be more than a few sparks. One of the first speakers on Monday will be the former Nigerian Reserve Bank governor Lamido Sanusi, the man whose unflinching stance against corruption and his own government in 2011 earned him Forbes Africa Person of the Year award. The Emir of Kano, who rarely minces his words, will speak as chairman of Black Rhino Group , an energy infrastructure company with investments across Africa.

Other vociferous mining bigwigs expected as speakers will be Ben Magara, the CEO of Lonmin, Mark Cutifani, the CEO of Anglo American, Tom Albanese, the head of Vendanta Group, Robert Friedland, the founder of Ivanhoe Resources and Mark Bristow, the CEO of Randgold Resources.

There will be plenty of talk at the Mining Indaba, in Cape Town’s vast International Trade Centre, but talk can be cheap. If mining is to remain a major industry on this continent serious investment and hard work is needed this year.

More than 20 years ago the Mining Indaba was launched in one room at a Cape Town hotel. The industry must be careful not to allow the industry to shrink back into one hotel room in 20 years’ time.

Credits: Chris Bishop, CNBCAfrica

New technique to discover copper deposits

New technique to discover copper deposits

kacimo samy   7:46 ص

Magmatic rock which formed large porphyry deposit in Chile.

A geologist at the University of Exeter has developed a new and relatively inexpensive way to establish whether certain types of magmatic rocks are more likely to contain valuable metal deposits.

In a study published in Nature Geoscience, Dr Ben Williamson, of the University’s Camborne School of Mines, together with Dr Richard Herrington from the Natural History Museum, London, have proposed a new method to explore for porphyry-type copper deposits. These deposits provide around 75 per cent of the world’s copper and a significant amount of molybdenum and gold which makes them extremely important to the world economy. The deposits, which originally form at several kilometres depth below the Earth’s surface, above large magma chambers, are relatively rare, particularly the largest deposits which are most economic to mine. In addition, most near-surface deposits have already been discovered. Any new method to locate deeper deposits is therefore of great interest to the mining industry.

The project, funded by Anglo American, a major global mining company, compared the chemical compositions of minerals from magmatic rocks that host porphyry deposits against those which are barren. A case study was then undertaken of a major new porphyry discovery in Chile, to test their theory. Minerals from magmatic rocks which host porphyry deposits have distinctive chemical characteristics which can be used as one of a suite of indicators to home-in on porphyry deposits. Unravelling the causes of the distinctive chemical signatures has also brought new insights into the formation of porphyry copper deposits, and more generally the generation of the magmatic rocks from which they form, which are an important component of the Earth’s crust. The main finding in this regard is that the magma chamber below the porphyry undergoes discrete injections of water-rich melts or watery fluids which enhance the magma’s ability to transfer copper and other metals upwards to form a porphyry copper deposit.

Dr Ben Williamson, of the University of Exeter’s Camborne School of Mines, said: “This new method will add to the range of tools available to exploration companies to discover new porphyry copper deposits. Our findings also provide important insights into why some magmas are more likely to produce porphyry copper deposits than others, and add to our understanding of how their parent magmatic rocks evolve.”

Source: University of Exeter

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd begins workforce reduction process

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd begins workforce reduction process

kacimo samy   8:58 م

Sishen Iron ore Mine

Kumba Iron Ore, South Africa’s largest producer of the crucial steel ingredient, is slashing the workforce at its flagship Sishen mine by nearly half to cope with weak iron ore prices.

The Sishen mine, the largest source of iron ore in South Africa for decades, has undergone a major change because of the enormous amount of waste that had to be moved to expose ore.

The change has not been quick enough and majority shareholder Anglo American told investors last month a decision had been taken to shift focus away from volumes and instead focus on cutting costs, reducing capital expenditure and boosting cash generation.

The production forecast was lowered to 26-million tonnes a year at a unit cash cost delivered on board ships in Saldanha port of less than $30 a tonne this year, giving a break-even price of landing ore in China at below $40 a tonne.

As part of this new plan, the workforce would have to be cut, Kumba said yesterday. Of the 5,840 employees at Sishen, Kumba aims to reduce the number by cutting 2,633 direct employees and 1,300 contractor jobs.

Kumba issued the unions a section 189 notice on Thursday, starting a 60-day process to reduce the workforce.

“This has been an extremely difficult decision but, after exhausting all other avenues and doing all we could have done to reduce costs, we have no choice but to take more significant steps to preserve the viability of the mine,” CEO Norman Mbazima said.

Sishen is the largest single source of jobs in Kumba, which employs 7,434 people after it stopped mining the Thabazimbi mine last year, removing 1,160 jobs. In July last year, Kumba told the unions it wanted to cut 175 jobs at its Northern Cape mines — Sishen and Kolomela.

“It cannot be correct that as and when the mining industry is under distress the first casualties are ordinary employees,” said Lucas Phiri, National Union of Mineworkers chief negotiator at Kumba.

The dramatic fall in the iron-ore price, which Bloomberg pegged at less than a quarter of its peak in 2011 — hovering at the $41 a tonne mark — has put pressure on the iron ore producer’s balance sheet.

Kumba on Thursday reported a 12% drop in its fourth-quarter output to 10.04-million tonnes, dragged down by poor performance at Sishen. For the year, its output was down 7% at 44.88-million tonnes.

The Sishen mine was moving to a lower-cost pit layout and there was not enough exposed ore as the transition was being made.

Sishen’s output in the fourth quarter fell 17% to 7.7-million tonnes.

Kumba’s exports sales fell 10% to 10.5-million tonnes in the quarter and the company had a 4.7-million tonne stockpile, down from 6.5-million tonnes at the end of 2014.

Source: bdlive

Canadian Mining Journal January 2016

Canadian Mining Journal January 2016

kacimo samy   8:02 م

Canadian Mining Journal is the leading exploration and mining journal in Canada. Covers mineral exploration trends, Corporate Trends,  metal prices and new geological models, underground mine developments and operating performances, unique challenges of open pit operations and more. It is Canada's First Mining Publication.

Ethiopia Government engages private sector to scale up Mining Activity

Ethiopia Government engages private sector to scale up Mining Activity

kacimo samy   9:33 م

The Ethiopian government, along with private sector partners, is taking steps to tap the country's vast underground resources.

“Ethiopia has considerable reserves of gold, potash, zinc, gemstones and tantalum,” geological survey consultant Yalew stated. “But they remain unstudied, unexplored and undeveloped.”

Ethiopian Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas Tolossa Shagi stated that the government is stepping up efforts to support the mining industry.

“There is hope that Ethiopia will become a country in the short term whose extraction industry will contribute significantly to GDP,” the minister said in an interview.

The minister pointed out that revenue from mining had not met its goal, as defined by the government’s economic plan for 2014. Ethiopia had planned to secure mining revenue of $646 million during 2014/15 but only earned about half of that, $363 million, according to government statistics.

“Within a period of two years, Ethiopia will start natural gas production from its Kalub and Lala areas in the Somali regional state where 7.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is being developed for domestic use and for export via Djibouti,” the minister said. The government is financing the project, in a public-private partnership with the Chinese mining firm GCL; GCL will also build the pipeline to Djibouti.

“Indications of much larger deposits of natural gas have been found along the Great Rift Valley stretching as far south as Uganda, and exploration is underway in this area,” Shagi said.

Russian company GBP Global Resources, which was granted the concession in 2014, is currently exploring natural gas and oil reserves along the Ethiopian Rift valley area. Revenue will be shared between the company and the government if reserves are found.

“Currently eight exploration companies including from China and Russia are engaging in exploration and development of natural gas throughout the country,” he said.

The Midroc Group, a company owned by the Saudi businessman Al-Amoudi, is developing gold in Southern Ethiopia. The miner Alana Potash, acquired by Israel Chemicals in March 2015, is working on the massive deposits of potash in northeastern Ethiopia, Bekele said.

Ethiopia is developing its gem stone industry. According to the minister, small-scale traditional miners and middle men are earning about $25 million annually from gem stones that are to be found in abundance in many areas in the country.

“This can be increased tenfold if we transfer gem stone extraction to the mainstream mining sector,” Shagi said. “That is why we have recently put in place a Gemology Institute.”

According to Bekele, only 350,000 square kilometers (135,135 square miles) in total have been studied using seismic techniques for reserves. Ethiopia covers a total of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi).

“Exploration should be intensified covering an expanded study area,” Bekele said; satellite images and surveys on the ground show Ethiopia holding immense resources under the surface.

Source: AA

China Suspends New Coal Mining Sites Until 2019 to curb Pollution

China Suspends New Coal Mining Sites Until 2019 to curb Pollution

kacimo samy   11:40 م

China, world’s largest coal producer will not approve any new coal mines for the next three years, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, which on Tuesday quoted Nur Bekri, the head of the National Energy Administration, in a report.

The new policy underscores the government's effort to clean up air quality, a point of contention that has greatly fueled public grievances in recent years.

The government has also readjusted its targeted energy mix for 2016. Under the new blueprint, non-fossil fuels will make up 13.2% of the country's energy, an increase from 12% this year. The ratio of natural gas will also increase to 6.2% from 6% while coal usage will be reduced to 62.6% from around 64.4% this year.

Oversupply and lower demand have already dragged coal prices down to multiyear lows.

China's benchmark power coal price increased 1 yuan per tonne to average at 372 yuan per tonne from December 16-22, according to the Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index.

"The government's renewed push to phase out coal use will only keep coal prices further depressed," said Gao Jian, an analyst at SCI International, a Shandong-based energy firm.

While coal-fired power in China has gradually abated in recent years in tandem with the country's slowing manufacturing sector, coal is still largely responsible for China's power generation, and China comprises nearly half of the world's coal consumption. As a result, many parts of the country, including Beijing and Shanghai, continue to grapple with toxic smog that shrouds cities, sometimes for days at a time.

Earlier this month, the capital city of Beijing issued its highest-level pollution alert for the first time when the air-quality index topped 300. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said an index reading above 300 is "extremely rare" in the U.S. and generally occurs only during events such as forest fires.

"Due to environment concerns, the government has been quite aggressive in introducing renewable energy into the market, but it might take a long time before we see a real shift because prices will remain as the main factor determining people's habit," said Li Li, director of research at Guangzhou-based ICIS.

For the next five years, the Chinese government also aims to add over 20 million kilowatts of installed wind power and more than 15 million kilowatts of installed photovoltaic power, the National Energy Administration said in a statement online.

Source: Nasdaq

JSPL to resume mining at Australian coal mines

JSPL to resume mining at Australian coal mines

kacimo samy   9:32 م

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) will resume mining coal from two of its stalled projects in Australia as it expects to get regulatory clearances from Canberra soon, its chief executive said.

JSPL holds majority stakes in Wollongong Coal Ltd (WLC) which used to operate Russell Vale Colliery and Wongawilli Colliery in the Southern Coalfields Region of New South Wales.

WCL had to suspend operations at its Russell Vale Colliery in September because of regulatory issues. Wongawilli Colliery was shut for maintenance in August but it now needs government approvals to restart mining.

"Once we get these necessary clearances, we aim to start mining at Wongawilli by end-March and at Russell Vale by June," Ravi Uppal told in an interview.

The mining and environmental clearances are likely to come soon, Uppal said.

JSPL bought majority stakes in WCL in 2013 to mine coal, mostly for its operations in India.

Russell Vale Colliery and Wongawilli Colliery have a combined reserve of 500 million tonnes and WCL initially expects to mine a million and a half tonnes from each one of them per year, Uppal said.

Separately, Uppal said India's steel demand is expected to grow at 8-10 percent a year from the next fiscal year beginning in April due to industrial expansion and spending on infrastructure.

Steel demand in India is currently growing at 4 percent a year, according to government and industry estimates.

New Delhi would have to curb cheaper steel imports to boost local demand, he said.

India this month slapped import duties for five years on some stainless steel imports from China, the European Union and the United States to protect local industry.

Source: Reuters

The top 10 issues facing mining companies in 2016: Deloitte

The top 10 issues facing mining companies in 2016: Deloitte

kacimo samy   11:49 م

Weak commodity prices, declining grades and a fall-off in demand from China will continue global mining sectors’ downward cycle well into 2016.

However, regulatory mandates, tax burdens and stakeholder expectations remain as high as ever. This is according to the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s (Deloitte Global) Tracking the Trends 2016 report which was recently released.

 The top issues facing mining companies in 2016 include:

     1.    Going lean: Operational excellence remains front and center

In an effort to achieve true operational excellence, industry leaders are leveraging best practices from other industries and tackling difficult issues, including labor relations.

      2.    Innovation: Preparing for exponential change

Innovation is a critical theme for miners.  However, many mining companies remain at the early stage of the adoption curve - placing most of their innovation focus on technological optimisation of old techniques rather than looking for new ways to configure and engage externally.

Short-term strategies miners should consider adopting include: enhanced innovation, collaborative ecosystems, digital workforce engagement, and improved asset management, aligning work processes with energy availability, 3D printing and modularization.

      3.    China’s transition: Looking for the silver lining

Given China’s influence on the global economy, miners should take steps to understand the global impact of the country’s domestic market trends – particularly as the Chinese Government follows an increasingly interventionist path.

Concerns over currency weakness may spur Chinese enterprises to buy overseas assets over the short-term - including natural resources.  To prepare for these incipient shifts, it would be worth miners considering extreme scenarios, developing plans relative to China’s investment initiatives and leveraging Chinese expertise in areas such as design, construction and financing.

      4.    Adjusting to the new normal

Commodity demand – particularly out of China - is down, but production is not falling. In fact, some producers have ramped up output to reduce unit costs, consolidate market share or avoid the costs associated with shutting down older mines.

      5.    Preparing for inevitable change

The global move towards renewables has threatened the outlook for thermal coal. Although fossil fuels are likely to continue playing a critical role in the global energy mix, the move to alternative power sources is inevitable.

      6.    Changing the nature of stakeholder dialogues

Old tactics no longer work.  Instead, a new form of stakeholder engagement is needed - one that can demonstrably meet the demands of multiple groups.  Miners should align their investments with the underlying needs of their disparate stakeholders to fully maximise opportunities.

      7.    Starved of finance, miners struggle to survive

Attracting capital has become harder than ever, as segments of the industry continue running at a loss. In response, companies will likely continue to seek out alternative sources of financing – even when the terms aren’t entirely in their favour.

      8.    Tax challenges will impact yesterday’s management

To keep pace with the evolving tax environment, companies should take steps to understand the financial implications of these new tax rules, assess their operational and corporate structures, take a fresh look at their management and engage with government stakeholders – especially where tax rules related to stability or production agreements threaten to change.

      9.    The M&A paradox: To buy or not to buy

Despite predictions of a pick-up in mining M&A, M&A deal values and volumes continue to disappoint. In fact, the most active deal flow in recent years has come from divestment's and rescue-type deals.  To take advantage of these opportunities, miners may want to consider buying counter-cyclically and thinking twice before divesting.

     10.   An expanded view of corporate and personal welfare

Industry risks related to both safety and security continue to grow. To enhance their safety records and security postures, miners may want to strengthen their safety procedures.

Full report download here:

Source: Deloitte

Canadian Mining Journal December 2015

Canadian Mining Journal December 2015

kacimo samy   12:49 م

Canadian Mining Journal December 2015
Canadian Mining Journal is the leading exploration and mining journal in Canada. Covers mineral exploration trends, Corporate Trends,  metal prices and new geological models, underground mine developments and operating performances, unique challenges of open pit operations and more. It is Canada's First Mining Publication.

Enviromine 2015 - 4th International seminar on Environmental issues in Mining

Enviromine 2015 - 4th International seminar on Environmental issues in Mining

kacimo samy   11:54 م

Enviromine 2015 - 4th International seminar on Environmental issues in Mining

Environmine provides an opportunity to learn about innovations and developments, enabling the mining industry to operate in a sustainable manner while maintaining economic viability. Relevant themes such as mining waste and hazardous management, water management and effluent treatment, prediction and mitigation of environmental impact, among others, will predominate in this seminar that supports clean mining from design to closure.

Objectives:

• Understand and analyse innovations and developments in the prediction, evaluation and control of environmental impacts in mining and metallurgical processes.
• Identify and discuss emerging trends and best practices in environmental management in mining.
• Analyze criteria of environmental design in mining projects.
• Develop an international multidisciplinary network of professionals from environmental and mining sector.

Areas of Interest:

• Prediction,  prevention and control of environmental impact
• Design, operation and closure of mining activities
• Land rehabilitation, revegetation and biodiversity
• Geochemistry of mining environments
• Mining  and Hazardous waste management
• Water management  and effluent treatment
• Contamination from acidity and metals
• Control and monitoring of dust and emissions
• Regulatory framework
• Socio-environmental issues
• Quantitative aspects of risk assessment
• Impacts of climate change
• Artisanal and small-scale mining
• Emerging technologies in monitoring and measurement

Short Courses:

•            Mining Waste Management: From Design to Closure (Spanish)
•         Modeling of Acid Mine Drainage: Implementation for Design and Decision Making (Spanish)

Conference date: 2^nd – 4^thDecember, 2015
Venue: JW Marriott Hotel, Malecón de la Reserva 615, Miraflores, Lima, Perú
Tel: +56 2 2652 1528 (Chile); +51 9 94012 6202(Peru); +56 2 2652 1575 (Chile)
Email: enviromine@gecamin.com; olga.jallo@gecamin.com; comercial@gecamin.com
For more details visit: Enviromine 2015

Coal mine fire in northeast China kills 21

Coal mine fire in northeast China kills 21

kacimo samy   8:16 م

The entrance of a coal mine where a fire accident happened in Jixi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 21, 2015.

Twenty-one workers were killed today when a fire engulfed a state-owned coal mine in China's northeast Heilongjiang province, one of the deadliest accidents to hit the world's largest coal producer. 

One missing mine worker was located safely. 

Rescuers have found bodies of 21 workers after a coal mine caught fire in Jixi city of the province late last evening, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 

A total of 38 miners were working down in the shaft when the fire broke out at the mine in Jixi city operated by the state-owned Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group. 16 of them managed to escape. 

The government said the fire was under control and no secondary disaster had been reported. 

President of the mining group Hao Fukun said rescuers could reach the missing miner by midnight. The report, however, did not mention the condition of the missing person who was safely traced. 

The communication, power supply and hoisting system in the shaft have been resumed, Hao said, adding the ventilation condition has been significantly improved. 

The coal mine, with a production capacity of two million tonnes every year, is fully licensed, the report said. 

Accidents have become common as energy hungry China, world's largest producer of coal, depends a lot on coal supplies to fire its economy. 

This is the deadliest mine incident since April this year when a water leak at a coal mine killed 21 people in the northern city of Datong in Shanxi province. 

In August, 10 people were killed in two separate accidents at coal mines in China. In October, one person was killed in Shandong province.

Source: Business Standard

World's second-largest diamond 'found in Botswana'

World's second-largest diamond 'found in Botswana'

kacimo samy   8:11 م

The world's second-largest gem quality diamond has been discovered in Botswana, the Lucara Diamond firm says.

The 1,111-carat stone was recovered from its Karowe mine, about 500km (300 miles) north of the capital, Gaborone.

It is the biggest diamond to be discovered in Botswana and the largest find in more than a century.

The 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was found in South Africa in 1905 and cut into nine separate stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels.

"The significance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century... cannot be overstated," William Lamb, the CEO of Lucara Diamond, a Canadian diamond producer, said in a statement.

Lucara says two other "exceptional" white diamonds - an 813-carat stone and a 374-carat stone - were also found at the Karowe mine.

"This has been an amazing week for Lucara with the recovery of the second largest and also the sixth largest gem quality diamonds ever mined," Mr Lamb said.

The stone is yet to be evaluated, but commodities and mining analyst Kieron Hodgson, told that "the potential to be one very expensive diamond."

In April a flawless 100-carat diamond was sold for $22.1m (£14.8m) at Sotheby's in New York.

The gem, originally mined in South Africa, had taken more than a year to cut, polish and perfect.

Botswana is the world's largest producer of diamonds and the trade has transformed it into a middle-income nation.

Source: BBC.com

AP govt puts bauxite mining on hold

AP govt puts bauxite mining on hold

kacimo samy   9:19 م

Bowing to huge pressure from tribal groups and Maoist threats, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government of Andhra Pradesh has put on hold its bauxite-mining plans in Visakhapatnam and Vizainagaram districts.

The state cabinet, which met in Vijayawada on Monday, deliberated on the issue with a fine tooth-comb and decided to first hold talks with local tribal leaders before taking any decision on mining in the hills -- considered sacred by tribals.

The cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the AP Mineral Development Corporation (which was given the mining lease), not to apply for clearances and permissions from the Centre.

The U-turn on the bauxite-mining issue by the AP government occurred after several ministers, particularly those from the north coastal districts, pleaded with the chief minister not to move forward as many tribal village heads were apprehensive about pollution and displacement due to the mining. They also informed the chief minister of the death threats they were receiving from Maoist outfits.

The decision to back out comes in the backdrop of widespread public outrage and fears of past attacks -- mining company choppers attacked by arrows -- haunting the government. There are also reports that Maoist rebels have already taken advantage of the public anger and are rallying behind the tribals. Last month, Maoists abducted three members of the TDP from Chintapalle in the Agency area, and demanded that the AP government cancel mining plans.

Panchayat Raj minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu said he has already received threats from Maoists and the police beefed up his security in wake of the threat.

"We have been asked to go slow on the issue and not to expedite permissions and clearances from the Union environment ministry. It is now certain that the state government does not want to move forward on bauxite-mining," said a senior official in the government.

Interestingly, the AP government was planning to involve local tribal leaders in mining by initiating negotiations with them. Naidu asked his ministers to counter the "propaganda" that the TDP government has been the initiator of bauxite-mining. He asked his ministers to clarify that the mining lease orders were originally issued during YS Rajasekhara Reddy's regime and it was the then Congress government that leased out bauxite-mining to private companies.

Source: The Times Of India