11 gold deposits and 1 coal deposit to be put up for a first auction in Kyrgyzstan

The Director of the State Agency for Geology and Ore Reserves, Uchkunbek Tashbaev at the Cabinet’s meeting said that 11 gold deposits and 1 coal deposit will be put up for a first auction in Kyrgyzstan.

He said that “We received from 2 to 25 claims for each of these deposits

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Peabody operations and project update

Since the beginning of 2012, Peabody has continued to progress its key operations initiatives and mine projects. The company advanced improvement activities and increased equipment utilization at the Coppabella and Moorvale mines, which were acquired in October 2011.

Employees at the high quality hard coking coal mine, North Goonyella, overwhelmingly accepted a new employee bargaining agreement;
Peabody favorably resolved a dispute regarding the MDL 162 project in Queensland, and now retains a 90% equity ownership position in the development license.

Peabody continued to generate strong cash flows during the quarter, while investing in key projects to meet rising Australian volume targets for 2012 and beyond. The combination of cash flow generation and modest sustaining capital expenditures gives Peabody the ability to fund previously approved organic growth projects and reduce debt.

First quarter capital investments totaled USD 238.6 million, and the company has reduced its planned capital spending to USD 1.1 to USD 1.3 billion in 2012. Since the beginning of the year, Peabody Continued development of the low vol PCI Codrilla Mine, which is expected to produce first coal in late 2013 and reach approximately 3.5 million tons per year (2.6 million tons attributable) at full production.

Shipped first coal from the Middlemount Mine through Abbot Point port. Middlemount sales are expected to reach 4.4 million tons per year (2.2 million tons attributable) at full production;
Advanced expansions at Millennium, Burton and Metropolitan metallurgical coal mines, which are expected to contribute an additional 3 to 4 million tons at full production.

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Kitzhaber calls for EIS of coal exports

Gov John Kitzhaber shared his “grave concerns” about coal export projects on the West Coast at the Future Energy Conference in Portland Wednesday. And he asked the federal government to conduct a full environmental impact study of the coal mined on public land in the Powder River

 

 

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Jupiter Energy trial production begins in Kazakhstan

Jupiter Energy said that it is about to sign sales agreements with at least two local partners as trial production begins from its first wells in Kazakhstan.

Total daily output from wells J-50 and J-52 is expected to be around 600 barrels of oil a day, which will be transported by tanker to a nearby storage facility.

Licence applications for J-51 and J-53 are “progressing" and will be submitted to the Ministry of Oil & Gas for approval “soon”.

Jupiter added that “The approval process is expected to be completed by the end of this year and the company expects to end 2012 with revenue from four wells on trial production.”

All four wells are part of the Block 31 permit, located in the oil-rich Mangistau Basin, close to the port city of Aktau.

Trial production lasts for up to three years, during which time the oil can be sold into the local market at a discount to the prevailing price of crude.

Jupiter said that it intends to move these wells from trial to full production, and therefore from domestic to higher income export oil sales, before the cut off. It added that “More detail on the plans to move to full production will be released later this year.”

Source - Proactive Investors

(www.steelguru.com)

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Germany plans to revamp 84 power plants - BDEW

Energy and water industry association BDEW said that German utilities and private investors have plans to construct or modernize some 84 power stations.

The planned projects were equivalent to an installed power generation capacity of 42,000 MWs, the Berlin based group said in a statement issued on the first day of the Hanover industrial fair. It estimated that the projects, taken together, involved investments of more than EUR 60 billion (USD 79.25 billion).

BDEW also said that of the total 84, some 69 units (counting those above 20 MW) were fully or partially approved, being built or test-run. The remaining 15 were at the planning stage.

Of the total number counted by BDEW, 23 units were to be driven by offshore wind, 10 were pumped storage plants, 29 gas-fired and 17 coal fired generation plants.

BDEW, which represents some 1,800 companies active in supplying power, gas, water and heat, traditionally issues power station plans of its members around April.

The plans this year reflect over a year of debate on how to best replace Germany's nuclear power stations, which must be closed faster than planned in light of the nuclear disaster in Japan in March 2011.

BDEW's managing director Ms Hildegard Mueller said that the plans' realization mostly hinged on the German government clarifying the future power market design. If this was not done by 2015, especially the would-be investors in thermal power stations might get cold feet and withdraw.

Ms Mueller said that "The increased involvement in offshore wind and pumped storage is a positive signal that the industry is investing in the energy supply of the future.”

She added that "But this cannot hide the fact that there are obstacles not just for renewable power but also coal and gas-to-power projects.”

Source - Reuters

(www.steelguru.com)

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SouthGobi announces extension date of sale of Tsagaan Tolgoi Deposit

SouthGobi Resources Lid announced that the expected closing date of the sale of the Tsagaan Tolgoi Deposit to Modun Resources Limited is extended to be on or before December 31st 2012.

On April 16th 2012 SouthGobi announced the Mineral Resource Authority of Mongolia requested suspension of certain of the Company's mining and exploration licenses The extension of the expected closing date with Modun allows additional time to resolve any issues. All other material terms of the deal remain unchanged.

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Mozambique energy potential attracts large international groups

Mozambique’s energy potential, shown by the recent discoveries of larges natural gas and coal reserves, are leading large international groups to consider investing in the country, according to information from the Africa Monitor newsletter.

The newsletter said that the size of recent discoveries of natural gas in the sea off northern Mozambique was one of the focuses of international interest, particularly amongst groups that have gas as one of their current businesses, including Italy’s ENI, which is part of the consortium responsible for the most recent discovery.

One of the most recent signs of the country’s growing importance was the interest shown by multinational oil company Royal Dutch Shell in buying Irish company Cove Energy, which owns a stake in a consortium that is surveying for oil and gas in Mozambique, for a 28.5 percent premium on market prices.

There are also signs that two large US companies in the oil services (logistics) sector Halliburton and Schlumberger have acquired or are in the process of acquiring land in the area of Pemba, with a view to setting up services related to gas production.

According to Africa Monitor, industrial production of natural gas based on discoveries made so far (between 15 and 30 trillion cubic feet) will largely be for export to big consumer markets.

Africa Monitor said that the extent of production will require construction of a liquefaction unit and an export terminal costing an estimated USD 18 billion,

Given that these new discoveries offer Mozambique the opportunity to become economically more significant, the United States have given the country greater importance bilaterally-speaking and the operator of the consortium that made the biggest discovery is US company Anadarko Petroleum.

As Mozambique becomes a large producer of natural gas and, potentially, of other hydrocarbons, along with coal and power production, the country will be a substantial source of revenues and will no longer depend on foreign aid to fund its State Budget.

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Baltic sea index rises on high panamax activity

Reuters reported that the Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, used to track rates for ships carrying dry commodities, climbed to its highest level since January, due to high panamax activity.

The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, rose 14 points or 1.44% to 989 points.

Mr Wells Fargo senior analyst Michael Webber said in a note said that "While we continue to expect dry bulk rate volatility, we continue to expect the oversupply of tonnage to keep rates in check through the majority of 2012.”

The Baltic's panamax index gained 3.62%

Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually transport 60,000 to 70,000 tonne cargoes of coal or grains, reached $9,851.

The average daily earnings for handysize and supramax ships rose to USD 8,272 and USD 10,004, respectively.

Baltic's capesize index dipped 0.32 percent to 1,542 points, with renewed weakness in the Pacific Basin.

RS Platou Markets analyst Mr Herman Hildan in a note to clients said that "Capesize extended their decline at the start of the week as only a handful of spot cargoes entering the market weighed on the segment.”

Source - Reuters

(www.steelguru.com)

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Google scraps renewable energy cheaper than coal initiative

Google is in the midst of some, as they call it, spring cleaning out of season. They are shutting down a number of projects that haven’t quite hit the mark the way they had hoped.

Unfortunately for the environment, Google’s four year long “Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal RE” project is in the trash bin. The original premise was to invest in solar technology with the hope of driving down the price of renewable energy. Now, the technology powerhouse has decided that others are in a better position to continue the work. As they wrote on their blog, Google published their results “to help others in the field continue to advance the state of power tower technology, and we’ve closed our efforts.”

This doesn’t mean that they are turning their backs on all things green. They reported on the blog, “We will continue our work to generate cleaner, more efficient energy including our on campus efforts, procuring renewable energy for our data centers, making our data centers even more efficient and investing more than USD 850 million in renewable energy technologies.”

Other projects to bite the dust include Google Wave, Google Friend Connect and Google Search Timeline.

(Sourced from www.ecorazzi.com)

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Blastcrete Equipment introduce new mine mate machine

Blastcrete Equipment has introduced the Mine Mate, designed to mix and pump concrete material for underground mine sealing and stabilisation, grouting and various other shotcrete applications. The Mine Mate is a convenient solution when ready-mix concrete is not an option. Featuring Blastcrete’s X-10 ultra-high pressure swing tube pump, it is a highly productive and reliable machine that’s also easy to operate and maintain.

The Mine Mate uses the wet-mix shotcrete process. It was created at the request of several customers seeking a machine to apply shotcrete in underground coal applications. In contrast to the dry shotcrete (gunite), the wet shotcrete process minimises dust emissions and improves visibility making it much safer, particularly for underground use. Of compact configuration, the Mine Mate is designed for operation within a 1.2 m ceiling.

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Trafigura to boom as giant Mongolia awakens

Trafigura Beheer BV plans to expand in Mongolia to deliver more iron ore, coal and copper to the China market.

Mr Mikhail Zeldovich head of Trafigura’s Russia and Mongolia unit said that it secured its first iron ore and coal supply agreements in the country in the past few months. Talks on more accords are in progress and Trafigura’s first Mongolian tin shipment is due this week.

Mr Zeldovich said that “In all commodity businesses I anticipate strong growth and in the bulk commodities of coal and iron ore I am targeting a multiple of what we already have. We very much see Mongolia as a sleeping giant of resources that’s now beginning to awaken.”

According to Ulan Bator based Trade and Development Bank, Mongolia in June surpassed Australia as the biggest seller of coking coal to China and total exports are due to rise by 65% this year. Rio Tinto Group will begin commercial output from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in 2013 a deposit in central Mongolia that it says is one of the biggest untapped sources of copper and gold.

A mining boom in the world’s most sparsely populated nation promises the greatest influx of wealth for Mongolia since Genghis Khan conquered most of Europe and Asia in the 13th century. Economic growth may surge to 23% in 2013 more than twice the forecast expansion in China, as mining projects begin production, the International Monetary Fund said in April.

Mr Zeldovich said that last year, Amsterdam based Trafigura provided more than USD 40 million in financing to help start production at a lead and zinc mine in eastern Mongolia in exchange for an off take accord. The trader has also invested in a trucking company in Mongolia to transport coal from producers including Mongolyn Alt Group to China. It ranks among the top three sells of copper in Mongolia.

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Mitsubishi Corp reports H1 net profit fall

Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp said that its net profit for the six months ended September 30 fell 8.3% from a year earlier, citing lower margins from trading in natural resources and steel.

Mitsubishi, Japan's biggest trading house by revenue, also said it has decided to invest

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Fancamp Exploration intersects 30pct Fe at Lac Lamelee South Project

Fancamp Exploration Ltd provide the first assay results from the Company drill program on the 100% owned and previously undrilled Lac Lamelee South Project which is located about 15 kilometers west of ArcelorMittal Fire Lake Mine. The three holes reported cover some 300 metres strike Read More

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China Coal resumes output at two mines halted after deaths

Bloomberg reported that China Coal Energy Co has resumed production at two of five mines that were suspended after flooding killed 10 workers at a site run by its parent.

The company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the mines passed a safety inspection by local authorities in Shanxi province. Three other sites are starting checks.

Xinhua News Agency reported on September 17 that production at the five underground mines was suspended after flooding at a pit run by China National Coal Group Corp the nation second largest coal producer and parent of the listed company killed 10 people.

China Coal said the provincial government ordered a halt pending rectification to underground mines owned by the parent and five underground mines in Shanxi held by the listed unit after the September 16 accident.

China Coal shares have dropped 29% since the accident, compared with a 10% slide in the Hang Seng Index. The suspensions, ordered as power plants prepared to start replenishing coal stockpiles for winter demand for electricity won’t have a material impact on output or the company operations.

There had been 512 coal mine accidents in China as of June, 21% fewer than in the same period in 2010. Shanxi produced 740 million tons of coal last year trailing only the 782 million tons mined by Inner Mongolia, China top producing province.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)

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Composition of Metso nomination board

13 times viewed. Tuesday, 04 Oct 2011Metso Annual General Meeting decided on March 30, 2011 to establish a Nomination Board to prepare proposals on members of the Board of Directors and their remuneration for the next Annual General Meeting which is planned to be held on March 29, 2012. The representatives of the four largest shareholders registered in Metso shareholder register as of October 1, 2011 are elected to the Nomination Board along with the Chairman of the Board of Directors Jukka Viinanen as an expert member.

According to the shareholders register, Metso Corporation four largest shareholders on October 1, 2011 were:
1. Solidium Oy
2. Cevian Capital II Master Fund LP
3. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company
4. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company
These shareholders have named the following persons as their representatives for Metso's Nomination Board:
1. Kari Järvinen, Managing Director
2. Lars Förberg, Managing Partner
3. Harri Sailas, President and CEO
4. Matti Vuoria, Managing Director, President and CEO
Mr Kari Järvinen has been elected the Chairman of the Nomination Board.

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Redar Iron identifies DSO iron ore targets at Jackson and Boondine projects

It is reported that Radar Iron is about to ramp up news flow across several of the company's projects.

The latest positive news is that iron ore targets have been identified from an aeromagnetic survey which includes an additional 20 kilometres of magnetic responses.

The survey was over the Die Hardy, Boondine and Jackson projects which are located in the Southern Cross district of Western Australia which comprised 8,300 flight line kilometres.

The outcome is that several areas of direct shipping ore mineralisation have been defined at the Jackson and Boondine projects.

At Die Hardy which is the initial main magnetite target for Radar the data highlighted new untested magnetic units to the north and north west of the existing drilling indicating a combined strike length of 4 kilometres.

Magnetic modeling for all the recently acquired data is currently underway, with ground reconnaissance of potential anomalies kicking off this month, and following drilling approval, drill testing is expected to commence in early 2012 at the high priority targets.

In total Radar holds around 1200 square kilometres of tenements in the Yilgarn Iron Ore Province, with 120 kilometres of banded iron formations which are largely unexplored for iron ore.

Mr Jon Lea MD of Radar told Proactive Investors today that a 3000 metre reverse circulation drilling program will kick off next month at the Johnston Range project.

The project is significant for Radar with around 20 direct shipping ore targets having already been identified, which Lea said have the potential to host 2Mt to 5Mt hematite deposits in pods.

Johnston Range hosts 40 linear kilometres of banded iron formation, and has the potential to deliver a JORC Resource in the short term.

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Queensland Galilee Basin could generate 6000 jobs

It is reported that a new coalmine in central Queensland Galilee Basin could generate 6000 jobs during construction and 1500 places during the mine life.

More details on Waratah Coal USD 8.3 billion Galilee Coal project became available recently when the company released its environmental impact statement. The project involves a series of new thermal coalmines near Alpha, west of Emerald a 468 kilometer railway from the mine to the coast and a port at Abbot Point, north of Bowen.

Mr Rachel Nolan acting Development Minister said ''If the Galilee Coal project proceeds, it could generate around 6000 jobs during construction and 1500 jobs during the operational life of the mine which is expected to exceed 25 years.”

Mr Keith Davies Co-ordinator-general said community concerns about the impact of the railway would be looked at along with formal submissions when considering the project.

Premier Ms Anna Bligh said the project presented another big leap forward for Queensland's economy, provided the company met all environmental impact requirements. She said ''The Galilee Basin is a very rich coal seam. If it can be developed appropriately, then it means jobs, prosperity and growth, and a very bright future for our state.”

The project impact statement will be available for public comment until November 7. The proposed port at Abbot Point will be subject to a separate approval process.

(Sourced from www.brisbanetimes.com.au)

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Zimbabwe deadline for foreign firms looms

It is reported that foreign companies operating in Zimbabwe had until Sunday to hand in plans to sell majority stakes to local blacks under a law that has alarmed investors who are uncertain how the rules will work.

The government order for the transfer of 51% ownership has been called the final phase of economic emancipation after controversial land reforms targeting white owned farms a decade ago. But analysts are skeptical.

Mr Anthony Hawkins a University of Zimbabwe economics professor said "There is no way the local and the government has the money to buy shares in the companies. Everybody knows that."

He said that the indigenization drive could hurt the economy in the same way as the land reforms which sparked an economic nose-dive after supporters of President Mr Robert Mugabe violently seized white-owned farms.

Mr Hawkins about polls expected next year said "My concern is that this is much more of a political policy and it will have an economic harm just like the land reforms. It looks like they are doing this for the elections."

He said that "This will reduce the amount of investment in the country as the new owners will not have the money to, for example, expand projects. The community does not have the money, as well as the workers and the government is broke."

The push is without the violence of the land seizures which Mr Mugabe said was a way to correct colonial-era wrongs, but there is mixed signals on how the law will be implemented.

Mr Saviour Kasukuwere Indigenization Minister has warned that non-compliant companies risk nationalization. But certain firms have arranged their own deals and deadlines ahead of Sunday cut-off date making the government appear flexible on how the law is implemented.

(Sourced from AFP)

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Mongolia high plains herders warily eye coal truck road

Reuters reported that a lone cement ribbon bisecting hundreds of miles of shale and scrub on the high plains of Mongolia Gobi Desert may be a talisman or curse for nomadic herders that trace their lineage to the empire of Mr Ghengis Khan.

Carved into the Gobi by the Hong Kong listed Mongolian Mining Corporation the 147 mile and two lane roads is due to open next month, allowing the company to speed up cargoes of coal to China from its expanding Ukhaa Khudag mine.

The freshly paved highway is one of the first glimpses of a mining boom that will transform Mongolia fortunes. But many including President Mr Tsakhia Elbegdorj are worried that mining has already put the country fragile pastoral economy under strain and left a million nomads behind.

Mr Puntsag Tsagaan president senior adviser said "Hundreds of rivers, streams and lakes have disappeared because of deforestation, climate change and also partly because of irresponsible mining."

He said that "Our challenge is how to diversify our economy. I don't want my children and my grandchildren to live in a different country called Minegolia it has to be Mongolia. Therefore we have to manage the mineral wealth in a better way."

The road will remove a major logistical hurdle for MMC.

Mr Adilbish Gankhuyag MMC's chief financial officer said "We will start using it next month and it will have a total throughput capacity of about 18 million tonnes per annum this year our total production will be 7 million tonnes so we no longer have logistics and transportation problems."

Mr Shurka Baigalmaa MMC's onsite manager at Ukhaa Khudag said it is also a key part of the company commitment to protect the region's ecosystem which has been damaged by hundreds of overloaded coal trucks churning up grazing land.

MMC is also committed to using the parched region water supplies efficiently with Baigalmaa saying that 95% of water used at the mine washing plant would be recycled.

The open-cast mine is already 70 metres deep and will eventually descend 300 metres but she said the company would limit the impact by refilling exhausted seams using peat excavated from new mining areas further west.

(Sourced from Reuters)

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Avonlea Minerals appoint Non Executive Chairman

Avonlea has appointed Mr David Macoboy as Non Executive Chairman effective immediately.

Mr Macoboy brings to the Board a wealth of experience across a range of industries especially in the areas of corporate strategy, finance, project evaluation and development, and management. Mr Macoboy has over 20 years in the resources sector joining Avonlea following roles at Board level with a range of successful ASX listed exploration and mining companies.

Mr David is currently Non-Executive Chairman of Vital Metals Limited, and has held previous Directorships with Ammtec Ltd, Ironclad Mining Limited, Grange Resources Limited, Territory Iron Limited and Consolidated Minerals Limited.

Mr Macoboy holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of WA. David is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Certified Practicing Accountant.

Mr David Riekie Avonlea Managing Director said "We welcome Mr Macoboy as a valuable addition to the Avonlea Board. His extensive corporate and resources experience provides a complementary skill set to the existing Board. Mr Macoboy joins the Company at a pivotal time in the Company's growth as we continue to develop our portfolio of projects in Namibia, and will assist to drive our corporate agenda to realize the full potential of our asset base."

Mr Roger Steinepreis will as a consequence step down as Chairman, but will remain a Non-Executive Director of the Company. The Board thanks Roger for his significant contribution to the Company in his capacity as Chairman since listing on the ASX in 2007.

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