Canada offers more transparency on takeover rules

The Canadian government promised on Friday to make its reviews of foreign takeovers more transparent, allowing it to explain when it has concerns about a proposed investment and perhaps even saying why.

A government statement said Canada will change the way it reviews foreign investments, a nod to those who have complained about opaque rules that allow the government to block takeovers that it does not think will provide a "net benefit" to Canada.

"The amendments would allow the minister (of industry) to disclose publicly the fact that he has sent a preliminary notice to an investor that he is not satisfied that the investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada," the statement said.

"They would also allow the minister to publicly explain his reasons for sending the notice as long as it would not cause harm to the Canadian business or the investor." Read more here...

Chile proposes tax reform to fund education overhaul

SANTIAGO - Chile's government on Thursday proposed a sweeping tax reform that raises levies on companies to help fund an education overhaul, as it seeks to quell social protests ahead of local elections seen as a litmus test for the 2013 presidential race.

Center-right President Sebastian Pinera said his tax reform bill, which still needs congressional approval, would raise the income tax rate for companies to 20%, lower stamp duty on credit and increase the annual tax take by $700-million to $1-billion.

The bill, to be presented to Congress on Monday, also seeks to eliminate tax distortions, incorporate green taxes on polluting goods and includes a variable tax rate mechanism to cushion consumers from oil price swings.

"We're going to ask for an additional effort from companies by increasing their income tax rate from 17% to 20%," Pinera said in a national televised address.

"Additionally, a series of tax exemptions or distortions that have been reducing the tax take and aren't justified, will be corrected or eliminated." Read more here...

Mining major developing ten-year water strategy

As a result of more than 80% of mining giant Anglo American’s international operations and planned projects being located in water-stressed basins, the company has developed a three-staged, ten-year strategy aimed at reducing its impact on scarce water resources, and ultimately realising ‘zero net water consumption’ by 2030.

Implementation of this strategy will be realised through initiatives in three key areas – operational improvement, investment in technology and partnerships with stakeholders.

“We maintain that engagement and collaborative efforts are the most immediate and effective ways to create real and sustainable change,” asserts Anglo American sustainable development and energy head Samantha Hoe-Richardson.

In 2011, a new group technical standard for Anglo American water management was issued and outlined detailed requirements for target setting, water monitoring, site management and water action plans. Such site-level plans aim to crystallise the internal requirements of legal and catchment management developments, and are intended to assist in operational implementation of integrated water management. Read more here...

Moz continues to attract interest as mining investment destination, mineral export conduit

Mining company Rovuma Resources, a subsidiary of the privately held Rockover Resources group, has discovered a major deposit of nickel in the north of Mozam-bique. According to Radio Mozambique, which reported the find, this is the first nickel orebody located in the country and is estimated to total 20-million tons.

The discovery is located in the Muerite (spelt Murite by Rovuma) area of the Montepuez district, in Cabo Delgado province.

Rovuma has so far invested some $28-million in its exploration activities in Cabo Delgado, which began about five years ago, and plans to spend another $7-million this year. It is currently seeking to ascertain the nickel grade of the ore. The company is also reported to have discovered occurrences of iron and precious stones and will also be investigating these.

Rovuma’s operations chief, Mark Henrigt, told the radio station that the company would be recruiting more local workers as its activities expanded. It currently employs 128 locally recruited workers. Read more here...

Safety stops, skills turnover weigh on RBPlat output

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) said on Wednesday Section 54 safety stoppages had cost it an estimated 61 618 t in lost output in the first quarter, compared with 28 925 t a year earlier.

The midtier platinum-group metals miner delivered 532 000 t of ore to the concentrators during the first quarter of 2012. This compared with 550 000 t delivered in the first quarter of 2011 and 496 000 t of ore in the fourth quarter.

The Steve Phiri-led RBPlat attributed the 3% year-on-year decline to an increase in safety-related work stoppages and a higher turnover of rock drill operators as a result of industrial action at neighbouring mines.

The company was issued seven Section 54 notices during the quarter, which affected 19 production shifts. Its serious injury frequency rate deteriorated by 27% compared with the corresponding quarter in 2011. However, the lost time injury frequency rate improved by 40% during the period. Read more here...

AEP to reduce emissions at Oklahoma coal plant

American Electric Power Co agreed with US environmental regulators to reduce emissions from the two coal units at the 1 815-MW Northeastern power plant in Oklahoma.

Ohio-based power company AEP said in a release its Oklahoma utility, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), would upgrade one of the 460-MW units at the Northeastern plant in 2015 and retire the other 460-MW unit in 2016.

AEP said the Oklahoma utility entered into an agreement in principle with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Oklahoma and the Sierra Club environmental group. That agreement addresses the Oklahoma PSO's future obligations under the EPA's Regional Haze rule and EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS), AEP said. Read more here...

La Mancha’s Sudan mine ‘unaffected’ by turmoil, auction proceeding

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner La Mancha on Tuesday said fighting between Sudan, where its flagship Hassai mining complex is located, and South Sudan has had no effect on the company’s mining activities.

The Hassai gold operation had not lost a day of production in its 20-years-plus life owing to political disturbances and the recent troubles were no different, senior corporate development VP Martin Amyot told Mining Weekly Online from Paris.

“I do not believe the political unrest will affect our mining activities, as it is located very far north of the tension points on the border,” he said.

The latest clashes erupted after South Sudanese forces seized control of the disputed Heglig oil fields, located in lands claimed by both Sudan and newly independent South Sudan in the province of South Kordofan. Read more here...

Key Indonesian mining and energy policy maker dies

Widjajono Partowidagdo

JAKARTA - Indonesia's vice minister for energy and minerals, a key policy maker in the government's drive to tighten mining regulations and reform the energy sector, died on Saturday while mountain walking, said a senior government official.

Widjajono Partowidagdo was a central player in a government decision expected soon on whether to impose a 25 percent tax on mining exports this year and a 50% tax in 2013. He also played an important role in fuel subsidy policy.

"This tragic news would be a shock for the energy ministry amid the recent fuel price hike decision as he held a key position in formulating and communicating the government's policy to the public," said Kurtubi, an oil and gas expert. Read more here...

Zimbabwe's business law seen enriching black elite

Finance Minister Tendai Biti

WASHINGTON – The Zimbabwean government's drive to force foreign businesses to give 51% of their shareholding to locals will benefit the few black elite and must be reviewed, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday.

The controversial so-called empowerment law is already being implemented in the mining sector, where South Africa's Impala Platinum was forced to hand over majority shareholding in its Zimplats unit to a state fund, employees and local communities.

Speaking at the Atlantic Center, a think tank and public policy group, Biti said while he agreed on the need for Zimbabweans to participate in the broad economy, the initiative being spearhead by President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party would only benefit the black elite. Read more here...

Critical time for South Africa’s mining industry – Leon

 Africa mining and energy projects head Peter Leon

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African mining industry – a mainstay of the country’s $357-billion economy, the biggest in Africa as well as the basis of this country’s industrialisation – is at a crossroads, says Webber Wentzel partner and Africa mining and energy projects head Peter Leon, who is also the immediate past chairperson of the International Bar Association’s mining law committee.

“This is a critical time” is how Leon describes mining’s current impasse in his comprehensive article, entitled ‘Whither the South African mining industry?’, in the latest edition of the international Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, which the London-based International Bar Association has given Mining Weekly permission to reproduce*.

The host of the world’s largest mineral reserves, worth $2.5-trillion, is thus seen to be at a point where decisive action is necessary. Read more here...

Coal miners gather to pay tribute to industry-leading performers

Industry-leading performances by coal mines in the safety, environment and community development arenas were lauded at the annual South African Colliery Managers Association (Sacma) Coalsafe conference, held in Johannesburg, on March 13.

The top achievers in the various categories were Sasol Engineering Support Services, which received the first place safety award, Anglo American Thermal Coal’s eMalahleni water reclamation plant took first place in the environment category and the company’s Goedehoop colliery received the first place community award.

The Coalsafe 2012 speaker line-up included a diverse range of speakers such as JSE head of sustainability Corli le Roux, Department of Minerals Resources chief inspector of mines David Msiza, Trade Union Solidarity general secretary Flip Buys and mining major BHP Billiton VP for safety Barry Formosa. Read more here...

China study finds mine workers at higher risk of cancer, heart disease

HONG KONG - Chinese workers who are exposed to silica dust in mines, and pottery and gemstone factories suffer not only from respiratory illnesses, but are at higher risk of contracting heart and infectious diseases and cancer, researchers in China have found.

Silica is a compound found in sand and rock. When rocks are drilled or broken, fine silica dust particles are produced that lodge deep in the lungs and can lead to scarring, severe respiratory problems and death.

Researchers monitoring the health of 74 040 mine and pottery workers over an average of 33 years found that they suffered a far higher risk of contracting a range of diseases compared with people who were not exposed. Read more here...

Trust rolls out programme to stimulate maths learning and teaching at 21 Mpumalanga schools

The Optimum Community Trust has unveiled a programme aimed at stimulating maths learning and teaching across 21 schools in the Steve Tshwete local municipality, in Mpumalanga.

The Funmatics programme focuses on practical but fun maths experiences, where learners will participate in workshops called ‘funshops’ and other activities in preparation for this year’s matric exams.

“The programme is designed to improve . . . matric pupils’ maths results.

“South Africa needs to focus on maths and science. It is appro- priate that maths takes centre stage because it is one of the sig- nificant subjects that provides diverse career options,” says Optimum Coal CEO Mike Teke. Read more here...

Canada unveils plan to streamline environmental reviews

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Canada on Tuesday unveiled a plan to streamline the review process for significant economic projects, such as pipelines and mines, in a bid to compete with other resource-rich countries.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said demand from emerging economies in Asia and around the world provided the potential to create even more jobs and growth in Canada.

He cited Canadian natural resource sectors having employed more than 760 000 workers in communities throughout the country in 2010, with the mining and energy sectors alone representing 10% of the Canadian economy and 40% of its exports.

The plan called for a move toward a “one project, one review” system for reviews of significant projects by recognising provincial processes as substitutes or equivalents to federal ones, as long as they meet the requirements under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Read more here...

Doe Run Peru creditors reject restructuring plan

LIMA – Creditors rejected on Thursday a restructuring plan from Doe Run Peru, a unit of US-based Renco Group, casting doubt on the future of the La Oroya smelter.

Doe Run Peru's board of creditors voted to start an "operational liquidation" process that could result in the smelter being operated by a new company, Doe Run Peru revising its restructuring plan to hang on to the smelter, or outright liquidation of the plant.

La Oroya, once one of the largest smelters in Peru, has been shut since 2009 because of protracted financial problems and a stalled environmental cleanup in what has been ranked as one of the 10 most polluted places in the world.

Under Doe Run Peru's "operational liquidation," the unit controlled by US billionaire Ira Rennert will remain in charge of La Oroya for up to a year and is required to pay its workers. Read more here...

More State intervention needed in mining – Motlanthe

The recent global financial crisis has shown that more state intervention is needed in the mining industry, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Tuesday.

"Contrary to the view that there must be less state involvement in the economy, the lessons from the recent economic and financial crises... [is] that more state involvement is sought," Motlanthe told the ninth international mining history congress in Johannesburg.

State involvement would secure the socio-economic development of South Africans, he said.

For this reason, the government endorsed the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC), as the "nucleus" of a state-owned mining company.

It was through the AEMFC that the state could consolidate its participation in mining and focus on ensuring the security of supply of minerals of strategic significance. Read more here...

Massive Mongolian mine raises environmental fears

Buried in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia’s economic future rests on a massive mining project called Turquoise Hill.

Known locally as Oyu Tolgoi, the copper and gold mine, co-owned by Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and the Mongolian government, is expected to balloon the Central Asian country’s GDP — an estimated $13.28 billion in 2011 — by more than 30 per cent when it starts full production later this year.

But the economic boon is also, for some, an environmental nightmare as the project will allegedly soak up valuable water resources in the already-arid Gobi. While reports vary, the mine plans to use up to 920 litres of water per second. Read more here...

Japan urges dialogue with China on rare earths

Japan, the world’s main importer of rare earths, has requested international assistance for alternatives, conservation, diversification and recycling and to continue dialogue with China to secure stable global supply, reports Bloomberg. Read more here...

AngloGold misses production target as safety stoppages bite

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed AngloGold Ashanti produced 980 000 oz of gold during the first quarter of 2012 – falling short of its 1.03-million-ounce production forecast.

The company on Tuesday said that safety stoppages, and the subsequent ramp-up associated with safely restarting ultra-deep mining areas, had resulted in 76 000 oz of lost production from its South African mines in the March quarter.

The lower first-quarter production was expected to impact on unit total cash costs, partially mitigated by weaker rand exchange rates, CEO Mark Cutifani said in a statement. Read more here...

Mines will have to deal with ‘too much or too little’ water as climate change intensifies – SRK

Climate change will make some areas of South Africa wetter and others drier, says global consulting engineering group SRK Consulting partner and hydrologist Peter Shepherd, who warns that mines will have to deal with having too much or too little water.

He believes that climate change will primarily reduce the available water supply in the main mining areas in the country as well as increase evaporation. This will result in having to increase the makeup water requirement at these mines.

Shepherd says local research has shown that change in the global climate is affecting the way local mines need to plan and build their infrastructure, particularly water management infrastructure. Read more here...

Brazil historic site could trip up big Anglo mine

RIO DE JANEIRO – Anglo American's plans to open its largest ever iron-ore mine have stumbled over new rulings that will delay preparations to build the mine until it is deemed safe for an archaeological site within its perimeter.

The company is prohibited from undertaking new works at the site of the $5.7-billion project such as clearing vegetation, excavating and removing soil for the opening of the mine. The company had planned to begin that work this month.

The prosecution service of Minas Gerais state says Anglo American's project is destroying the region's archaeological heritage and violating the law while the national heritage organization Iphan has yet to approve the project. Read more here...