UCIL to resume Mining operations at Jaduguda Mine

The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) is planning to resume work at its Jaduguda mines early next year. 

In a meeting held on December 27, the UCIL board passed a resolution for "taking the matter of resumption at the highest levels early next year". 

"UCIL expects to resolve all pending issues, related to resumption of mining at Jaduguda, by the end of this year," UCIL spokesperson Stanley Hembrem said, adding that all hopes are pinned on 2017. 

Mining work at Jaduguda has been under suspension since September 2014, following directives from the Union mines ministry that called for halting mining work that was being carried under deemed extension. 

The central PSU has since been pursuing the state forest and environment department to get the green signal to resume work.

Hembrem further confirmed that documents pertaining to mining resumption are presently in the possession of the central agencies, after the state forest department completed the work on its part.

Jaduguda mine situated about 50km from the district headquarters, which has huge deposits of uranium, is nearly 3,000 feet deep and produced 800 tonnes of ore before its closure.

"It is true that Jaduguda has a rich deposit of ore but we need to make sure we make up for the production loss," Hembrem said.

The mines located in the vicinity of UCIL are Turamdih, Bhatin, Narwa, Musabani, Ichra, Bandurang, Bagjata and Mohuldih (the only mine located in adjoining Seraikela).

Source: Times of India

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Newmont Mining Selling Indonasian Mine for $1.3 Billion

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

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AP govt puts bauxite mining on hold

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

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