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Qatar plonks $4 billion on Xstrata and hands Glasenberg another victory

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:05:09 +0000

The Financial Times reports that the oil and natural gas rich nation of Qatar has plans to up its stake in Xstrata, currently negotiating a $90 billion merger with Glencore International, to over 10%, which would make the country’s sovereign wealth fund the diversified miner’s second largest shareholder.

See http://www.mining.com/2012/05/10/qatar-plonks-4-billion-on-xstrata-and-hands-glasenberg-another-victory/.

London Metal Exchange looking to expand in Asia

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:55:22 +0000

The London Metal Exchange (LME), the world’s biggest marketplace for industrial metals, will invest heavily in Asia and is planning to expand its Singapore office, Chief Executive Martin Abbott said.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page504?oid=150788&sn=Detail&pid=92730.…
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Exposing the world’s top mineral “thieves”

Richard — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:03:03 +0000

Over a third of them are London-based

Using data from Bloomberg and Forbes’ long-running global rich list, MINING.com has come up with more than 90 billionaires involved in minerals, metals and mining.

The website points out that some of those included on one list aren’t included on the second. However, while the criteria may differ between them, two striking facts emerge from the available evidence. First is the remarkable advance over the past decade into the highest echelons of the industry’s “leadership” by Russian and eastern European mining magnates.

Second is the prominence of men (there are only two women among the contenders) who have listed their operations primarily on the London Stock Exchange, or who have taken up residence in the UK capital.

Fifteen among the top forty billionaires fall into these categories, namely: Mittal, Usmanov, Abramovich, Deripaska, Prokhorov, Rybolovlev, Glasenberg, Oppenheimer, Rashnikov, Abramov, Agarwal, Kim, Chodiev, Ibragimov and Machkevich.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11641.

Deadline looms for Bakrie group to resolve covenant breach

Richard — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:55:45 +0000

Indonesian group Bakrie has until Friday to resolve a covenant breach on a $437 million loan following a drop in the price of its London-listed coal miner Bumi Plc last week, sources familiar with the loan said on Monday. The breach was the latest in a series of debt problems for Bakrie Group, one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates and which avoided a debt crisis last year by selling a stake in Bumi Plc to an Indonesian investor for $1 billion. Credit Suisse sent a notice on behalf of lenders to the borrower following the covenant breach, after Bumi Plc shares – pledged as collateral against the borrowing – slid 3.8 percent over the course of last week, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because the matter was not public.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page504?oid=150040&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

World Bank backs dirty energy despite objections

Richard — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:45:17 +0000

Continued controversy over a coal power project in Kosovo, partly funded by the World Bank (itself part-funded by the UK), and a catalogue of complaints over its projects highlight the impact of extractives and the lack of alternatives in the Bank’s energy lending portfolio.

See http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-569967.

The World Bank and extractives: a rich seam of controversy

michaela — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:29:31 +0000

As World Bank projects fail to reduce corruption in the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), International Finance Corporation (IFC) investments in extractive industries are provoking complaints and protests around the world.…
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The market likes the Glencore / Xstrata deal but Money Morning doesn’t

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:25:17 +0000

London Mining Network’s concerns about Glencore and Xstrata involve the companies’ environmental and human rights impacts. But not even all the financial commentators are happy about the proposed merger.

Money Morning says:

Xstrata is a good fit for Glencore. The two firms operate in most of the same areas. What Xstrata digs out of the ground it sells to Glencore, which then flogs the stuff around the world. Xstrata is one of the world’s largest mining and metals firms. It’s a major producer of seven commodities used in everything from making steel, to constructing buildings and delivering electricity to developing jet engines and mobile phones. The combined entity would be the world’s biggest zinc producer with 15% of the market. And it would control 32% of the trade in thermal coal, still a key energy production fuel in China and the US. The merger looks set to be confirmed this week. And investors seem to like the idea. Since Thursday, shares in Xstrata have rocketed 15% while Glencore has jumped up by 12%. So if you have a pension, or maybe a FTSE 100 tracker fund, chances are you’re better off as a result of the merger talks. So why does the deal worry us? Because we don’t think this is a good time to be loading up on commodities. See http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/commodities/glencore-xstrata-merger-marks-top-of-the-market-20600.

Glencore and Xstrata close to takeover

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/feb/06/glencore-xstrata-takeover-announcement-due

Commodities trader and mining group expected to announced tie-up, with Xstrata taking majority of seats on board The commodities trader Glencore and mining group Xstrata are close to finalising an $80bn (£50bn) tie-up to seal the industry’s largest ever takeover – which could be announced as early as Tuesday. Xstrata, in which Glencore already has a 34% stake, announced last week the two had been in discussion prior to Christmas after years of on-off talks. It is understood a preliminary understanding has been reached on the structure of the top management, according to sources familiar with the deal, with Xstrata expected to take a majority of seats on the board, to keep its chairman – John Bond – as well as its chief executive, Mick Davis, and chief financial officer, Trevor Reid.

Why Xstrata needs to play hard to get with Glencore

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2012/feb/02/glencore-xstrata-merger-bargaining

Glencore’s proposed merger with Xstrata: key facts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/feb/02/glencore-xstrata-merger-key-facts

See also, from last April:

Glencore: the story behind the $60bn float

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/14/glencore-story-float?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

GCM Resources in the red with loss of £690,000

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:17:48 +0000

GCM Resources plunged into the red in the six months to the end of December posting an after-tax loss of £690,000 against a profit of £3.3m last time. GCM says the Phulbari coal project remains the company’s key opportunity and it continue to pursue approval of the scheme of development from the government of Bangladesh.

See http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/4301283/GCM-Resources-in-the-red-with-loss-of-690000.html.

Rio Tinto wins battle against Ivanhoe’s “poison pill” rights plan

Richard — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:32:13 +0000

An arbitrator has ruled that a “poison pill” rights plan erected by Ivanhoe to try and stop a Rio Tinto takeover, does not apply to the latter, leaving Ivanhoe vulnerable to a takeover next year.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page67?oid=141520&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

LME overhauls electronic platform as trading volumes surge

Richard — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:17:15 +0000

The London Metal Exchange said it had completed a major upgrade to its electronic trading platform called LMEselect with partner Cinnober to handle increased volumes – trading to date is up more than 20% compared to last year’s record volumes.
A takeover of the the LME, which handles some 80% of global trade in metals futures, appears to be in the offing as it gears up to compete against Asian metal trading hubs.

See http://www.mining.com/2011/12/06/lme-upgrades-electronic-platform-as-trading-volumes-surge/

Saami communities protest in London over mining

Richard — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:26:14 +0000

This morning representatives of several Indigenous Saami communities from Scandinavia protested outside the ‘Mines and Money’ London conference in order to raise awareness over the destruction of their traditional lands by mining.

Saami areas in Sweden are currently experiencing an explosion in mining developments by both Scandinavian and foreign companies. Ironically, while these companies commonly market themselves to investors based on principles of Corporate Social Responsibility, many of them risk breaching human rights conventions, because they all too often fail to see the connection between the impacts of their activities and Saami rights.

The Saami Council, the National Swedish Saami Association, and individual Saami communities are in dialogue with several mining companies and their investors, including Scandinavian Resources and Beowulf Mining, to name just two. “These companies claim to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, yet they seem to have no problem with performing intrusive exploration and mining activities in sensitive Saami reindeer herding areas”, says Mattias Åhrén, Head of Human Rights, at the Saami Council.

Many Saami communities are at a crisis point. “Reindeer herding, and our Saami culture, simply cannot tolerate any more industrial activities. We have very little lands left and the last of them are being taken by private mining companies”, says Mats Berg, on behalf of the Saami delegation to London, representing the Saami communities of Girjas, Laevas, Sirges and Lainiovuoma.

Saami organisations are also critical of Sweden’s failure to protect Saami rights. “Sweden’s mining legislation does not provide any protection of Saami rights and the Swedish government has been critiqued numerous times by the UN for its failure to take action”, says Jörgen Jonsson, Chairman of the National Swedish Saami Association.

See Saami media release at http://saamiresources.org/2011/12/06/saami-communities-protest-in-london-over-mining/

Coal study names top 20 ‘climate killer’ banks

Richard — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:23:46 +0000

Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC are among the top banks that have lent billions of euros to the coal sector – despite their much-vaunted environmental credentials, a new investigation has found.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/30/coal-banks.

Report available at http://www.banktrack.org/download/bankrolling_climate_change/climatekillerbanks_final_0.pdf.

New reports question World Bank’s coal investments

Richard — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:22:08 +0000

As the climate talks in South Africa approached, the World Bank continued to be overshadowed by past and prospective loans for fossil-fuel power plants.

See
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11332&l=1

Glencore puts up $635 million to build world’s largest cobalt mine

Richard — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:10:56 +0000

Katanga Mining announced on Friday it has secured $635.5 million in new loan facilities from parent Glencore International to fund the expansion of its Democratic Republic of Congo copper-cobalt mine. Katanga says with the expansion the DRC complex it could become Africa’s largest producer of copper and the world’s number one cobalt mine.

See http://www.mining.com/2011/11/11/katanga-gets-635-million-to-build-worlds-largest-cobalt-mine/.

Evraz gets support for full London listing

Richard — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:05:53 +0000

Russian steelmaker Evraz has received acceptances for its proposed share swap and relocation to Britain from just over 98 percent of shareholders, allowing it to proceed with a premium London listing and potential entry to the FTSE 100. The company, part owned by the tycoon Roman Abramovich, began trading its London-listed shares on Monday.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page504?oid=138995&sn=Detail&pid=92730.