Related News

Chalco gets rare-earth plan OK

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Global Times  Date: August 07, 2014

An excavator digs up earth at a rare-earth mining field in Shanghai on July 24. Photo: CFP

Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco), China`s leading aluminum producer, said Wednesday the central government had approved its plan to set up a rare-earth enterprise, the latest move by the country to consolidate the rare-earth industry that has been grappling with problems such as overcapacity and illegal exploration.
   
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) gave permission for a wholly owned subsidiary of Chalco, China Rare Rare-earth Corp, to integrate rare-earth companies in several provinces including Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong and Sichuan, Chalco said in a statement posted on its website.
   
Chalco shares climbed by the daily limit of 10 percent to 4.07 yuan ($0.66), a nine-month high, on Wednesday, reaching its highest level since November 5, 2013. The company is also dual-listed in Hong Kong, where its shares climbed by 9.4 percent to HK$3.74 ($0.48).
   
The MIIT`s approval gives a policy boost to the company to consolidate business within a sphere of business operations, mostly by geography, analysts said.
   
On Tuesday, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co and Xiamen Tungsten Co announced that they had also been granted approval by the MIIT to undertake mergers and acquisitions to consolidate the industry.
   
China`s central government has been making efforts since 2013 to facilitate the establishment of six major industrial groups to engage in the mining, processing and utilization of rare-earth minerals.
   
Three other proposed rare-earth groups, which have not received official approval yet, would be set up by China Minmetals Corp, a major mining company, Ganzhou Rare Earth Group Co, a local nonferrous miner in East China`s Jiangxi Province and Guangdong Provincial Rare Earth Group in South China.
   
The highly valued rare minerals are used in defense system components and high-tech products such as smartphones.
   
"The founding of large rare-earth metal groups is intended to help improve the  regulation and efficiency of the industry," Xu Haibin, a metal analyst with Ji`nan-based commodity consultancy Sublime China Information, told the Global Times Wednesday.
   
Sarah Wang, an analyst with Masterlink Securities Corp, was cited in a Bloomberg report on Wednesday as saying that "investors have more confidence about the company`s performance with the future injection of rare-earth assets."
   
Although China supplies 90 percent of rare-earth elements on the international market, analysts said, its rare-earth industry is challenged by overcapacity.
   
Xiamen Tungsten said in a statement on Tuesday that it will phase out obsolete capacity, enhance measures to protect the environment and crack down on illegal mining, processing and circulation of rare earths.
   
Rampant illegal mining and smuggling is also a problem, analysts said. China launched a campaign in 2012 to crack down on the illegal mining of rare-earth minerals, but Reuters cited Su Bo, a vice minister of the MIIT, as saying in January that the situation is still rife.
   
The consolidation should play a part in ensuring companies not buy or process rare-earth metals dug out by illegal miners, Wu Chenhui, a nonferrous metal analyst with chinaiol.com, told the Global Times Wednesday.
   
China`s rare-earth industry also faced pressure from abroad.
   
On March 26, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that China`s control on export duties and quotas on rare-earth elements, tungsten and molybdenum had broken global trade rules.
   
But on April 17, the Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang told reporters that "China will undertake the utmost effort" to appeal against the WTO ruling.
   
China later raised the cap on rare-earth output on July 24, allowing 10 percent more rare-earth metals to be mined in 2014 from the previous year.
   
According to Xu, consolidated companies, which are more efficient and powerful, could be in a better position to compete after the WTO ruling takes effect.
   
Wu at chinaiol.com said that a smaller number of larger rare-earth companies  will also lead to more negotiating power with overseas clients.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

China-Myanmar joint pipeline starts delivering gas

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: CNTV Date: August 07, 2014

An oil pipeline connecting Myanmar`s western coast and China`s southwestern Yunan province has been completed and is expected to begin operating later this year. It is one of two pipelines built by the China-Myanmar Pipeline Project. The other - a gas pipeline that runs parallel to it - began operating last year. The project is expected to benefit more than 100 million people in the two countries.   

Twenty-seven-year-old Kania Aung checks gas pipes to make sure there is no leakage. He is one of six local employees working at the Mandalay off-take station of the project.   

Six companies from China, Myanmar, South Korea, and India have created two joint companies to develop the project. And China National Petroleum Corporation, or CNPC, is the controlling party of the joint venture.   

The two pipelines are expected to provide Myanmar with 2 million tons of crude oil and 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Thirty years from now, the two pipelines will be transferred to the Myanmar government, becoming part of the country`s national assets.

Xinhua, vice president of South-East Asia Gas and Crude Oil Pipeline Co. Ltd., said that CNPC has invested around US$15 million into local public welfare projects, including power plants, medical treatment, and education. Myanmar is still a relatively poor country, but its economic potential has been enhanced by access to foreign resources, in the form of trade, foreign investment, and multilateral assistance.

Last year, outside firms invest a record-breaking US$3.5 billion into Myanmar. And there was more than US$1 billion in foreign direct investment in the first two months of the current fiscal year.

It will be difficult for Myanmar to quickly establish a business environment in which foreign investors such as CNPC can have immediate and total confidence. But as Myanmar is determined to open up, the country is keen to see foreign investors help lift its economic performance to its full potential.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

PetroChina to seal takeover of Athabasca oil sands project by September

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation:www.bnn.ca   Date: August 06, 2014

State oil giant PetroChina plans to pay the more than $1-billion it needs to complete a takeover of the Dover oil sands project from Canadian firm Athabasca Oil Corp. by the end of September, a person with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
   
PetroChina was supposed to complete the acquisition of Athabasca Oil`s 40 percent stake in the project in June, but delayed the payment while it reassessed the deal amid a government-led corruption probe into the Chinese national oil company, the person said.
   
The internal review showed the geological structure of the project is more complicated than previous estimates, which would increase development costs, but the acquisition will go ahead, the person added.
   
"The next step is to complete the transaction," said the source, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media. "PetroChina will pay in August or September."
   
Asked about the deal, PetroChina spokesman Mao Zefeng said: "At the moment, there is not any sign that PetroChina will not proceed with the project." He declined to comment further.
   
Officials at Calgary-based Athabasca Oil declined to comment on the payment.
   
Shares in Athabasca Oil tumbled last week after it said it was still trying to collect the $1.23-billion payment owed to it by a unit of PetroChina, Phoenix Energy Holdings Ltd, for the stake in the Dover project.
   
The delay triggered speculation that the deal may have been scrapped as the Chinese government investigates about a dozen former senior executives at PetroChina and its parent China National Petroleum Corp for alleged graft, including Beijing-based Song Yiwu, deputy head of CNPC`s overseas operations.
   
Song was deeply involved in PetroChina`s Canada businesses.
   
PetroChina, the world`s fourth most valuable oil company, in 2009 signed an agreement to acquire 60 percent stake in the Dover and MacKay River projects owned by Athabasca Oil for $1.9-billion in a major push into Canada`s reserve-rich but capital intensive oil sands industry.
   
Under the agreement, Athabasca Oil holds the option to sell its remaining 40 percent stake in the two projects to PetroChina after receiving relevant Canadian regulatory approvals. PetroChina bought the remaining 40 percent stake in MacKay River in 2012 for $680-million.
   
PetroChina and Athabasca are now negotiating the final sum for the remaining 40 percent stake in Dover, the person said, adding that the amount should be little changed from the $1.23-billion previously agreed upon.
   
The Dover oil sands project, 95 kilometers (59 miles) northwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, is expected to eventually produce as much as 250,000 barrels of bitumen per day, according to filings by Athabasca.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

China Shenhua Energy hikes August prices

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date:August 06, 2014

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd , the country`s top coal miner, has raised its August coal prices after two consecutive months of cuts, trade sources said on Tuesday, in a move that may offer some relief to an industry suffering big losses.
   
The price hike by Shenhua comes as more than 70 percent of China`s coal firms are already making losses in the first half, according to the country`s coal association, with prices eroded by falling demand growth, a worsening supply glut and a war on smog.
   
Shenhua raised prices for benchmark coal with heating value of 5,500 kcal/kg by 4 yuan to 489 yuan ($79.25) for August, while its tier-1 quality coal (5,800 kcal/kg) was unchanged at 535 yuan a tonne, traders said.
   
"We`re about to enter a seasonal demand lull and orders will start to fall by mid-August. If the big boys don`t find ways to support the market, prices will drop further and the outlook will be very, very grim," said a Shanghai-based trader.
   
Hit by persistent oversupply and slackening demand, China`s benchmark thermal coal prices have been steadily falling since the start of the year and are now hovering at their lowest in more than six years, putting more and more miners under duress.
   
Taking the lead from the industry leader, China National Coal Group, the country`s second-largest producer, swiftly followed suit and hiked prices by a similar amount for August delivery, industry website China Coal Transport and Distribution Association (CCTD) reported on Tuesday.
   
Shenhua and China Coal could not be reached for comment.
   
Traders said the brief increase in spot demand from power plants during the searing summer would offer a reprieve for miners, with industry data from CCTD showing that average daily coal consumption by major coastal power plants has risen to about 700,000 tonnes from about 600,000 tonnes in mid-July.
   
Stocks at these major power plants have also fallen to an equivalent of 18 days of consumption, compared to 20 days earlier.
   
"Local prices should increase, or at least stabilise, now that the top miners have started to raise prices. But I`m not expecting any big rebound," said a second coal trader.
   
Analysts said the overall outlook for miners remain bleak unless steps were taken to cut production to allow swollen inventories to be digested.
   
Total coal inventories in China have hovered at around more than 300 million tonnes for 2-1/2 years, while unsold stocks at mines rose to a record high 99 million tonnes at the end of June, according to data from CCTD.
   
To tackle the supply glut, the coal association has proposed a series of plans aimed at cutting output by around 10 percent this year, local media reported.
   
Proposals include having miners register their monthly production, authorities stepping up checks on output and safety, and increased fines on firms that are producing above their approved capacity. ($1 = 6.1705 Chinese Yuan)

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

State Grid buys stake in Italian firm for $2.8b

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation:Global Times   Date: August 04, 2014

revenue, on Thursday agreed to buy a 35 percent stake in Italian energy grid unit Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) Reti for 2.1 billion euros ($2.8 billion), in one of the biggest investments in Italy by a Chinese company.
   
The stake in the deal will be sold to State Grid International Development Ltd (SGID), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGCC. CDP Reti is wholly owned by CDP, a state holding company.
   
Liu Zhenya, chairman of the SGCC, said at the ceremony that the investment in CDP Reti is yet another breakthrough in the company`s overseas strategy and the company`s second-most important investment in Europe after power grid operator REN in Portugal in 2012.
   
The move follows a series of European infrastructure acquisition by Chinese State-owned titans whose investments have spanned across Europe. Among them are the People`s Bank of China`s partial acquisition of Italian energy companies Eni and Enel in March and Shanghai Electric Group`s stake purchase in power engineering firm Ansaldo Energia.
   
Chinese companies and individuals made outbound direct investments worth $43.34 billion from January to June, down by 5 percent from the same period last year, in 146 countries and regions, the Ministry of Commerce said on July 15.
   
As of June 2014, SGCC`s overseas assets amounted to over $23 billion, the company said in its statement. The profit yielded from its overseas investment grew from less than 800 million yuan ($128.08 million) in 2009 to 3.2 billion yuan in 2013, an increase of 309 percent, the company said.
   
SGID will appoint two board directors for the five-member board of CDP Reti and dispatch two finance officers to the company, according to a statement of the company e-mailed to the Global Times.
   
SGID will also nominate one board member for both gas transport group Snam and power grid Terna. The two firms are partly owned by CDP Reti.
   
"Against the backdrop of economic globalization, companies should not be satisfied in being a successful regional player. They must walk out of their national border and mingle with the world," Liu Zhenya said in the statement.
   
"We position ourselves as a long-term strategic investor in the overseas market, and our starting point is the stable operation of business and rewards over the long term," the statement said, citing a manager of SGID.
   
Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said this is a milestone in State Grid`s "go out" strategy.
   
"Top Chinese companies will in the future become top multinational companies in the world, and overseas mergers and acquisitions like this one are necessary steps to that status," Lin told  the Global Times.
   
But Lin warned of the risks from the operation of the assets. "No one will sell an infrastructure project if it is a cash cow," Lin said.
   
SGCC invests, builds and operates a grid that covers over 88 percent of China`s territory, serving over 1.1 billion people. It ranked 7th among Fortune Global 500 companies in 2014 with revenue of $333.38 billion.
   
In 2013, SGCC acquired SP AusNet, a power company in Australia formerly owned by Singapore Power International. The company also bought 60 percent of SPI (Australia) Assets Pty Ltd, another Australian power company.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

China`s chemical industry`s output up 11.1% in H1

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation:China Knowledge   Date: August 04, 2014

The value-added output of China`s chemical industry rose 11.1% year on year in the first half of this year, according to figures released by the National Development and Reform Commission.
   
The growth rate for the six-month period was 0.7% lower than it realized in the same period of 2013.
   
During the period from Jan to Jun 2014, the output of ethylene grew 5.3% year on year to 8.47 million tons, and those of plastics in primary form rose 11.5% to 33.71 million tons.
   
The country`s synthetic rubber output increased 9.9% to 2.49 million tons during the period and its synthetic fiber output increased 7.6% to 19.37 million tons.
   
In the first half of this year, China produced a total of 15.8 million tons of caustic soda, reflecting a year on year increase of 10.9%, while the output of soda ash, calcium carbide and pesticide reached 12.7 million tons, 11.81 million tons and 1.83 million tons, up 6.9%, 8% and 0.8% from a year earlier, respectively.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

China`s cement output up 3.6% in H1 to 1.14 bln tons

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation:China Knowledge   Date: August 04, 2014

China`s cement output grew 3.6% year on year to 1.14 billion tons in the first half of this year, according to statistics released by the National Development and Reform Commission.
   
From Jan to Jun 2014, China`s flat glass output rose 4.7% year on year to 411.18 million weight boxes. The growth rate was 6.1% lower than that in the same period of 2013.
   
The average ex-factory price at major cement enterprises decreased RMB 6.4 per ton from May to RMB 348 per ton in Jun. At the end of Jun, the cement inventory of these major cement enterprises had increased 1.1% year on year to 19.27 million tons.
   
The price of flat glass stood at RMB 61.1 per weight box, remained flat from a month earlier.
   
The building material industry realized RMB 159.7 billion in profit in the first five months of this year, reflecting an increase of 20.7% year on year. The profit of the cement sector surged 69.5% to RMB 26 billion. The flat glass sector saw profit increase 46.7% year on year to RMB 1.79 billion.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

Gold deposits worth 6.46 billion USD discovered in Xinjiang

Source: www.chinamining.org   Citation: Xinhua   Date: July 30, 2014

Geologists have discovered a large gold deposit worth a potential 6.46 billion U.S. dollars in northwest China`s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local officials said on Tuesday.
   
With at least 127 tons of proven reserves, it is the largest gold deposit ever discovered in resource-rich Xinjiang.
   
It is located in Uqar County, which borders Kyrgyzstan in west Xinjiang, according to the regional bureau of geology and mineral exploration and development.
   
"It`s expected the total reserves will exceed 200 tons," said Cui Hongbin, head of the exploration team.
   
The discovery will not only increase China`s gold output, which totaled 211.07 tons in the first half of this year, but will also benefit local revenue and employment, said Cui.
   
The bureau spent two decades exploring the area, where geological workers found more than 20 belts of gold ore in the 20-square-km Sawayaerdun deposit, he said.
   
The discovery has attracted the attention of several major mine developers in China who have expressed interest in co-development.
   
In 2013, the bureau also discovered two gold deposits with proven reserves of more than 50 tons each in the counties of Xinyuan and Hejing. 

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on October 20th -23rd , 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit:m.balanzskin.com.