Ivanhoe Mines -- ehemals Ivanplats - Mining-Legende Robert Friedland auf Rohstoffjagd in Afrika (Seite 34)

[sebaldo]

UPDATE 2-Ivanhoe warns of funding crunch at two mines in Congo

* Q1 net loss $48.8 mln vs $ 42.4 mln year earlier
* Shares fall as much as 7 percent (Adds analyst comments, updates shares)
By Anannya Pramanick
May 15 (Reuters) - Canada's Ivanhoe Mines Ltd said it would not be able to develop two mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo unless it gets more funds by the end of June, sending its shares down as much as 7 percent in early trading.
Ivanhoe, which does not have any producing mine, said it would spend most of its funds on its Platreef mine in South Africa, which is estimated to produce about 785,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold a year.
The company said it had consolidated working capital of about $149.8 million as of March 31, down from $201.7 million at Dec. 31. It needs about $1.7 billion to bring the mechanized Platreef mine into production.
The company said on Thursday its access to financing was uncertain and that there was no assurance that additional funding would be available to the company in the near future.
"Realistically the only option available at the moment is probably to raise equity," Raymond James analyst Alex Terenview said.
The Congo mines, Kamoa and Kipushi, make up 83 percent of the company's net asset value, he said.
Ivanhoe holds a 95 percent stake in Kamoa copper mine and a 68 percent stake in Kipushi, which mines zinc, lead and germanium apart from copper.
Ivanhoe will likely look for a partner to develop Kamoa, Terenview said.
It would be less likely to sell its stake in Kipushi as it could be the company's first source of cash flow, he said.
The company owns 90 percent of Platreef and a Japanese consortium led by Itochu Corp owns the rest.
Ivanhoe also posted a bigger loss in the first quarter, hurt by higher exploration costs. Net loss widened to $48.8 million in the quarter ended March 31 from $42.4 million a year earlier.
Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe's founder and chairman, made a name for himself in 1996 by selling an undeveloped Canadian nickel-copper project called Voisey's Bay for C$4.3 billion ($3.94 billion). The mine is now owned by Brazil's Vale SA .
He solidified his reputation with the earlier incarnation of Ivanhoe Mines, now called Turquoise Hill Resources, building the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia. Global miner Rio Tinto now controls Turquoise Hill and operates the massive mine.
Ivanhoe's shares fell to C$1.67 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday. They have fallen more than 27 percent in the last 12 months. ($1 = 1.0906 Canadian Dollars) (Additional reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)


http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/ivanhoe-mines-mine…

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.941.138 von Popeye82 am 08.05.14 01:58:25

Platinum producers slam acts of violence, as tensions mount in platinum belt; Platinum producers on Monday condemned acts of violence against returning workers, pleading with the Association of Mineworkers +Construction Union(AMCU) to issue a public statement demanding their members respect the rights of those wanting to work. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum +Lonmin had been engaging workers directly, encouraging them to end the 16-week strike +report for duty, sidelining AMCU by offering employees the chance of accepting the revised wage offer individually
www.miningweekly.com/article/platinum-producers-slam-rising-…

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.941.136 von Popeye82 am 08.05.14 01:55:48

SA’s trade deficit widens as strike-hit platinum sector hampers exports, South Africa posted a larger-than-expected trade deficit in March as the protracted strike in the platinum group metals(PGM) sector – which produces South Africa’s largest export commodity – shows no sign of ending. Trade data published by the South African Revenue Service(Sars) on Wednesday showed a trade deficit of R11.400.000.000 in March – a jump from February’s downwardly revised(initially R1.700.000.000) R600.000.000 surplus
www.miningweekly.com/article/sas-trade-deficit-widens-as-str…

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.846.538 von Popeye82 am 18.04.14 13:55:14

Implats says most miners want to return to work, Johan Theron South African platinum producer Impala Platinum said on Friday that 2-3rds of its striking workforce had indicated by text messages +phone calls that they wanted to accept the company's latest wage offer +end a 14-week strike. Implats spokesperson Johan Theron told Reuters that workers who were unable to send texts because they have no money for air time were making use of telephones @mine recruitment offices, "We will have a totally clear picture next week"
www.miningweekly.com/article/implats-says-most-miners-want-t…

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.846.538 von Popeye82 am 18.04.14 13:55:14

Zuma calls for end to platinum strike, President Jacob Zuma President Jacob Zuma says unions in the mining sector should use their rights responsibly +put the country 1st, by protecting the economy +safeguarding jobs. Speaking @the May Day rally @the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Thursday, the President said unscrupulous bargaining tactics, which are not within the confines of the law +characterised by violence +intimidation, reversed the gains made after the advent of democracy
www.miningweekly.com/article/zuma-calls-for-end-to-platinum-…

[sebaldo]

Also, die Kursentwicklung ist sehr erfreulich in der letzten Zeit. Gut, dass ich nicht verkauft habe.

[Popeye82]

Key factors in the platinum sector wage negotiations

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.898.772 von sebaldo am 30.04.14 10:12:34

Zitat von sebaldo: Improved working conditions
Indeed, Friedland has said he is committed to building a fair work environment. Speakingto Reuters about South African PGMs mine conditions last December, he said, “t’s pretty claustrophobic, the men are working with muscle power, they are getting silicosis, they are breathing what they are drilling and they are tired of doing it for $12 a day. I don’t think they are going to do it for much longer, and I don’t think they should.” The mining chairman also noted that Ivanhoe will pay employees “an order of magnitude greater than the current wage.”
Miningmx notes that these comments sparked resentment from other South African platinum and palladium miners. Friedland’s claims came just before workers downed tools at the start of this year, and Peter Major, an analyst for Cadiz Corporate Solutions, told the news outlet in December that he believes Friedland was attempting to stimulate wage demands “so high that every platinum mine here [would have] to close.”
Also worth noting is that although Friedland has more or less maintained his position on fair wages, his position has softened somewhat. He told BDlive in February, “[while] workers labouring in the deep underground mines certainly deserve better, it is equally important for workers and their leaders to understand that mining companies must make a profit or investors will not inject the billions of dollars needed to find and build profitable mines.”
A complicated but hard-working man
Bloomberg has noted that Friedland is known for sharing the idea of the “reality distortion field” with Steve Jobs at Reed College. However, despite Friedland’s often-controversial history, Tommy Humphreys, writing for CEO.ca, has said that betting on the mining mogul may not be as outlandish as some might think. On a tour of Ivanhoe’s three mining projects in February this year, Humphreys was able to spend a significant amount of time with Friedland, meeting several of his coworkers while hearing about the man’s intention to hire women to work at Platreef and his belief in Ivanhoe’s drilling proficiencies.

paahr interessante Raaahndnotizen.
Die ich zum Teil quasi davor schon in den Raum gestellt habe.

Gruß
P.

[sebaldo]

Can Robert Friedland Save South African Palladium?
Apr 30, 2014 07:03 GMT   Source:Investing News Network
Tags: AMCU,  Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.,  JSE:IMP,  LSE:AAL,  LSE:LMI,  South Africa
Monday April 28, 2014, 4:15am PDT
By Teresa Matich+ - Exclusive to Palladium Investing News
Charismatic billionaire Robert Friedland has been active in the mining world since the 1980s, and after losing control of his Mongolian Oyu Tolgoi project to Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) in 2012, the mining mogul has shifted his focus to Africa. With the release of last month’s preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX:IVN) Platreef project, Friedland looks poised to make major changes in palladium andplatinum production in South Africa.
Friedland is chairman and director of Ivanhoe Mines, which is currently developing three projects in Africa, one of which focuses on the larger-than-life Flatreef deposit located northeast of Johannesburg. The Platreef project is 90-percent owned by Ivanhoe, while a Japanese consortium owns the other 10 percent.
Hopes for strike resolution wane again
Prices for platinum and palladium rose slightly last Friday as hopes fizzled regarding a resolution of the ongoing Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) strike. After fallingearlier last week as talks began between producers and the South African union, palladium climbed $8.90, or 1 percent, to $811.20 an ounce on Friday; platinum similarly gained $14.70 to trade at $1,424.30 an ounce, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press also notes that heightened tension in the Ukraine has raised worries that supply of the white metal may be strained if Russia, one of the world’s top palladium producers, is put under further sanctions by the US and European countries.
Meanwhile, AMCU members stormed out of a meeting in South Africa when producers Amplats (LSE:AAL), Implats (JSE:IMP) and Lonmin (LSE:LMI) refused to increase their most recent wage offer, as per BDlive. AMCU delegates vowed to hold a mass meeting with union members to tell them of what they see as unsatisfactory behavior by the miners, stating, ‘[w]e were extremely livid at these underhand methods. It is difficult to predict how our members will react and what mandate they will give us faced with this situation.” The strike has been going on for more than three months.
Flatreef: South Africa’s underground PGMs behemoth?
According to Ivanhoe’s website, the high-grade mineralization section of the Flatreef deposit has an average true thickness of 24 meters with a platinum-to-palladium ratio of roughly 1:1. Overall, indicated mineral resources for the project total 214 million tonnes with grades of 4.1 grams per tonne for platinum, palladium, gold and rhodium.
The mining company released a PEA late last month that indicates that, based on the inferred mineral resource, the Platreef mine is slated to become the lowest-cost producer of platinum-group metals (PGMs) in Africa. That could spell trouble for other South African PGMs miners that have cited high production costs and low platinum and palladium prices as reasons they are unable to pay higher wages.
Furthermore, MINING.com notes that because of the immense thickness of the mineralization, it will be viable for Platreef to use mechanized operations in an air-conditioned environment. That has been near impossible for other projects, such as Amplats’ Rustenburg mine, and has forced mine workers at the Bushveld Complex into incredibly uncomfortable and hot working conditions.
Improved working conditions
Indeed, Friedland has said he is committed to building a fair work environment. Speakingto Reuters about South African PGMs mine conditions last December, he said, “t’s pretty claustrophobic, the men are working with muscle power, they are getting silicosis, they are breathing what they are drilling and they are tired of doing it for $12 a day. I don’t think they are going to do it for much longer, and I don’t think they should.” The mining chairman also noted that Ivanhoe will pay employees “an order of magnitude greater than the current wage.”
Miningmx notes that these comments sparked resentment from other South African platinum and palladium miners. Friedland’s claims came just before workers downed tools at the start of this year, and Peter Major, an analyst for Cadiz Corporate Solutions, told the news outlet in December that he believes Friedland was attempting to stimulate wage demands “so high that every platinum mine here [would have] to close.”
Also worth noting is that although Friedland has more or less maintained his position on fair wages, his position has softened somewhat. He told BDlive in February, “[while] workers labouring in the deep underground mines certainly deserve better, it is equally important for workers and their leaders to understand that mining companies must make a profit or investors will not inject the billions of dollars needed to find and build profitable mines.”
A complicated but hard-working man
Bloomberg has noted that Friedland is known for sharing the idea of the “reality distortion field” with Steve Jobs at Reed College. However, despite Friedland’s often-controversial history, Tommy Humphreys, writing for CEO.ca, has said that betting on the mining mogul may not be as outlandish as some might think. On a tour of Ivanhoe’s three mining projects in February this year, Humphreys was able to spend a significant amount of time with Friedland, meeting several of his coworkers while hearing about the man’s intention to hire women to work at Platreef and his belief in Ivanhoe’s drilling proficiencies.
Interestingly, Humphreys states that Friedland was not as evangelistically promotional as he expected, showing more expertise in geology and geopolitics than stock hype. He also said that while Friedland has been known for “quick-flips” in the past, his mega projects of the past 10 years suggest he is more focused on long-term development than promotion.
“Robert is a complicated man,” Sam Riggall, Ivanhoe Mines’ head of strategy and project development, told Humphreys. “His only vice is that he works very hard.”
Whatever the world’s thoughts on the mining mogul may be, Friedland currently holds significant interest in South Africa’s best hope at maintaining a spot as a top producer of PGMs. Investors and analysts will benefit from keeping a close eye on Ivanhoe’s Platreef project, as the richness of its deposit and the development of fair working conditions could change the climate for PGMs mining in South Africa.

http://www.metal.com/newscontent/60072_can-robert-friedland-…

[Popeye82]

eine EInigung des Streiks scheint in Sicht weite, weil es das 1. Angebot ist was wirklich nahe an den (Minnimum)Forderungen der Arbeiter ist.

Platinum, palladium sell off after producers raise wage offer, Platinum hits 3-week low and palladium falls back below $800 an ounce
www.mining.com/platinum-palladium-sell-off-after-producers-r…