Ivanhoe Mines -- ehemals Ivanplats - Mining-Legende Robert Friedland auf Rohstoffjagd in Afrika (Seite 42)

[Popeye82]

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[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.464.635 von Popeye82 am 16.02.14 19:47:42

der Topf will kochen, der Deckel ins Kino.
Oder die Hütte.
Aber die brennt ja.

Platinum bosses plead with AMCU, to return to work - ME, JOHANNESBURG - Feb 19, 2014

- M. Creamer -
www.miningweekly.com/article/south-african-platinum-bosses-t…

" The heads of South Africa’s Big Three platinum-mining companies on Wednesday pleaded publicly with Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) leadership to urge striking members to return to work and accept the already unaffordable offer that will mount to the demanded R12 500 a month over a three-year period.

Anglo American Platinum CEO Chris Griffith, Impala Platinum CEO Terence Goodlace and Lonmin CEO Ben Magara spoke collectively at an afternoon media conference as the protected AMCU strike entered its fourth week.

This follows the strike commencing simultaneously at all of the companies’ operations on January 23.
Magara made the point that nobody was benefitting from the strike and employees stood to lose 2% of their salaries a week while on strike.

“We are appealing to AMCU. Our employees cannot afford the strike any longer and our loved ones cannot afford it any more,” said Magara, adding that the offer on the table represented an increase in wages and benefits of R2-billion in the next year.

The total employee complement of the three companies had already fallen from 145 000 in December 2011 to less than 134 000 by December 2013 and prolonged strike action could result in further job losses and possible mine closures.

“The extent of further job losses and possible mine closures is, in fact, in the hands of the union,” said Goodlace, who kicked off the media conference by thanking the government in general and the Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in particular for seeking to resolve the impasse between the parties.

However, he said that extreme disappointment remained as the facilitation had not yielded any progress but for the still unaccepted revised offer that had been put on the table by the three platinum producers.

“The platinum industry finds itself in an extremely precarious position,” Goodlace told Mining Weekly Online, adding that half of the industry was unprofitable even before the strike began after platinum producers lost 900 000 oz of production as a result of earlier strikes.

That resulted in losses of revenue of R12.5-billion and loss of employee wages of R1.2-billion.

“These losses will never be recovered,” Goodlace said.

In 2013, the three companies generated revenues of R50.7-billion and paid R22-billion in salaries and wages, R23-billion on consumables and power and R8-billion in capital expenditure.

“That R8-billion is far to low and just shows the state of the industry. We can’t afford to invest in the future and if we don’t invest in the future, there is no future,” he added.

Taxes and royalties totalled R2-billion and dividends amounted to only R100-million.

The net result was a net cash loss of R4.3-billion, which was clearly not sustainable and excluded any of the pay increases being demanded.

In the last five years, the average cost of a platinum group metal ounce had increased at a rate of 18% a year and productivity continued to slide.

Labour had increased by 12% a year, way in excess of inflation and the latest demands would effectively result in an increase of the basic rate of more than 150%.

The mining mix had changed with more upper group two reef being mined than the greater-platinum-yielding Merensky reef.

While the average mine pay in 1990 was R60 000 a year, the average today was R170 000 a year or R14 400 a month a person.

But while pay had gone up astronomically, metal grades and productivity had fallen appreciably.

Griffith said that in spite of all the challenges, the three companies had continued to negotiate with AMCU since the beginning of June 2013, seeking a settlement that would give employees higher wages, preserve jobs and provide sustainability.

“Negotiation by its definition is a process of give and take and an endeavour by both parties to seek a win-win solution.

“Since the start of negotiations in mid-2013, the platinum producers have made a number of consecutive improvements on their wage offer, in the spirit of good-faith collective bargaining and in a genuine attempt to find a fair settlement.

“AMCU has stuck resolutely to its opening demand and has not moved at all. The union refuses to accept the economic circumstances facing this industry and refuses to take into consideration the cost structures.

“It clearly has no or little interest in preserving jobs through economic means and it has displayed widespread disregard for the collective bargaining process.

“For example, it has disrespected the rights of non-striking employees attempting to go to work.

“As a consequence, it has show scant regard to the letter and spirit of good-faith collective bargaining and to this end, it’s simply not possible to negotiate an affordable and sustainable solution because there is only one party that’s committed to good-faith collective bargaining,” Griffith said.

When the CCMA-facilitated process commenced, the CCMA commissioners requested the companies to be bold and be seen to be negotiating in good faith.

In response, the employers increased their offer, which, “if truth be told”, none of the three companies can afford.

“That means that we’re all going to have to go back to the drawing board and once again look for further cost savings in our businesses to try to pay for the increased offer that we’ve made.

“We simply cannot grant any increase that will ultimately result in the demise of our companies and the platinum group metals industry,” Griffith concluded.

Additionally, platinum producers expressed concern about the safety of employees who were working or who wished to work.

There have been extensive reports of both overt and covert intimidation at the various operations, with a fatality after a skirmish between protestors and the police, as well as damage to property.

Several employees have been injured while attempting to make their way to work and disregard for picketing rules has been flagrant.

“A timely resolution would be in the best interests of all parties involved. But, this impasse cannot be resolved at the expense of the industry. We have a responsibility to our shareholders, our communities, our country and – most of all – to our own employees.

“We take this responsibility very seriously and seek to act in pursuit of the broad interests of all,” the three companies said in a release handed to media representatives.

“The offer made by our negotiating team on 29 January pushes the boundary of what is affordable and sustainable as far as we possibly can. We cannot and do not contemplate anything above this,” they added.

The three companies have proposed a three-year agreement with increases of 9% for the lowest paid employees, 8.5% for the second-lowest paid and 7.5% for C-level employees.

In year two, there is 8% on offer for A-level, 7.5% for B-level and 7.0% for C-level, with the third year made up of 7.5% for A-level, 7.5% for B-level and 7.0% for C-level, all above the current 5.4% inflation rate.

The proposed increase would take the current monthly minimum wage of between R5 000 and R5 700 to between R6 300 and R7 200 by 2015 excluding benefits and bonuses.

This would make the minimum wage higher than similar labour-intensive sectors within the economy.

The proposed increases would also take the minimum guaranteed pay of entry-level underground employees to between R9 390 and R10 250 in the first year to between R10 900 and R11 900 in the third year.

Most other labour-intensive parts of the economy pay a basic minimum wage only, the companies added. "

[sebaldo]

A Tag-along Visit with Mining Billionaire Robert Friedland


Today’s Sprott’s Thoughts comes from Tommy Humphreys at CEO.CA. He had the exclusive opportunity to report on reclusive and media-wary billionaire Robert Friedland’s recent trip around some of South Africa’s biggest potential mines.

Robert Friedland is one of the most prominent players in the mining sector today. The following piece should provide some insight into the mining mogul who once mentored Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Sincerely,

Henry Bonner

By Tommy Humphreys, CEO.CA

Excerpted and edited from On an African dog and pony show with mining mogul Robert Friedland, published February 17, 2014.

Friedland1

Ivanhoe Mines executive chairman Robert Friedland at the site of the initial Kamoa copper discovery in the Katanga province, D.R. Congo – Feb 11, 2014. Photo: Govind Friedland

Robert Friedland became a multi-billionaire over the past 35 years by finding and developing mining ventures on nearly every corner of the globe.

I was on a trip with Friedland last week and toured three of his latest mining projects in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After two years of asking, he had let me tag along.

Robert Friedland is actually credited with having taught Steve Jobs about the ‘reality distortion field’ when Jobs was in college in 1972.

The ‘reality distortion field’ is a personal intensity and vision so powerful it bends people to your will, convincing them of a project’s higher purpose. Steve Jobs, as founder and CEO of Apple, managed to sell mountainous innovation, redefining the relationship between art and technology, partly because he developed this personality trait early on.

Friedland’s company spent nearly 20 years looking for platinum before finding arguably one of the best platinum ore bodies in the world: the Platreef deposit.

Friedland2

Ivanhoe Mines CEO Lars-Eric Johannson (middle), Executive Chairman Robert Friedland (right). Near Platreef, Limpopo, South Africa. Photo: Tommy Humphreys, CEO.CA

A Japanese consortium gave Ivanhoe Mines $290 million for 10% of Platreef in 2010 and 2011. The Platreef, once built, would be unlike all other platinum mines in South Africa.

Platinum production is a mess in South Africa. 73% of the world’s platinum originates there, but the average mine is a kilometer deep, where underground workers mine ore bodies just a meter thick, in blazing hot temperatures upwards of 122ºF (50ºC).

Conversely, the Platreef ore body is purported to be 24 meters thick on average which allows for air-conditioned, mechanized labor. In fact, Friedland bets that most of the project’s underground workforce will be women; they are proven to be better at operating large mining machinery, he says.

Friedland3

This valley shows the Platreef project site. 800 meters below lies the flat, thick PGM orebody.

We also flew to Lubumbashi in the DRC’s Katanga province (a.k.a. the land of copper). Katanga is lush green country with reddish brown soil. Shacks, French signage, and smiling children lined the unpaved roads on which our motorcade barreled forward—Friedland riding in VIP car #1. We were finally greeted at Ivanhoe’s Kipushi Mine by a full percussion band.

“Promoting a stock is like making a movie,” Friedland once said. “You’ve got to have stars, props, and a good script.”

The Kipushi Project was the world’s richest copper and zinc mining operation for the better part of the last century. But Kipushi was abandoned in 1993, and flooded in 2011. Ivanhoe then bought it for $150 million from Israeli businessman Dan Gertler. Ivanhoe’s been dewatering the mine since; drilling will target a potentially massive zinc deposit called the Big Zinc orebody.

Friedland4

Standing atop the 17 story shaft #5 at Kamoa overlooking Shafts #1-4 in the D.R. Congo’s Katanga province.

Early the next morning, we flew to Kolwezi, where Friedland’s crew had discovered Kamoa, the world’s largest undeveloped high-grade copper deposit.

Friedland5

Robert Friedland, David Broughton and David Edwards at the site of the Kamoa copper discovery in D.R. Congo

Today, the Kamoa camp is bustling, with some 300 local workers on site. The company aims for a 2018 start-up, but needs a financial partner, such as a sovereign or major miner, to come in with the cash.

Friedland expects to sell part of Kamoa to the Chinese or Koreans. The project is a behemoth that would require a smelter. But Friedland told me not to worry.

“World class ore bodies finance themselves,” he said. “In fact, people fight to finance them.”

I also talked to Friedland about his share price, which at the moment, was nearing all-time lows.

“Why do you keep pressuring me to promote the stock?” Friedland gestured to me. “This is getting built. Seven billion dollars for the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia and it was a thousand times tougher.”

Friedland6

Robert Friedland’s 100 kilogram baby, the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia, which started shipping concentrates in 2013.

Since I returned from Africa, everybody’s been asking me what Robert Friedland is like in person.

The 63 year old Chicago-born, Singapore-based financier radiates intensity. He thrives in front of an audience. It always seems like he’s in a hurry, and his staff know better than to make him wait. Despite his age and lean frame, he is intimidating physically, and has piercing blue eyes. He has been married to Darlene, who was with us in Africa, for 33 years.

At the same time, he’s funny, sometimes goofy. He wears his hat backwards, uttering, “Be cool, be cool.” He makes a Japanese-style bow as he leaves the room.

The Ivanhoe Mines organization is surprisingly flat, and although Friedland is likely to interrupt his employees’ when they’re giving important presentations, they’re not afraid to tell him when he’s wrong.

Friedland made his fortune on quick flips, but has spent the past decade building mega-projects. My opinion is that he’s become more of a mine developer than a mining promoter. Building a mine is much more difficult than selling one undeveloped. At the Kamoa camp, as we are set to depart, Friedland shakes the hands of 300 workers and takes the mic to tell the men and women working there to make it happen.

http://www.sprottglobal.com/thoughts/articles/a-tag-along-vi…

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.462.163 von Popeye82 am 16.02.14 00:40:55

wie gesagt, Hütte, (oder auch)seeeeehr schwer zusammenzubekommende Interessen:

Better living conditions for miners –Gordhan - MW, JOHANNESBURG - Feb 18, 2014

- Sapa -
www.miningweekly.com/article/better-living-conditions-for-mi…

"Better living conditions are needed in the mining sector, which plays an important role in the economy, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday.

"All of us need to do what we can to reintroduce stability... so that that part of the community can continue to create jobs, continue with investments... but also give workers better living conditions," he said at Federation of Unions of South Africa's (Fedusa's) collective bargaining conference in Roodepoort.

"I think we are not working hard enough to address the migrant labour issues", he told Fedusa.

Gordhan, who will deliver his budget speech next week, said debate on the National Development Plan was finished and the time had come for implementation. "

[Popeye82]

Catalytic converter industry ‘dying’, platinum tax possible saviour -Naacam - MW/CMR, JOHANNESBURG - Feb 17, 2014

- Irma Venter -
www.miningweekly.com/article/catalytic-converter-industry-dy…

" Magneti Marelli South Africa is closing its doors.

The Gauteng-based catalytic converter manufacturer, family of the Italian Magneti Marelli conglomerate, will halt production at the end of February, and shut down finally at the end of April.

The company once employed 92 people.

GM Claudio Di Martina tells Engineering News Online that the company is “not competitive enough to receive any more export contracts from Europe”.

He says Magneti Marelli South Africa found itself unable to compete under government’s new Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP), implemented in 2013. The APDP replaced the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP).

“The new rebate system had disadvantages for us, and for the rest of the catalytic converter industry too, I believe.”

Di Martina says it is largely vehicle manufacturers that benefit from the APDP, and not the component industry.

“I couldn’t even cover my export transport costs.”

Di Martina adds that South Africa’s logistics and transport costs are “some of the highest in the world”.

He notes that last year’s seven-week strike in the automotive industry also made “Europeans nervous about the stability of the South African economy”.

“The exchange rate is favourable for exports,” he adds, “but not for material imports”.

The rand has weakened sharply against the major currencies over the last six months.


CATALYTIC CONVERTER INDUSTRY “DYING”

Total catalytic converter exports from South Africa dropped from R19.6-billion in 2011 (almost 50% of all component exports) to R16.3-billion in 2012. Catalytic converters remained South Africa’s number one component export in 2012.

In 2008, at its peak, the local industry earned R24.3-billion.

It employs around 5 200 people.

A catalytic converter is a device incorporated into a vehicle’s exhaust system, containing a catalyst for converting pollutant gases into less harmful ones. It makes use of platinum-group metals (PGMs).

South Africa has about 75% of the world’s PGM reserves, and is the world’s largest producer of platinum, with Russia second.

Despite these riches, the local catalytic converter industry is dying, says National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (Naacam) executive director Robert Houdet.

“The APDP cannot ensure its sustainability. We need to take it out of the APDP and go the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to try and set up a programme for catalytic converter manufacturers, where they can benefit from the fact that they beneficiate PGMs.”

Former Naacam executive director Roger Pitot said in 2012 that the benefits offered to local component manufacturers would be lower under the APDP than under the MIDP, noting that some global vehicle manufacturers had not renewed their contracts for the supply of catalytic converters from South Africa.


PRODUCTION TAX POSSIBLE SOLUTION

Finding a solution to the lack of global competitiveness of the catalytic converter industry “is a matter of urgency ,” says Houdet.

The decision to set up a catalytic converter plant is taken around three years in advance.

“For production of catalytic converters to still take place in South Africa three years from now, we need to be able to make a competitive offer right now, otherwise we will lose out. We have to move fast, and make sure we change people’s minds, because they are already ruling South Africa out as a possible manufacturing destination.”

To ensure the survival of the catalytic converter industry, Houdet proposes that government charges a production tax on all PGMs produced in South Africa.

“Nobody says we cannot increase our prices. The mining company can add the tax as an item on the invoice when charging their customers. The Middle East had similar policies when they controlled the world’s oil resources in the 1970s and Mozambique is mulling increasing its coal royalty tax. Everyone is doing it.

“We have platinum. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and government must have the courage to implement this tax.

“The production tax will serve as an incentive to manufacture catalytic converters in South Africa, as local manufacturers could either receive a tax rebate, or see the tax eliminated through some local value-add formula”.

Houdet says the catalytic converter industry would ask for only a small part of the production tax, with the rest going to the fiscus.

“We need to make this the cheapest place to produce catalytic converters. Such a move would also benefit the stainless steel industry.”


CROSS-GOVT SUPPORT TO BE EXPLORED, SAYS DTI

The catalytic converter industry in South Africa developed predominantly on the back of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) MIDP incentive scheme, which was discontinued in 2013, says DTI automotive chief director Mkhululi Mlota.

This is because government’s financial incentive for exported production was based predominantly on the value of local content, including material.

This meant the relatively high platinum value found within a converter provided a high level of reward compared with the level of actual manufacturing value-add, explains Mlota.

During the roughly two decades of the MIDP, the local catalytic converter sector peaked at around 16% of global production.

However, apart from coating and canning, no further value-chain activity was realised in South Africa, says Mlota.

“Under the APDP, the system has moved to one which rewards any qualifying automotive production related directly to its level of manufacturing value addition.

“Cognisance was taken of the expected impact on catalytic converter production, and a transitional support package was put into place by the DTI.”

This support package placed converters into the category that receives the highest level of production incentive, and also provides a level of recognition for the value of local material (platinum).

“This was termed the vulnerable sector support package,” notes Mlota.

In spite of the package, however, the subsector remains “under extreme pressure”.

Outside of the APDP/MIDP dynamic, there is also a trend to move some production away from South Africa, owing to logistic costs and the extra capacity available in catalytic converter factories closer to major vehicle assembly plants, says Mlota.

“While as much as possible is done to support the industry through the APDP, there is a danger of over-subsidisation if the incentive is maintained at MIDP levels – especially given that the industry had approximately two decades of significant support and never developed beyond that level, which made it so vulnerable,” says Mlota.

However, he adds, 2014 is also the year of the first detailed APDP review.

The dynamics examined will include vulnerable sectors, and the implications for any changes to their circumstances.

“Further, other, cross-governmental, non-APDP support measures need to be explored, especially in terms of the supply-side factors faced by catalytic converter producers,” says Mlota. “Under present material cost conditions, there is no geographic benefit to beneficiating platinum close to its source.”


APDP REVIEW UNDER WAY

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said in October last year that the APDP, implemented on January 1, 2013, and running until 2020, would be the subject of an early review.

He said the aim of the early review would be to “create conditions of confidence” for the automotive industry in South Africa.

“We are all committed to work together to ensure our industry has a bright future.”

This government-led review has started, says Houdet, with the process headed by Pitot.

It is scheduled to be completed in October.

Naacam is seeking a number of changes to the APDP, says Houdet, but notes that it would be premature to discuss these changes, as the association has to consult its members and the vehicle manufacturers before making any submissions.


NO OTHER INDUSTRY BENEFICIATES PGMs –CCIG

Magneti Marelli is a smaller player in the South African catalytic converter industry, says Catalytic Converter Interest Group (CCIG) executive director Ken Dewar.

“Some of the bigger players are getting new contracts,” he acknowledges.

General Motors South Africa, in partnership with component manufacturer Tenneco South Africa, last year clinched a R6-billion contract to export catalytic converters to North America.

However, this said, Dewar knows of yet another manufacturer “potentially closing down”.

“We have seen the benefits to the industry shrink under the MIDP, and they continue to do so under the APDP.”

Dewar says the CCIG would like government to put this decline in benefits on hold.

“If not, our industry will die.”

Dewar says the CCIG has been told that there are only a finite number of benefits available under the APDP, and that the industry would need to approach the DMR for additional aid.

To date, two years of engagement with the DMR had not produced the desired results, with a new proposal now headed to the DMR, DTI and Cabinet.

“We can double or triple the amount of PGMs we beneficiate if we can receive more benefits, such as through a production tax,” says Dewar. “No other industry in South Africa beneficiate PGMs.”

The South African catalytic converter industry produces 10-million converters a year.

“We do not expect to do more in 2014. At the current rate we see the industry declining by 5% a year over the next three to four years,” says Dewar.


“A lot of the manufacturers are currently working at 50% capacity.” "

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.293.513 von Popeye82 am 24.01.14 00:22:04

Robots "have "potential" , to counteract squeezed mining margins –CSIR"[+Video] - MW/CSIR, JOHANNESBURG - Aug 23, 2013

- M. Creamer, M. Zhuwakinyu -
www.miningweekly.com/article/robots-have-potential-to-counte…

"Technology has the potential to help the profit-squeezed South African mining industry to start earning better margins again, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) novel mining methods manager Dr Jeannette McGill said last week.

McGill added that South Africa’s gold and platinum miners, in particular, had reached a crossroads similar to that of the North American copper sector in the 1960s and 1970s, when technology had to come to the rescue in the form of the solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) methodology.

“We’re definitely in challenging times, and there’s most definitely a role for technology,” said McGill, who recalls that SX-EW effec-tively engineered a second wind of life into the North American copper operations.

“I currently equate what was happening in the copper sector then to what is currently impacting on South Africa’s hard-rock mining, and what we can do is resort to a robotic mining method,” McGill told Mining Weekly.

For a variety of underground as well as aboveground risks, the margins of hard-rock miners have been squeezed exceedingly tightly at a time of the commodity cycle bottoming out.

“This is the opportunity for technology to step in and change some of the fundamentals that go into the mining equation,” said McGill, whose PhD at the Colorado School of Mines looked at the competitiveness of South Africa’s platinum sector.

Mining is researched in a variety of different units within the CSIR – South Africa’s largest parastatal research agency, which reports that most mining majors are tackling technology, either as first movers or fast followers.

The CSIR’s Centre for Mining Innovation, in Johannesburg, is the central repository and domain specialist, which involves the rest of the CSIR from an expertise capacity viewpoint.

In the short term, the centre wants to use robots to improve safety in mines.

“Our first port of call has been a safety plat-form. Where there are accidents underground, we can send in a robotic safety platform.”

In the longer term, the centre envisages sending in a robotic machine to mine narrow tabular reefs in currently inaccessible ultra-deep areas.

Narrow tabular reefs characterise the gold and platinum environments, where the reef height can be from 10 cm to 40 cm but stoping widths of 1 m and more have to be extracted to meet legal requirements. "

[Popeye82]

der hat doch nicht mehr alle Latten am Zaun. Letzter Versuch, mit einem anderen Artikel. Die Hütte brennt:

Lonmin to lose 3.100 oz/d, Implats 2.800 oz/d, owing to AMCU strike - MW, JOHANNESBURG - Jan 23, 2014

- L. Kolver -
www.miningweekly.com/article/lonmin-to-lose-3-100-ozd-implat…

[Popeye82]

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Dieser Beitrag wurde vom System automatisch gesperrt. Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich bitte an [e-mail]

[Popeye82]

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Dieser Beitrag wurde vom System automatisch gesperrt. Bei Fragen wenden Sie sich bitte an [e-mail]

[Boersiback]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.458.219 von Popeye82 am 14.02.14 23:08:18

naja ich bin einfach mal nur enttäuscht...
da kann ich ja bald jeden durchschnittsbasemetaller nehmen und es kommt mehr rum bei jetzigen preisen.

es ist ja auch nicht so dass man zu tiefe preise angesetzt hat.
was mich eher verwundert ist z.B. dass wellgreen nach erster pea (ok 2012 ne weile her) waterberg um 3 pferdelängen hinter sich läßt