Tax returns expose Rs. 600-cr. illegal iron ore transactions

57 lakh tonnes of ore purchased from unlicensed dealers

Monday, March21, 2011

Bangalore: The Department of Mines and Geology has initiated proceedings to recover Rs. 600 crore from iron ore exporters for buying a staggering 57 lakh tonnes of ore from unlicensed dealers since 2003-04.

According to sources in Hospet, the scam came to light when the Department of Mines and Geology tapped the offices of the Commercial Taxes Department and verified records. It was found that several dealers in Bellary (22), Hospet (120), Chitradurga (10) and Koppal (1) had purchased large quantities of ore from unlicensed traders. The unlicensed traders had illegally purchased ore from mining companies and passed it on to licensed traders who in turn had exported it.

The transactions would have gone undetected but for the monthly returns (FORM VAT 100) filed by the licensed traders. This showed that the registered dealers were buying large quantities of iron ore from unregistered dealers (URDs). The Department of Mines and Geology has started the process of recovering the losses by issuing notices to the dealers that made the illegal purchases. The notices state that the transaction is a clear violation of Section 4 and 21 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

Records show that the value of purchase from URDs is immense: over 1/6th of the total illegal exports from Karnataka (57 lakh tonnes out of 3 crore tonnes) .

In Bellary taluk alone, it is to the tune of Rs. 108.78 crore for the year 2009-10 through 22 dealers. In Hospet, 120 dealers purchased ore from URDs to the tune of Rs. 449.93 crore for five years from 2005-06 to 2009-10. While 10 dealers in Chitradurga acquired Rs. 11.47 crore worth ore illegally between 2005-2006 to 2007-08, one dealer in Koppal purchased Rs. 5.50 lakh worth ore from URDs between 2005 and 2009. The ore was transported to the Krishnapattanam Port in Andhra Pradesh and the companies continued to transport and export ore from this port. It should be noted that the State Government has also imposed a ban on export of iron ore from the sea ports in its jurisdiction.

Verification

Interestingly, the registered dealers made the declaration in the monthly returns with an eye on the 4 per cent tax rebate on exports.

While this illegal practice has been going on from 2003, it came to light only after an inter-departmental verification between the Mines and Geology and the Commercial Taxes departments.

This in-depth inquiry itself is a fall-out of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa admitting in the Legislature that more than 3 crore tonnes of iron ore had been illegally exported out of Karnataka.

The Lokayukta has also filed an interim report on illegal mining. (sourced:The Hindu)

Tags : Department of Mines and Geology, illegal mining, steelmakers, raw material

Singapore SMX eyes May launch of iron ore futures

Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:16am EDT
By Rujun Shen

SINGAPORE : McMahon said Asia could benefit as more and more regulatory framework is expected to be put in place in Europe and the United States.

"The opportunity is that the framework here is robust, and people are doing business in Asia. Their clients are in Asia, their operations in Asia, their banks are in Asia, so the logical conclusion is that they clear and trade in Asia."

But the lack of regulatory collaboration across the border is a barrier.

"You're seeing the rise of China's commodities exchange and India's commodity exchanges, but you still can't get there from here," he said, noting that foreign commodity traders face restrictions in both countries.

(Sourced Reuters)

Rio Spends $700 Million at Simandou Iron Ore Project

Mar 21, 2011 10:26 AM GMT+0530
By Elisabeth Behrmann

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest mining company, said it has spent $700 million to date at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

“Our current plans for the mine, railway and port calls for the creation of tens of thousands of jobs during the construction phase and more than 4,000 full-time jobs once operational,” Tom Albanese, chief executive of the London-based company, also said today in e-mailed comments.

Rio is studying spending at least $6 billion in Guinea, where new President Alpha Conde has ordered a drafting policy giving the country at least a one-third stake in mining projects. The company said in July it had invested $650 million at Simandou and planned to begin mining within five years.

Rio is “very pleased” with the contribution that Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. has made to the project, Albanese said. Rio has agreed to sell Chinalco, as the state-owned company is known, a 44.65 percent stake in Simandou. (sourced:bloomberg)

Anglo American settles Apr-Jun PCI coal up 53% at $275/mt FOB : sources

Mon 21Mar2011 /156 am EDT/556 GMT

Singapore (Platts) - Miner Anglo American on Friday settled its April-June contract for PCI coal with a South Korean steelmaker at $275/mt FOB, 53% higher than the price for the January-March contract, market sources said Monday.

No immediate comment could be obtained from Anglo American.

The price covers new tonnage of the company's flagship PCI brand Foxleigh. Part of Anglo American's PCI output in the second quarter of the year, however, will be shipped as carryover tonnage from the flood-hit January -March quarter.

The new deal reportedly stipulates that Anglo American is to supply up to half of its undelivered Q1 PCI tonnage, originally priced at $180/mt. The deal was also said to include tonnage priced for six months, though no further details on this could be obtained.

The latest price of $275/mt is 83.3% of the headline hard coking coal price for Q2 of $330/mt, which was also settled by Anglo American in this quarter.

This is roughly in line with expectations, following Q2 semi-soft coking coal deals struck by Rio Tinto and Xstrata at $264/mt and $254/mt FOB respectively. In the last year, PCI has typically settled 3-6% above semi-soft coking coal.

Australia's Macarthur Coal is said to be still negotiating its own PCI deal in Japan, and is understood to have tabled an offer at 85% of the HCC term contract, or at $280.50/mt FOB.

Other Australian PCI producers, including Jellinbah and Westfarmers Resource's Curragh, were heard closing in on deals of their own near the $275/mt FOB level.

Anglo American's Foxleigh is a low-volatile PCI with 12.5% volatile matter, 8.4% ash, 0.55% sulfur, total carbon of 91%, a calorific value of 7,850 and a Hardgrove Grindability Index of 77.
(sourced:Platts)

Tags : raw material, Macarthur Coal Ltd, steel mills

No coal mine for Margaret River

March 21, 2011 12:04PM
By Russell Quinn,PerthNow

THE company pushing the Margaret River coal mine proposal is disappointed by the Environmental Protection Authority effectively ruling out the project.

The State's environmental watchdog said it had considered the level of assessment for the Vasse Coal proposal last week and, based on the referral information and its own investigations and inquiries, determined that the proposal was environmentally unacceptable.

"This ‘no’ is based on the proponent’s referral information and environmental advice presented to the EPA," EPA Chairman Paul Vogel said.

The EPA indicated that it assessed the proposal at the new level of assessment of ‘Assessment on Proponent Information Category B’ (API B), similar to the recently superseded level of assessment ‘Proposal Unlikely to be Environmentally Acceptable’ (PUEA).

“In effect, this is an EPA ’no’ to the proposal,” Dr Vogel said.

“The Board considered that there is likely to be significant impacts, or risks, from the proposal on the Leederville and Sues Aquifers, and on significant environmental values, including the social surrounds of the Margaret River region, which these aquifers support.”

In a statement released this morning, the project’s proponent LD Operations expressed disappointment at the EPA’s determination that the Vasse Coal Project should not proceed to a full public environmental review and public engagement period.

“LDO has not been provided with any information, evidence or reasons for the EPA's determination to declare the level of assessment for the project API Category B (environmentally unacceptable),” the company said.

LDO managing director Peter Ross said LDO was seeking clarification of the basis for the decision and considering its rights in terms of appeal.

“We keenly await the reasons for the determination, as well as access to additional information sought by the EPA from other government agencies ahead of making its decision,” he said.

“We have requested this of the EPA a number of times and look forward to the opportunity to review all information before deciding where we go from here.

“However, we remain strongly of the view that the comprehensive and rigorous Public Environmental Review process, supported by the extra consultation and peer review measures initiated by LDO, would have been a more appropriate process to understand and assess the technical elements, impacts and risks of the project before any decision on environmental acceptability was made.”

Dr Vogel expressed concern over the manageability of certain significant impacts or risks potentially stemming

"Based on its experience and knowledge of the complexity of matters of this kind, the Board also formed the view that more detailed and longer assessment would not alter the position," Dr Vogel said.

"The EPA will now prepare an assessment report to the Minister for Environment recommending against the implementation of Vasse Coal Management’s coal mining proposal.

“This EPA Report will be released publicly and will be open for two weeks of public appeals.

"However there are no appeals in relation to the EPA’s decision to assess this proposal and the level of assessment determined."

Last year LD announced its intention to mine coal about 15 kilometres from the centre of the tourist hotspot, widely regarded for its diverse food and wine offerings and its brilliant surf breaks and beaches, causing widespread opposition from local residents, conservationists and almost all political parties.

"The No Coal!tion Margaret River" group quickly formed as a result which atttracted widespread support opposing coal mining in the region.

Euro Coal-Prices stable, Japan coal diverted to China

Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:19pm GMT

* Indonesian shipment diverted to China

* Indians also look for bargains

* German utilities buying supports DES ARA price

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices were little changed on Monday after volatile trading last week following the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The market is re-adjusting to the immediate oversupply of coal in the Pacific which Japan cannot currently take but sellers are trying to avoid slashing prices while diverting cargoes.

South Korea, China and India have all taken some Australian and Indonesian coal originally destined for Japan but there are no firm figures available yet on the quantities involved,
traders said.

"There's a lot of coal out there both in the Pacific and in Europe and while there are some diversions nobody really knows exactly what's going where yet," one European trader said.

An Indonesian coal shipment intended for Japan has been diverted to China, the Indonesian Coal Mining Association said on Monday.

While the immediate impact of the quake and tsunami has been bearish for coal, longer-term the outlook is less clear, Barclays Capital said in its monthly coal and freight outlook on
Monday.

"If coal plants and transport infrastructure can be restored to some extent, incremental demand for coal from nuclear outages may be offset by lower underlying demand, with a net neutral
effect," BarCap said.

"But if import infrastructure is closed for much longer, coal imports will remain low," the report said.

European coal futures for 2012 have risen more than seven percent since an earthquake and tsunami shut some Japanese nuclear power plants, events likely to force the country to burn
more coal.

European gas prices have surged since disaster struck Japan on March 11, increasing the country's already voracious appetite for liquefied natural gas, but its coal-fired power plants are
also expected to gobble up more coal.

News that Germany will shut down all seven of its nuclear power plants that began operating before 1980 at least till June because of the Japan crisis is also likely to drive up German
demand for coal.

PRICES

A June delivery DES ARA cargo was bid at $124.00 and offered at $130.00, up $1.00 on the offer.

A July cargo was bid and offered at $129.00, unchanged, but did not trade because the bid was for Amsterdam-Rotterdam delivery and the offer for Rotterdam only.

A May loading South African cargo was bid at $122.25 a tonne, little changed.

A June South African cargo was bid at $119.50 and offered at $130.00, also little changed.

(Reporting by Jackie Cowhig; editing by Jason Neely, Reuters)

Teck says Elkview employees reject deal with union

Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:19pm GMT

March 21 (Reuters) - Teck Resources said employees at its Elkview coal mine in southeastern British Columbia have rejected a new five-year collective agreement with the union, prolonging the strike that has hit production at the site.

Work at the site stopped on Jan. 30, and the company said it plans to restart talks with the Elkview union bargaining committee to reach a new agreement.

Last Tuesday, the company said it had reached a tentative agreement with the union at its Elkview coal mine.

Teck, one of the world's top exporters of metallurgical coal, a key raw material used to make steel, has a 95 percent interest in the Elkview mine. The remaining 5 percent is split between Japan's Nippon Steel Corp and South Korean steelmaker Posco .

Teck shares closed at C$53.37 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair, sourced Reuters)

Brazil steelmaker Gerdau to sell stock - filing

Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:32pm GMT

SAO PAULO, March 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau (GGBR4.SA: Quote) said it will issue stock in a primary and secondary share offering, according to a filing on Monday.

The primary stock sale will be worth between 3.8 billion reais ($2.3 billion) and 4.2 billion reais, according to the statement. ($1=1.662 reais)

(Reporting by Luciana Lopez, editing by Gerald E. McCormick, sourced:Reuters)

Japan's disaster toll rises with 18,000 deaths

Toll in Japan's triple disaster climbs: an estimated 18,000 deaths, $235 billion to rebuild

Monday March 21, 2011, 2:59 am EDT
Eric Talmadge and Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- The toll of Japan's triple disaster came into clearer focus Monday after police estimates showed more than 18,000 people died, the World Bank said rebuilding may cost $235 billion and more cases of radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water turned up.

Japanese officials reported progress over the weekend in their battle to gain control over a nuclear complex that began leaking radiation after suffering quake and tsunami damage, though the crisis was far from over, with a dangerous new surge in pressure reported in one of the plant's six reactors.

The announcement by Japan's Health Ministry late Sunday that tests had detected excess amounts of radioactive elements on canola and chrysanthemum greens marked a low moment in a day that had been peppered with bits of positive news: First, a teenager and his grandmother were found alive nine days after being trapped in their earthquake-shattered home. Then, the operator of the overheated nuclear plant said two of the six reactor units were safely cooled down.

"We consider that now we have come to a situation where we are very close to getting the situation under control," Deputy Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said.

Still, serious problems remained at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex. Pressure unexpectedly rose in a third unit's reactor, meaning plant operators may need to deliberately release radioactive steam. That has only added to public anxiety over radiation that began leaking from the plant after a monstrous earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan on March 11 and left the plant unstable. As day broke Monday, Japan's military resumed dousing of the complex's troubled Unit 4.

The World Bank said in report Monday that Japan may need five years to rebuild from the catastrophic disasters, which caused up to $235 billion in damage, saying the cost to private insurers will be up to $33 billion and that the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and much more later.

The safety of food and water was of particular concern. The government halted shipments of spinach from one area and raw milk from another near the nuclear plant after tests found iodine exceeded safety limits. Tokyo's tap water, where iodine turned up Friday, now has cesium. Rain and dust are also tainted.

Early Monday , the Health Ministry advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the Fukushima plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Ministry spokesman Takayuki Matsuda said iodine three times the normal level was detected there -- about one twenty-sixth of the level of a chest X-ray in one liter of water.

In all cases, the government said the radiation levels were too small to pose an immediate health risk.

But Tsugumi Hasegawa was skeptical as she cared for her 4-year-old daughter at a shelter in a gymnasium crammed with 1,400 people about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the plant.

"I still have no idea what the numbers they are giving about radiation levels mean. It's all so confusing," said Hasegawa, 29, from the small town of Futuba in the shadow of the nuclear complex. "And I wonder if they aren't playing down the dangers to keep us from panicking. I don't know who to trust."

All six of the nuclear complex's reactor units saw trouble after the disasters knocked out cooling systems. In a small advance, the plant's operator declared Units 5 and 6 -- the least troublesome -- under control after their nuclear fuel storage pools cooled to safe levels. Progress was made to reconnect two other units to the electric grid and in pumping seawater to cool another reactor and replenish it and a sixth reactor's storage pools.

But the buildup in pressure inside the vessel holding Unit 3's reactor presented some danger, forcing officials to consider venting. The tactic produced explosions of radioactive gas during the early days of the crisis.

"Even if certain things go smoothly, there would be twists and turns," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters. "At the moment, we are not so optimistic that there will be a breakthrough."

Growing concerns about radiation add to the overwhelming chain of disasters Japan has struggled with since the 9.0-magnitude quake. The resulting tsunami ravaged the northeastern coast. All told, police estimates show more than about 18,400 died. More than 15,000 deaths are likely in Miyagi, the prefecture that took the full impact of the wave, said a police spokesman.

"It is very distressing as we recover more bodies day by days," said Hitoshi Sugawara, the spokesman.

Police in other parts of the disaster area declined to provide estimates, but confirmed about 3,400 deaths. Nationwide, official figures show the disasters killing more than 8,600 people, and leaving more than 13,200 people missing, but those two lists may have some overlap.

The disasters have displaced another 452,000, who are living in shelters.

Fuel, food and water remain scarce. The government in recent days acknowledged being caught ill-prepared by an enormous disaster that the prime minister has called the worst crisis since World War II.

Bodies are piling up in some of the devastated communities and badly decomposing even amid chilly rain and snow.

"The recent bodies -- we can't show them to the families. The faces have been purple, which means they are starting to decompose," says Shuji Horaguchi, a disaster relief official setting up a center to process the dead in Natori, on the outskirts of the tsunami-flattened city of Sendai. "Some we're finding now have been in the water for a long time, they're not in good shape. Crabs and fish have eaten parts."

Contamination of food and water compounds the government's difficulties, heightening the broader public's sense of dread about safety. Consumers in markets snapped up bottled water, shunned spinach from Ibaraki -- the prefecture where the tainted spinach was found -- and overall expressed concern about food safety.

Experts have said the amounts of iodine detected in milk, spinach and water pose no discernible risks to public health unless consumed in enormous quantities over a long time. Iodine breaks down quickly, after eight days, minimizing its harmfulness, unlike other radioactive isotopes such as cesium-137 or uranium-238, which remain in the environment for decades or longer.

High levels of iodine are linked to thyroid cancer, one of the least deadly cancers if treated. Cesium is a longer-lasting element that affects the whole body and raises cancer risk.

Rain forecast for the Fukushima area also could further localize the contamination, bringing the radiation to the ground closer to the plant.

Edano tried to reassure the public for a second day in a row. "If you eat it once, or twice, or even for several days, it's not just that it's not an immediate threat to health, it's that even in the future it is not a risk," Edano said. "Experts say there is no threat to human health."

No contamination has been reported in Japan's main food export -- seafood -- worth about $1.6 billion a year and less than 0.3 percent of its total exports.

Amid the anxiety, there were moments of joy on Sunday. An 80-year-old woman and her teenage grandson were rescued from their flattened two-story house after nine days, when the teen pulled himself to the roof and shouted to police for help.

Other survivors enjoyed smaller victories. Kiyoshi Hiratsuka and his family managed to pull his beloved Harley Davidson motorcycle from the rubble in their hometown of Onagawa. The 37-year-old mechanic said he knows it will never work anymore. "But I want to keep it as a memorial."

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo, as did Associated Press writers Elaine Kurtenbach, Kelly Olsen, Charles Hutzler and Jeff Donn. Associated Press writer Jay Alabaster contributed from Natori, Japan.

Interview - Japan quake to delay Titagarh steel bridge JV

Monday 21 March 2011, 1:26 PM

By Aniruddha Basu

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian wagonmaker Titagarh Wagons Ltd's plans to set up a joint venture with a Japanese firm will take longer than expected due to the massive earthquake that rocked Japan earlier this month, a senior official said.

Titagarh has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's Kawada Industries Inc to manufacture steel bridges in India. The two firms plan to make two-lane modular bridges with steel composite decking, according to Titagarh Wagons' website.

"The JV would be subject to a preliminary study getting completed. That is underway. And now with the current situation in Japan things will be deferred to an extent as they will have a lot of rebuilding work in Japan," Titagarh Wagons' Vice Chairman Umesh Chowdhary told Reuters on Monday.

He did not give a timeline for the venture to become operational.

"The joint venture agreement has not yet been signed. It will take a little time".

To take advantage of India's increasing demand for metro coaches, Titagarh has teamed up with another Japanese metro coach maker to bid for such orders.

"We are in a consortium with a Japan firm and we will bid for tenders as and when they come up," Chowdhary said. He declined to name the Japanese firm.

Indian Railways has earmarked an investment of $12.68 billion in 2011/12 for modernise its creaky infrastructure and expand capacity. It has proposed to set up two wagon units with private partners.

The Railways has estimated the total public-private partnership investment in India at 15.26 billion rupees in 2011/12.

Titagarh, which gets the bulk of its revenues from the Indian Railways, expects a tender for 18,000 wagons to be published within the next one or two months, he said.

The firm has a capacity to make about 5,000 wagons annually. Its unit Cimmco is expected to make another 2,000 wagons in 2011/12.

Orders from the private sector have not yet seen an uptick he said.

"Private sector demand has not yet picked up but railway demand looks healthy," he said.

Titagarh's JV with US-based FreightCar America to make aluminium rail cars -- lighter wagons with more pay load -- for the local market is yet to start operations due to limited enthusiasm from the Railways, he said.

"The designing has been done, but the issue is that this was a new concept and until the concept picks up, it does not make sense to go into manufacturing."

Kolkata-based Titagarh, which had acquired the assets of France's IGF Industries- Arbel Fauvet Rail last July, is open to more such overseas acquisitions, but no deal has been finalised yet, he said.

At 1:16 p.m., Titagarh Wagons shares were down 1.12 percent at 308.85 rupees in a choppy Mumbai market. (sourced:Reuters)

Google Says Chinese Government Blocking Gmail Service

Mar 21, 2011 2:05 PM GMT+0530

Google Inc. (GOOG), the world’s largest Internet search company, said China’s government is blocking its Gmail service, after users reported trouble accessing the site.

Users of Gmail in China have had difficulty accessing accounts, sending e-mail and using other features of the service for the past two weeks. The landing page for the Web mail service is still visible to local Internet users.

“There is no technical issue on our side,” Mountain View, California-based Google said in an e-mailed statement today. “We have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail.”

China, the world’s largest Internet market with 457 million Web users, bans pornography, gambling and content critical of the ruling Communist Party. It already blocks Google’s YouTube site as well as social-networking websites run by Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. Google moved its search-engine service out of mainland China last year and redirected users to Hong Kong to avoid having to comply with the country’s Web censorship rules.

“They will try to become more aggressive gradually,” Charles Mok, chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the Internet Society, said of China’s censors in an interview today. “Some things that were allowed or let go before, they gradually will clamp down on.”

‘Tool of U.S.’

Li Wufeng, chief of the Information Office Internet Affairs Bureau of China’s State Council, or cabinet, didn’t return a call to his office today. In a March 11 interview after Gmail users began reporting problems in China, Li said he regularly uses Gmail and that he was not experiencing the issues reported by other users of the service in China.

Google is “a tool of U.S. expansionism and hegemony,” according to a March 4 opinion piece posted on the website of the People’s Daily, a publication affiliated with China’s ruling Communist Party.

Google is “playing its political cards in China” after helping disseminate subversive content that led to disorder in Middle Eastern countries, according to the piece, written by a person identified as Zheng Yan.

The search-engine company has denied that the U.S. government meddles in its business decisions.

Google’s statement on China’s blockage was reported earlier by the Guardian newspaper.
Losing Ground

Google has been losing search-engine market share in China to Baidu Inc. since January 2010, when the U.S. company said it was no longer willing to self-censor content in its Chinese service in line with local rules. The decision was prompted by cyber-attacks on Google’s systems that the company said originated from China, including breaches of the Gmail accounts of some human-rights activists.

Two months later, Google shut its Google.cn service and redirected users to its Hong Kong site. China renewed Google’s Internet license in July after the U.S. company stopped automatically redirecting users and put in place a page that requires users to opt for the alternative service.

Google’s share of China’s search-engine market fell to 19.6 percent in the fourth quarter from 21.6 percent three months earlier, research company Analysys International said in January. Baidu’s China market share rose to 75.5 percent from 73 percent, the researcher said.

Google isn’t alone in drawing more scrutiny from China’s censors in recent weeks. Witopia Inc., a U.S.-based Internet service that allows users to circumvent the Chinese government’s Web filters, notified customers on March 17 that its service had been blocked in China the previous week.

Witopia Blocked

“We mostly provide service to expats and travellers working and doing business in China,” Witopia Chief Executive Officer Bill Bullock said an e-mail to customers in China. “People who simply want to communicate with family and friends back home using Facebook and Twitter. Not exactly revolutionaries.”

Witopia’s service in China was disrupted on March 11, Bullock’s note said. In language filled with references to the science-fiction television show “Star Trek,” Bullock vowed to provide customers in China with a solution to the new filters. Witopia didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“The Klingon Empire scored a couple solid hits on the USS Enterprise,” Bullock said in the March 17 e-mail. “As far as the state of the Enterprise, with regards to China, impulse power is restored, the warp drive and deflector shields are coming back online and, given a little time, we’ll be engaging our shiny new cloaking device.” (sourced :bloomberg)

China’s Coal Purchases Drop to 23-Month Low on Higher Prices

Mar 21, 2011 1:52 PM GMT+0530

China’s net imports of coal dropped to the lowest in 23 months in February after prices increased and demand fell during the Lunar New Year holiday, customs data showed today.

Net purchases of the power-station fuel slumped 67 percent to 5 million metric tons last month from January, according to data released by the Beijing-based Administration of Customs.

Higher global coal prices hampered China’s imports of the fuel. The weeklong Chinese Lunar New Year break also reduced demand from the world’s largest energy user, said David Fang, head of the international department at China Coal Transport and Distribution Association.

“Coal purchased dropped significantly because of the delayed effect of higher global prices,” Fang said by telephone from Beijing today. “Domestic coal demand will stay weak in coming months as the weather gets warmer and hydro-power generation increases.”

China paid $114 a ton for the fuel last month, compared with an average $102.70 last year. Coal imports from Indonesia, China’s largest supplier of the fuel, fell 56 percent from a year earlier to 2.48 million tons, at $83 a ton. Coal purchases from Australia, the second biggest, fell 54 percent to 1.52 million tons, at $169 a ton. That compares with $147 a ton in 2010 for the Australian varieties and $79 a ton for the Indonesian fuel.

Chinese power plants’ inventories of coal fell to 53.9 million tons at the end of February, or enough for 16 days of supply, the China Electricity Council said on March 18.
(sourced:bloomberg)

Thai PTT completes Australian Straits Resources deal

Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:12am GMT

* Seeks delisting of Australian mining firm
* Shares up 1.5 pct, outperform market

BANGKOK, March 21 (Reuters) - Thailand's top energy company, PTT Pcl (PTT.BK: Quote) said on Monday it had completed the acquisition of Australia's Straits Resources Ltd (SRL.AX: Quote) and would delist the coal miner from the Australian stock exchange

PTT told the Thai exchange the Federal Court of Australia had approved the takeover, under which PTT Mining Ltd (PTTML) would acquire all of the shares in Straits Resources, renamed International Coal Holdings Ltd (ICL), for A$544.1 million ($546 million).

The company said all the shares in ICL had now been registered in the name of PTTML.

PTT said in November last year it was buying 100 percent of the Australian mining firm as part of its long-term strategy to focus on high-quality coal assets with good growth prospects.

PTT Mining is a wholly owned subsidiary of PTT International Co Ltd, a holding company set up to invest in overseas businesses for the Thai energy giant.

State-owned PTT, Asia-Pacific's third-largest listed oil and gas firm by market value, has been looking to snap up foreign assets in a bid to diversify risk and bolster its presence in the international market.

PTT spent $335 million in April 2009 to buy part of Straits Resources' coal and salt assets, its first foray into the coal business and its second investment in Australia.

The company had said it expected to boost its coal output after the Straits Resources and other acquisitions to 30 million tonnes in the next five years.

At 0334 GMT, PTT shares were up 1.5 percent at 342 baht while the broader market .SETI was 1 percent higher. ($1= 30.30 Baht) (Reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; Editing by Alan Raybould,sourced reuters)

WHO warns of "serious" food radiation in disaster-hit Japan

Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:08am GMT

* Radiation in food a "lot more serious" than first thought - WHO
* Power cables hooked up to all 6 reactors at crippled Fukushima plant
* Workers evacuated as smoke rises from badly damaged reactor
* U.S. energy secretary says worst of nuclear crisis may be over

By Junko Fujita and Kazunori Takada

TOKYO, March 21 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said on Monday that radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was more serious than previously thought, eclipsing signs of progress in a battle to avert a catastrophic meltdown in the reactors.

Engineers managed to rig power cables to all six reactors at the Fukushima complex, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, and started a water pump at one of them to reverse the overheating that has triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Some workers were later evacuated from one of the most badly damaged reactors when gray smoke rose from the site. There was no immediate explanation for the smoke, but authorities had said earlier that pressure was building up at the No. 3 reactor.

The amount of smoke later receded and Japan's nuclear safety agency said there was no significant change in radiation levels at the site.

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami left more than 21,000 people dead or missing and will cost an already beleaguered economy some $250 billion, making it the world's costliest ever natural disaster.

News of progress at the nuclear plant was overshadowed by mounting concern that radioactive particles already released into the atmosphere have contaminated food and water supplies.

"Quite clearly it's a serious situation," Peter Cordingley, Manila-based spokesman for the World Health Organisation's (WHO) regional office for the Western Pacific, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"It's a lot more serious than anybody thought in the early days when we thought that this kind of problem can be limited to 20 to 30 kilometres ... It's safe to suppose that some contaminated produce got out of the contamination zone."

However, he said there was no evidence of contaminated food from Fukushima reaching other countries.

TAP WATER

Japan's health ministry has urged some residents near the plant to stop drinking tap water after high levels of radioactive iodine were detected.

Cases of contaminated vegetables and milk have already stoked anxiety despite assurances from officials that the levels are not dangerous. The government has prohibited the sale of raw milk from Fukushima prefecture and spinach from a nearby area.

There were no major reports of contaminated food in Tokyo, a city of about 13 million people. City officials however said higher-than-standard levels of iodine were found in an edible form of chrysanthemum.

"From reports I have heard so far, it seems that the levels of radioactive iodine and caesium in milk and some foodstuffs are significantly higher than government limits," said Jim Smith, a specialist in earth and environmental sciences at Britain's Portsmouth University.

"This doesn't mean that consumption of these products is necessarily an immediate threat, as limits are set so that foodstuffs can be safely consumed over a fairly long period of time. Nevertheless, for foodstuffs which are found to be above limits, bans on sale and consumption will have to be put in place in the affected areas."

Japan is a net importer of food, but has substantial exports -- mainly fruit, vegetables, dairy products and seafood -- with its biggest markets in Hong Kong, China and the United States.

China would monitor food imported from Japan, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the country's quality control watchdog. South Korea said it would expand inspections for radioactivity to processed and dried agricultural Japanese food, from just fresh produce.

The prospects of a nuclear power plant meltdown in the world's third-biggest economy and its key position in global supply chains rattled investors worldwide last week and prompted rare joint currency intervention by the G7 group of rich nations to stabilise markets.

Moody's Investors Service said in a report that the downside risks from the crisis had increased over the past week for the economy, sovereign credit, banking, insurance and non-financial corporate sectors.

Tokyo's markets were closed for a holiday on Monday. The Nikkei index shed 10 percent last week, wiping $350 billion off market capitalisation, and at one point had lost as much as 20 percent in value.

In a much-needed boost for the battered market, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the earthquake and tsunami were an "enormous blow" but should not prompt the selling of Japanese shares. Instead, he called events a "buying opportunity".

"It will take some time to rebuild. But it will not change the economic future of Japan. If I owned Japanese stocks, I would certainly not be selling them," Buffett said during a visit to a South Korean factory run by a company that is owned by one of his funds.

SITUATION CRITICAL AT PLANT

At Fukushima, 300 engineers have worked around the clock inside an evacuation zone to contain the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.

They have been spraying the coastal complex with thousands of tonnes of sea water so fuel rods will not overheat and emit more radiation. Hopes for a more permanent solution depend on electricity cables reactivating on-site water pumps at each of the six reactors.

The most badly damaged reactors are No. 3 and 4, which were both hit by explosions last week.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu , asked by CNN whether the worst of Japan's 10-day nuclear crisis was over, said on Sunday: "Well, we believe so, but I don't want to make a blanket statement."

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko added that radiation levels at the plant appeared to be falling.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan also said the situation at the nuclear plant was slowly improving.

If the cooling pumps cannot restart, drastic measures may be needed like burying the plant in sand and concrete.

Official tolls of dead and missing are rising steadily -- to 8,450 and 12,931 respectively.

The death toll could jump dramatically since police said they believed more than 15,000 people had been killed in Miyagi prefecture, one of four that took the brunt of the tsunami.

The 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing 10-metre (32-ft) tsunami made more than 350,000 people homeless. Food, water, medicine and fuel are short in some parts, and near-freezing temperatures during Japan's winter are not helping.

FITCH: short-term increase in Japanese demand for AUS thermal coal

Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:13am GMT

March 20 (Fitch) Ratings said today that electricity capacity shortfalls at Japan's nuclear plants will be met in the short term by coal and fuel oil fired generation. However, in the medium term, additional gas-fired capacity is the natural substitute for nuclear power. Australia's thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industries are well positioned to meet Japan's changing primary fuel requirements.

"Japanese gas-fired electricity generators were operating at high capacity prior to the earthquake and have limited ability to further increase production. This will limit the increase in demand for spot LNG cargos," says Arnon Musiker, Director in Fitch's Energy & Utilities team. "Fitch estimates that Japan lost up to 11GW of nuclear-fired baseload energy after the earthquake. Replacement of Onagawa, Fukishima, Daichi and Daini by new gas-fired generation could increase LNG demand by nine million tonnes per annum," added Mr Musiker.

Fitch's analysis indicates that only the Japanese coal and fuel-oil fired generators have sufficient capacity to substantially increase electricity production. This suggests that Japanese demand for Australian thermal coal may increase significantly over the next two to three years.

Gas-fired generation is the likely choice for new capacity given its relatively low carbon emission intensity and speed of construction. Moreover, the Japanese LNG import network appears to have spare capacity for additional imports and was reported as undamaged by the International Energy Agency after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Fitch believes that Japanese utilities will seek to maintain a policy of diversifying gas supply, which could result in sufficient support for one to two new LNG trains in Australia. This is on the basis that 11GW of nuclear capacity is replaced by gas-fired generation, and 60% of the incremental gas demand is sourced from Australia. Likely beneficiaries include Browse and Pluto expansions, subject to securing gas reserves, which are promoted by Woodside Petroleum Ltd ('BBB+'/Negative), and Asia-Pacific LNG, promoted by Origin Energy Ltd ('BBB+/Stable') and ConocoPhillips ('A'/Stable).

Several countries have announced a review of planned nuclear generators, including China, which has an ambitious nuclear expansion programme to meet demand growth. Fitch estimates that one additional LNG train will be required for every five GW of nuclear generation capacity that is replaced by gas.

"If the outcome of the reviews leads to widespread cancellation of new nuclear capacity, there could be sufficient demand for Australian LNG to support those projects which are not yet fully contracted," added Mr Musiker. (Reuters)

Indian suitors eye Australia's Premier Coal

With Lanco looking to build on its recent Griffin Coal purchase, a new turf war is set to emerge between Indian suitors and some Chinese firms for the $500m assets of Premier Coal.

Mar18, 2011
By Shivom Seth

MUMBAI - Following Lanco Infratech $830 million for Griffin Coal's adjacent mines last year, Premier coal mine, which supplies Western Australia's electricity network, is up for grabs.

In 2007, UBS valued Premier Coal at $500m. Officials at Lanco, who are also said to be eyeing Premier Coal, said that owning both the mines ``made perfect sense'' as the company could ensure efficiencies of scale.

The mine is located near Collie, 200 km south of Perth. India's GVK Power is also said to be amongst the forerunners in the bid.

A reliable company official said that since GVK has lost out to Lanco in the Griffin auction race, it was very keen to ``hold on to this prize catch''.

Reports indicated that last year, the Perth-based Wesfarmers considered adding Premier Coal to the Griffin Coal pitch, but certain circumstances had ensured that the company pulled out of the bidding process in September.

Wesfarmers executives were reportedly shocked at how much Lanco was willing to pay for Griffin. Now, with Lanco looking to build on its recent purchase, a new turf war may emerge between Indian suitors and some Chinese firms.

Although the world's second-largest economy is at a strategic inflection point in terms of its commitment to become more energy efficient and reduce the carbon intensity of its economy, coal will continue to play an important part, analysts said and market sources indicate that several Chinese firms have shown interest in the project

Though China's new five-year plan proposes to cap the country's energy use at 4 billion tonnes of coal equivalent a year by 2015 (up from 3.25 billion in 2010), companies are scouting Australian shores.

Wesfarmer officials have been quoted as saying that they fielded enquiries from both Chinese and Indian firms.

Interestingly, three Indian corporates have thrown their hats into the ring for the coal assets of one of Australia's largest thermal coal explorers, Bandanna Energy.

In a deal reportedly valued at $1.5 billion, GVK, state-owned consortium ICVL and Reliance Power are said to have bid for the assets. Analysts said that the Bandanna Energy is estimated to have reserves of over 1.3 billion tonnes of thermal coal.

Bandanna Energy had initiated an auction process to sell the assets and had mandated UBS to advise it. The last date for submission of bids is March 31, 2011. By then, it will be action stations. (sourced :mineweb)

BC Iron to challenge withdrawal of Hong Kong takeover bid

The W. Australian junior has applied to Australia's Takeovers Panel to challenge the validity of Regent Pacific's decision to terminate a takeover bid for the company

By Ross Louthean
Mon, 21 Mar 2011

PERTH - BC Iron (ASX: BCI) said today it had written to Regent rejecting its "purported" termination of the Scheme Implementation Agreement (SIA) relating to its intention to takeover BC Iron, and requesting that it be withdrawn.

BC Iron's managing director Mike Young said the company intends to file an application with the Takeovers Panel shortly, seeking a declaration of "unacceptable circumstances and orders requiring it (Regent) to proceed in accordance with the SIA."

Young said the company remains committed to ensuring all its shareholders have an equal opportunity to consider the merits of the scheme of arrangement in a fully informed manner.

Prior to the purported termination of the SIA, the Scheme Booklet and associated documents were well progressed.

Young said should the Takeovers Panel decide to intervene and provide the requested relief, BC Iron will resume the process of finalising the Scheme Booklet and Independent Expert's Report and, as a first step, will be in a position to promptly lodge the Scheme Booklet with ASIC (Australian Securities & Investments Commission).

When the original bid by Hong Kong-based Regent was made BC Iron directors recommended the bid. The takeover would have valued BC Iron at A$345 million (US$346.7 million).

BC Iron had been placed in a trading halt last Thursday after its share price dipped more than 4% to around A$2.54 (US$2.55) after Regent Pacific confirmed it was dropping the bid.

The company became an iron ore producer last month when the first shipment of its ore from Nullagine in Western Australia's Pilbara was shipped from Port Hedland to China in its 50/50 joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group. Fortescue provides the rail and port infrastructure.
(sourced mineweb)

77 projects of Coal India under various stages of completion

Mon Mar 21 2011, 12:21 hrs

Coal India Limited's (CIL) 77 projects having a production capacity of almost 185 million tonnes (MT), have been cleared by the government and are under different phases of completion.

"...77 projects with an ultimate capacity 184.78 Mty (Million tonnes per year) have already been approved and are under various stages of implementation," Outcome Budget 2011-12 document said.

The said projects are among 142 projects identified by CIL, which are to be taken for the XI Plan Period (2007 - 2012), the document added.

The remaining 65 projects, according to the Outcome Budget 2011-12 document, having a capacity of 195 million tonnes are under different phases of approval.

"Rest 65 projects, with an ultimate capacity of 195.44 Mty are under various stages of approval/formulation," the document said.

Coal Ministry had earlier in March said that 46 projects of CIL were delayed due to various reasons, including environmental hurdles.

Of these, 11 projects of the Navratna firm are behind schedule because of the unavailability of both forestry and environmental clearances. While 14 projects of the firm have got delayed due to land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation (R&R) issues, the ministry had said.

Coal India, the ministry had said, has taken various measures to combat the issues that are delaying the projects.

It has undertaken vigorous follow up action with land acquisition officials to fast-track acquisition proceedings. It has also held regular meetings with state authorities to solve acute problems.

Hanlong Mining takes 19% stake in Sundance Resources

Monday , 21 Mar 2011

Key Points
* Hanlong Mining becomes largest shareholder in Sundance Resources Ltd
* Hanlong acquires Talbot Group stake

Hanlong Mining Investment Pty Ltd, through its affiliated entities (collectively "Hanlong"), has become the largest shareholder in Sundance Resources Ltd (ASX:SDL).

On Friday 18th March 2011, Hanlong acquired the entire holding of the Talbot Group 433,791,352 shares which added to existing relevant interests gives it 514,984,194 shares, or approximately 19.0% of the company.

Hanlong Mining Chairman and Head of Iron Ore Business, Peter Mansell, said the investment in Sundance was consistent with Hanlong's strategy to be a significant investor in quality projects in the iron ore industry.

"We're a financial investor and will be a supportive shareholder assisting the company to fast-track its infrastructure and mine development plans."

Hanlong Mining is a subsidiary of Sichuan Hanlong Group, a privately owned industrial conglomerate based in Chengdu, China. (by mineweb)

JSW makes alleged disclosure of Rs 260cr to I-T dept

Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 12:07

It is taxing times for JSW Group companies JSW Steel and JSW Energy with the income tax (I-T) department raiding their premises on Wednesday. CNBC-TV18's Ashwin Mohan learns that the company has made about Rs 260 crore of alleged disclosure to the I-T sleuths.

Sources say these alleged disclosures are under the head of bogus capex and have been made only after questioning the senior management.

However, even as the raid on main company premises concludes, no cash seizure has been made, sources add.

Denying reports of I-T raids on company premises, JSW management has said that the I-T operations were a part of a routine survey and nothing else. (source : CNBC-TV18)