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bukan tempat jual beli oncom secara online

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:46:00 +0000

bukan tempat jual beli oncom secara online

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Batubara Lignit Ditemukan di Kabupaten Pelalawan

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Pekanbaru, Kominfo Newsroom – Dinas Pertambangan Provinsi Riau mengungkapkan bahwa jenis batubara yang ditemukan terdapat di Kecamatan Pangkalan Lesung dan Kecamatan Langgam, sesuai hasil analisis kimia, adalah batubara dari jenis lignit.

''Jenis lignit itu memiliki kandungan kalori sedang, yakni di bawah 6.000 kalori per gram,'' kata Kepala Bidang Geologi dan Migas Dinas Pertambangan Provinsi Riau, HT Nahar SP MSi, dalam penjelasannya di Pekanbaru, Senin (13/4).

Batubara itu keberadaannya tersebar di enam desa yang ada di tiga kecamatan yakni di Desa Mayang Sari dan Sari Mulya Kecamatan Pangkalan Lesung, serta di Desa Langgam Kecamatan Langgam.

Sedangkan batubara di Desa Air Hitam, Lubuk Kembang Bunga Kecamatan Ukui kemudian di Desa Gondai dan Kecamatan Langgam adalah batubara yang terbaik, yakni jenis high voletile bituminous dengan kandungan kalori di atas 6.000 kalori per gram.

Untuk saat ini batubara jenis lignit ini belum bisa direkomendasikan untuk dieksploitasi, terkait dengan strategi pemanfaatan sumberdaya alam yang mendahulukan potensi batubara terbaik, sementara untuk jenis high voletile bituminous yang memiliki prospek ekonomis dilakukan penambangan.

Sebagai bahan perbandingan, kata Nahar, kualitas batubara yang telah dieksploitasi di Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi adalah dari kelas subbituminous, satu kelas di bawah high voletile bituminous.

''Karena itu, batubara yang tersimpan di wilayah Kabupaten Pelalawan ini memiliki kualitas yang baik dan diharapkan mampu mendatangkan potensi bagi pendapatan asli daerah (PAD),'' katanya.

Pemerintah mengharapkan masyarakat Pelalawan yang di wilayahnya memiliki potensi kekayaan sumber daya alam (SDA) yang besar dapat meningkatkan kualitas sumber daya manusia (SDM)-nya. ''Soalnya, SDM yang baik akan memberikan kesempatan bagi mereka untuk ikut andil dalam pengelolaan SDA yang ada,'' ujar Nahar. (Dafri/toeb)(endonesia.com)

Areva: France’s Uranium Giant

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:15:00 +0000

By Melissa Pistilli-Exclusive to Uranium Investing News

In its latest step towards remaining at the forefront of the global nuclear power revival, the French government is strengthening its presence in the nuclear sector around the world.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy headed a business delegation to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday that included uranium and nuclear giant Areva SA. The state-controlled company signed a deal to develop uranium mining in the DRC’s southern Katanga province.

Created in 2001 when uranium miner Cogema merged with reactor maker Framatom, Areva is one of the world’s three leading uranium producers, which accounts for 25 percent of its sales. The French company, of which the government owns 93 percent, is also the world’s largest nuclear reactor maker and has nuclear projects underway in Finland, France, China, India, Italy, the UK and the US. In 2004, Areva purchased energy and transportation giant Alstom’s power transmission and distribution unit (T & D).

Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon, who’s held the position since 2001, was ranked number 9 in Forbes magazine’s world’s most powerful women in 2008. Lauvergeon signed the uranium exploration agreement with Congolese Mines Minister Marting Kabwelulu. “By its size and geological profile, the Democratic Republic of Congo offers significant uranium potential,” said Areva.

Partners with India’s Nuclear Power Corp.

Areva has recently partnered with India’s state-run energy producer Nuclear Power Corp. to build the nation’s first large-capacity plant to use overseas equipment after the removal of the global nuclear-trade ban in 2008. The new facility will be located at Jaitapur in western India and will help the country in its plans to add 60,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032. Nuclear Power has already agreed to purchase two Areva reactors each with 1,650-megawatt capacity and is considering an additional four reactors. Lauvergeon has said Areva will supply Nuclear Power with enough uranium to operate their plants for 60 years.

Applies for License in Idaho

Areva is planning to build a multi-billion dollar centrifuge uranium enrichment facility in Bonneville County, Idaho. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted the French company’s application, which it submitted in December. The review and hearings process will take at least 30 months. If approved, Areva plans to begin construction in 2011.

Seeks to Build Central Processing Facility in Argentina

Areva is currently researching the prospect of building a central milling facility in southern Argentina and is in talks with several companies operating in the region, including Urex Energy Corporation. The facility would require a minimum uranium reserve of an estimated 22 million pounds of ore. The idea is to meet this requirement by partnership with surrounding uranium mines operated by different companies.

Funding Problems?

Besides remaining amongst the top three uranium miners in the world, the company’s goals include developing at least 100 new nuclear reactors by 2030. But, reports are circulating that Areva is heading toward a serious funding shortfall if actions aren’t taken soon. Options such as raising money by selling investments or bringing new knowledgeable investors on board may not be sufficient enough to finance the company’s medium-term ambitions, analysts say. The sale of Areva’s highly profitable T & D unit, which Alstom has said it would like to buy back, or a merger are more suitable options.

However, management is opposed to such actions. “A sale of T&D would make a lot of sense,” said Jefferies International analyst Alex Barnett. “Anne Lauvergeon is opposed to it, but I don’t know if the state is as opposed as her.” Jacques-Antoine Bretteil, International Capital Gestion fund manager, has said the issue is highly political. “Any decision, whatever it is ultimately, will be made at the highest level,” he said.

“Areva cannot stay alone, so I think there will be a tie-up, either with Alstom or with Total, which is now looking at the nuclear sector,” said Bretteil. “The state will look at all the options allowing it not to dip further into its pockets.” The option of a merger with a company such as Alstom has also faced opposition from Areva CEO Lauvergeon. Nevertheless, the French government does have the power to override Areva’s management and effect a merger.

(http://www.uraniuminvestingnews.com)

Massive Mozambique coal mine launched by Vale

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:09:00 +0000

Brazil's Valw will produce 11 million tonnes of coal a year from its big Mozambique coal project at Moatize where mine construction has begun. Author: By Charles Mangwiro
Posted: Saturday , 28 Mar 2009

MOATIZE, Mozambique (Reuters) -

Brazilian mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote) on Friday launched the construction of a $1.3 billion coal project in northern Mozambique, with the capacity to produce 11 million tonnes of coal per year.

The plant will be located in Moatize in the Tete province, and the coal produced will be exported to Brazil, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the company said in a statement.

The project is expected to produce 8.5 million tonnes of metallurgical coal and 2.5 million tonnes of thermal coal, the company said.

"This is our first big project in Africa ... from here we will go to other countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Namibia for copper and nickel," Vale Chief Executive Roger Agnelli said.

South Africa holds most of Africa's coal reserves, but experts say Mozambique is expected to become the second-ranked coal producer in the continent with the development of the Moatize project by Vale, formerly known as CVRD, the world's largest iron ore producer.

The Moatize mine, which suffered extensive damage during Mozambique's civil war in the 1970s and 1980s, is believed to hold about 2.4 million tonnes of coal reserves, making it one of the largest untapped deposits in the southern hemisphere.

Vale's executive director of non-ferrous metals, Tito Martins, said the company was confident about the outlook for coal prices.

"The outlook for the coal price is great ... in 2009 we expect to have the second-highest price in years," Martins told journalists.

The commodities boom driven by Chinese and Indian demand pushed coal prices to record highs in 2008. Since then prices have fallen by 60 percent but analysts expect the next commodities boom in 3-5 years time will see an even sharper rise than in 2008.

Mozambique, one of Africa's poorest countries and still largely dependent on agriculture, has become popular with foreign companies and investors interested in staking a claim to Africa's vast mineral and energy resources.

Martins said the company would invest $500 million in Mozambique this year, of which $444 million would go to Moatize.

Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza used the launch of the project to appeal to other investors, saying Vale's involvement showed that Mozambique was a secure investment destination, even in the context of the global financial crisis.

"Vale takes to the world a message that, despite the crisis, Mozambique is a country for the future and a country to establish longstanding and sustainable partnerships," he said.

(Editing by James Jukwey, Giles Elgood and Maytaal Angel)

(Mineweb)

Gold stocks the best investment as hard times will last longer and go deeper - Jay Taylor

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:57:00 +0000

Jay Taylor* says that gold stocks represent the best investment these days and also argues against the folly of thinking we can cure what ails us by running the printing presses faster and faster to pump more and more paper currency into the economy. Interview with The Gold Report.
Author: The Gold Report
Posted: Sunday , 29 Mar 2009

VANCOUVER, BC -

The Gold Report: What's the premise behind your new radio program, Turning Hard Times into Good Times?

Jay Taylor: The notion is in order to fix a problem, you have to understand it. You have to understand its origins and its pathology. In my view, the difficulties we're having in the U.S. economy and the global economy have been diagnosed incorrectly. Our problem is really due to a monetary system that in essence has no foundation. It's a fiat monetary system unlike the commodity-based monetary systems of the past that put some limit on the amount of credit or debt, if you will, that could be issued.

Of course, Roosevelt took Americans off the gold standard in the 1930's, but once Nixon took us off the international gold standard in 1971, there was no longer any limit to the amount of money that could be created. So the central bankers of this world, the politicians and the bankers in general, have had one heck of a party and we have created enormous amounts of credit. We've created so much credit, in fact, that we have reached the level where it is no longer serviceable.

The solution that the policymakers are coming up with is more of the same, more credit. I was talking to Congressman Ron Paul earlier; he was suggesting that Roosevelt's New Deal did not work in the 1930s. His Secretary of the Treasury admitted that it did not work, that it was a total failure. From 1929 through the first eight years of the first Roosevelt administration, we had as much unemployment as we had at the start of the administration, and huge amounts of debt to boot. Well, it didn't work in the '30s, but we're making the same diagnoses now. The policymakers are trying to solve the problem with more of the very thing that caused the problem and that is enormous amounts of debt. This is the view of the Austrian School of Economics that I'm bringing to my radio show.

TGR: Could you describe that view in a nutshell?

JT: The Austrian perspective is at odds with the mainstream Keynesian and monetarist economics view, which suggest that all you really have to do is print more and more money faster and faster. If there was a problem in the '30s, the Keynesians argue, it wasn't the treatment-it was that there just wasn't enough of it fast enough.

I believe that's wrong and, in fact, back in 2000 my newsletter started to invest on the basis that we were in for big problems. With that approach, we'd tripled the value of our model portfolio by the end of 2007, whereas, the S&P 500 had not gained anything. It was actually down a little bit. Last year we took a big hit; we lost a lot of money, unfortunately, but we almost doubled our portfolio while the S&P 500 now is down to half of where it was at its height. So I think we're doing something right.

The point is that we need to understand the nature of the problem in order to prescribe the right remedies for individuals. I would take it one step further and say that as a nation, we must understand that you cannot create prosperity by printing money, but in fact we have to work hard and create things and save money. Unless the nation understands that and comes to grips with it, we're not going to go anywhere. So that's the premise of my radio show, Turning Hard Times into Good Times. We need to understand the problem properly and then provide some solutions for individuals to preserve their wealth and hopefully expand their wealth at a time when most people unfortunately are buying into the establishment solutions. And again, those solutions are just to prescribe the same remedies that caused the problems in the first place.

TGR: So you're thinking that the U.S. government, in following the Keynesian view, is really just going to prolong the problem? That the hard times are really going to last longer and potentially go deeper?

JT: Yes.

TGR: Given that scenario, how do you turn even harder times into good times?

JT: You begin by understanding that what they're doing is creating enormous amounts of money out of thin air, in essence. They're not creating wealth; they're creating units of currency. They're increasing the supply of the currency. It's just like increasing the supply of anything else. All other things being equal, when the supply increases, the value decreases.

TGR: So the dollar is going to decrease in value against what?

JT: Maybe not against other currencies, of course, because the same thing is happening with other currencies. The question is which currencies inflate more rapidly, and the dollar actually has been gaining strength recently. It's been gaining against other currencies-but not against gold. Gold has been rising against all currencies. So people must understand the basic fundamentals of what's causing our problem and then invest accordingly. What will hold its value against paper money? What could actually increase versus paper money and then go into those sectors.

TGR: Does that limit people to the precious metals? Is it just precious metals that will increase in value versus currencies, or do you see other potential opportunities?

JT: At the moment, I'm interested in gold more than any other precious metal. The reason is that I believe we're still looking at a very significant deflationary event. We've seen a little rally recently, but I think it's frankly just a bear market rally. The stock market in general is just getting murdered. The stock market and all manner of investments are way down. If the bond market turns and heads into the secular bear market, I think it's "game over" for paper assets in total.

Certainly, the financial markets are deflating, the bank stocks, financial assets of all kinds. Most commodity prices have taken a really big hit; oil prices are down threefold versus gold, for example. Housing prices, of course, is a really big one. As long as we continue to deflate and prices continue to decline, I think gold is the place to be.

It's very interesting. Bob Hoye, an analyst from Vancouver, has gone back and studied six major credit expansion periods over the last 300 years, the current one being the latest and the prior one being before the Great Depression of 1930s, when that expansion bubble collapsed. In those six timeframes, gold was a very bad place to put your money during credit cycle expansions. But during the contractions of those cycles, gold was the very best place to be. Why? Because gold gained real purchasing power.

TGR: So how high could gold prices go in this contraction?

JT: The nominal price of gold doesn't matter so much. Actually, I try to get away from answering that particular question. I believe the right question is "How much will an ounce of gold buy?" Let's put that in some context. September 12, 2008, was a Friday. It was the beginning of the next week, after the Lehman Brothers collapse, that the bottom fell out of the credit markets. From that time until now, an ounce of gold will buy three times more oil. It will buy more than twice as much of the Rogers Raw Materials Fund. It will buy more than twice as much copper. So gold has gained real purchasing power.

A lot of the copper and zinc and other base metal mines have closed with the collapse in those prices. Labor is available to gold mining companies now; which was not the case when those mines were open. So, just as in the 1930s, gold mining is one of the few places where you can really make money. We saw some very good 2008 earnings reports coming from Goldcorp (TSX:G) (NYSE:GG) and some others. I don't know of any other sector, aside from perhaps companies that produce guns, that is really reporting substantially higher earnings. A few companies such as Netflix may be doing well; but for the most part very, very few industries are doing well right now except gold because the real price of gold stays high. The real price of gold does not decline during these periods.

That's because people instinctively know-and they've known for thousands of years-that gold is money and they just naturally hoard gold when they lose confidence in the paper or they lose confidence in the financial institutions. That certainly has been happening now. So gold is really the place that I want to be right now.

Having said that, could we be heading into an inflationary environment? Yes, I think that's possible. Then I think you'll want tangible assets in general that will retain their intrinsic value. A house that you own free and clear would be an example. Even if you have a mortgage in an inflationary environment, the right prescription might be to leverage up, I suppose, as long as you're sure you can pay-but you'll be paying with cheaper dollars in the future. To own assets, even leveraged assets, makes some sense in an inflationary environment. Of course, you have to be sure you're heading into that environment and that you will have the income to service your debt.

For now, gold is my favorite of the precious metals. Silver not as much because silver is much more of an industrial metal. It derives much more of its value from its use in industry and it has a growing number of industrial applications. We have about 55 years of above-ground gold supply, and only six or seven years of above-ground silver supply. The base metals, which have purely industrial uses, have, in essence, only a few weeks' supply.

It's just my thinking that when you go into a deflationary collapse, gold will be the beneficiary. And Bob Hoy has pointed out that over the last 300 years when the credit system imploded, when the debt was called in, when margin clerks forced people to sell whatever they could in order to pay their debts, gold rose significantly in real purchasing power.

TGR: Will gold retain its value if we move into an inflationary environment?

JT: Yes, I'm convinced it will. Let's distinguish between an inflationary period and a period of global growth. We've had a lot of global growth until recently and gold was not a very good place to be. We can inflate the monetary system but we can't really get the global banking system to inflate or to expand as it did in Bob Hoy's six examples of the last 300 years. In fact, it's really tough getting the banks to lend money now, for two reasons.

One, they're not lending money to people because loans portfolios look like a black hole. In terms of loan losses, no one knows where bottom is. Because they can't figure that out, they're trying to shore up their capital base and trying to make sure their equity is intact.

Secondly, they're having a heck of a time finding creditworthy borrowers. You can't really get the system to expand if borrowers are not creditworthy. Finding customers who can pay loans back is a big problem. So many are so deeply in debt. They really need to repay their debts and get their personal balance sheets and corporate balance sheets back in order. Until that happens, how can the system inflate or expand? That took a long period of time in the 1930s. The New Deal didn't work then and they're trying to reenact it now. Well, how can they really get it to work now? It won't solve the problem, but as Congressman Paul suggested in my pre-recorded interview for my April 7th radio program, Turning Hard Times into Good Times, there is now a mechanism in place that can allow them to re-inflate the system that they didn't have in the 1930s. Now, the government can transfer money to people very easily now through the IRS. Essentially, they can just put money in people's bank accounts and "bingo" Joe Sixpack or ma and pa Kettle can party on. Ben Bernanke used the image of a helicopter drop. We saw a tiny little example of that after Katrina, when they handed out $3,000 checks all over New Orleans. More recently, of course, President Bush pushed through a stimulus package that gave money to taxpayers. So they can do that and Congressman Paul is convinced that they will. In his view, it's only a matter of time. And I suppose they can get people to start buying things in that way. They'll issue checks and give income distributions to people who are likely to spend 100% of the money they receive. But can they get the economy to grow? Absolutely not, at least not in real numbers after inflation is factored out of the growth numbers. You just can't create wealth by printing money though that very common sense fact appears to have escaped all those economists at the Fed.

When demand increases very significantly as it would if the masses were handed huge amounts of money to spend, you don't get a corresponding increase in supply, so you are bound to get some very significant inflation. If that happens, you'll start looking at a lot of things other than gold and gold mining shares to make money. Then I think we'll be looking at tangibles in general. Whether mining companies will be the best place to go remains to be seen. In any event, the viability of mining projects will as always be on a case-by-case, project-by-project basis. But if the cost of producing rises too rapidly, it may be that people will forego mining company risks and simply buy commodities alone. But right now, some of the companies are really talking about the reduction of gold mining costs and production costs in the last quarter after the Lehman Brothers collapse. I think they'll still do well during inflation, but frankly, gold mining has done absolutely the best in a deflationary environment. Profit margins have improved because production costs have gone down while the real price has gone up. That's because when the global economy shrinks and there is fear in the streets, people buy gold as the safest monetary store of value. They don't buy copper or other industrial metals.

TGR: You keep mentioning gold mining as opposed to physical gold.

JT: We're really talking about buying two different assets. A deflationary environment is very, very good for increasing profits in gold mining companies. Let's say the gold price goes up substantially and costs do not go up in line with the rise in the gold price, so margins improve. If earnings improve, the market will pay some multiple of those earnings. Suppose they pay 10 times earnings-all of a sudden the price of the stock can double. You usually don't see that with the price of gold. You can see a very substantial increase in the price of gold, but a lot of these mining companies can go from 10 or 20 cents to $2 or $3 or much higher than that, so the potential gains are much greater in owning mining company than in holding the gold bullion. Always remember, though, that risk goes with reward, and you have higher risks with the mining companies.

The safest way to protect your wealth, of course, is not in gold mining shares because there's always a level of risk in a business. You can own the metal and have it safely stored someplace. That's very, very conservative wealth in your possession. It's safe as long as someone doesn't rob you or the government doesn't take it.

TGR: You mentioned Goldcorp earlier. What are some of other mining companies you're looking at as relatively low risk if you want to get into mining?

JT: Primarily since mid-September last year when the market really fell apart, it became increasingly difficult for the more speculative mining companies to raise capital. So my focus has been more toward building around the core producers-like Goldcorp, Agnico-Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM), Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM). We also like Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE:AUY) and IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX:IMG) (NYSE:IAG). Those producers are sort of the core holdings, the companies that are producing profitably right now. Within what I call my "Progress A" companies-companies that are actually producing gold-are also some smaller ones that offer tremendous upside potential. These are companies that people haven't really heard much about, but they have lots of exploration potential and lots of growth potential.

Another tier, our "Progress B" companies, includes those that are not producing yet but have progressed their projects through the feasibility stage and may be bringing them on line within a year or two. After the Lehman Brothers debacle and through the end of last year, it was very, very difficult for those companies to raise money. Now we're starting to see some loosening up in financing availability, especially for gold mining, because investors are seeing the increased profit margins I've been talking about. So gold mining is attracting capital.

I met with some people in New York a couple of weeks ago who wanted me to introduce some companies to them because they have enormous amounts of capital to put to work and are aggressively looking for gold mining companies, especially those that are in or near production. They're even interested in going down the food chain a little bit toward the more junior exploration companies, companies that may not have a feasibility study yet, but have gold deposits that are sizable or have the potential to get really big.

TGR: Could you share with us the names of some of the smaller companies in your "Progress A" category?

JT: Sure. One I like is a new gold producer, Alexis Minerals (TSX:AMC), which trades on the Toronto Exchange. It's a new producer in Quebec. I love Quebec, by the way. It is one of the greatest mining jurisdictions in the world. They have the best balance. They understand that mining is a very basic wealth-creating industry that also create jobs. A company that builds a mine pays wages to the 50 or 100 people who work in the mine. Beyond that, something like six or seven times more jobs are created as wealth comes into that area. Smart governments such as the Quebec government understand that this is very important. At the same time, they work hard to avoid environmental disasters.

Another new producer I really like and I think is really undervalued is Allied Nevada Gold Corp. (TSX:ANV) (ANV). It's not a high-grade deposit, but it's huge, with 4 million ounces of oxides right now that can be produced with open-pit heap leaching. It has another 4 million ounces of sulphides and enormous exploration potential. I think Allied Nevada could very well be a takeover target in the not-too-distant future as well.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (TSX:GBG) (NYSE.AMEX:GBG), which produced some 60,000 or 80,000 ounces last year from Nevada, is another one I like a lot, and it's not even officially in production yet. Great Basin also has a South African gold mine. They'll be producing a very considerable amount of gold in the not-too-distant future. The stock has gone nowhere for some time, but I think it's going to be a huge winner.

TGR: Any others?

JT: Starcore International Mines Ltd. (TSX:SAM) is another little one-Mexican gold production and a silver producer as well. It's another Toronto Exchange company that's based in Vancouver. San Gold Corporation (TSX.V:SGR) is another one I really, really love. Most of these stocks trade primarily on the Toronto Exchange and secondarily on the PinkSheets so Americans can buy them that way. I don't mind buying stocks on the PinkSheets if their primary markets are in Canada. By default, they start trading on the PinkSheets because Americans who want to buy them call their brokers, who then buy those shares in Canada and then trade them in the U.S.

TGR: These are all currently producing miners?

JT: Yes, those are some of the ideas among the producers. One that has not yet gone into production but which I think is going to be a huge winner is Romarco Minerals (TSX.V:R). This is a remarkable story, from South Carolina of all places. Yes, there's lots of gold in South Carolina. It's the first place gold was mined in the United States, not California, by the way. Romarco will be a huge project with very, very strong financial backing from a private company. Frank Holmes (U.S. Global Investors) and his mutual funds own over half the stock. Eric Sprott (Sprott Asset Management) is a big investor and also a bunch of funds out of Europe. Romarco is trading at something like 25 cents or 30 cents, and has a fair number of shares outstanding, but that's one I think is going to do extremely well in the not-too-distant future. Lots and lots of exploration potential. I was down on the property at the end January.

TGR: Do you have any juniors that will be producing within the next year or two that you're watching closely?

JT: Yes, there are several junior gold mining firms that are nearing the production state that I am following closely and believe are good speculative buys at the present time. One in particular that I have my eyes on is Hawthorne Gold Corp. (TSX.V:HGC). Over the past year or so, the company acquired Cusac Gold Mines Inc., which has a fully permitted mill and high-grade gold deposit in the Cassiar Mountains in northern B.C. known as Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a high gold deposit which should be able to produce meaningful cash flows for the company to fund the exploration and development of two very large, potentially world-class gold deposits, one of which is located nearby and the other in south central B.C.

My confidence in the ability of this company to succeed is its management, which was the operating brains that built not one but two very successful gold mining firms, namely El Dorado Gold Corporation (ELD.TO) (AMEX:EGO) and Bema Gold Corporation. The company's shares, which are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (HGC) and on the Pink Sheets in the U.S. (HWTHF), are currently selling at around US$0.22. With just 74 million shares outstanding, the company's market cap is only around US$16 million, which is nothing. With any kind of success in executing its business plan, this management team could have its third success. There are never any guarantees in this business, but given my bullish views on gold combined with the significant upside potential and a resource of well over one million ounces already, I think Hawthorne could easily become a "10-bagger" for investors who buy at these levels and have the patience to wait for the fundamentals to drive the price of the stock.

There are a lot of companies like this. It would take me all day to go over all of them. I think it's the most exciting time right now for the junior mining sector and for the new companies that are producing gold, especially. Readers who want to know more and understand why I like the companies I do can subscribe to our newsletter. Anybody can drop names, but I don't say, "Buy this because the great Jay Taylor says you should." No, I want people to understand the reason, the logic behind buying these stocks, so the newsletter tries to give people a sense of the fundamental reasons for owning them.

TGR: You've been a proponent of silver in the past, but you've indicated that silver isn't so intriguing to you right now because it's an industrial metal. Have the fundamentals changed?

JT: Silver can do well. In fact, it has done better than most things. It's gone up versus oil, copper, a lot of things. It hasn't gone up as much as gold because gold is purely a monetary metal and I said, we have something like a 55-year supply of gold above ground. Industrial uses consume silver and the base metals; people just simply hoard gold. Jewelry demand is not what drives up the price of gold. As a matter of fact, there's an inverse relationship between the price of gold and jewelry off-take. Jewelry sells more when the price of gold goes down. What really makes gold increase in value is when people hoard it, when they have fear of the paper money or the institutions.

There is an element of that in silver, too, which makes it much better than most metals. It's just that in a deflationary environment, when the global economy is contracting, the industrial demand for silver contracts, too. Unless we see enough investor demand to overcome or offset that contraction, silver loses its value compared to gold. That's what's been happening in my view, especially since Lehman Brothers failed, the credit system imploded and the whole global economy dived off a cliff into this recessionary-some people say depressionary-abyss.

So, I do like silver and I probably need to take a look at silver mining projects specifically because if you have enough silver and it's rich enough, you can make money. That's even true of the base metals now. But, until we see a turnaround in industrial demand, for the most part I'm very much partial to gold.

TGR: So you're still okay with silver to some extent.

JT: I like silver. I even keep some junk silver, the old quarters and dimes, at home, just in case we have to go to a barter system at some point. What if I want somebody to come in and fix my toilet? The plumber may not want my newsletter or whatever else I may have to offer. What do I have to give him? I'll need something of value that he understands is valuable to him so I can exchange that to get my plumbing fixed. Silver may serve that purpose very well. So I do like silver a lot, but the system is still deflating, and as long as we continue to deflate and until I'm convinced otherwise, I'll probably continue to favor gold. And I do believe we're still deflating despite the fact we've had some stock market rallies lately.

TGR: Can you give us some perspective on how long you think this deflationary environment will last? Earlier you said we have to work their way through all of the debt, put some savings in the bank. Are we looking at one year before we can manage that? Five years? Ten years?

JT: It's really hard to say. There's an awful lot of excessive debt needing to be unwound. If you look at the '30s, it took 15 years or so. It never ended until World War II. So I think this major secular downturn can last a long time. The question in my mind is whether the government can create enough demand with helicopter money soon enough to avert a continued deflation. Through the third quarter of last year, we saw $8 trillion worth of wealth destruction in the United States just from stocks and real estate and stuff like that. And they had created a $700 billion TARP, which was very difficult. Americans objected. They said, "$700 billion to bail out the banks? What are you doing that for?" It was not popular. The first bill went down and they had to come up with propaganda that scared the daylights out of Americans and provide enough pork to others to get the bill passed.

For the moment, we are seeing a bit of a rally in the equity markets and in fact I think that could run for several more weeks and perhaps several months. That's positive in terms of overcoming this deflationary thing, but I'm not convinced it's anything but a bear market rally. We had a bull market of 25 years or so-a long, long bull market. After long bull markets, bear markets that follow usually aren't over in a year or two. So I would think this bear market has a long way to run, and to the extent that the bear market and the deflationary environment coincide, we could have at least another three to five years.

On the other hand, if they're able to somehow stimulate the economy, we may see some nominal inflation-induced growth (although not necessarily real economic growth). If you back out the cost-of-living increases, we could see rising incomes in nominal terms but declining incomes in real terms. If we get a "successful" helicopter drop I'm fear of high levels of inflation-even possibly hyperinflation.

I think we're in for a tough time no matter what happens-whether we have an inflationary depression or a deflationary depression. Honestly, if we have to have a depression I'd rather see a deflationary depression. People who behaved themselves, don't live beyond their means, save their money and act in a responsible way would be rewarded in a deflationary depression. But in an inflationary depression, people who don't behave themselves, live beyond their means, blow all their money, max out their credit cards and then get bailed out. Everybody loses then, including the good people who saved their money because their money becomes worthless.

So as painful as it might be, from a moral perspective a deflationary environment is probably better in my way of thinking. The politicians don't see it that way and people forget that initially we had a government that was to be very limited in its objectives of what it was supposed to do. The people were meant to take responsibility for their own lives. Now we're at the point where, like most other countries, we to look to government to bail us out and take care of us. The sad part is we lose our individual freedoms when we do that. That matters to me more than anything else, certainly more than making money.

As Congressman Paul says, if we remain free, we can always rebound. But if we have our freedoms taken away or we give them away, we won't be allowed to own anything or do anything anymore. That's what happens in totalitarian governments. The more government gives, the more it takes away. There are no free rides here.

Some of the banks aren't so sure they want to take TARP money. They don't want the government telling them they can't do anything and regulating everything they can do. But that's the way it's going to be if government bails everybody out. That's the way it's going to be unless we wake up and realize that we need to take responsibility for our own lives. We need to tell our politicians we need to go back to a sound monetary system, a monetary system that is honest instead of this fiat currency system that doesn't have any gold or silver attached to it that allows the bankers to create money-not wealth. Printing press money doesn't create wealth. It only re-distributes wealth from those who create it-hard working miners, manufacturers, inventors, doctors etc. People who do something for us create wealth. The politicians, through the debt mechanism-because there's no limit to debt money without a gold standard-are really reallocating the wealth to the bankers and to themselves. They are the ones coming out ahead on this. Everybody else is getting hosed big time.

This is bigger than just how we can make money and how we can benefit. My radio show, Turning Hard Times into Good Times, is about two things: recognizing the problem and then finding a way to solve it both for ourselves personally and for our society. We want to do it so we don't get hurt personally and we may be fortunate enough to perhaps gain some wealth. But more importantly, through education, we want people to know how we as citizens can do our small part to help get our country back on course and return to the very basic wealth-creating activities of working hard and saving our money? Until we do that as a nation, we're in big trouble.

TGR: Where can listeners find your radio show?

JT: It's at www.voiceamerica.com on the business channel. It will be archived so people can listen to it later as well. Our first week we featured G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekyll Island. Second week, Mark Faber will be our guest. The third week we'll bring in Ron Paul. We have a bunch of other really, really interesting people lined up for interviews in the middle section of the program each week. We'll start each show recapping the market for the past week and then before we close every week, we'll provide some investment ideas that can help folks know what to do in this turbulent environment.

We're very excited about it, and think it has the potential to really be very helpful to people.

*Jay Taylor went to New York to work for Barclay's Bank International after earning his MBA in finance and investment in 1973. As he followed the demolition of the U.S. gold standard and the rapid rise in the national debt, Jay became more interested in monetary and fiscal policy, particularly as it related to gold. This led to his first investments in junior gold shares toward the end of the 1970s. He added a BA in geology to his CV in 1988. Pursuing his interest in researching and writing about mining companies as a sideline, Jay maintained his full-time banking career for nearly 10 more years. In August 1997, he left the ING Barings' mining and metals group to pursue his avocation as a new full-time career-including publication of his weekly Gold, Energy & Technology Stocks newsletter.

Interview published courtesy of The Gold Report - www.theaureport.com
(mineweb)

Power and fuel constraints hit cement production

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:18:00 +0000

BL quoted manufacturers as saying that power supply and coal availability problems have hit cement production capacities and supply, which has helped keep prices stable. Though installed capacity has increased, consumption has matched the growth, contrary to expectations.

According to a leading manufacturer in the South, the power shortage in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh has impacted production from large and small mills. Particularly, mini cement plants, which do not have captive power facilities have been the worst affected. Industry estimates that at least about 3 million tonne of production has been lost due to the power shortage in recent months. Large mills that expected to have additional production capacity are yet to get power supply.

According to industry estimates, between April 2008 and January 2009, cement production capacity increased to about 16 million tonne a month from 14.8 million tonne. Cement consumption appears to have grown by about 8.2% during this period to match production growth. This has contributed to prices staying stable at about INR 225 a bag in Andhra Pradesh and INR 265 to INR 270 in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

An official said cement consumption in South and Central zones is growing at about 10% and 10.5% while in the North the growth touched about 9% since January against 4.1% earlier. March is also doing well.

Mr S Sreekanth Reddy director of Sagar Cements said manufacturers are facing a power shortage of at least 25% grid power in Andhra Pradesh. Production is lost on 2 days of a week or one week in a month. There is no scope for improvement in supply at least up to the monsoons.

Mr Reddy said rural India is primarily contributing to the cement demand. The market difficulties of large real estate players had not impacted the industry because they account for less than 15% of the consumption.

According to Mr T Venkatesan CEO of Dalmia Cements, the industry is using costly imported coal for power and fuel which account for about 60% of the cement production cost. Due to domestic coal availability constraints, manufacturers had tied up in advance for imported coal at high costs ranging around USD 100 tonne to USD 150 tonne and they are yet to get the benefit of the drop in coal prices which ranges around USD 80 to USD 90 now. Though there is a growth in consumption, the demand scene is not great.

Mr Venkatesan said consumption growth in Tamil Nadu is down to about 7% to 8% now against 14% to 15% last year. The demand is poor in Bangalore. The pick up in the North could possibly be due to the absence of supplies from Pakistan. But the growth trend has helped to stabilize prices even in the backdrop of the general slowdown.

(

2009 Uranium Conference Highlights

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:10:00 +0000

By Melissa Pistilli-Exclusive to Uranium Investing News

Paydirt magazine, an internationally-circulating mining publication, hosted its fourth-annual Uranium Conference in Adelaide, South Australia. The two-day program included nuclear industry leaders, exploration and ining representatives, and government officials coming together to discuss the uranium and nuclear energy industries.

Some of the topics at the 2009 conference included reports on BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine, the current financial crisis’ impact on the uranium mining sector, and Botswana’s uranium mining future.

Olympic Dam Delay

The global financial crisis is hurting even industry leaders like BHP Billiton. Analysts are anticipating forced delays to BHP’s planned expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, which hosts the world’s largest known uranium deposit.

Speaking at the conference, BGF Equities director Warwick Grigor said BHP would be better off using their cash to make acquisitions than expanding projects. “We really don’t know where the end of the tunnel is in terms of this economic crisis and it would be very brave of BHP to be throwing a lot of money at that when they can buy so many other bargain-basement assets around and extend their power that way,” said Grigor.

BHP had originally planned to have the first stage of the five-phase expansion into production by 2013, but Grigor predicts a delay of at least two years or more.

The Uranium Industry’s “Walking Dead”

Mr. Grigor also warned conference attendees that the financial crisis has spawned a shake-down in the uranium mining industry and many of the sector’s companies are already “walking dead.” These “zombie companies”, as Grigor calls them, are those miners with meritless properties and/or are cash-strapped; the companies created merely to jump on the uranium bandwagon when the spot price was riding high.

It seems the global credit crunch is working to separate the weak from the fold. “Some companies will merge and some companies will be taken over, but in many cases it won’t even be worth paying the corporate advisory and legal fees to complete mergers,” added Grigor.

Botswana to Become a “Second Namibia”

Recently, Mining Weekly suggested the African nation of Botswana may soon become “a second Namibia,” which is well-known for its uranium mining industry and resources. Recently, about 138 prospecting licenses for the exploration of uranium were issued by the Botswana government. Exploration activity is taking place “across the length and breadth of Botswana,” said Minerals Minister Ponatshego Kedikilwe.

Australian-based A-Cap Resources [ASX: ACB] is one uranium miner seeking success in Botswana and is on target to put Botswana’s first uranium mine into production. The company is currently exploring and developing the Letlhakane mine. At the Paydirt 2009 Conference on Tuesday, A-Cap Managing Director, Dr. Andrew Tunks said the company has enough confidence in Letlhakane’s known and existing potential to move operations toward feasibility studies this year.

“Our view is to initiate much of the required feasibility study workload during calendar 2009. Although we have a current inferred resource of 100-million pounds, we believe Letlhakane has an exploration target in excess of 200-million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8),” said Tunks. The results of a scoping study conducted on the property were released in October of last year and confirmed a resource of 280-million tonnes at 158 parts per million U3O8 for 44,500 tonnes of contained concentrate. The estimated cash costs for the mine at Letlhakane is $33 per pound with a proposed production rate of 20,000 tonnes per day.

A-Cap plans to ask the Botswana government for a mining license by early 2010 and hopes to bring the Letlhakane mine into production by 2011. On Wednesday, shares of A-Cap on the ASX were trading at .15 cents, down from a 52-week high of .88 cents.

(http://www.uraniuminvestingnews.com)

Kedutaan Kanada Selenggarakan Seminar Peluang Pertambangan di Indonesia

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:06:00 +0000

JAKARTA.
Menteri Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral pada hari Senin (16/3) membuka seminar bertajuk “Seminar on Indonesia’s Mining Opportunities”, yang diadakan oleh kedutaan Kanada dan berkerjasama dengan Indonesian Mining Association (IMA). Seminar mengambil tempat di Bimasena tersebut direncanakan akan berlangsung hingga tanggal 17 Maret. Kegiatan ini merupakan bagian dari rangkaian acara misi pertambangan Kanada untuk mencari peluang bagi perusahaan-perusahaan pertambangan Kanada dalam dunia pertambangan di Indonesia.

Dalam kata sambutannya, MESDM mengungkapkan bahwa kegiatan ini menunjukkan adanya perhatian yang besar dari pelaku pertambangan di Kanada terhadap kesempatan bisnis sumber daya alam di Indonesia, terutama pertambangan mineral dan batubara yang sedang memasuki era baru dengan berlakunya UU Minerba. “UU Minerba ditujukan agar dapat menguntungkan semua stakeholder, sehingga merupakan tanggung jawab kita semua untuk bekerjasama dalam menciptakan sector pertambangan yang lebih modern dan menguntungkan”.

Selain seminar, misi pertambangan juga diisi oleh acara jejaring dengan para anggota Asosiasi Pertambangan Indonesia (API), dan serangkaian kunjungan ke lapangan. Perusahaan pertambangan Kanada yang menghadiri acara tersebut terdiri atas Barrick Gold, East Asia Minerals Corp, Kalimantan Gold Corp, Southern Arc Minerals, Sheritt International, Sierra Geological Corporation, dan South East Asia Mining Corporation. Acara misi pertambangan ini akan berlangsung hingga 19 Maret 2009.

(ESDM)

Enam Wilayah Kerja CBM Siap Ditandatangani

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:57:00 +0000

JAKARTA. Road Map Pengembangan Coal Bed Methane (CBM) menetapkan tahun 2009 sebagai titik awal dari CBM yang ditandai dengan penandatanganan kontrak-kontrak awal CBM. Enam kontrak kerja sama wilayah kerja CBM siap ditandatangani pada Mei mendatang. Untuk tahun 2009, pemerintah merencanakan penandatanganan 14 wilayah kerja CBM. Hingga saat ini, 7 wilayah kerja CBM telah ditandatangani yaitu Blok Sekayu, Blok Indragiri Hulu, Blok Barito Banjar II, Blok Bentian Besar, Blok Sangatta dan Blok Kutai.

Hal ini disampaikan Dirjen Migas Departemen ESDM, Evita H Legowo dalam 2nd CBM World Conference (10/3) di Hotel Mulia, Senayan, Jakarta. Acara ini dihadiri oleh para stakeholder terkait CBM yang sebagian besar berasal dari luar negeri.

Dari sisi regulasi, pengusahaan CBM tunduk pada ketentuan peraturan perundang-undangan di bidang Kegiatan Usaha Minyak dan Gas Bumi (UU No.21 tentang Migas) dan Permen No. 40/2006 tentang Penetapan dan Penawaran Wilayah Kerja Migas (disempurnakan dengan Permen No. 35 tahun 2008) serta Permen No. 33 tahun 2006 tentang Pengusahaan Gas Metana Batubara (disempurnakan dengan Permen No. 36 tahun 2008).

Penawaran wilayah kerja CBM dapat dilakukan melalui penawaran langsung (direct offer) dan lelang (tender terbuka). Namun dikarenakan berbagai kendala, baru sistem penawaran langsung yang digunakan untuk CBM. Diharapkan pada akhir tahun 2009 penawaran wilayah kerja CBM melalui lelang dapat dilakukan.

CBM adalah gas bumi yang terperangkap di dalam batubara. Pada awal kegiatan operasionalnya, dibutuhkan biaya yang cukup besar mengingat karakteristik yang berbeda dengan gas alam konvensional. Melalui pengeboran tertentu, CBM diekstraksi dari lapisan batu bara. Proses ini tidak akan mengurangi deposit batu baranya karena yang diambil hanya CBM yang terperangkap. Dibandingkan gas alam, CBM memiliki periode produksi lebih singkat. Umumnya, produksi terbesar atau puncak produksi terjadi pada periode tahun produksi ke 2 hingga ke 7. Sedang lama periode produksi pada kisaran 10 hingga 20 tahun, lebih pendek dibandingkan dengan gas alam yang bisa mencapai 30 hingga 40 tahun.

Indonesia memiliki potensi sumber daya CBM sekitar 450,3 Triliun Cubic Feet (TCF). Cadangan CBM sebesar itu tersebar pada sebelas areal cekungan (basin) batubara di berbagai lokasi di Indonesia. Sebelas basin lokasi CBM itu adalah Sumatera Selatan (183 TCF), Barito (101,6 TCF), Kutei (80,4 TCF) dan Sumatera Tengah (52,5 TCF) untuk kategori high prospective. Basin Tarakan Utara (17,5 TCF), Berau (8,4 TCF), Ombilin (0,5 TCF), Pasir dan Asem-Asem (3,0 TCF) dan Jatibarang (0,8) memiliki kategori moderate prospective. Sedang basin Sulawesi (2,0 TCF) dan Bengkulu (3,6 TCF) berkategori low prospective.

(ESDM)

PT Timah Membuka Pabrik Tin Chemical di Cilegon

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Usai peletakan batu pertama pembangunan pabrik tin Chemical, Dirut PT Timah Tbk Wachid Usman menjelaskan, konstruksi pabrik direncanakan selesai dalam 12 bulan, mudah - mudahan bisa lebih cepat. Adapun produk yang dipasarkan natinya menggunakan brand Bankastab.

Adapun latar belakang pembangunan pabrik tin chemical ini, menurut Wachid didasarkan atas pertimbangan sejarah PT Timah yang mengalami pasang surut akibat naik turunnya harga timah yang tajam. Menyadari rawannya ketergantungan terhadap harga timah yang fluktuatif ini, maka diversifikasi usaha harus dilakukan untuk mengurangi ketergantungan perusahaan pada single commodity logam timah baik secara vertical maupun horizontal.

Bisnis tin based tin chemical dibentuk dengan tujuan untuk meningkatkan profitabilitas perusahaan dan menambah devisa negara; optimalisasi nilai tambah cadangan timah yang tak terbaharui dan terus berkuran; mengembangkan industri, membuka lapangan pekerjaan dan menimbulkan multiplier effect terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi daerah; membentuk kompetensi dibidang industri kimia dan ikut mendorong stabilitas harga timah internasional.

Mulai Produksi 2010

Dikatakan Wachid, pembangunan pabrik diatas lahan seluas 8 hektar ini diharapkan bisa break even point dalam periode 3 tahun. Diperkirakan pabrik tin chemical tersebut dapat mulai berproduksi pada awal tahun 2010 dengan kapasitas produksi 10 ribu ton bankastab dan dalam masa tiga tahun akan ditingkatkan lagi kapasitas produksinya menjadi 30 ribu ton per tahun. Pembangunan pabrik ini ditujukan untuk meningkatkan nilai tambah karena merosotnya harga timah dunia scara drastis.

Menurut Wachid pembangunan pabrik ini juga akan memberikaqn multiplier effect seperti mendorong stabilitas harga timah internasional, mendorng pertumbuhan industri timah dalam negeri, memperluas tenaga kerja, mendorong pertumbuhan industri kimia dalam negeri meningkatkan perekonomian derah serta memacu semangat pengembangan industri logam mineral lainnya.

Sementara itu Sekretaris Kementrian Negara BUMN Said Didu menyatakan bahwa pembangunan pabrik ini menunjukkan bahwa sektor industri timah sudah mengalami kemajuan. "Dengan peletakan Batu ini merupakan simbol bahwa kita sudah merdeka karena 20% dari produksi timah kita sudah digunakan oleh kita sendiri. Ditegaskan pula bahwa Tahun 2009 ini adalah tahun politik bagi politisi namun bagi BUMN merupakan tahun investasi bukan tahun krisis.

Ada banyak keuntungan dalam dibangunnya pabrik tin chemical ini yasng berlokasi di kawasasn industri PT KIEC diantaranya; lokasi yang strrategis dan memenuhi spesifikasi kriteria AMDAL, ketersediaan infrastruktur (jalan dan dermaga), ketersediaan fasilitas air, listrik, gas dan saluran komunikasi, kemudahan bersinergi dengan bisnis internasional, kemudahan mendapatkan bahan baku utama dan bhan baku penunjang, kemudahan memobilisasi tenaga kerja yang kompeten. Selain itu tersedia pula fasilitas sosial dan umum seperti rumah sakit, sekolah, hotel, apartemen, tempat rekreasi, pertokoan, dan lain-lain.

Dorongan Pertumbuhan Daerah

Sedangkan dalam pertumbuhan dalam pandangan Gubernur Banten Hj Ratu Atut Chosiyah sebagaimana dibacakan oleh Staf Ahli Bidang Ekonomi dan Investasi Drs. H. Dulmuji, hadirnya pabrik tin chemical ini akan menambah kapsitas industri kimia di Banten dan ini berguna untuk memenuhi pasar yang masih terbuka. Menurut Gubernur kehadiran pabrik ini juga mendorong pertumbuhan daerah juga sekaligus mensejahterakan rakyat melalui pembukaan lapanagn kerja yang bermuara pada pengentasan kemiskinan.

Gubernur juga berharap bahwa pembangunan Pabrik Tin Chemical in agar dapat membawa manfaat yang besar bagi perusahaan dan masyarakat sekitar dan lebih jauh lagi dpat memberikan kontribusi bagi perkembangan perekonomian Banten.

Selain jajaran komisaris dan Direksi PT Timah dan anak perusahaan, hadir pula Sekretaris Jenderal Kementerian BUMN M Said Didu, Gubernur Banten yang diwakili oleh staf ahli bidang Ekonomi dan Industri, Kapolda Banten, Walikota Banten dan pejabat lainnya.

Gambaran Umum Produk

Tin Bassed Tin Chemical adalah stabilisator panas (heat stabilizer) yang paling baik karena sangat efektif untuk penggulungan, pembentukan dan penyuntikan bahan cetakan PVC yang mempunyai sifat keras. Bahan ini juga dipakai dalam industri plastik, pengepakan makanan dan produk PVC keras lainnya. Telah digunakan secara luas sebagai bahan bangunan plastik seperti pintu, jendela plastik, pipa air dan bahan dekorasi. Oleh karena itu, bahan ini telah mengganti stabilisator panas untuk plastik yang mengandung racun sangat tinggi seperti Lead Based Tin Chemical.

Tin Based Tin Chemical ada tiga tipe yaitu methyltin, butyltin dan octyltin. Dua dari tyoe tersebut diterapkan sebagai aplikasi pengemasan yang langsung kontak dengan makanan dan minuman yaitu methyltin dan octyltin. Tipe methyltin diterapkan pada aplikasi pipa PVC untuk air minum dan instalasi air bersih pada pabrik pengolahan makanan.

Keuntungan penggunaan Tin Based Tin Chemical sebagai berikut:

Ramah lingkungan
Aman dikonsumsi masyarakat
Untuk bahan konstruksi karena mempunyai daya tahan lebih baik
Stabil pada kondisi temperatur tinggi terutama untuk produk elektronik
Penggunaan lebih efisien 20% dibanding produk PVC Stab yang lain

(PTTIMAH)

PTBA UKIR FANTASTIS KINERJA 2008

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Jakarta - PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) mengu‏kir kinerja yang mengesankan sepanjang tahun 2008. Perusahaan pelat merah itu mencatat kenaikan laba nersih dan penjualan yang signifikan.

PTBA membukukan penjualan tahun 2008 sebesar Rp 7,216 triliun atau naik 75% dibanding tahun 2007 yang sebesar Rp 4,123 triliun.

Demikian laporan keuangan PTBA tahun 2008 yang dipublikasikan, Kamis (12/3/2009). Laporan keuangan ini diaudit oleh KAP Haryanto Sahari & Rekan (Pricewaterhouse Coopers).

Laba usaha PTBA naik 178% menjadi Rp 2,493 triliun dibanding tahun 2007 yang sebesar Rp 896,984 miliar.

Sedangkan laba bersih yang didapat mencapai Rp 1,707 triliun melonjak tajam hingga 135% dibanding tahun 2007 yang sebesar Rp 726,211 miliar.

Perusahaan BUMN ini juga mencatat total aset yang besar di akhir tahun 2008 menjadi Rp 6,106 triliun dibanding tahun 2007 yang sebesar Rp 3,979 triliun.

Mayoritas saham PTBA yakni sebesar 65,02% dikuasai oleh negara Republik Indonesia. Sisanya dimiliki publik.

(PTBA)

Empat Formula Penjualan Gas Bumi Indonesia

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:37:00 +0000

MINGGU, 08 MARET 2009

JAKARTA. Pemerintah menerapkan empat formula penjualan gas bumi domestik, yaitu flat, eskalasi, formula terkait dengan harga minyak, serta formula terkait dengan produk dan harga minyak.

Formulasi penjualan harga gas dengan sistem flat (fixed rate) digunakan untuk pembeli dari pembangkit listrik dan industri sebelum 2004 pada saat harga BBM domestik rendah dan untuk meningkatkan pemanfaatan gas dalam negeri. Pada waktu itu penggunaan gas terbatas pada gas flare dan jual beli gas jangka pendek.

Formula penjualan gas eskalasi adalah penjualan gas dengan harga mengikuti peningkatan dan pertumbuhan perekonomian dan peningkatan harga minyak dunia. Formula ini digunakan untuk pembeli dari kelompok pembangkit listrik dan industri.

Formula yang terkait dengan harga minyak umumnya digunakan pembeli pada kelompok bisnis hulu dan hilir minyak serta ekspor.

Sedang penjualan gas dengan formula terkait dengan harga produk dan harga minyak digunakan pembeli industri petrokimia sebagai bahan baku (amonia, pupuk dan methanol).

(ESDM)

Potensi Panas Bumi di Indonesia dan Pemanfaatannya Hingga Awal 2009

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:35:00 +0000

SELASA, 10 MARET 2009

JAKARTA. Dalam mendukung Rencana Strategis (Renstra) Departemen Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral 2010-2014, Badan Geologi sebagai salah satu subsektor DESDM memberikan prioritas pada beberapa program, salah satunya pembangunan sumber daya energi terkait pemanfaatan energi terbarukan panas bumi. Pembangunan sumber daya energi dilakukan melalui penyiapan wilayah kerja untuk mendukung penyediaan listrik 10.000 MWe tahap kedua serta penyelidikan terpadu sumber daya panas bumi semua daerah komersial (vulkanik) secara intensif.

Berdasarkan paparan Kepala Badan Geologi DESDM, hingga awal tahun 2009 telah diketahui terdapat 257 kelompok lokasi panas bumi dengan total potensi sekitar 27 GWe di Indonesia. Dari jumlah tersebut, 203 lokasi (80 %) berasosiasi dengan lingkungan vulkanik dan 54 (20%) berada di lingkungan non vulkanik seperti di sebagian besar P. Sulawesi (kecuali Sulut), Kalimantan Barat, dan di kepala burung Irian Jaya.

Sebagian besar lokasi panas bumi (157 lokasi atau 61,3%) sudah berada pada tingkat survei pendahuluan, 85 lokasi atau 33,2 % berada pada tahap eksplorasi permukaan rinci, 8 lokasi atau 3,2 % berada pada tahap eksplorasi pemboran dan 7 lokasi atau 2,8 % yang telah berproduksi.

Jumlah energi panas bumi yang telah terpasang saat ini mencapai 1042 MWe, sekitar 35% dari cadangan terbukti atau sekitar 3% dari total potensi energi panas bumi di Indonesia. Lapangan yang telah berproduksi yaitu G. Salak (375 MWe), Kamojang (200 MWe), Darajat (255 MWe), Wayang Windu (110 MWe), Dieng (60MWe), Lahendong (40 MWe), dan Sibayak (2 MWe).

(ESDM)

BHP To Sack 6% of Its Work Force

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:33:00 +0000

By Stephen Bell

BHP Biliton Ltd. said it will cut around 6% of its global work force, shut an Australian nickel mine and cut coal production as it responds to low commodity prices and the world-wide economic slowdown.

The moves, which follow simlar cutback by BHP’s competitors including former takeover target Rio Tinto PLC, will likely prompt further profit downgrades ahead of BHP’s first-half results next month, analysts said.
The changes will results in a one-time cost to BHP of around $500 million, most of which relates to a second-half charge at the Ravensthorpe nickel operation in Western Australia, said BHP Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow.

Describing the move as a “very serious” response to the global downturn, Mr. Vanselow said the cuts include 2,100 jobs at BHP’s Australian nickel unit, most of them from the Revensthorpe closure.

Around 550 jobs would be lost in the U.S., up to 200 at the Olympic dam copper-uranium expansion project in Australia, 2,000 in Chile base metals and 1,100 in metallurgical coal in Australia, he said.

BHP will cut coal production in Australia by 10% to 15%, equivalent to an annual loss of four million to siz million metric tons of metallurgical coal.
The Chilean losses relate to project deferrals, rather than production cutbacks, he added.

Mr. Vanselow said BHP remains confident in Chinas’ llonger-term growth story, while efforst by the Chinese government to stimulate the economy should show results in the medium term.

“Our biggest concern is not China, which alone is 30% of global consumption,” he said, adding that nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other developing countries form “the core of the uncertainty that we are seeing.”

The “risks are to the downside” for BHP profit forecast, said UBS abalyst Glyn Lawcock, given the costs associated with job losses and other one-time items. Piror to the report, UBS had cut its fiscal 2009 earnings estimate for BHP by 11% to $11.8 billion.

The lates moves mean BHP has annouced 43.7 billion in wrute-downs as its Australian nickel business in the space of several months, following an earlier &2.1 billion Ravensthorpe charge in November.—Bill Lindsay and Lyndal McFarland contributed to this article.

Hundreds of Illegal Miners Detained in Lombok

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:31:00 +0000

By Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post/West Lombok

The West Lombok administration has detained at least 202 people from South Kalimantan, who attempted to work at an illegal gold mine at Batu Mujur, Sekotong district, about 50 kilometers south of Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara.

Basirun Anwar, the administrations spokesman, said that the 202 people, including rwo women, entered West Lombok on Wednesday evening in rented cars and were detained when they were buying cooking utensils at the market in Sekotong.

"After their data "was registered at the administration office, they were handed over to the provincial social service office to arrange for them to be sent back home," Basirun said.

"They came from several districts in Tanah Laut regency, South Kalimantan. We considered them illegal workers, as they were about to work at a gold mine, which has been closed by the local administration," he said.

The closure of the mine was issued by authorities following a major landslide, which killed six miners several days ago. Despite the incident, an increasing number of people continue to flock to the mine to search of gold. He said that his administration had assigned a joint team to help secure the mine site, consisting of representatives from the Indonesian military, police, the administration police and the Sekotong security office.

After closing the mine, the West Lombok administration urged the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration to revise Regional Regulation No. 11/2006 on the banningof gold mining, so as to enable the administration to mine the existing gold reserves itself.

Basirun explained that in order to send the miners back to South Kalimantan, the regency administration was coordinating with the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration and their respective provinces of origin. Several would-be miners admitted they left their hometowns for Lombok upon hearing about the gold prospects.

They traveled at a cost of Rp 1 million (USS90) to Rp 2 million each by boat from Banjarmasin to Surabaya, before reaching Sekotong. Most took loans from relatives or other sources to pay these expenses.

Suryansah, SO, one of the newcomers from Tabang Ulang district in South Kalimantan, said that the accident, which killed six people, still didnt prevent him from coming to Lombok.

http://www.ima-api.com/

Antam Eyes Six Coal Firms in East Kalimantan

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:30:00 +0000

By Aditya Wikrama & Yessar Rosendar

State-owned nickel and gold miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, or Antam, is considering buying six coal mining firms in East Kalimantan Province, which the company estimates would cost a total of Rp 2.55 trillion ($224.4 million). Antam said it may be willing to enter operational partnerships with the firms.

“Our team is currently in East Kalimantan, conducting due diligence on those six coal companies,” Hari Widjajanto, Antam’s senior manager for corporate strategic development, said on Thursday.

Despite the steep decline in commodities prices, Antam is determined to invest in the mineral sector this year. “We believe the investments will have high economic value in the next two or three years when we start production, and prices will hopefully be higher,” said Alwinsyah Lubis, Antam’s president director.

Bimo Satriyo, Antam’s corporate secretary, said that the coal mine acquisitions would be paid out of its 2009 capital expenditure budget of Rp 3 trillion, which would be financed from internal cashflow. Antam also hopes to gain majority stakes in 15 mining firms in Papua and Jambi provinces.

The company said that it would also work with the local governments and private firms in Central Kalimantan Province to develop gold, coal and other mineral resources there.

Although rich in minerals, the province lacks the infrastructure required to support full-scale mining operations.

“We have 468 mining concessions, about 80% of which have been explored as of the end of 2008,” said Agustin Teras Narang, governor of the province.
Agustin said the unexplored concessions included sites in Barito Utara and Barito Selatan districts, which had potential coking coal deposits, and in the western part of the province with iron ore and bauxite.

Antam said it would also continue to develop a nickel-laterite site in Buli on Halmahera Island in Maluku Province despite project partner BHP Billiton’s withdrawal due to delays by the government in issuing the contract of work for the mine.

Antam projects lower revenue this year on falling ferro nickel prices and output. About two-thirds of Antam’s revenue comes from production of the mineral. “This year ferro nickel production is estimated to decline by 30 percent to 12,000 tons, while the price is expected to fall to between $11,000 and 12,000 per ton,” Lubis said.

Last year, Antam produced 17,000 tons of ferro nickel, which it sold at an average price of $18,000 per ton, while revenue for the first nine months of 2008 came in at slightly over Rp 12 trillion, compared with Rp 7.5 trillion for full-year 2007.

The company’s profit for the first nine months of 2008 stood at Rp 1.62 trillion, as against Rp 5.13 trillion for all of 2007.
Antam shares closed unchanged Thursday at Rp 1,100.

http://www.ima-api.com/

Copper prices jumped the most in three weeks on speculation that demand will rise in China

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:56:00 +0000

Copper prices jumped the most in three weeks on speculation that demand will rise in China, the world’s largest user of the metal.

China’s economy will improve in this year’s 4 trillion yuan ($ 585 billion) stimulus spending comes into force, government officials said today. Countries copper purchases in the “long way to go,” said Scotia Capital Inc.. Prices rose 7.4 percent last week on speculation government spending in the U.S. and China will revive the world economy and raise the consumption of metals.

“Commodities are bouncing with copper, in particular,” after the comments of Chinese officials, Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak and to New York, said in an e-mail note today. “This means that China will do and spend every effort” to increase its economy, Boockvar said.

Copper futures for May delivery rose 7.6 cents, or 5 percent, to $ 1592 per pound at 9:10 am on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the COMEX Division. Close to that price will be the biggest benefits for most active contract since Feb. 6.

At the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose $ 140, or 4.1 percent, to $ 3525 metric tons ($ 1.60 per pound). The price reached a record $ 8940 on 2 July.

(worldminingexplorationnews.com)

Syria continues to supply Gulfsands Petroleum as the company sees reason for cautious optimism in Iraq

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:51:00 +0000

Evidence in the name when it comes to Gulfsands Petroleum. “Bay” because AIM quoted company produces about 2000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the U.S. in the Gulf of Mexico (where, as now, its facilities are not suffering associated with hurricane damage, reducing production to 950 boepd) and “Sand” because the company is also engaged in the Middle East. “Oil” speaks for itself. Increasingly, however, the company is more than “sand” than “the Gulf” as its business in the Middle East, the eclipse of the hurricane alley in the U.S. real estate.

Gulfsands building block of success in the Middle East is a block 26 in Syria, where he is acting on behalf of 50/50 partner Emerald Energy. Its investment here was acquitted in 2007, four years after his debut in a country where Khurbet East oil field was discovered. Fields came onstream in July 2008 with the help of an early production and is currently producing some 11,500 barrels per day from five wells have already delivered more than one million barrels over the past five months. Field efficiency of management ahead of expectations, and reserves the re-evaluation, due at the end of the business district is expected to provide further confirmation of the quality of the reservoir. Development and continue with the company this week to complete the He-7 well-planned water so that encountered good oil shows, and appears to have expanded the northern limit of the area.

In the back of last year’s second discovery was made on 26 blocks Yousefieh-1 well, which is only 3 km away from the Khurbet East early production facility. It also found 63 meters of net oil pay in the target Cretaceous reservoirs and flowed 900 barrels per day of natural flow and 1450 barrels per day by using gas. High-quality reservoir and the proximity to the East Khurbet objects meant Yousefieh is a candidate for a statement on the beginning of the commercial and similar rapid development.

And it may well be more coming to the conclusion that caliber to come. 640 sq km 3D seismic survey is under way over the areas around Khurbet East and Yousefieh discoveries. The data is expected to be ready for analysis in Q3 2009, will identify the leaders have already identified and to provide more detailed information on the new stratigraphic play that has been identified Yousefieh well.

However, Syria has not Gulfsands “only interested in the Middle East. The company has long been opportunities in the eastern neighbor, Iraq, where there are abundant reserves, which will be developed for those players with the contacts, resources and courage to deal with this kind of investment in high-risk (political, rather than geological) investment profile. In the company well in its interims, the pace and content of their talks with the Iraqi Government for the long-discussed Maysan gas project - the company made its debut in Iraq in 2003 after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the signing of a Memorandum of Maysan in 2005 year - to have “substantially increased” due to the currently “cautious optimism”.

December 2008 presentation clear how important the successful conclusion of these negotiations would be for the company’s future growth prospects. Maysan Project, for example, that a seizure of gas erupted in southern Iraq and its use and associated liquids to the local power and fuel needs, a large numbers: in 2005 the company was talking about $ 900 million investment to create 150 million cubic feet per day of gas capacity, 150 MW power plant, a tie with nine stations and a degassing station. And this is just Phase 1 of the four possible phase of the project.

Gulfsands also eying other opportunities in the country, including decisions by the oil-field development projects. There are 73 discovered fields in the country, of which 64 are oil fields. Of these, ten are supergiants (more than five billion barrels), 12 giants (one to five billion barrels) and nine very large fields (from 500 million to one billion barrels). Nevertheless, only 23 of these fields is the production: it means that about two-thirds of the country discovered fields lying dormant, providing a lot of development of investment opportunities to increase production. Gulfsands expects to play a role in the release of these inactive reserves, but, as readers will know, that will depend on political and security situation that still troubled country. Currently, at least, Syria remains the foundation of the company in the Middle East ambitions.

(worldminingexplorationnews.com)

Looks good Mincor Set To Ride Out current low price of nickel

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:49:00 +0000

It is terribly difficult to get excited about a nickel mining company, at a time when the metal itself is in the doghouse. With Mincor, however, it is not possible to make an exception. Not because Australia has a minor surprise in his favor the back pocket, or even because he is made a discovery. It is more than Mincor sticks to its knitting in this slowdown, and do them well. The costs have been reduced, but not to injure the heart of business: cash is carefully husbanded, ready for exploration, but not stop, possible acquisitions analysis, but without its any need to rush things. In other words, Mincor longer and settings for the inevitable recovery in demand and nickel in the nickel price, when it will be a major mining sector winners.

“We have warned the market that we do not make a profit in this half,” David Moore, Mincor CEO, said during a chat with the man in minesite Oz, which took place earlier this week . It is a statement that he almost wished to make - as if companies focusing on how the conditions are difficult. “The key to everything we do is to manage the decline so that we are well positioned when conditions improve. Key elements of our strategy are to protect operating margins and protecting our balance sheet. We have set a goal to expand our resource base so that we can raise the production of the next upswing, to re-establish the basic price. ”

After a serious decline in the company’s share price during 2008, investors are beginning to understand the plan Moore. Since the share reached a low of 12 months A45.5 cents in late November, they were on the way back. Last week, the brand hit the A $ 1.00, before falling back to around A76 cents, a price that values the company at a lazy A $ 151 million, half of which can be represented simply by money in the bank account of Mincor. The other half of the value is represented by some of the best deposits of nickel, since they are located around the Kambalda Dome in the center of Western Australia. These are the same people who once mines Western Mining Corporation has made a name in mining.

Over the past eight years, and if you care to go back that far, remember the conditions very similar to those prevailing at present, Mincor has carefully assembled a portfolio of assets that extends around the ‘Kambalda Dome. For the record, the Kambalda Dome is a geological structure, surrounded by ancient volcanic lava channels containing nickel in high quality. And plans to produce a series of mine was moving towards a stable of 20,000 tons of metal a year before the global financial crisis struck. The current plan is to produce between 16,000 and 19,000 tonnes of metal per year. The decline was largely achieved by mothballing the Miitel mine, for the development of a new plan of mine, and mine more carefully at other mines.

The most important result of the cut to fit Mincor tougher times is that all transactions are cash positive, even if they are not profitable in a strict accounting. The cash cost per pound of nickel has been reduced to around U.S. $ 2.80, which, at current metal prices means that the company is still generating positive cash flows between A $ 2 million and 5 million dollars per month. “There is no denying how the conditions were difficult,” says Moore. “But we were also able to maintain a very strong financial position in the depths of a slowdown, which means that we are exceptionally well placed to recover. Right now, we are in a very strong position.”

Moore said that the beginning of January increased the price of nickel, when it rose to over U.S. $ 5.80 a pound, not aid, while the last retreat at U.S. $ 4.62 per pound will hurt. However, offsetting the decline in prices in U.S. dollars has been a corresponding decline in the value of the Australian dollar. In local currency, which fell to about US65 cents, Mincor is still getting more than U.S. $ 7.00 per pound. Help more modest hedging program, which covers about 15 percent of production, and has a positive value of nearly U.S. $ 40 million.

One of the best ways to look at is Mincor not consider the operations it has in production, but a mine that was shelved. Miitel was closed for the best reasons to allow the company to step back and look more closely at how best to expand the wealth of resources there. “Miitel has many good years ahead of him,” says Moore. “When nickel prices have fallen, we found that we could continue mining operations to a line of cash, but not at a profit.” But with the mine crew of the track, Mincor is now able to better analyze a discovery called Burnett Shoot which revealed high-quality tests to 13.15% nickel. The discovery is among the largest in several years.

Moore said that when nickel fell as low as U.S. $ 4.20 per pound in early December, each nickel miner in the world is under pressure. “But even at that price, our business is still cash flow positive. That’s good, but not really where you want, when you think from all the other things you want to do and maintain reserves “. He added: “We will fairly comfortable, but it would be nice to see a return to U.S. $ 8.00 per pound, because that’s when the game starts. At U.S. $ 10.00, you can have fun. ”

Exploration is critical to the functioning of the complex geology type of mine in the Kambalda region, continues, “says Moore. “We’ve cut back on the early generative work,” he says. “The key to the expansion of resources and the conversion of resources into reserves is continuing.”

If the geology is under control, the financial structure of Mincor is even more impressive. The company has a large cash generated during the explosion, a caution, covered the production, and costs to adapt to the borders of nickel prices. But more important that these assets is the philosophy of managing daily operations. “Our mind is not to use our cash reserves to fund existing operations,” says Moore. “That’s why we Miitel cocoon. We will not work the mines that are not cash flow positive at the very least. ”

As options for future growth, Moore sees a multitude of possibilities in the company of all the land around Kambalda as well as potential acquisitions. “We are interested in seeing what the possibilities are launched in this market,” he said. “We get a lot of knocks on the door for future promotions.” Are they attractive strikes? Minesite request. “For more attractive,” says Moore.

(worldminingexplorationnews.com)

Azumah acquisition Crew Gold in Ghana to take it to the Ground Million Ounce Mark

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:45:00 +0000

There shouldn’t be any need to call for the help of contestants from the controversial quiz show University Challenge to get the answer to the following simple test of arithmetical skills, though the implications of the answer might be lost on that brainy crew. What is the sum of 754,300 and 300,000?
If you said: “just over one million”, you’re spot on, and if you’re a follower of gold exploration in Africa you might even recollect that that magic million is the number of ounces that many companies believe is needed for the development of a new gold mine. One of those, a company that’s been flying below the radar of many investors, is Azumah Resources, an Australian-based company with its best assets in the north-west corner of Ghana.

Early on Tuesday 3rd March Azumah moved itself up to within spitting distance of the one million ounce mark, not that the company can actually say so, without getting a whack over the knuckles from assorted corporate watchdogs. But Minesite’s Man in Oz is not obliged to stick to the strict reporting rules of the ASX, ASIC, JORC, or any other organisation with a name constructed from a bowl of alphabet soup. That’s why he feels free to toss the numbers up into the air in a way that no-one else is doing, following Azumah’s acquisition of a large tract of ground adjoining its flagship Wa-Lawra project, up along Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso.

The acquisition of this property, from Canadian-listed Crew Gold, gives Azumah access to a number of prospects which lie about 75 kilometres east of Wa-Lawra. Despite some excellent drill hits, Crew has not taken its discovery through to a resource or reserve calculation stage, distracted as it’s been with other projects and a recent change of management. But the best of Crew’s gold assays include 11 metres at 8.47 grams a tonne and 10 metres at an eye-popping 40.61 grams a tonne. Drilling of the quartz reef structures has only gone down 60 metres, so more work is required.

However, this is where Minesite’s Man decided to defy the regulators and do a bit of his own fossicking in the numbers. The first piece of evidence came from taking a close look at Azumah’s exploration efforts over a cuppa with the company’s executive chairman, Stephen Stone. This, on a rather windy day, at the Brew-Ha coffee shop in the Perth suburb of Subiaco. It was there that Stephen confirmed that work at Wa-Lawra has delineated a JORC-Code compliant resource, so far, of 754,300 ounces. That’s good, but not quite what’s conventionally required to allow him to run down the street shouting “Eureka!” But, says, Stephen, “our target is a million ounces, and right now I’d say we’re a little more than half-way there. The million ounces should be sufficient to design a mine with a 10-year life producing 100,000 ounces a year”.

Now comes Crew, and while Crew hasn’t done all the work requisite to put hard numbers on their portion of the resource, it has chosen 300,000 ounces of gold as one of the trigger points that will allow it to get a bit extra out of the sale. Thus, the terms of the purchase by Azumah of Crew’s three prospecting licences include the issue of six million shares, which amounts to 6.15 per cent of Azumah’s expanded capital, and the further issue of another six million shares if within two years a JORC compliant 300,000 ounces of gold are delineated between the surface and 100 metres.

It might be sheer coincidence that 300,000 ounces is the trigger number at which Crew is issued more Azumah shares, but Minesite’s Man doesn’t think so. He reckons that both sides of the deal know that Crew is onto something interesting, but that whatever it is, it would be better explored and developed by one owner with a large gold holding rather than multiple owners with smaller interests.

However, Stephen himself is ultra-cautious when discussing what he expected from the newly acquired package of tenements. “We are optimistic that the new ground will in the near term deliver a significant, low-cost increase in gold resources to complement the existing 754,000 ounces at Wa-Lawra”, he says. “This is arguably the most important strategic ground acquisition Azumah could have made in Ghana, considerably strengthening the company’s already dominant position in the emerging north-west Ghana gold region.”

On the market, investors have been slowly re-discovering Azumah, a company which has sometimes struggled to develop traction, partly because of events beyond its control and partly as a result of self-inflicted wounds. Over the past three months Azumah has more than doubled its share price, up from a lowly A4 cents in December when the financial world was in melt-down mode to as high as A8.3 cents this week, a price which capitalises the company on the market at an untaxing A$7.7 million.

The next step for Azumah is more of the same: more drilling and more field work in both directions along a line of strike from the Kunche and Bepkong discovery zones which contain most of the resource ounces outlined so far. Bepkong in particular is shaping up as the discovery which could transform Azumah from explorer to producer. It lies just two kilometres north of Kunche, and was taken from discovery, with no surface outcrop, to first resource in nine months.

“What we have to do is more old-fashioned, back-to-basics field work to find more gold,” Stephen says. “It’s becoming fairly obvious that the Wa-Lawra area has a rich gold endowment, and while it’s in the north of Ghana that could turn out to be a blessing because most of the action in the country, so far, has been in the south. By focusing on the north we’ve been able to assemble a large tenement package and quietly get on with the job of exploring what could become a significant discovery. There has been very little drilling outside the Kunche-Bepkong area but we have made extremely interesting discoveries at Basabli, Kuo and Kunche east.”

Good as the work Azumah has done on its own has been, the Crew deal could turn out to be the icing on the cake. Even if there is not yet a resource attached to the ground being acquired it seems highly likely that someone at Crew has “joined the dots” from limited drilling to arrive at a “back of the envelope” estimate which entails at least 300,000 ounces of gold. And that’s a number which represents much more to Azumah than it does to Crew.

(worldminingexplorationnews)

Oil prices slip further below $ 40

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:41:00 +0000

The price of oil fell again in morning trade on Tuesday. Light sweet crude oil for February delivery rose to $ 39.33, down 58 cents on the session. Prices reached as high as $ 40.65 before the associative lower.

Traders looked ahead to Wednesday’s Energy Information weekly inventories report. Experts looking around to see a build of 1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 19. Last week, data showed U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased 500,000 barrels from the previous week. At 321.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are near the limit of the average range for this time year.

Oil plunged below $ 40 on Monday amid concern demand continuously, losing $ 2.45 on the session. Monday is the first day of February as the front-month contact.

Traders shook off comments from Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, who said that during the weekend that the cartel remains committed to the First fall in the price of crude oil. Last week, OPEC said it will cut the production target by 2.2 million barrels per day, came in-line with analyst expectations.

Gasoline prices inched lower on Tuesday, according to AAA. A regular gallon of oil slipped to $ 1,659, compared with $ 2,974 a year ago at this time. Gas prices hit a record $ 4.114 in July.

The economic front, a Commerce Department report showed that the GDP declined at an average of 0.5 percent in the third quarter, unrevised from the estimate given in November. Economists had expected the rate of contraction that will be unrevised.

Traders forward to see that there is a button on the home sales report later this morning. Meanwhile, economists expect the number to edge down to an average of 4.93 million in November from 4.98 million rate in October, new home sales are expected to fall to an average of 420,000 in November from the level of 433,000 in the previous month.

(worldminingexplorationnews.com)

Mining group Xstrata shareholders approved a $ 5.9bn rights issue on Monday

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Mining group Xstrata shareholders approved a $ 5.9bn rights issue on Monday that the company could repay the debt, but also voted for the acquisition of a coal mine in Colombia.

Xstrata, the world fifth largest diversified mining group by market value, has announced plans to release the highly discounted new shares at 29 January, which will triple its shares in circulation.

An extraordinary general meeting in Switzerland, Xstrata has agreed to release the 1.96 billion new shares at 210 pence share, said in a statement.

The price of a 66% discount on the closing stock price on the day before the initial announcement.

Xstrata shares fell 8% to 640 pence at midday, compared to 5% decline in the UK mining index.

Shares will be “ex-rights on Tuesday and the theoretical ex-rights price is 348 pence, Xstrata said.
The meeting also gave approval for the $ 2 billion purchase Prodeco coal mine in Colombia, with Xstrata’s largest shareholder, Swiss commodities trader Glencore.

Some shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with the Prodeco the transaction, which was organized in such a way that Glencore could use the assets instead of cash to participate in the mobilization of resources and the preservation of 35% of the shares.

The resolution was approved on Prodeco 80% of the voting shares, and three other resolutions on the rights issue received 95% approval.

Xstrata and Glencore could not agree on a price for Xstrata Prodeco so the opportunity to Glencore would allow it to redeem minutes a year later.

After the fund-raising, Xstrata net debt was due to fall $ 12.6bn from $ 16.3bn at the end of 2008, while the channel will decrease to less than 30% of 40%.

The issue of human rights is fully guaranteed by Glencore and the investment banks Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.

(worldminingexplorationnews)

Great Basin Gold Ltd. Announces Pricing of C$130 Million Equity Offering

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:18:00 +0000

Wed Mar 4, 2009 (REUTER)

VANCOUVER, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Great Basin Gold Ltd. (the
"Company") (TSX: GBG; NYSE Alternext: GBG; JSE: GBG) announces that it has
priced an offering of 100,000,000 units at a price of C$1.30 per unit
resulting in gross proceeds of C$130,000,000.

Each unit is comprised of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant will entitle the holder to purchase a common share of the Company at a price of C$1.60 at any time before 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on October 15,
2010. The Company has granted to the underwriters an over-allotment option,
exercisable for a period of 30 days following closing of the offering, to purchase up to an additional 15,000,000 common shares and/or 7,500,000 warrants to cover over-allotments and for market stabilization purposes, which if exercised would result in additional gross proceeds of C$19,500,000.
A syndicate led by BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets acted as underwriters in connection with the offering.

The net proceeds from this offering will be used by the Company to fund the development of the Company's Burnstone project in South Africa and for general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on or about March 13, 2009 subject to customary closing conditions and final regulatory approvals.

Ferdi Dippenaar, President and CEO, commented: "This is an important financing
for Great Basin Gold, and we are pleased to note that this funding will be used in furtherance of achieving initial commercial production at the Burnstone Property, targeted for July 2010."

A preliminary short form prospectus relating to the offer of the units has been filed in all provinces and territories of Canada and a registration statement relating to the offer of the units has been filed with the U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S.-Canada multi-jurisdictional
disclosure system, but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the issuance of a receipt for the final short form prospectus from all applicable Canadian securities regulators and in the United States prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of
these securities in any state or province in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or province. No offer to buy the securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the registration statement has become effective and any such offer may be
withdrawn or revoked without obligation or commitment of any kind at any time
prior to the notice of its acceptance given after the effective date.

Copies of the final short form prospectus, when receipted, may be obtained from BMO Capital Markets, Distribution Department, 1 First Canadian Place, B2 Level, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1H3 (tel: 416-363-6996 x224) or from RBC Capital Markets, Attention: Distribution Centre, 277 Front St. W., 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2X4 (tel: 416-842-5349), and copies of the registration statement may be obtained from BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attention: Lori Begley, 3 Times Square, 27th Floor, New York, New York, 10036 (tel: 212-885-4039) or from RBC Capital Markets Corporation, Attention: Prospectus Department, Three World Financial Centre, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281-8098 (tel: 212-428-6670).

Ferdi Dippenaar
President and CEO

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained in this news release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address possible future commercial production, reserve potential, exploration drilling results, development, feasibility or exploitation activities and events or developments that Great Basin Gold
expects to occur are forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, geopolitical uncertainty, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.

Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Great Basin Gold Ltd.

For additional details on Great Basin Gold Ltd. and its gold properties,
please visit the Company's website at www.grtbasin.com or contact Investor
Services: Tsholo Serunye in South Africa, +27 (0)11 301 1800; Michael Curlook
in North America, 1-888-633-9332; Barbara Cano at Breakstone Group in the USA,
(646) 452-2334

(http://www.infomine.com)

Rio still open to BHP iron merger, despite Chinalco

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Matt Chambers | March 05, 2009

RIO Tinto is talking up the potential of a merger of its massive Pilbara iron ore operations with BHP Billiton's, driving speculation the combination could still be on the cards despite Rio's $US19.5 billion plans to bring in Chinalco.

Selling the Chinalco rescue deal to analysts, Rio chief executive Tom Albanese said synergies of an iron ore merger were never in question and that it had always been appealing.

"An iron ore joint venture with BHP is more workable than a corporate solution (such as a takeover)," Mr Albanese told analysts, according to a Deutsche Bank report.

While Mr Albanese made it clear a joint venture, or a takeover, would not be precluded by the deal with state-owned Chinalco, the talk is bound to fuel more speculation that an iron ore merger is a back-up plan if Treasurer Wayne Swan or shareholders block the rescue package.

It has also driven talk that Rio, which has said it will listen to alternative proposals to Chinalco's but not seek them out, may be open to any plans BHP has to spoil the China rescue package.

Rio's easier-expanded West Australian iron ore ports were at the centre of BHP's failed $135 billion bid last year.

The two were also in talks to merge iron ore operations in 1999, but those too fell through.

Due to Chinese concerns about iron ore consolidation, a combined Pilbara operation could become more difficult for BHP if Chinalco's bid to take an 18 per cent stake in Rio and a 15 per cent stake in the Hamersley iron ore operations are successful.

Mr Albanese said relations between the two big miners were cordial.

Earlier this week, he confirmed there had been some talks between the pair about asset sales since BHP walked away from hostile scrip bid in November.

Rio confirmed Mr Albanese's statements quoted by Deutsche, but stressed they were in answer to a specific question on an iron ore merger and were in the context of the Chinalco deal not precluding this, or a takeover.

BHP is barred from another tilt at Rio until November, unless the pair can agree on a merger at board level.

BHP would not comment on a potential iron ore tie-up, but it has been suggested the miner would be uneasy with the state-owned Chinalco having a stake in the assets, as opposed to just being on its register.

Rio, however, has been quick to dismiss any concerns China could influence pricing, or have access to sensitive information through Chinalco's two director appointees on the Rio board.

Mr Albanese has said this is not a concern because talk of price negotiations are fully contained within the iron ore negotiations.

There is also a conflict of interest committee, comprising the Rio chairman, chief executive officer and chief financial officer, that can exclude the Chinalco appointees from discussions if needed.

UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock, who was at the analysts' meeting, said there was no suggestion a deal was imminent and that any pairing up of the iron ore assets would still need to get around European regulators.

BHP pulled its bid partly because of the asset sales that would be required by the European Union in a depressed market, though the EU findings were not made public.

Merrill Lynch has said if the Chinalco deal falls through, one option for Rio would be to form an iron ore joint venture with BHP.

Separate marketing agreements to get around the EU.

"It would be interesting to see whether the EU accepts separately marketed products and joint sharing of infrastructure," Mr Lawcock said.

"But if it's just a joint sharing of infrastructure, you don't get as many synergies because you are still managing two big teams."

Mr Lawcock said while Rio's port infrastructure was definitely better, BHP had the advantage of bigger mining operations in more contained locations.

Mr Albanese was in Brisbane yesterday visiting corporate offices.

He plans to meet government representatives during his one-week stay in Australia to push the Chinalco deal.

BHP and Rio shares soared in early London trade last night, as copper rallied on optimism that Chinese metal consumption would increase and expectations that Premier Wen Jiabao would announce a new stimulus package.

BHP added 6 per cent to 1100 pence, while Rio gained 7.8 per cent to 1746p.

Earlier, Chinalco climbed by 9 per cent as the Shanghai Composite exchange rose 6.1 per cent.

Article from: The Australian

BHP, Fortescue lead Australian share market up 0.9pc

kurniawanyk@gmail.com (Blok Mining) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:13:00 +0000

Allison Jackson | March 05, 2009

MINERS and energy producers pushed stocks higher today on hopes China will step up efforts to revive economic growth.

After big gains in US and European markets, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 29.9 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 3196.3 in the first 15 minutes of trading, snapping a four-day losing streak.

The All Ordinaries rose 29.3 points to 3155.2.

China is expected to announce another stimulus package at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress starting in Beijing today.

Investors are betting the money will be poured into building new roads, bridges and other infrastructure and lead to increased demand for Australian iron ore, coal and other commodities.

BHP Billiton led the gains, rising 6.5 per cent to $28.89, while its smaller rivals Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group piled on 5.6 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

Woodside Petroleum gained 2.3 per cent to $34.47 and Santos rose 2.1 per cent $14.78.

Gold miners took a big hit after the gold price fell as rising equity markets calmed anxious investors who had been seeking shelter in the precious metal.

Lihir Gold slumped 7.6 per cent to $3.06 and Newcrest lost 3 per cent to $30.46.

The gains came as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission extended its ban on short selling financial stocks until May 31, citing the volatility in global financial markets.

"In making its judgement to again extend the ban, ASIC weighed up the continued volatility in global financial markets and potential damage from aggressive or predatory practices from short selling against the possible loss of some market efficiency or price discovery," ASIC said.

Shares of investment bank Macquarie Group were up 0.8 per cent at $18.05.

Article from: The Australian