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Lynas rare earths company suing news agencies

April 28, 2012

Local regulators Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) had said in January it would approve a TOL subject to added conditions including identifying a suitable long-term waste disposal site.

Lynas had said last month that identifying this site “is a work in progress.” It also said prior to AELB’s decision that a permanent depository facility (PDF) will only be needed in a “worst-case scenario” where it is unable to reprocess the waste into a commercial product. 

Lynas sues news portal, protest groups for defamation, The Malaysian Insider, By Anisah Shukry April 20, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, — Lynas Corp has filed a defamation suit against online news portal Free Malaysia Today for “false and misleading statements” in a recently published article.
The Australian mining group is also suing Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas’s (SMSL) directors and committee members over an open letter published on the group’s web site…..

Lynas has faced fierce protests from Kuantan residents and opposition politicians who say that the RM2.5 billion rare-earth refinery in nearby Gebeng will cause radiation pollution despite the Sydney-based firm insisting it has met and
exceeded local and international safety standards. (more…)

Posted in legal, Lynas, media | Leave a Comment »

Australia’s Northern Territory government to allow uranium mining in water catchment area?

April 28, 2012

Exploration in dam catchment http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/04/18/299461_ntnews.html NIGEL ADLAM   |  April 18th, 2012 TEN mining exploration licences have been granted in the water catchment for a possible new dam. Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis denied any of the licences had been issued specifically for uranium. ”Rather the authorisation allows the holder to undertake exploration within a specific area,” he said.

The licences are in the catchment for Warrai Dam, 8km upstream from Adelaide River township, 100km south of Darwin.
Power and Water Corporation boss Andrew Macrides said the $500 million dam may not have to be built for at least 20 years – and possibly not at all.

Posted in water | Leave a Comment »

Gloom and doom for Paladin Uranium

April 28, 2012

Paladin misses targets, shares drop, Peter Ker April 16, 2012 Shares in Paladin Energy are sliding lower this
morning, after the uranium miner revealed it had missed production targets yet again and had been forced to reduce its annual production targets.
Uranium production at Paladin’s flagship Langer Heinrich mine was 10 per cent below the company’s target during the first three months of2012, while its secondary mine also missed its production targets.

The missed targets, combined with concerns over Paladin’s debt, was pushing shares were down by 3 cents to 1.77 shortly after 11am…. Many analysts are concerned about Paladin’s debt levels, and the company is looking to sell minority stakes in its non-producing assets as a way to boost cashflow.

Concerns over the debt situation prompted Patersons Securities to downgrade Paladin to a sell earlier this month.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/paladin-misses-targets-shares-drop-20120416-1x2od.html#ixzz1sQlkNcbp

Posted in economics, Paladin | Leave a Comment »

Dismal slide of uranium spot price just goes on and on

April 28, 2012

18 April 12, Yesterday 9 news reported on the uranium spot price’s continuing dismal slide : -

“Last week a mere three transactions occurred in the global spot uranium market, totalling 500,000lbs, industry consultant TradeTech reports. TradeTech’s spot price indicator remains unchanged at US$51.25/lb. Year to date trading has seen 8.2mlbs of U3O8 equivalent change hands compared to 18.4mlbs in the same period last year. ….

the spot uranium market has been pretty “dead” for the past several months….. Australian-listed Paladin Energy has been following a bumpy road to becoming one of the world’s more significant uranium producers as it deals with the usual pitfalls of project development and expansion and deals with them in Namibia. Aside from production issues, Paladin is suffering from cashflow tightness as development costs rise in the face of weak post-Fukushima uranium pricing”

Posted in economics | Leave a Comment »

But can ERA afford the costs of shutting down Ranger uranium mine?

April 28, 2012

Era adds A$251m to Ranger closure plan  By: Esmarie Swanepoel, Mining Weekly, 11th April 2012 PERTH   - The CEO of uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia (Era), Rob Atkinson on Wednesday told shareholders that the company had increased the provision for the closure of its Ranger mine, in the Northern Territory, from A$314-million to A$565-million, following a desktop review.

At the company’s annual general meeting, Atkinson said that the miner would continue investigating its closure plan during the remainder of 2012…… He noted that the revised plan would support a review of the rehabilitation cost estimate, later this year.

Posted in economics, ERA, Ranger | Leave a Comment »

Quiet shutdown of Ranger uranium mine is on the cards

April 28, 2012

Spot Uranium Grafting, 9 News Finance, 13 April 12,    ”………Activity in general remains sluggish, and while two transactions were reported last week in the term market they were both pretty small by term market standards…

..Energy Resources of Australia managed a 5% price increase over the quarter but remains in thebalance. The company has elected to spend $120m to explore the underground potential at its premier Ranger mine in the northern territory, known as the Ranger Deeps project.

If ERA decides the Deeps is not a commercially viable proposition, Ranger is destined to quietly shut down. Merrills suggests known reserves are unlikely to last beyond this year and stockpiles would be gone in 3-4 years.
Meanwhile, Merrills has ceased coverage of Extract Resources post takeover and its impending de-listing this week.

The broker has also taken the opportunity to review its uranium price forecasts to account for weaker Japanese demand now apparent one year after Fukushima. The analysts’ 2012 spot price forecast falls to US$56.25/lb from US$58.50/lb and 2013 to US$67.50/lb from US$70.00/lb. Merrills’ long term price drops to US$63.00/lb from US$65.00/lb.  …
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newscolumnists/greg/8449091/spot-uranium-grafting

Posted in economics, ERA, Ranger | Leave a Comment »

The woes of Energy Resources of Australia leading to closure of Ranger uranium mine

April 28, 2012

ERA tightens 2012 guidance,  Colin Jacoby , 10 April 2012 …The uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia  reported production of 612 tonnes of uranium oxide for the March quarter, down 41% from its December 2011 quarter production of 1030t.. The company was dogged by high rainfall at Ranger and access to high-grade ore was restricted due to the water level in the pit.

With ERA unable to access the high-grade ore located at the bottom of the pit, the ore milled during the quarter was sourced from stockpiled material. …  the company said 2012 production remained highly dependent on the level of rainfall for the remainder of the year.

Kakadu uranium miner faces growing criticism. ACF,  11 April 12, Mining at the troubled Ranger uranium operation in Kakadu has been described as dirty, dangerous and desperate by the Environment Centre NT and the Australian Conservation Foundation. The groups have used Energy Resources of Australia annual meeting today in Darwin to re-affirm their concerns about uranium mining inside the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park.

”ERA’s open cut mine has seen over 150 leaks, spills and breaches; radioactive exposure to workers; mismanagement of water and a mine shutdown that resulted in a $150 million dollar loss last year. The mine continues to pose ongoing environmental risk to Kakadu and the creation of more unwanted and poorly managed radioactive waste,” said Environment Centre NT campaigner Cat Beaton.

“Much of that waste is stored in an overloaded tailings dam that continues to leak over 100,000 litres of contaminated water a day.” Continued Ms Beaton.

In recent years ERA’s controversial Ranger mine has been plagued by declining production, morale and profit, with operations severely impacted by severe weather events. The company is attempting to reverse this decline by moving away from open cut mining in favour of underground mining.

“ERA’s fortunes are in systemic decline and will not be turned around by a tunnel to nowhere,” said ACF nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney. “In the shadow of Fukushima – which we know was fuelled by Australian uranium – we need an open assessment of the costs and consequences of the uranium trade, not piecemeal approvals of short term projects that generate long term risks and problems”. “Uranium mining is unclean and unsafe, and this industry remains contaminating and contested”. Concluded Mr. Sweeney.

Posted in economics, ERA, Ranger | Leave a Comment »

Doubts about Lynas’ proposal to commecially dispose of its rare earths processing wastes

April 28, 2012

The anti-Lynas groups also questioned today whether the market “can fully absorb the colossal amount produced given that Lynas will be producing at least 300,000 tonnes of contaminated waste every year.”

Locals say market won’t buy Lynas’ recycled waste, ww.themalaysianinsider.com/mobile/malaysia/article/locals-say-market-wont-buy-lynas-recycled-waste/ The Malaysian Insider ,21 April,  By Shannon Teoh KUALA LUMPUR, — Lynas Corp’s plans to recycle waste from its controversial RM2.5 billion rare earth plant in Kuantan into a commercial product will not be accepted by the market, local residents opposed to the refinery said today.(Jan 26 )

The Stop Lynas Coalition (SLC) and Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) groups said in a joint submission to the government that the synthetic gypsum the Australian miner hopes to produces from its waste is the subject of an international safety campaign due to radiation fears.

“The use of phospho-gypsum plaster-board and plaster cement in buildings as a substitute for natural gypsum may constitute an additional source of radiation exposure to both workers and members of the public,” the document quoted from Internet-based environmental organisation Zero Waste America.
“The American Gypsum Association does not accept gypsum made with contaminated materials. Contaminated gypsum in the USA has resulted in a class action against the supplier and the importers,” the groups said. (more…)

Posted in Lynas, RARE EARTHS, wastes | Leave a Comment »

Not certain that BHP will go ahead with world’s biggest uranium mine planned at Olympic Dam

April 28, 2012

Acting chief executive of the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy Nigel Long said the state’s mining industry was not solely reliant on the expansion of Olympic Dam because there were other “exciting opportunities” ahead, 

“The decision to press the pause button is a decision to be made by the BHP board, but we see a very good future for other projects in South Australia regardless…..

The BHP board will be considering whether to approve the project at a time when cost pressures in Australian mining are rising and profit margins are contracting.

BHP has Olympic hurdles to overcome, Financial Review 17 APR 2012  The South Australian government says it is not inclined to grant BHP Billiton an extension on an approvals expiring in December that cover the $US20 billion expansion of the Olympic Dam mine at this stage. Jamie Freed and Lucille Keen

“They’d need a ministerial exemption to continue those approvals,” the state’s Minister for Natural Resources Tom Koutsantonis told ABC Radio South Australia yester day. “Thus far I’ve seen nothing that would incline me to grant an exten sion.”

His comments followed a report in The Australian Financial Review on Saturday that BHP was weighing whether to hit the pause button on the project amid a weaker outlook for commodities, industry-wide cost inflation, added government imposts and pressure from shareholders to return more cash.

BHP’s largest shareholder, Black- Rock, has lowered its stake in the miner’s Australian arm from 5.7 percent to 4.99 per cent over the past six months, according to US regulatory filings. “BlackRock are realising BHP are going to press the button on Olympic Dam so they are getting out,”

Mr Koutsantonis said. “A lot of these institutional investors looking for short-term returns in a two to five-year period are coming to grips that BHP is going to press the button on a 40-year investment at Olympic Dam.”….

The indenture agreement signed last year that locks in royalties for a 45- year period expires on December 8 unless Mr Koutsantonis agrees to an extension and it is not opposed by either house of the state’s parliament….. Business SA executive officer Peter Vaughan said the negative speculation around the future development of Olympic Dam was not productive…..

Acting chief executive of the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy Nigel Long said the state’s mining industry was not solely reliant on the expansion of Olympic Dam because there were other “exciting opportunities” ahead, particularly in the magnetite form of iron ore on the Eyre Peninsula and the Braemar region, near Broken Hill.  Mr Long said if the pause button was pressed it would be felt, as the project would have a significant boost on the state’s economy. “The decision to press the pause button is a decision to be made by the BHP board, but we see a very good future for other projects in South Australia regardless…..

The BHP board will be considering whether to approve the project at a time when cost pressures in Australian mining are rising and profit margins are contracting.

http://afr.com/p/national/bhp_has_olympic_hurdles_to_overcome_cBuIcPVMPIBun2cTSHIXZI

Posted in BHP Billiton, economics, Olympic Dam | Leave a Comment »

Lack of a clear plan for final disposal of Lynas’ rare earths wastes

April 28, 2012

Unlike the Lynas plant, the other three refineries’ radioactive wastes are sent back to the respective mines.

“Lynas has no concrete radioactive waste management plan. Lynas claims it can store its waste onsite forever.

The Lynas plant, she added, would have 500 tonnes of liquid discharge per hour channelled into the Balok River.

Lynas whitewashing refinery safety concerns, says Fuziah, The Malaysian Insider, By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal April 16, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR,  — PKR’s Fuziah Salleh has accused Lynas Corp of whitewashing safety concerns of its planned refinery in Kuantan by claiming there is a “concerted political campaign” against the plant’s construction,
In response, Fuziah  accused the Lynas Corp head of “deviating” from the real issue of safety, saying that a simple comparative study showed the Lynas refinery did not support any form of “sustainable development.”

“They are not addressing concerns of safety, whitewashing safety concerns, silent about safety issues. “They have only addressed radiation aspects, external radiation… they are narrow-minded in terms of perspective of radiation,” the PKR vice-president told The Malaysian Insider. (more…)

Posted in Lynas, RARE EARTHS, wastes | Leave a Comment »

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