Archive for the ‘Rio Tinto’ Category

Rio Tinto cuts back as uranium market remains gloomy

April 28, 2013

Namibia’s Roessing uranium mine to slash jobs Global Post, 1 Mar 13, The Roessing uranium mine in Namibia, a unit of British mining giant Rio Tinto, said Friday it plans to cut 17 percent of its workforce due to slowing demand for nuclear fuel…. As with many other uranium producers, Roessing is buckling under low metal prices and reduced demand, the company’s managing director Chris Salisbury told reporters.

“Since the Japanese tsunami in 2011, uranium demand has remained depressed and the uranium price has fallen by more than 36 percent,” he said.

Japan shut down its nuclear power plants after the tsunami destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant, and a number of other countries including Germany have also signalled they plan to reduce or phase out their facilities.

“With the utility sector in Japan essentially shutdown, there is little prospect of a turnaround in the near term,” he added.

At the same time electricity and water costs have gone up…. Roessing Uranium Limited is owned 68.6 percent by British mining giant Rio Tinto and is one of two operating uranium mines in Namibia. .http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130301/namibia-s-roessing-uranium-mine-slash-jobs

Dubious record of Australian uranium mining companies; Paladin and Rio Tinto in Africa

February 11, 2013

What have interested Australian companies, or the Australian government, done to address these concerns?…….

 what should we make of Australian Defence Force chief General David Hurley’s alarming indication that there might be a role for the ADF in protecting “Australian interests” in Africa?

Multinational miners: magnanimous or malevolent? Kellie Tranter – lawyer and Humna Rights Activist, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 BY    “……..Malawi “…….Minister Carr praised the work of Australian mining company Paladin, referring to its strong corporate social responsibility.  Paladin operates Malawi’s biggest uranium mine, the Kayelekera.

In June 2008, The Bench Marks Foundation released a report ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and the Mining Sector in Southern Africa’ which suggested that when Paladin struck its deal with the Malawi government to mine uranium, it was agreed that it would get a 100% capital write off, a reduction in corporate tax from 30% to 27.5% and a scrapping of the 10% resource rent tax.  Paladin was also to be exempt from the standard 17.5% import VAT or duty and a royalty rate reduced from 5% to 1.5% in the first three years and 3% thereafter. (more…)

Rio Tinto paid far too much for uranium acquisition

February 11, 2013

While Rio thought it was buying the asset at the bottom of the uranium
market – which had been badly depressed after the Fukushima nuclear
disaster in March 2011 – it was soon proved wrong when prices for
sales of uranium fell by close to 15 per cent in 2013.

Rio’s uranium foray faces write-down, The Age January 21, 2013 PeterKer  RIO Tinto’s most recent acquisition could be among those written down next month when the miner reveals full details of the $US14 billion in impairments that cost chief executive Tom Albanese his job. (more…)

Cut throat competition for dwindling uranium market?

December 28, 2012

Did rivals try to scupper BHP’s uranium sale to Cameco?Mining.comFrik Els | November 23, 2012 The West Australian reports rumours have been circulating in the state’s mining community that Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) and Paladin Energy
(TSX:PDN) attempted to sabotage BHP Billiton’s (LON:BHP) $448 million sale of uranium property Yeelirrie to Canada’s Cameco (TSX:CCO)….. The paper said Rio denied the rumours while none of the other parties commented, and that the deal is likely to be OK’d in any event.

Spot uranium prices have been drifting towards the $40 per pound level this year – well below the $66.50 prior to Fukushima disaster in Japan and down from historic high levels above $130 in 2007.

Last year nuclear power consumption declined 4.3%, the largest drop-off on record, said BP in its annual study of global energy use. Japan cut back nuclear power by 44.3%, and Germany reduced nuclear consumption by 23.2%.http://www.mining.com/did-rivals-try-to-scupper-bhps-uranium-sale-to-cameco-87504/

In gloomy uranium market, Paladin and Rio try to stop Cameco’s purchase of Western Australian uranium deposit

December 28, 2012

there’s speculation the miners, who own their own uranium deposits, did not want Yeelirrie developed because of the already weak fundamentals in the uranium sector.

Paladin and Rio attempt to block BHP deal
http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/paladin-and-rio-attempt-to-block-bhp-deal 23 November, 2012Andrew Duffy   Rio Tinto and Paladin Energy have attempted to scuttle BHP Billiton’s $430 million sale of the Yeelirrie uranium deposit to Canadian giant Cameco.

Both Rio and Paladin have made submissions to the Foreign Investment Review Board expressing concerns about the sale, The West Australian reports. (more…)

Actually sendng uranium from Australia to India – a distant dream

November 4, 2012

 the glacial pace of nuclear power plant construction and activation in India in the face of anti-nuclear campaigns;

Indian uranium deals a long way off  GEOFF HISCOCK   The Australian October 29, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S new willingness to sell uranium to India is more about snuggling up to Asia’s third largest economy than any actual nuclear
commerce. It is highly unlikely that Australian uranium will be powering Indian nuclear reactors in this decade.

India’s 20 operating reactors, spread across six sites, have an installed capacity of 4.8 gigawatts (GW) and consume about 1000 tonnes of uranium a year. With New Delhi setting revised goals of boosting nuclear output to 14.4 GW
by 2020 and between 27.5 and 63 GW by 2032, the decision by the Gillard government to allow uranium sales to India seemingly presents an opportunity for Australian producers BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Heathgate Resources and Uranium1. (more…)

Queensland’s sordid history of uranium mining

November 4, 2012

Queensland Forgets Its Uranium History http://newmatilda.com/2012/10/24/queensland-forgets-its-uranium-history Jim Green, New Matilda, 24 Oct 2012 The Queensland Government is unwise to reverse the ban against uranium mining and there is no stronger reason than the industry’s sordid track record in the state. (more…)

Africa’s troubled uranium sector

January 29, 2012

The signals of a troubled uranium sector are manifest. On Tuesday Areva wrote down the performance of its African mines, including Trekkopje and suspended further development.

Fukushima still haunts uranium producers, The Southern Times, South Africa, 30 Dec 11 International prices of uranium, the major feedstock in nuclear reactors, have remained flat; averaging US$53 per pound as the market struggles to shrug off the effects of Japan’s nuclear crisis earlier this year.

Market analysts are warning that shrinking order books, a flat spot price and production cutbacks – largely attributable to the Fukushima disaster – will haunt uranium producers well into 2012.

A sluggish US economy and sovereign debt problems in advanced economies will continue to severely impact the uranium spot price. Global uranium stocks have significantly underperformed during 2011 and analysts attribute this to the diminishing appetite for nuclear energy after the horror of Fukushima. “The sector has faced near-term uranium price uncertainty since the March nuclear crisis in Japan. (more…)

Rio Tinto wants to have a Big Uranium mine in South Australia, just like BHP

October 16, 2011
Rio Tinto joins junior in quest for Olympic Dam clone Rio Tinto has joined the fray in Tasman Resources’ quest to find a deposit that looks similar to the massive Olympic dam project currently being developed by BHP Billiton MineWeb Ross Louthean , 10 Oct 2011  ”….Vulcan is 30 km from Olympic Dam, the world’s biggest inventory of contained uranium….

Under today’s announced agreement, Tasman will get an immediate cash injection of A$10 million from Rio Tinto and that would see Tasman undertake a A$5 million search programme over Vulcan in the next 12 months. Tasman’s executive chairman Greg Solomon said Rio has the right but not the obligation to earn up to 80% in the project by committing to a two-stage farm-in arrangement by spending up to A$75 million and, in addition, paying Tasman up to A$17 million including the initial A$10 million payment….

The ambitious programme would see Olympic Dam transformed from a big underground mine to an open pit, but the ore system is under about 400 metres of sterile cover and would involve creating mountains of stockpiles in the pancake-flat terrain.

The market is awaiting a decision on Olympic Dam going open cut and it was considered imminent given the fact that South Australian Premier Mike Rann, who is soon to depart, indicated that he wanted to stay in the chair to be able to announce the mine upgrade…. http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page103118?oid=137193&sn=Detail&pid=102055

Rio Tinto ‘s losing streak

October 4, 2011

Rio Tinto: The Losing Streak Continues (RIO) Financial News Network, 09/22/2011, By Robert Cotte, Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) traded at a new 52-week low today of $45.56. So far today approximately 10 million shares have been exchanged, as compared to an average 30-day volume of 3.2 million shares.

Rio Tinto PLC is an international mining company. The Company has interests in mining for aluminum, borax, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, silver, tin, uranium, zinc, titanium dioxide feedstock, diamonds, talc and zircon. Rio Tinto’s various mining operations are located in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, South America, Europe, and Indonesia…… http://www.fnno.com/story/52-week-high-lows/331-rio-tinto-losing-streak-continues-rio-52-week-high-lows


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