Big writedown of share price for failing uranium company Paladin
Paladin sinks to loss on Queensland assets, SMH,February 14, 2014 – A large write-down in the value of Queensland uranium ventures has forced Paladin Energy to a net loss of $US255 million for the first half.
Paladin wrote down the value of its Queensland exploration assets by $US226.5 million after tax, while lower uranium prices also weighed on performance, with the gross loss for the half at $US29.3 million. That compares with a gross profit of $US11.3 million a year earlier.
Sales revenues for the December half slid 12 per cent to $US171 million, despite a 3 per cent rise in production to a record 4.253 million pounds of uranium oxide.
The persistent weakness in uranium prices forced Paladin earlier this month to announce it would cease production at the smaller of its two mines, the Kayelekera operation in Malawi, until prices recover toward $US70 a pound.
Managing director John Borshoff has also ruled out expanding Paladin’s flagship mine, the Langer Heinrich venture in Namibia, until prices rebound……
Mr Borshoff said mine suspensions such as Kayelekera and the Honeymoon mine in Australia would be “just the first” and that further closures were inevitable given that half of global production had costs above the current spot price.http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/paladin-sinks-to-loss-on-queensland-assets-20140214-32pyf.html
Australia’s ICAN represented at Mexico nuclear disarmament talks
Gem Romuld. 14 Feb just sending an update from what’s happening here in Mexico at the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons. There has been opposing opinion pieces by Bishop and Garrett, so you can see what the conversation is so far! Interesting times.
Obviously for us the most exciting part is that Austria announced a follow-up conference before this one even started, to determine the way forward.
146 governments are here in Nayarit, Mexico, to discuss the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and close the loop on the humanitarian discussion, opening the path towards treaty negotiations. After 2 days of civil society meetings, over 120 campaigners are now scurrying about meeting with every single delegation to urge them towards a ban. While the conference continues, you can get information and updates atwww.goodbyenuk.es and follow the action on Twitter with @nuclearban, and at theI CAN Facebook Page.
Australia’s part in disarmament meeting in Mexico
About 180 nations, including Australia, are gathering to lay the foundation for a new treaty. Australia is a signatory to the South Pacific Nuclear Zone Treaty
If we are genuine about disarmament it is no longer acceptable to parrot the talking points of the nuclear powers. Instead, in the coming days our government must publicly signal its willingness to actively support discussions around a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons.
Enough kowtowing – time to ban the bomb The Age, Peter Garrett 15 Feb 14 Even by the horrible metrics of war, the detonation of a nuclear warhead on Hiroshima in 1945 saw destruction of human life, and of the city itself, on a scale previously unimaginable……. Continue reading
Glut of uranium: Goldman Sachs selling out of uranium
Goldman Sachs Selling Uranium Trading Business, Thursday February 13, 2014, By Vivien Diniz Uranium Investing News Back in November, SparkSpread, an online energy publication, broke the news that Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) would be putting its uranium trading desk up for sale due to lax prices for the material and stricter regulations 
relating to the bank’s commodities activities.
At the time, Goldman said it had no intention of exiting the commodities business. Fast forward several months, and it looks like the bank is substantiating the rumor with the sale of its uranium trading business.
As Reuters states, very few people know that Goldman Sachs has been in the business of trading raw uranium, or yellowcake as it is known. But the bank can trace its uranium business back to an apartheid-era South Africa-based trading corporation that sold Iran its only source of foreign yellowcake over 35 years ago.
However, over the course of the last four years, the bank has been collecting low-grade stockpiles of the nuclear fuel through its nuclear trading desk, known as NUFCOR International. The news outlet writes that Goldman’s stockpiles are currently larger than those held by Iran, and big enough to run China’s nuclear plants for about a year. Beyond that, Goldman has a deal to market a large portion of uranium production from AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), one of South Africa’s largest miners.
Banks pulling out of commodities Goldman Sachs entered the uranium trading business in 2009, along with Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), the second-largest bank in Europe, when supplies were tight and prices were ready to spike. However, since Fukushima, the uranium price hasn’t returned to its previous highs…..http://resourceinvestingnews.com/66677-goldman-sachs-selling-uranium-trading-business.html
Wind power industry worth $8 billion to South Australia
“This is an industry worth more than $8 billion to South Australia and Labor is committed to ensuring that wind energy has a positive future in this State.”The 197-turbine Ceres wind farm development located between Ardrossan and Minlaton will create 500 direct jobs during the construction phase and an expected 50 full time jobs over the 25 year service life of the facility. Continue reading
Climate change denier Nick Minchin appointed as top New York representative
Australia Appoints Climate Science Denier As Top New York Official, desmogblog, 13 Feb 14…..It’s a high profile diplomatic role and one that gives business leaders, thinkers and politicians the chance to see what drives the Australian Government of the day.
In April, Australia will have a new Consul-General taking up that seat on 42nd Street….Seemingly in lock-step with the prevailing views of the conservative government in Australia, that man will be Nick Minchin — a rusted-on denier of the science of human-caused climate change and power broker in the country’s Liberal (that’s conservative) Party.
Minchin has claimed the “extreme Left” has used environmentalism as a way to try and “de-industrialise” the western world. He thinks human-caused climate change is a scare story.
Minchin’s appointment was announced by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who said the consulate role was “high profile” and that it could be used to “influence perceptions of Australia” in the city.
She said Minchin’s role would be to influence “key individuals and companies across a range of sectors particularly business and politics.”
Things could get a little awkward if talk at those business and political lunches turns to climate change — which it surely will in a city acutely aware of its susceptibility to climate change impacts. Continue reading
Uncertain future for Aboriginal Land Rights
Future of Indigenous land rights under native title uncertain, SBS.com 14 Feb 14 The Native Title Act, introduced under the Keating Labor government 20 years ago, was a landmark piece of legislation.
Noongar man Glen Kelly at the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council in Western Australia says the Native Title Act has been critical to advancements in Indigenous land rights.
But he says the legislation has still been divisive within Indigenous communities because it’s often misunderstood……..
The future of Native Title legislation ‘uncertain’
The Native Title Act has been amended several times and there’s another review going on now by the Australian Law Reform Commission, which is due to report back next year.
One of its key concerns will be to look at the time it takes to solve a claim.
Glen Kelly from the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council in WA says resolving that issue is critical to the future of the land rights movement for Indigenous people.
“The only people who have uncertainty in Native Title are the Native Title claimants. We also know now that the content of Native Title is very poor. It’s the right to do things on land which someone else now owns and from our point of view, from this representative body’s point of view we don’t think that’s acceptable.”
Author Bill Gammage to launch festival
Keynote speaker to address Aboriginal land management Feb. 14, 2014, One of Australia’s greatest historians is set to be keynote speaker at an upcoming dinner launching the Festival of International Understanding.
Mr Ryan said Prof Gammage’s research on Aboriginal land management, including fire-stick farming, will resonate with many different audiences in Cowra.
“We have a large Aboriginal population, we also have a lot of people interested in conservation farming and we’ve got an Aboriginal men’s group who are looking to do mosaic burning here in Cowra with the assistance of the Local Land Services, so it’s really appropriate,” Mr Ryan said……..http://www.cowraguardian.com.au/story/2086570/keynote-speaker-to-address-aboriginal-land-management/?cs=12
1 This month
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