Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) involved in uncompetitive dodgy business behaviour
Nuclear facility in hot water,THE AUSTRALIAN, BY:LEIGH DAYTON , April 05, 2012 AUSTRALIA’S nuclear research facility engaged in uncompetitive behaviour to gain a lucrative and exclusive contract with NSW Health to provide radiopharmaceuticals for medical imaging, according to the Productivity Commission.
A damning report by the commission’s Australian Government Competitive Neutrality Complains Office, released yesterday, concludes that PetNet Pty Ltd – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation – breached competitive neutrality guidelines, set in 2004.
The report confirms PetNet effectively undercut competitive bids from private firms by relying on its relationship to ANSTO.
The AGCNCO report follows testimony to Senate estimates in 2011 and early this year by ANSTO chief executive Adi Patterson that “we operate within our rules of competitive neutrality and efficient business operations”……. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/nuclear-facility-in-hot-water/story-e6frg8y6-1226319057403
Glencore and Xstrata: an anti environment monster rears its ugly head
From THE Australian 28 March 12 –on the merger of Glencore and Xstrata “Xstrata-Glencore will be worth $86bn, still less than BHP Billiton or Rio Tinto, but it promises to be a shark among whales. Glencore’s trading skills will be allied to Xstrata’s global production … Glencore was a company with a dubious past — it was founded by Marc Rich, the sanctions-busting oil trader who received a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton — and a reputation as a group of smart, influential and wealthy traders.”
from Wikipedia: ” Glencore “has been accused of illegal dealings with rogue states: apartheid South Africa, USSR, Iran, and Iraq under Saddam Hussein“, and has a “history of busting UN embargoes to profit from corrupt or despotic regimes”. Specifically, Glencore was reported to have been named by the CIA to have paid $3,222,780 in illegal kickbacks to obtain oil in the course of the UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq.” – and that’s only a minor part of Glencore’s dubious dealings – Christina Macpherson
Toro Energy’s uranium project in Western Australia may or may not be a goer
Toro uranium project faces feasibility study http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-22/toro-uranium-project-faces-feasibility-study/3906292 ABC News, March 22, 2012 Toro Energy has contracted an Australian engineering company to conduct a feasibility study into its uranium project near Wiluna in northern Western Australia.
The study by Bateman Australia will determine the operating costs and capital needed to mine uranium to sell to overseas customers. Toro Energy is still seeking federal and State Government approval to begin operations at the site where it hopes to mine up to 800 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate per year. The feasibility study is expected to be completed by September, while Toro Energy hopes to begin selling uranium in 2014.
Investment coming into renewable energy in Australia
TRUenergy ready to invest in renewables again, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 16 March 2012 TRUenergy, one of the big three retailers responsible for building or commissioning renewable energy projects to meet the 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, says that it is ready to invest in projects, and expects to make its first decisions before the end of the year. Continue reading
Grandiose tower for grandiose BHP and its biggest uranium mine in the world
discussions between major developers and BHP about a new $250m office tower in Currie Street, for which the company would have naming rights….
BHP plans office tower linked to Olympic Dam expansion, BY:MICHAEL OWEN:The Australian March 09, 2012 BHP Billiton is looking at teaming with a major developer to build a new office tower in Adelaide ahead of the planned expansion of its Olympic Dam mine in the far north of South Australia.
It is understood BHP is in talks with several developers and construction companies about a new office tower that could be worth up to $250 million.
The high-rise development, potentially slated for Currie Street, in Adelaide’s CBD, would provide the company with a significant visible presence as it launches a mammoth project with an estimated mine life of more than 100 years. Continue reading
Doubts over whether or not BHP’s new big Olympic Dam uranium mine will go ahead
Reuters report on mining conference in Canada Mar 6, 2012 By Euan Rocha TORONTO, March 6 – The Anglo-Australia mining giant, which already operates an underground mine at the site, has yet to sign off on the budget for
the open pit…. but BHP may opt to delay taking on the heavy financial burden that could easily be in the $10 billion to $20 billion range…..
…. PDAC, the mining industry’s largest annual gathering. The convention, organized by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, opened in Toronto on Sunday.
Even though Olympic Dam, located 550 km (345 miles) north of Adelaide, is one of BHP’s biggest growth prospects, the cost of
digging the massive pit may prove prohibitive.
Last month the company reported a profit decline, and it struck a cautious tone on its expectations for growth in China, one of its
biggest markets. That has led some to speculate that the miner may delay spending on capital-intensive projects such as Olympic Dam and the Jansen potash project in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
In late 2011, BHP finalized state approvals to begin construction work on the open-pit phase of the Olympic Dam project, but the agreement would lapse around December if BHP delays its decision on proceeding.
“We want to see a board decision before the end of the year about substantial works beginning. If not, the approvals run out and BHP know this,” said Tom Koutsantonis, minister for mineral resources and energy for the state of South Australia.” I’m not in the business, and no government should be in the business, of allowing anyone to have massive tenements that they don’t develop …”-
A spokesman for BHP declined to comment on the remarks.
MASSIVE SCALE The sheer scale of the open-pit project is formidable. BHP will have to shovel rock for five to seven years before it reaches the Olympic Dam ore body, discovered in the mid-1970s…..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/canada-mining-pdac-olympicdam-idUSL2E8E60E220120306
Rare earths: what if Malaysia puts public health over Lynas’ profit?
Lynas languishes as Malaysian radiation protests grow, BY:BARRY FITZGERALD, The Australian, March 01, 2012 RARE-EARTHS stock Lynas cannot pull a trick at the moment. Uncertainty about its ability to win over the local community
at its soon-to-be completed finishing plant in Malaysia has driven the stock down 53 per cent from from its April 2011 peak of $2.60 a share to the $1.22 a share on offer at the close of trade yesterday.
Radiation fears surrounding the plant have become something of a cause celebre in Malaysia, prompting concerns that Lynas’s ability to make finished products from concentrates sent from its Mount Weld mining operation in Western Australia to fully maximise its returns is now under threat.
In the meantime, the West Australian government has amended the state’s Mining Act to impose a 2.5 per cent royalty on Mount Weld production. Rare earths is a new industry for the state and the 2.5 per cent rate has been part of the assumptions surrounding the Mount Weld project since Lynas got serious with feasibility studies into its integrated development, with the offshore finishing plant, in 2005…
.. Last weekend thousands of protesters rallied around the Malaysian plant, calling for its closure. Wong Tack, a key organiser of the event, said: “Malaysians have made our stand and we do not want this hazardous project.”
Protesters also attacked the Lynas website, which was still down yesterday. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/lynas-languishes-as-malaysian-radiation-protests-grow/story-e6frg9df-1226285564001
Melting permafrost leads Australian uranium company to exploit Greenland
Asian, European Firms Circle Greenland Mining Project, WSJ, By Robb M. Stewart, FEBRUARY 22, 2012, In one of the world’s coldest climates, competition to develop a future source of uranium and rare earths is heating up…. The impact of climate change has made mining in Greenland easier by melting permafrost, while the island’s growing autonomy from Denmark has enabled officials to award more exploration licenses….
The government of Greenland late last year amended the Perth-based Greenland Minerals & Energy company’s exploration license to include uranium, the first such permit for the nuclear fuel on the island. According to John Mair, the company’s executive director of business development, an attractive option as a strategic partner would be a consortium interested in rare earths as well as uranium…. http://blogs.wsj.com/dealjournalaustralia/2012/02/21/asian-european-firms-circle-greenland-mining-project/
Hans Joseph Fell warns on Australia’s economic need to foster renewable energy
The end of baseload? It may come sooner than you think, RENeweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 20 February 2012 Hans Joseph Fell interviewe d by RENeweconomy
“…….Q: What is your assessment of policies in Australia?
A: You have wonderful research for renewables in Australia, at ANU, Sydney University and elsewhere. Research is very important but without market introduction it is not so useful, and you do not have enough deployment. You need a good feed-in-tariff. But you do have a carbon price, which balances a bit the high external cost of fossil fuel production, so it balances a little the uncompetitiveness of renewables.
The main thing is that Australia is the biggest exporter of uranium and coal – most investors believe that when uranium and coal prices rise, it is good for their business, because they have a bigger income. But I believe that this is not stable in future. It happens already in Germany, the higher the coal price is rising, the more coal fired power stations they close, because they are uncompetitive with renewables. The higher they go, the less coal other countries will buy from Australia. I see most new investment in coal is a stranded investment.
Q: That message is not getting across.
A: That’s because they believe it will go on., but it will not go on. The oil price will be the leading price for all energies. Peak oil is already here, the IEA says it is. In coming years we must fear declining oil production. This will lift price very high, and that will increase pressure on people, banks and nations. The only chance to come out of this economic crash is to go renewables…… http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/the-end-of-baseload-it-may-come-sooner-than-you-think-29425
Australian uranium mining company makes dramatic loss, and share price fall
Paladin’s annus horribilis worsens, The Age, Peter Ker February 15, 2012 URANIUM miner Paladin Energy has managed to underwhelm the market yet again, despite the worst aspects of yesterday’s $US120.2 million loss being known for several months.
Investors wiped more than 5 per cent off the value of the stock … The loss was largely due to a $US133 million write-down on the value of Paladin’s Kayelekera mine in Malawi. Paladin revealed the write-down to the market late last year. …
the market was not impressed. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said the result was worse than expected, and by the close of trading 10¢ had been shaved off Paladin’s share price, taking it to $1.70 – dramatically lower than the $5.40 it was fetching less than a year
ago.
Some of the negativity appeared to be linked to ballooning expenses, despite chief executive John Borshoff cutting his own pay by 25 per cent and reducing exploration in an effort to rein in costs.
From $US31 a pound in the first half of 2010, Paladin’s costs rose to $US34 a pound in the six months to December 31, and costs at the Kayelekera mine were as high as $US46 a pound in the final quarter of last year. http://www.theage.com.au/business/paladins-annus-horribilis-worsens-20120214-1t45b.html#ixzz1mVWU3qJN
Toro Energy sells out of uneconomic Mt Woods uranium project
Toro Energy: shareholders accept termination terms for Mt Woods uranium project Proactive Investors, , February 14, 2012 by John Phillips Toro Energy (ASX: TOE) has updated the market on the Mt Woods uranium project.
Toro said that shareholders have voted to accept the terms of a termination agreement for the company’s involvement in the Mount Woods uranium project in South Australia….. OZ Minerals has conducted major exploration programs at Mt Woods and, despite extensive drilling campaigns, no potentially economic uranium results have been reported
from the project.
BHP might sell Yeelirie uranium project. Fortescue to join Big Uranium Boys
BHP tipped to sell $9.3b worth of assets SMH February 9, 2012 BHP Billiton may consider selling about $US10 billion ($9.3 billion) of aluminum, nickel and coal mines and smelters as it trims its portfolio, Deutsche Bank says….
BHP could also sell its Yeelirrie uranium project in Australia and some petroleum assets, Citigroup said today in a report.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/bhp-tipped-to-sell-93b-worth-of-assets-20120209-1rnn0.html#ixzz1lucfhUlg
FMG pegs swathes of new tenements in major SA copper, gold and uranium districts by: Nick Evans PerthNow, February 07, 2012 FORTESCUE Metals Group has given the clearest sign yet it intends to diversify out of the iron ore and steel supply chain, pegging swathes of new tenements in South Australia’s major copper, gold and uranium districts.
The WA iron ore giant last year applied for 10 exploration licences covering about 4600sq/km of ground, mostly in the Woomera protected area in central South Australia. In its tenement applications, FMG said it was looking for copper, gold
and uranium – a significant departure from its current iron ore business.
According SA Government records, the bulk of FMG’s new tenements sit between OZ Minerals’ Prominent Hill copper-gold mine and BHP Billiton’s massive Olympic Dam project, slated to eventually become one of the biggest copper, gold and uranium mines in the world. …. http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/fmg-pegs-swathes-of-new-tenements-in-major-sa-copper-gold-and-uranium-districts/story-e6frg2qc-1226265102556
Extreme weather rains on uranium mining company’s parade
Toxic year for ERA unlikely to get better, SMH, Peter Ker, February 2, 2012 THE struggling uranium miner Energy Resources Australia has underwhelmed the market with its production forecasts, raising fears its poor year last year could continue into this one.
The stock plunged almost 14 per cent yesterday after the company, majority owned by Rio Tinto, revealed a $153.6 million loss for the year to December 31. The result, despite being 427 per cent worse than the previous year, came as no surprise. The company’s Ranger mine was shut down for much of last year, and a massive depreciation of assets had already been
announced in August.
The bigger surprise for the market came when ERA forecast production of between 3000 and 3700 tonnes of uranium oxide this year, well below the 4100 tonnes forecast by analysts at Goldman Sachs.
Production figures at Ranger are highly dependent on the weather. Water management problems during the Northern Territory’s wet season often cause interruptions.
There was record rainfall in December, and ERA warned that its underwhelming production forecasts could be further affected if bad weather returned.
The ERA board has approved spending of $220 million on a brine concentrator, which will help mitigate its water problems. ERA’s future rests on hopes of finding uranium deposits beneath the Ranger open cut and turning it into an underground mine. Investors will have to wait until 2014 before knowing if the project, known as Ranger Deeps, will proceed.
ERA shares fell 21¢ to $1.33 yesterday….. Hopes that Rio Tinto will come to the rescue of another ASX-listed
uranium company, Extract Resources, appear dashed after Rio sold a strategic investment to state-owned Chinese interests. http://www.smh.com.au/business/toxic-year-for-era-unlikely-to-get-better-20120201-1qtgb.html#ixzz1lFkRZG00
Uranium deal to India- a last gasp effort for a dying industry?
In short, the deal with India is seen by some as little more than a short term means to prop up an industry breathing its last gasp……
[For uranium explorers] the 52 week highs and lows paints the same picture as we saw for the producers – market participants doubt the viability of exploring for a product whose demand may be in jeopardy.
Share market participants have spoken and they clearly doubt the future of nuclear energy.
URANIUM STOCKS HIT HARD BUT BULLS ARE BELLOWING, The Bull, By Bob Kohut | 30.01.2012 As the dismal trading in 2011 global share markets ground down to its agonising year-end finish, some Australian investors were heartened by the news that our government was about to lift the ban on uranium sales to India.. Continue reading
Australian rare earths company Lynas has not solved its Malaysian radioactive waste problem
Locals say market won’t buy Lynas’ recycled waste, Malaysia, By Shannon Teoh, January 26, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — 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.
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. Continue reading
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