Lynas rare earths project in trouble: investment advice to dump Lynas
Analysts recommend investors dump Lynas Australian Mining, 10 August, 2012 Andrew Duffy Foster Stockbroking has recommended investors sell shares in Lynas because the company’s rare earths processing plant in Malaysia is likely to face further delays. In an investor note today Foster said approval of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant had been “a drawn out saga” and the upcoming Malaysian election would force further delays.
“Appeals by local groups and the opposition party regarding the environmental impacts of the plant have resulted in the LAMP becoming a politically sensitive issue and delayed a final decision on issuing the licence,” Foster analysts said…..
http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/analysts-recommend-investors-dump-lynas?fb_ref=.UCX0ch5fn6U.like&fb_source=home_oneline
Olympic Dam anti uranium protestors facing court
Olympic Dam protest has court sequel http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-09/olympic-dam-protest-charges-heard/4188096?section=sa August 09, 2012 Some of the protesters arrested near the Olympic Dam mine recently have faced the Magistrates Court at Port Augusta. Those who pleaded guilty were fined $150 and had no conviction recorded. Others who did not attend or pleaded not guilty will face a pre-trial conference in mid-September.
One man who was charged with interfering with a motor vehicle for allegedly chaining himself to a semi-trailer refused to enter a plea. He argued the court had no jurisdiction over him as he observed the laws of the Arabunna nation.
He also refused to stand in the dock, claiming it was where criminals stood and he was not a criminal.
Hundreds of people protested near the BHP Billiton mine, urging it be closed down rather than expanded.
Investors warn – forecast for Olympic Dam mega uranium mine just gets gloomier
Argo worries BHP’s $3b write-downs a warning sign, The Age, Michael Evans August 7, 2012 JASON BEDDOW, the boss of listed investment company Argo Investments, has expressed concern over the $3 billion in write-downs at BHP Billiton, saying he fears there may be more to come.
After announcing a 3 per cent fall in Argo’s net profit to $167.3 million for 2012, Mr Beddow, who estimates his firm’s BHP 
stake at about $260 million, told BusinessDay that he would like BHP management, led by the chief executive, Marius Kloppers, to know that ”you need to be a bit prudent”….
Mr Beddow said that there was ”every chance they will have to take [further] write-downs’….. if you really wanted to point the [finger] that’s what you’re paid for in a CEO. You’re paid for responsibility.”…
The market was concerned at the uncertainty around some of its major projects such as Olympic Dam, he said.
The push for monster Olympic Dam uranium mine – a monster mistake for Marius Kloppers?
a go-ahead decision on the $US30bn expansion will be delayed for at least two years.
Kloppers made what can now be said to have been an error in talking up the ability of its monster cashflow to fund $US80bn over five years in organic projects to the end of the 2015 fiscal year. Olympic Dam was included in those organic growth projects…
The big money in horse racing waits to the last moment in case an unknown becomes known and changes the odds. A decision on Olympic Dam is much the same. ….
Olympic Dam decision will show Kloppers’ standing BY: BARRY FITZGERALD : The Australian July 31, 2012 THE number five is popping up everywhere for Marius Kloppers. He turns 50 next month, has been chief executive for five years come October, and on August 22 will get to announce an annual profit fall of $US5 billion ($4.7bn) and the need for a $US5bn or so writeoff on last year’s US shale gas push
Then there is the talk that the clock on his chief executive tenure is at five minutes to midnight, ….
Rounding out the string of fives is whether the time is right to commit $US5bn to kick-start the Olympic Dam expansion. A decision on that is due in December. Continue reading
Australian company SILEX: its laser uranium technology could promote nuclear weapons spread
SILEX is an acronym for Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation. The company, a spin-off from the Australian government’s nuclear science and research establishment at Lucas Heights, ANSTO
the worry with SILEX laser technology ”is that it is particularly suited for nuclear proliferation
Uranium on the laser’s edge, Canberra Times, August 6, 2012, Michael Richardson Enrichment systems produce nuclear bomb-grade matter as well as fuel for civilian reactors. The United States is on the verge of approving a licence later this month for the world’s first plant to enrich uranium on a commercial scale for civilian nuclear power reactors
using laser technology developed by an Australian company.
The Australian firm, Silex Systems, says that its secret laser system is cheaper than existing methods of turning natural uranium into fuel for reactors that generate electricity. The plant could be in operation in the US by 2016. Continue reading
South Australian govt not keen to extend Olympic Dam agreement. BHP tightlipped
No extension offer to BHP – Weatherill. Christopher Russell The Advertiser August 01, 2012 PREMIER Jay Weatherill has rejected suggestions the State Government has offered to grant BHP Billiton an extension to the
indenture agreement on the Olympic Dam project.
Reacting to interstate reports that the Government was offering BHP an olive branch and was willing to “entertain” an extension, Mr Weatherill said he had been misinterpreted.
The Government’s position had consistently been that it wanted BHP Billiton to make a decision by the December 15 expiry date of the indenture agreement….. “There has been no proposition advanced to us that would justify an extension of the 12-month period at this time.”
This is consistent with Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis who has previously stated the Government would be reluctant to grant an extension… Despite outside speculation, BHP Billiton has said again this week that no decision has been made on the Olympic Dam project.
Its Adelaide office continues to work on a proposal to present to the BHP Billiton board.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/no-extension-offer-to-bhp-weatherill/story-e6frea6u-1226440162081
Credibility gulf in Australia’s deal to sell uranium to United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The federal government’s decision to sell uranium to the United Arab Emirates lacks credibility and has the potential to undermine efforts towards nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East, the Australian Conservation Foundation said today. “In the shadow of Fukushima – an ongoing crisis directly fuelled by Australian uranium – nuclear power is under a cloud as an energy source.
“Japan closed all its nuclear plants for safety testing, Germany has committed to get out of nuclear power within a decade and nations such as Switzerland, Belgium and Italy are moving away from nuclear power. “Plans for new nuclear power reactors in the UK and USA face increased community resistance and scrutiny and increased regulatory compliance costs.
“But despite repeated domestic and international calls, including from the UN Secretary General, the federal government has done nothing to review or enhance nuclear security regimes, bi-lateral safeguards or chain-of-custody arrangements.
“The United Arab Emirates, an alliance of seven monarchies in which each monarch retains absolute power, sits in the middle of an unstable region. “The Arab Spring has not fully sprung in the UAE. “To state that Australian uranium will not be misused because it is in the UAE’s interest not to misuse is naïve and lacks credibility.
“This move by the federal government has the potential to undermine efforts to advance nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East. “Australia’s uranium export policy continues to be driven by commercial interests, not the national interest. “The Australian Conservation Foundation has serious concerns about the adequacy and capacity of the international nuclear safeguards regime.”
A reminder of the disgraceful history of Beverley uranium mine in South Australia
police brutality against environmentalists and local Aboriginal people. An online video clip details this brutality. Heathgate applauded the police action (in a 2000 media release which is no longer available online). After a 10-year legal case, 10 people were awarded a total of $700,000 damages.
. At least 59 spills have been documented at the mine. The company sells uranium to nuclear weapons states (all of which are in breach of their disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty),
A refresher on who’s behind one of our uranium mines, Jim Green, The Punch, 2 Aug 2012http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-refresher-on-whos-behind-one-of-our-uranium-mines The story behind the corporation that owns the Beverley uranium mine in north-east South Australia is scarcely believable.
Heathgate Resources − a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of General Atomics (GA) − owns and operates Beverley and has a stake in the adjacent Beverley Four Mile mine. Over the years GA CEO Neal Blue has had commercial interests in oil, Predator drones, uranium mining and nuclear reactors, cocoa, bananas and real estate. Continue reading
Australia’s uranium to Arab world- (take back radioactive wastes later?)
Such a stable part of the world – the Middle East ? Australia to take back the radioactive wastes – LATER? – C.M
When Abu Dhabi outlined its plans to build the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant in 2008, it had hoped that some supplier nations would be willing to take back the waste.
Australia to supply UAE nuclear fuel but won’t take radioactive waste, The National April Yee Aug 1, 2012 ABU DHABI // Australia has opened the door to supplying the UAE with nuclear fuel but has ruled out taking back the radioactive waste it generates.
“The UAE meets all the tests, and the tests are rigorous and extensive and we’re happy to make a big commitment to providing them with energy security,” the Australian foreign minister Bob Carr said yesterday.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah, signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with Mr Carr last night allowing for such nuclear trade as Abu Dhabi prepares to award a major contract for 15 years’ worth of uranium. But fuel leasing, in which the supplier takes back the spent fuel, is off the cards for now in Australia, which also bans nuclear plants at home. Continue reading
Investment funds applaud BHP’s decision to shelve Olympic Dam uranium mine expansion
factors hampering BHP’s ability to build massive expansion projects like Olympic Dam.
Shelving projects ‘a wise move for miners’ THE AUSTRALIAN, BY: MATT CHAMBERS AND BARRY FITZGERALD July 30, 2012 THE nation’s biggest listed investment fund and one of BHP Billiton’s top shareholders has applauded moves by big miners to shelve Australian projects because of high costs and sliding commodity prices.
Over the weekend, the most likely of Australia’s next big uranium developments, the Kintyre project in the Great Sandy desert, became the latest victim after being hit by sluggish prices for the nuclear fuel and Western Australia’s heated construction market.
The shelving of Kintyre, by Canada’s Cameco, came as The Weekend Australian revealed BHP had told outsiders of a two-year delay on a $30 billion decision due this year on expanding the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia’s outback.
Australian Foundation Investment Co managing director Ross Barker said the time of huge profits from very high commodities prices appeared to be coming to an end, Continue reading
Australian uranium projects not economically viable – Kintyre, Yeelirrie, Olympic Dam
Uranium prices halt Sandy Desert project, BY: BARRY FITZGERALD The Australian July 29, THE most likely of Australia’s next big uranium mine developments – the Kintyre project in Western Australia’s Great Sandy desert – has fallen victim to sluggish demand and prices for the nuclear fuel, and WA’s “hot” construction market for resource projects.
Project operator and 70 per cent owner, Canada’s Cameco, has revealed that the economics of the project are “challenging” in that a development would not be profitable at current uranium prices. Prices are 34 per cent below where they need to be for a viable project.
The sluggish demand backdrop has implications for BHP Billiton which must find a home for the additional uranium it will produce with the planned $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper/uranium/gold mine in South Australia’s outback.
The expansion would see uranium output at Olympic Dam grow massively from 9.6 million pounds a year to 40.6 million pounds a year – 17 per cent of forecast global mine output in 2020.
But the Weekend Australian revealed that BHP plans to defer a decision on the project for two years.
Sluggish uranium demand has already reported to have led to BHP becoming disinterested in moving towards developing its Yeelirrie uranium deposit in WA.
Cameco chief executive Tim Gitzel told analysts that Cameco was “not going to develop Kintyre at any cost Continue reading
BHP’s technology problems with its dubious Olympic Dam uranium mine plan
BHP Billiton’s desperate Olympic race Business Spectator Robert Gottliebsen, 30 Jul 
2012 “……there is another problem that is causing some to speculate that BHP needs a technical as well as a customer partner at Olympic Dam. BHP was once a global mining technology giant. That is no longer so and it relies on outsiders for much if its technical expertise.
The company has a history of failure in high technology mining ventures including Hartley Platinum, hot iron briquettes, mineral sands and Ravensthorpe…..
Any non-smelter solution to Olympic Dam will again thrust BHP into high technology mining treatment where it has a track record of failure.
BHP is not the only global miner to run down its technology in favour of highly profitable digging and shipping. If BHP steps back from Olympic Dam in December it should also reveal any wider long-term treatment problems and canvass new partners.
Footnote: BHP’s environmental statement revealed it planned to spend six years removing the overburden to access the ore body. In all, it planned to remove a 350 metre thick layer of overburden and the rock taken out will be transported to a rock storage facility that covers 6,720 hectares and will eventually be 150 metres high. By 2050, when the mine has not even completed half its life, the pit would be 4.1 kilometres long, 3.5 kilometres wide and one kilometre deep …..”
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/BHP-Billiton-Olympic-Dam-China-ore-prices-pd20120730-WNSYX?OpenDocument&emcontent_Gottliebsen
BHP delays for 2 years decision on whether or not to go ahead with new Olympic Dam uranium mine
Olympic Dam threat as BHP puts brakes on
BY: SARAH MARTIN, SA POLITICAL REPORTER The Australian July 28, 2012 “,,,,,,Documents obtained by The Weekend Australian show the company has informed outsiders that a decision to proceed with the project – spruiked by federal and state Labor governments as key to South Australia’s economic future – will be delayed by two years……The expansion would make Olympic Dam the world’s largest uranium mine,,,,,the strongest indication yet that the project will not receive board approval before the end of the year, meaning the company will fail to meet the government’s December 8 deadline and its indenture agreement will lapse…… The potential delay for the project comes as the South Australian government has recently softened its commentary on the importance of the mine expansion to the state’s economy. Treasurer Jack Snelling last week told The Australian that the mine expansion was never going to be a “cash cow” for government coffers….” http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/olympic-dam-threat-as-bhp-puts-brakes-on/story-fn59niix-1226437208652
Northern Territory’s only uranium mine doubles last year’s crippling loss of money!
Ranger loses $51.5m http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/07/27/312091_nt-business.html NIGEL ADLAM | July 27th, 2012 Ranger uranium mine. THE Territory’s only 
uranium mine has lost more money. Energy Resources of Australia said yesterday that Ranger suffered a loss of $51.5 million in the first six months of this year.
The operation lost $22.3 million in the same period last year. ERA said lower sales, lower prices and a strong Australian dollar were behind the result despite production doubling in the period.
Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia cutting jobs
Uranium mine foreshadows job cuts, ABC Rural News, By Carl Curtain , 26/07/2012 The CEO of the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory says jobs will be cut as mining is suspended and the company begins its exploration underground.
A $60 million loss was recorded last financial year by Energy Resources Australia, outlined in its half-yearly report released today..
Mining of ‘Pit 3’ will finish at the end of the year, and only stockpiles of ore will be processed until more uranium can be
discovered and mined in coming years…. http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201207/s3554257.htm
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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