Re: Mining in the Mapungubwe area
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 7:57 pm
Now that the Chinese are involved Toko, you'll probably find that we'll never hear of it again, they'll just pay someone off
Go wild for Wildlife and help to keep our Conservation Areas pure, natural and green.
http://africawild-forum.com/
Toko wrote: Further developments at the Vele Colliery on the cards
Chinese deal boosts CoAL growth plans
Chinese deal boosts CoAL growth plans
BY MONDE MAOTO, JANUAR 10 2013, 07:48
COAL of Africa’s (CoAL’s) plans to develop metallurgical coal mines in Limpopo came closer to realisation on Wednesday after Chinese authorities granted regulatory approval for a $100m investment by Beijing Haohua Energy Resources.
The deal will see the Chinese company acquire 23.6% of CoAL for £0.25 a share. The announcement sent CoAL’s share price up as much as 10.7% to an intraday high of R3.10 on Wednesday. It closed 3.93% higher at R2.91.
Local steel producers ArcelorMittal and Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium have traditionally shipped the metallurgical coal they need from Australia because of a lack of rail infrastructure to the regions where the mineral could be mined domestically.
On Monday, CoAL announced that it has appointed Dutch commodities trader Vitol as the exclusive agent for most of its thermal and coking coal for the next eight years. As part of the agreement, the miner will now have access to the Terminal de Carvao da Matola in Maputo, Mozambique, without having to finance part of its construction.
CoAL plans to use the proceeds from Beijing Haohua’s investment to finance further developments at the Vele Colliery, its thermal and metallurgical coal mine close to the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site.
It aims to produce 7-million tons run-of-mine coal a year, of which 1-million tons is coking coal, after it completes the project’s first phase, which is under way.
In a notice issued to shareholders, the miner announced that in addition to developing Vele, it further intended to fund the capital requirements at its other operations.
CoAL CEO John Wallington said funding for the development of the Makhado coking coal project would be done separately from the Beijing Haohua deal. "We will still have to finalise the funding for Makhado once it is approved, and this capital could be raised through various means," Mr Wallington said.
The approval, received from the office of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, is valid for two years.
CoAL has already received $20m of the investment.
Shareholders will vote on January 25 for the conditional placement of shares for the remaining $80m as part of the second phase of the deal.
According to a company spokesman, the deal needs to obtain at least 50% approval of those present and voting at the extraordinary general meeting.
Last year was difficult for CoAL as lower export thermal coal prices and labour unrest prompted the miner to adopt cost-cutting measures at its Mooiplaats thermal coal operation. The mine is now under review.
Although a sale of the mine has not been ruled out, Mr Wallington said the process of evaluating the operations was still under way. The options being considered included the possibility of forming a partnership with its neighbouring operations.
Mr Wallington said that he expected another tough year for commodity prices.
"Although we were hoping for a correction, we envisage the coming six months to be difficult for commodity prices," he said.
Is this the way to go for the future? Mining on the boundery of a National Park to fund conservation and further developments in National ParksThe chairman of the SANParks board, Kuseni Dlamini, offered the assurance that the income from the mine would be spent on biodiversity conservation, cultural-heritage management and tourism development in favour of Mapungubwe and the stimulation of the economy.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... -new-deal/
The critical issue of mining which has in the past led to a conflict between conservation and development will now be addressed through the implementation of the Mining and Biodiversity Guideline which was published by my department and the Department of Minerals Resources last year.
These guidelines also introduce an extremely important concept known as ‘biodiversity off-setting’, aimed at restoring the environment or development balance. This tool is specifically designed to ensure that we leave subsequent generations with at least a biodiversity endowment of at least equal value.
However, biodiversity is not the only area where the offsetting concept may have extremely positive benefits.
Indeed, new thinking and developments around air quality, water quality and carbon offsetting appears to be indicating a potential radical and transformative approach to sustainable development.
To this end, the department will be exploring the exciting concept of environmental offsetting with all stakeholders over the next year and I encourage business, industry, consultants, NGOs and the academic community to actively engage with the department in exploring this potential missing link in sustainable development promotion.
Biodiversity offsets
Biodiversity offsets are defined as measurable conservation gains to balance
any significant biodiversity losses that remain after actions to avoid, minimise
and restore negative impacts have been taken. They are the last stage of
mitigation and should be considered after appropriate avoidance, minimisation,
and rehabilitation/restoration measures have been applied. Biodiversity offsets
generally target the same biodiversity as that residually impacted by
development, but may target biodiversity of higher conservation
significance.
By iteratively considering location, design, phasing and technology options
in the EIA to minimise residual impacts, it may be possible to avoid the need
for significant biodiversity offsets. Biodiversity offsets are required when there
are significant residual impacts on biodiversity or ecosystem services. Where
residual negative impacts are likely to remain after realistic rehabilitation efforts
have been implemented, ways to address the need for, and strategies to provide
biodiversity offsets, should be explored in the EIA process as part of
determining appropriate mitigation.