Thousands march in Romania against shale gas, gold mine

BUCHAREST - Thousands of Romanians rallied on Sunday against a controversial Canadian gold mine project and against shale gas exploration, in weekly demos that have turned into one of the country's longest-running protests in years.

In Bucharest, some 2,500 people marched on the government's offices, chanting "Resign!, an AFP reporter saw.

The protest marked the ninth consecutive Sunday that Romanians have taken to the streets to voice their anger over the mine planned by Canada's Gabriel Resources, a project seen as harmful to the environment.

The mine, to be based in the heart of Transylvania, would be Europe's largest opencast gold mine.

Gabriel Resources hopes to extract 300 tonnes of gold with mining techniques requiring the use of thousands of tons of cyanide.

"We want tourism, not cyanide," protesters chanted.

The demonstrators said they were also protesting against plans by US energy giant Chevron to dig for shale gas in eastern Romania using the controversial "fracking" technique they fear might contaminate ground water.

The marchers accused Prime Minister Victor Ponta's administration of betraying his election promises by backing shale gas exploration and the planned mine, despite opposing these projects while in opposition.

Some 1,500 people also took part in protests in the northwestern city of Cluj, while another 500 took to the streets in the village of Rosia Montana, also in the northwest, where the mine is to be based.

source: interaksyon.com

18 Chinese detained for illegal mining in Aparri - DOJ

MANILA, Philippines -- The government has detained 18 Chinese men on suspicion of illegal black sand mining in the northern coastal town of Aparri, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Authorities say there has been a rise in the illegal extraction of magnetite -- also known as black sand -- which is an iron ore in huge demand by China's steel mills.

Justice department investigators raided two mine sites run by Chinese firm Hua Xia Mining and Trading Corp. last Thursday and detained 18 of its employees, spokesman Alex Lactao told AFP. 


The company had a permit to dredge magnetite from a nearby river but not from the coast, he said.

It is illegal to extract any minerals within 200 meters (656 feet) of a beach.

"Nine Chinese nationals were burrowing and processing magnetite sand within the prohibited zone," said Lactao.

The other nine were arrested at a nearby beach where they were building a magnetite processing plant, he added.

Environmental groups say illegal magnetite mining has been stripping Philippine coasts through erosion.

They have blamed small-scale mining firms, most of them allegedly Chinese and often operating in collusion with shady local government officials, for the devastation.

The men detained in Aparri lacked permits required to work in the country and could face further criminal charges, said Lactao, adding they have now been handed over to the immigration bureau.

The justice department launched a third raid in the northern town of San Vicente on Saturday but found the site, previously operated by another Chinese outfit, had been abandoned, the official said.

The raid teams seized mining equipment from all three sites as well as 1,500 tons of magnetite concentrate from the Aparri operations, he added.

Chinese embassy spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Under the mining law, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has regulatory oversight over large operations but not small-scale miners, who are defined as using only light equipment and no explosives.

Instead small-scale miners are licensed by local governments, which often lack the expertise or will to properly supervise them.

Black-sand miners are increasingly flouting the law by mining near the nation's beaches, Carlos Tayag, Mines and Geosciences Bureau director for the northwestern Philippines, told AFP in May.

Reports of Chinese nationals breaking these laws have occurred frequently in recent years.

Authorities arrested 80 Chinese miners from one chromite mine in Zambales in 2010, and another eight at a similar chromite operation in the central island of Samar last year.

source: interaksyon.com

DMCI Holdings expects 10% earnings growth in 2012

MANILA - DMCI Holdings Inc. sees earnings growing by a tenth this year to a "little below" P11 billion, barring any bad news from China, the company's president said on Wednesday.

This is slower than the 22-percent rise in net income last year to P9.6 billion.

Isidro Consunji said coal operations of Semirara Mining Corp. may be flat for the year on lower prices. The contribution of its coal business rose by 63 percent to P2.38 billion last year.

"Hopefully, the increased income of the power operations will somewhat offset the reduction of price of coal," Consunji said.

Semirara is set to begin the operation of a 300-megawatt power plant in Calaca in the next few days after "technical problems" delayed its rehabilitation by two months.

Earnings of property firm DMCI Project Developers Inc. is "doing very well," but the rate of increase will not be as huge because of the bigger base. The housing segment raised its contribution by 40 percent to P1.3 billion in 2011.

DMCI Mining Corp. is looking at acquiring "several" nickel mines within a year given the current direction of Benguet to operate on its own and the Acoje mining operations with European Nickel looking to follow suit.

Construction arm D.M. Consunji Inc. expects additional projects as it benefits from the property boom, while the impact of the government roll out of its public-private partnership projects may kick in next year.

source: interaksyon.com

DMCI 2011 Profit Up 22%

MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Holdings, Inc. reported a 22 percent improvement in its net income (after minority) to P9.6 billion last year from P7.9 billion in 2010.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said significant growth in the coal, nickel and power segments along with the sustained improvement in the real estate and water businesses caused the growth in consolidated bottom line.

It noted that growth was seen despite a slide in general construction and the non-inclusion of operating results from the firm’s former steel fabrication business.

For the year, mining was the main driver of the R1.7 billion increase in the DMCI’s income due to higher coal prices and improved operations in the nickel business.

The real estate and power generation segments also posted significant growth due to healthier housing sales and increased generation capacity coming from the rehabilitated Calaca unit 2.

Investments in the water business, accounting for 23 percent of total net income, registered modest improvements, testament of the sustained and consistent operations evident in the utilities sector.

This year marks the non-inclusion of Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila, Inc., DMCI’s previously owned steel fabrication business which was sold in December 2010 and contributed almost 9 percent of last year’s net income.

For 2011, water investment contributions from Maynilad Water Services, Inc. reached P2.2 billion, up by a respective 16 percent from the previous year.

The construction business experienced a marginal decrease from its unprecedented growth last year due to the completion of big infrastructure projects with no new infra projects awarded.

The lower earnings was also because last year’s income included the recognition of change orders from the Shangrila Boracay project where the costs were conservatively booked in the previous years.

DMCI’s real estate business, under the brand name DMCI Homes, recognized an impressive 40 percent increase in net contributions from w1.3 billion last year to P1.8 billion this year as realized housing sales for the year grew by 25 percent to R8.2 billion.

Semirara Mining Corporation (SMC), DMCI’s coal and power unit, reported an improvement in operations with a net income of around P4.1 billion for coal mining and P1.9 billion for power generation in 2011 compared to R2.6 billion and R1.3 billion respectively in 2010.

source: mb.com.ph

Atlas Posts Record Production In March, Ships Copper Worth $30M

MANILA, Philippines — Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC) produced a record 7.35 million pounds of payable copper in March 2012.

The firm said this capped a strong first quarter which saw CCC increase its copper output by 21 percent based on production rates during the same period in 2011.

This surge in productivity enabled CCC to complete three shipments of copper concentrate to Chinese smelters within one calendar month, and to earn a monthly revenue exceeding US$30 million for the first time since the start of commercial operations in 2008.

“Clearly, the investments we made in 2011 are starting to pay off, and our operating results, together with the success of our US$300 million bond offering, are giving us confidence to forge ahead with our expansion projects over the next two years with the goal of optimizing operations by enhancing productivity and reducing costs,” Atlas executive vice president Adrian Ramos said.

Atlas is a diversified mining conglomerate in the Philippines. CCC is the largest exporter of copper in concentrate in the country today and operates the Toledo Copper Mine in the Province of Cebu. (JAL)

source: mb.com.ph