Effect of economic downturn on mining

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simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

I seem to recall, but now can't find, a thread containing some very well considered comment on the effect of the economic downturn on the mining industry.

A couple of BBC news articles on the subject:

Quote:

Australia hit hard by mining slump

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7973008.stm

The G20 summit meets in London later this week will consider drastic action to revive the world economy. The BBC's Nick Bryant reports on how the economic downturn has hit western Australia.

Quote:

Burma's gem mines face closure

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7947914.stm

The global downturn has caused a collapse in orders for one of Burma's main exports - its rubies.

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

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carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

It doesn't all appear to be doom and gloom. I've an idea from somewhere that the Chinese are investing in this.
http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/Article/WA-welcomes-infrastructure-upgrade/474098.aspx

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

stuey
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

I would have thought it would have not affected Crofty as they are clearly just developing. Perhaps even a good time for getting the other infrastructure ready to actually get producing and take advantage of deflated equipment prices. I wonder if the GBP is ill set to get an early recovery, this would make our Sn W nice and cheap for the beginning of the rest of the world boom.

The big Aus stuff must be suffering as the Chinese buy virtually all of it.

I gather the initial excitement at Parys Mountain and Hemerdon have gone quiet. I wonder if the financing has dried up.

I wonder how long it is before people start buying crap again. I've got a hunch that the recession hasn't really got going yet and the 2012 upturn sounds about right. About time for Crofty to press the start button, if they can afford to.

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

Interestingly in 2006 an application was made to reopen the Mount Bischoff mine in Tasmania. It is estimated it would put $8 million annually into the local economy. The tin mountain here was one of the nails in the coffin of the Cornish tin industry in the 1880s. I don't know what the latest is regarding this.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Morlock
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

There was a fair bit of speculation on a new drift mine at Margam, to be driven from inside the steel company site.
This has gone very quiet and steel production has been cut back! 😞

http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/forum/read.php?2,22520,page=1

Knocker
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

The only reason that metals x gove for reopening Mt Bischoff is to provide a mill feed for the renison concentrator while they develop enough ore there. They intend to operate the mine for a period of three years.

Ore reserves are quoted as 845,000 tonnes at 1.2 tonnes, so that would give a production figure of approx 2500 tonnes of tin in concentrate per year.

Croftys situation I would expect to be dependant on drilling results, no one is going to be writing blank cheques at the moment.

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

"Morlock" wrote:
There was a fair bit of speculation on a new drift mine at Margam, to be driven from inside the steel company site.
This has gone very quiet and steel production has been cut back! 😞

http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/forum/read.php?2,22520,page=1

Another BBC link, this time regarding a UK Coal application for opencast mining near The Wrekin: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7961681.stm

Quote:

A major landowner in Shropshire says he has withdrawn his objections to opencast mining near The Wrekin.

UK Coal submitted an application in 2007 to extract 900,000 tonnes of coal near the Huntington Lane area.

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

16 years ago

Welsh Slate asking staff to take a 10% pay cut.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7992681.stm

Quote:

A slate quarrying firm has asked all 245 staff to take a 10% pay cut because of a drop in sales.

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

The Bolivian goverment are presumably devotees of GB. For many years the Huanuni tin mine was the largest in the world.
In January reuters reported that the Bolivian government plans to invest some USD 40 million to build a mineral crusher that would allow the mine to double output by 2010.

Mr Freddy Beltran director of mining at Bolivia’s mining & metallurgy ministry was quoted as saying that "Huanuni's production as well as the production of other state run mining projects, will continue and may increase." He also added that Bolivia also wants to install a furnace to increase the production capacity of the Vinto tin smelter which treats Huanuni ore.

As mining unions and independent mining groups talk about job cuts in Bolivia due to sagging mineral prices amid the global economic crisis, mining officials have said that the best way to protect jobs is to raise production. Olez!

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

moorlandmineral
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#10

Don't have to look as far as Bolivia or Australia to see the effects the downturns having, Galmoy Mine in Co Kilkenny Ireland has had its closure date brought forward from 2011 to the end of may!!! Big shame really, never got a chance to visit 😠

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#11

Agreed but it's significant that policies to come to terms with this are completely opposed. True, Bolivia's GNP if is heavily weighted by mining but, I assume, they are are banking on the fact that in the long term the demand for metals will not diminish. Seems pretty logical to me. Shades of 100 years ago when they virtually took over the world's tin trade. Perhaps not.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Knocker
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#12

Bo;ivias a bit of a strange one politically, the Bolivian Government done a deal with Glencore to modernise the mines and build a new smelter, once the work was completed the Bolivian Government took the lot off of Glencore. While this was a masterstroke of a one off, the chances of any external companies investing in Bolivia again is slim.

Galmoy is principally closing due to exhaustion, I was out there in 1999, there mine plan was always for closure in 2007, that was only extended by the high prices of the last few years, they had been completly unsuccessful in finding new reserves.

stuey
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#13

I read an article about lithium salt deposits and the Bolivian government's take on what they should do with them...

I think the government are nearly as inept as ours.

There were conditions to be attatched to the development of the lithium reserves, but with silly left wing conditions attatched. It was almost like listening to Scargill.

I would have thought unless they planned on stockpiling and gradual release of reserves, tin production was a bad idea for the moment. Development though.......