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June 14th, 2009
Category
Gas Price, General News, Mining Company |
1 Comment »
As energy markets shrink, the same tactics that Russia used to build Gazprom into a fearsome economic and political power that could restore the country’s standing in the world are now backfiring, sharply eroding the energy giant’s earnings and influence.
Throughout his eight years as president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin pursued the strategic goal of dominating natural gas supplies to Europe and the pipelines that deliver them. His success was underscored in January, when for the second time in three years a pricing dispute with Ukraine disrupted the flow of natural gas, leaving hundreds of thousands in Eastern Europe shivering in the deep winter cold.
But in his zeal to monopolize gas supplies, Mr. Putin, who is now the Russian prime minister, committed Gazprom to long-term contract with Central Asian countries for gas at a cost far in excess of current world prices. Now that the world economic crisis has sharply curtailed the demand for gas, Gazprom is saddled with a glut of expensive Central Asian supplies that it is forced to sell at a loss.
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October 31st, 2008
Category
Iron ore, Mining Industry, Mining Investment, Trade & Market |
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Ferrexpo, the Ukrainian iron ore producer, was yesterday forced to scrap expansion plans as the global slowdown continued to inflict damage on the emerging economies of eastern and central Europe.
The London-listed company said its export customers, mainly large steel producers, had deferred orders in the last two weeks. The delaying of orders into 2009 would cause “materiallyreduced demand” for Ferrexpo’s iron ore pellets, reducing 2008 sales by5-10 per cent from forecast levels.
Ferrexpo said it would focus on its existing Ukraine operations, freeze capital spending plans and run the business for cash. The chief executive, Mike Oppenheimer, and Dennis McShane, the business development director, quit, with Mr Oppenheimer making way for Kostyantin Zhevago, the founder and majority owner. Mr Oppenheimer, who earned $892,500 (£544,000) last year, and Mr McShane, who was paid £236,250, will get a year’s salary and keep their shares and long-term incentive payments on leaving. Simon Wandke,
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October 21st, 2008
Category
Iron ore, Mining Company, Mining Industry, Mining Investment, Trade & Market |
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Czech coal mining group New World Resources (NWR) (NWRS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (NWRSsp.PR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will acquire a 25 percent stake in Ukrainian iron ore company Ferrexpo (FXPO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), giving it a foothold in the vast Ukraine market, the company said on Monday.
NWR said it would buy the stake from NWR’s majority shareholder RPG Industries, which acquired the Ferrexpo stake this year, for 126.6 million pounds ($221.3 million).
“We view this relatively cheaply acquired option as a way toward more strategic opportunities in Ukraine, a country with huge coal reserves,” said NWR’s chief finance officer Marek Jelinek in a telephone interview following the announcement.
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September 14th, 2008
Category
Coal, Exploration, Mining, Mining Contractor, Mining Investment, Mining Technology, Trade & Market |
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Uncertainty surrounding the sale of the Silesia coal mine by Kompania Weglowa (KW) to British energy company Gibson Group International (GGI) persisted in May 2008. In December 2007, GGI was the only company to make an offer in the tender for the mine, which has 500mn tonnes of coal reserves. GGI will pay PLN205mn (US$93.2mn) and has
committed to investing at least PLN250mn in the mine, which is currently losing PLN30mn (US$13.6mn) a year.
However, as of April 30, KW reported they had no information as to when GGI CEO Tom Gibson would sign the deal, signed by the KW management on April 16, and had sent a letter to GGI on April 23 urging a rapid signing of the agreement. After the signing, the deal must then be approved by the economy and treasury ministries. Vattenfall of Sweden said in March that it was planning to build a 2 x 800 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Poland at an approximate cost of EUR2.4bn. A site for the plant had yet to be decided, and the company would look at the newest carbon-reduction technology available, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), officials said.
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August 20th, 2008
Category
Coal, Exploration, General News, Mining, Mining Contractor, Mining Investment, Mining Technology, Oil & Gas, Trade & Market |
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The JSC Coal Company Krasnoarmeiskaya Zapadnaya is the latest Ukraine company to modernize its coal mining operations by signing a framework agreement with GE Energy. Under the agreement, JSC plans to install up to 20 of GE’s ecomagination(TM)-certified Jenbacher coal mine gas-fueled cogeneration units. The engines will use the active mine’s own methane gas to generate about 129 MW in total power output, covering the mine’s on-site power and heat requirements. The initiative will also reduce site emissions and support workplace safety initiatives.
The privately owned mine is located near the town of Krasnoarmeisk in the coal-rich Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
While many coal mines in Central and Eastern Europe have traditionally utilized a small portion of their coal mine methane (CMM) for generating steam, Ukraine has become a regional leader in installing the latest technology to expand the use of the gas for on-site power generation.
Being one of Europe’s leading coal-producing countries, Ukraine is a founding member of the United Nations-backed Methane to Markets Partnership, an international initiative supporting the cost-effective recovery and utilization of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Recycling the gas to generate on-site power can offer significant economic benefits.
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July 23rd, 2008
Category
Coal, Exploration, General News, Mining, Mining Contractor, Mining Technology |
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Lysander Minerals Corporation (CA:LYM: news, chart, profile) (”Lysander”) is pleased to report progress towards completion of the acquisition of the Verticalnaya mine interests, currently held on option (see release dated June 26, 2008). Technical and financial reviews and due diligence are proceeding satisfactorily on and off site. Work to complete a technical report, to be compliant with National Instrument 43-101, is well advanced.
To date, reviews substantiate that there is an unusual opportunity for Lysander to
- be a leader in investing into the Ukraine mining sector,
- benefit from years of work by Ukraine Coal (the vendor),
- acquire substantial existing assets including two deep shaft systems,
- achieve good returns by developing one of the first modern coal mines in Ukraine and
- potentially develop new opportunities within the Donbass coal region.
The pace of foreign investment into Ukraine is currently high, but there has been little foreign investment into the mining sector. As an early entrant, Lysander expects to benefit both from the quality of the Verticalnaya project and exposure to other opportunities.
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