Rentrée scolaire : pourquoi le sommeil favorise-t-il l'apprentissage ?

Pour bien apprendre, il faut bien dormir. Mais que fait le cerveau pendant le sommeil pour favoriser la mémorisation ? Une nouvelle étude suggère que, lorsque nous dormons, le cerveau procède à une sorte de « réinitialisation du système » indispensable aux nouveaux apprentissages.

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Molycorp thrown a lifeline

Bankrupt Molycorp (OTCMKTS:MCPIQ) has been offered a vital loan to keep its Mountain Pass mine under care and maintenance.

On Wednesday the former rare earths producer morphed into Neo Performance Materials, but its rare earths mine and processing facility – the only mine and processor of REEs in the United States – is still under a separate Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Molycorp failed to find a buyer for the mine and release it from Chapter 11. The bankruptcy trustee tried to get a court to shut down the bankruptcy due to lack of funds, but on Tuesday, he revealed that Lexon Insurance Co. "has offered to lend the estate $4.2 million to maintain the mine and continue the search for a buyer," the Wall Street Journal reported.

That means the mine will continue to be maintained safely, including keeping pumps running to contain groundwater contaminated by the rare earths separation process.

Once considered the vehicle to challenge China's domination of the rare earths market (the Asian superpower mines about 90 percent of the materials used in everything from cell phones to defense systems) through Mountain Pass – Molycorp's fall from grace began in 2014. That summer the rare earths producer was forced into bankruptcy, a victim of low rare earth oxide prices. Shareholders sued the company's officers and directors, hoping to collect on their liability insurance. According to court filings, Molycorp spent $1.7 billion to outfit Mountain Pass with specialized equipment.

A restructure plan made Molycorp 92.5 percent the property of Oaktree Capital Management LP, from which Molycorp received $130 million in debt financing. Unsecured creditors, including Molycorp bondholders, got the rest.

The Greenwood, Colorado- based company moved Mountain Pass into care and maintenance, while continuing to serve customers through its production facilities in Estonia and China.

Mountain Pass was expected to be America’s flagship source of rare earths. In 2010 Molycorp sensed an opportunity to capitalize on reduced rare earth oxide exports from China, which had caused the prices of REOs to spike. When China subsequently relaxed export rules, however, prices fell, leaving Molycorp to pay the close to $2 billion bill for expanding Mountain Pass.

Hit by lower rare earth prices, Molycorp warned it might not have enough money to remain in business. Three months later, it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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Ownership of Panguna copper-gold mine triggers fresh dispute

Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) have locked horns over who should own the copper and gold mine that Rio Tinto donated to both last month.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, PNG’s Prime Minister wants to give islanders a minority stake in Bougainville Copper Limited (ASX:BOC), the former Rio Tinto’s subsidiary.

But such move would prevent ABG from having a controlling share in Panguna mine, which was once a major producer and one of the largest open pit mines in the world.

It is estimated that Panguna holds about 5.3 million tonnes of copper and 19.3 million ounces of gold.

If that happens, Bougainville's President said he would cancel BOC's exploration licence. The Australian-listed company was the mine operator until local opposition sparked a civil war, forcing its shutdown in 1989.

Before that, Panguna produced copper concentrate for 17 years, which represented 44% of PNG's total export earnings at that time.

Arguments over mine pollution and compensation to locals had been central to the conflict ever since.

It’s believed to still hold about 5.3 million tonnes of copper and 19.3 million ounces of gold. However, the Bougainville Government estimates it would cost up to A$10 billion to restart production.

Both PNG and Bougainville will hold a referendum in 2019 over the possibility of Bougainville’s independence.

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Oil sands stoppages push Canadian GDP down to 2009 recession levels

Canada's economy shrank in the second quarter of the year touching levels not seen since 2009, when the country was in the midst of a global financial crisis, mostly due to the wildfires that wrecked parts of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the heart of the oil sands industry.

Canada's economy shrank by 1.6% in the second quarter — the largest quarterly decline in gross domestic product since the second quarter of 2009.

Data from Statistics Canada shows the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the three-month period to June, the largest quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2009.

The contraction compares with growth at an annual pace of 2.5% in the first quarter, which was revised higher from an initial reading of 2.4%.

About a million barrels per day of oil sands crude production were shut down as a precaution and because of disruptions to regional pipelines due to the devastating wildfires that hit Fort McMurray this spring. Much of that production remained offline for weeks after the May fires.

Stats Canada’s data contradicts the Conference Board of Canada’s May report in which they claimed the outages were not going to have a significant impact on the country’s economic growth.

The agency said that excluding the large drop in crude oil output, which was the main cause of the 4.5% drop in exports during the period, Canada’s GDP would have increased by 0.1% (0.4% annualized).

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Le diable de Tasmanie évolue pour résister au cancer

Le diable de Tasmanie était une espèce menacée d’extinction à cause d’un cancer de la face qui a pour particularité d’être transmissible, ce qui est plutôt rare pour un cancer. Mais le génome du petit marsupial a évolué en réponse à la propagation rapide de ce redoutable fléau.

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Greffe de tête sur le corps d'un mort : un patient est volontaire

Le neurochirurgien italien Sergio Canavero avait affirmé en 2015 qu'une greffe de tête serait réalisable en 2017. Aujourd'hui, un patient russe atteint d’une maladie grave se porte volontaire pour cette opération éthiquement discutable.

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Coking coal prices are on fire — up more than 80% in six months

Prices of coking coal, the steel-making kind, keep soaring on slowing supply growth from China and increased demand from Indian steel mills.

Far seems to be the multi-year lows struck in February, as the commodity has surged more than 80% since then, jumping 41% in August alone to nearly $140 a tonne, the highest level in over two and a half years.

This chart shared by the Metal Bulletin in Twitter Wednesday says it all:

The rally has been triggered in part by Beijing’s decision to limit coal mines operating days to 276 or fewer a year. In addition, recent heavy rains in the key mining province of Shanxi, have significantly reduced the number of available roads and damaged other transportation infrastructure, curbing local supplies.

The rally has been triggered in part by Beijing’s decision to limit coal mines operating days to 276 or fewer a year, and bad weather affecting key suppliers.

Bad weather and operating issues have also kept supply subdued in Australia. The country, a main source of coking coal for major consumers such as India and China.

Based on figures released by Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Sciences in July, the country’s metallurgical coal production is expected to jump by roughly 2% to 192 million tonnes in the current financial year.

However, the agency also said that the country’s metallurgical coal export earnings are likely to decline by a further 5% to $A18.2 billion in 2016–17 due to “lower prices and subdued growth in volumes”.

Australia’s coal exports — both metallurgical and thermal — were worth $A37 billion in 2015, official data shows, which is equivalent to nearly 12% of all the nation’s exports of goods and services, and second only to iron ore in terms of total value.

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Un étrange signal radio venu de l'étoile HD 164595

Située à seulement 95 années-lumière, l’étoile HD 164595 a plusieurs traits en commun avec notre Soleil. Depuis quelques jours, elle intrigue beaucoup les scientifiques. Un fort signal radio provient en effet de sa direction. Quel objet peut bien être à l’origine de ce bruit inhabituel ? Un...

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Solar Express : quatre photos du train spatial qui pourrait relier Mars en deux jours

Le futur est déjà là. Imaginactive propose le concept d’un train spatial très rapide qui ne s’arrêterait jamais. Transportant marchandises et êtres humains, il pourrait relier la Terre à Mars en seulement 37 heures !

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Gold price correction brings renewed selling of mining stocks

Gold struggled on Tuesday losing nearly 1% to a low of $1,313 in lunchtime trade in New York, a more than two-month low. Gold is coming off two-year highs hit early this month and year to date the metal is still up nearly 24% or over $250 an ounce.

Gold has been drifting lower since the beginning of August as some of the biggest drivers of 2016's surge have begun to lose steam

Tuesday's leg down was sparked by indications that the US Federal Reserve may be moving sooner on tighter monetary policy than the market had expected. Talk of a rate hike before December lifted government bond yields which have a strong inverse relationship to the gold price and also strengthened the US dollar which usually moves in the opposite direction of gold.

Gold has been drifting lower since the beginning of August as some of the biggest drivers of 2016's surge have begun to lose steam. Large scale gold futures and options speculators or "managed money" investors such as hedge funds have been scaling back bullish bets recently and the frenzied buying of physically-backed gold ETFs have also moderated.

Worries about a significant correction for the gold price saw investors pull money out of the sector on Tuesday with gold mining stocks coming in for particular punishment.

The world's most valuable gold mining company, Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) shed 5.2% in afternoon trade bringing the Denver-based company's decline for August to double digits. Newmont, the only gold company that forms part of the S&P500 index, recently surpassed Toronto's Barrick Gold as the gold mining company with the top market capitalization in New York at $21.1 billion.

Barrick (NYSE:ABX, TSE:ABX) was down 4% pushing the shares to its lowest level since the beginning of June. Investors have been taking profits in Barrick, the world's number one gold producer in terms of output in August with the counter losing nearly 20% of its market value since the end of July to $20.8 billion.

Goldcorp (TSE:G, NYSE:GG) shares declined 4.4%  for market capitalization of $13.6 billion in New York.  The Vancouver-based miner is expected to produce between 2.8 million and 3.1 million ounces in 2016, placing it fourth behind AngloGold Ashanti in terms of output. American Depository Receipts of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) dropped 4.2% for a market value of $6.8 billion on the NYSE, but the counter is showing 16% declines for the month.

ADRs of Australia's Newcrest Mining (OTCMKTS:NCMGY) trading in New York also lost ground. The world's sixth largest gold producer is worth $13.1 billion after losing 13% of its market value in August. Africa-focused Randgold Resources (NASDAQ:GOLD), dipped 4.3% and is now worth $9 billion.

Canada's Agnico Eagle Mines (TSE:AEM, NYSE:AEM) market capitalization fell 3.9% to $11.7 billion in New York bringing losses for the month to just under 13%. Another fall in value on Wednesday turned Toronto's Kinross Gold (TSE:K, NYSE:KGC) into the worst performer for the month of August with 20.7% drop its market value to $6.8 billion.

 

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Mongolia wants Rio to speed up Oyu Tolgoi expansion

Mongolia's prime minister is urging mining giant Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and its Canadian subsidiary Turquoise Hill (TSE:TRQ) to speed up work on a $5.3 billion expansion of their massive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine.

Reuters reports PM Jargaltulga Erdenebat sent a message to Rio Tinto's copper chief Arnaud Soirat in an official statement on the Mongolian government website urging the company to "comply with contract obligations and speed up the momentum of work" adding that "Oyu Tolgoi should procure construction materials like cement from Mongolian service providers only."

In June 2016, Oyu Tolgoi signed a contract with Jacobs Engineering Group to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the planned 95,000-tonne-per-day underground block-cave mine.

Oyu Tolgoi in the South Gobi is approximately 550 km south of the capital Ulaanbaatar. (Image courtesy of Oyu Tolgoi LLC)

Major contractor mobilization for the sinking of Shafts #2 and #5, underground development, critical construction works and maintenance are all progressing," the company said with the release of its second quarter production update.

The Oyu Tolgoi open pit in production since 2013 is expected to produce 175,000 to 195,000 tonnes of copper and 255,000 to 285,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2016 (the mine also produces small quantities of silver).

First sustainable underground production is expected around 2021 and the project has a five to seven-year ramp up period. The planned expansion, with its nearly 200 km (125 miles) of underground tunnels that will track three times as deep as the Empire State Building is tall, will more than double the copper output from Oyu Tolgoi.

The world’s second biggest miner began production from the open pit of Oyu Tolgoi in 2013. (Image courtesy of Oyu Tolgoi LLC)

The May decision to construct an underground mine, set to cost about $400 million more than previously thought, ended a three-year stalemate and political tension over revenue sharing and the role of foreign investors in Mongolia’s economy. The project “will transform Oyu Tolgoi into one of the most significant copper mines globally,” said Rio Tinto’s deputy chief executive, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, at the time of the announcement.

Once the expansion is fully completed, Oyu Tolgoi — located in Mongolia’s remote southern Gobi desert, close to the country’s border with China — will produce 560,000 tonnes of copper per year.

The mine expansion is part of Rio’s strategy to reduce its reliance on iron ore for profits and increase copper's share of revenues. Financing for the project was mostly secured in December and involves international financial institutions and export credit agencies representing the governments of the U.S., Canada and Australia, along with 15 commercial banks

Rio-controlled Turquoise Hill holds a 66% stake in  Oyu Tolgoi. The Mongolian government owns the rest.

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Potash Corp, Agrium shares halted on merger talks

Shares of Canadian Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT), the world’s second-largest producer of the fertilizer, and rival Agrium (TSX:AGU) were halted Tuesday on the Toronto Exchange today, after reports said the firms were in an advanced stage of merger talks.

If successful, the imminent tie-up — to be announced as early as next week — could produce a fertilizer giant worth more than $30 billion, Bloomberg reported citing unnamed sources.

A global oversupply of the fertilizer has caused prices to tumble in the past year, leading to layoffs and mine closures across the sector.

Before trading was halted, PotashCorp stock had gained $2.40 or 11.48% to $23.30 on the day and Agrium was up $8.28 or 7.1% to $124.81.

More to come…

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L'australopithèque Lucy est peut-être morte en chutant d'un arbre !

En analysant, grâce au scanner, les os de Lucy, le plus célèbre des hominines, un groupe de paléoanthropologues vient d'avancer un scénario plausible pour sa mort survenue il y a 3,2 millions d'années. Elle serait tombée d'un arbre d'une dizaine de mètres de hauteur. Si tel est bien le cas,...

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Scientists find way to extract gold from old gadgets

Scottish scientists have developed a new method for recovering gold from old gadgets such as mobile phones, TV’s and computers, which not only doesn’t require the use of toxic chemicals, such as cyanide, but it is also said to be more effective than current techniques.

According to the researchers from the University of Edinburgh, who have just published their findings in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their extraction method could help recover about 300 tonnes of the precious metal used in electronics each year.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh say their method could help recover about 300 tonnes of the precious metal a year.

They estimate that electrical waste contains as much as 7% of all the world’s gold as the precious metal is a key component of the printed circuit boards found inside most modern devices.

The team’s proposed technique involves submerging printed circuit boards in a mild acid to dissolve the metal parts, before adding an oily liquid containing the team's chemical compound. That solution then helps extract gold selectively from the complex mixture of other metals, the researchers say.

The findings could aid the development of methods for large-scale recovery of gold and other precious metals from waste electronics, the team says.

"We are very excited about this discovery,” Professor Jason Love, who led the research, said in a statement. “We have shown that our fundamental chemical studies on the recovery of valuable metals from electronic waste could have potential economic and societal benefits."

The study, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is one of many staff and student-led initiatives at the University of Edinburgh to promote the so-called “circular economy,” which encourages reuse of materials and greater resource efficiency.

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Comment Apple veut traquer les voleurs d'iPhone grâce à la biométrie

Dans une demande de brevet déposée outre-Atlantique, Apple décrit un système de lutte contre le vol d'iPhone ou d'iPad qui s'appuie sur le capteur d'empreintes digitales, le GPS et l'appareil photo afin de collecter des informations sur l'auteur du larcin. Les données seraient transmises au...

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This Aussie miner will pay shareholders in gold

Shareholders in Australian junior Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) will now have the option of collecting dividend payments in gold, under a new policy announced Tuesday, which is believed to be a world first.

The gold miner, which has nine operations across Australia and Africa, said it would still offer shareholders the option to choose cash instead. The new sales-linked dividend strategy, however, will allow shareholders to pick up the company’s latest 1.7 cent a share dividend payout in bullion.

To be eligible, shareholders need to hold 5,000 or more shares in Resolute Mining and have an account with the Perth Mint.

Here is the catch: To complete the deal, shareholders need to hold 5,000 or more shares in the company and have an account with the Perth Mint so bullion can be deposited directly into their accounts.

Resolute chief executive officer John Welborn said its company’s strong performance, including a record 2016 profit of A$213 million, has allowed the adoption of this exclusive dividend policy.

He also said he expected the bullion option to appeal mainly to retail shareholders, adding that it would be interested to see whether institutions also proved keen to accumulate a direct holding in gold.

Resolute will pay out a total of A$11.1 million in dividends, which amounts to 2 percent of the gold miner's fiscal 2016 gold sales revenue of A$555 million. As of June 30, 2016, the junior had A$102 million in cash and bullion.

Shares in the company closed 6.8% higher in Sydney to A$1.88 on the news. So far this year, the company’s stock has gained 656%.

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Canada’s mining industry faces workers shortage of up to 127,000 — report

The average retiring worker takes with him 37 years of labour force experience, a loss the industry must offset, says the report. (Image from archives)

With commodity prices rebounding from their lowest in at least 25 years, miners are stepping up spending and considering the reactivation of projects placed in the back burner, but there is a new looming risk they don’t seem ready to deal with — their ability to access workers with the skills needed in an upswing.

That is the main conclusion of a recent report by Canada's Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), which warns about the immediate consequences of the lack of recruitment over the past five years.

In that period, Canada’s mining industry endured an economic downturn that continued throughout 2015. Due to this trend, a number of mining operations faced the decision to keep their operations running, but in less than optimal conditions. Others, particularly in the oil sands sector, simply scaled back production or to shut down their operations, laying off hundreds of workers.

As a consequence, mining employers face a cumulative hiring requirement of almost 86,000 workers under an industry contraction scenario, the report warns. The figure includes replacing about 49,000 workers over the next decade due to retirement.

Courtesy of Canada's Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), August 2016.

“At an average 37 years per person of experience this is a significant experience gap, layered onto the complexity of those occupations that show a gap in supply, where experience cannot be replaced by education,” the report says.

The authors warn that if the mining industry does return to growth, employers could then face a cumulative hiring requirement of up to 127,000 workers.

Gap sensitivity index

Occupational shortages will be different depending on the specific sector and the type of jobs to be filled, says the report, which includes a “gap sensitivity index”. The metric indicates the degree to which mining employers are vulnerable to a change in the inflow of new workers in particular occupations, concluding that “technicians,” “engineers” and “managers” continue to be the most sensitive positions, even in an industry contraction scenario.

Courtesy of Canada's Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), August 2016.

“During an economic downturn, a thin labour supply is less obvious and tends to be discounted, as workers are less in-demand,” says Ryan Montpellier, executive director, MiHR. “Over the long-term, industry will need to ensure that the talent pipeline is maintained, to avoid more serious labour market challenges when the market recovers– which it will inevitably do,” he notes.

The report warns that now, more than ever, Canada’s mining industry needs to be looking at its future labour market needs and putting in place collaborative strategies to ensure it has a robust, appropriately skilled supply of workers — both now and in the coming decade.

You can download the full report here.

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Cellules solaires : un design plus efficace et plus économique

Une équipe internationale de chercheurs pourrait bien être parvenue à réconcilier efficacité et coût en matière de solaire photovoltaïque. Elle a en effet développé une cellule multijonction bon marché et dont le taux de conversion est estimé à pas moins de 35 % !

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Cyprien Verseux raconte son séjour sur Mars… à Hawaï (MAJ)

La Nasa, bien décidée à envoyer des Hommes sur Mars pendant la décennie 2030, se prépare depuis plusieurs décennies à ce grand voyage plein d’éléments inconnus. Pour réduire ces incertitudes, elle organise des expériences en tout genre, dont une vient de prendre fin à Hawaï. Six...

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L'addiction au café est inscrite dans vos gènes

La génétique pourrait expliquer pourquoi certaines personnes boivent plus de café que d’autres : des chercheurs européens ont identifié un nouveau gène (PDSS2) associé à la consommation de café, et impliqué dans le métabolisme de la caféine.

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Ritchie Bros. buys IronPlanet for US$758.5 million

Ritchie Bros. (NYSE:RBA) will acquire IronPlanet for US$758.5 million cash.

The Burnaby-based industrial auctioneer, which began in Kelowna in 1955, has 110 locations worldwide and a market cap of $3.14 billion.

Ritchie Bros. closed the day up 1.51% to $28.89.

Ritchie Bros. intends to finance the transaction through a combination of cash on hand and new debt.

Gregory J. Owens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IronPlanet, will join Ritchie Bros.'s executive team once the transaction is completed.

IronPlanet, a private company based in the United States that was founded in 1999, sold approximately US$787 million of gross merchandise value through its sales channels during 2015 and achieved a 25.2% compounded growth rate in assets sold from 2013 through 2015.

The deal represents a 13.0x multiple of IronPlanet's 2017 estimated adjusted EBITDA, inclusive of the expected $100 million net present value of tax synergies and $20 million in run-rate cost synergies.

Ritchie Bros. also announced that it would become Caterpillar's preferred global partner for live onsite and online auctions under the agreement, which will take effect upon completion of the IronPlanet acquisition.

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Why Samarco tailings dam failed

Samarco failed after some small earthquakes caused an already stressed tailings dam to liquify, according to the Fundão Tailings Dam Review Panel that released its findings today.

The panel review was formed by the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, which was retained by Vale and BHP Billiton. Chair of the panel is Norbert Morgenstern, who also conducted a review into the cause of the failure of the Mount Polley tailings dam in 2014. The panel did not assign liability or fault for the Samarco failure.

The panel found that three small seismic shocks triggered the collapse, but the dam's failure was "already well advanced" caused by a string of design and maintenance failures.

The tailings dam became stressed through a series of "construction defects" stretching back to 2009 that "introduced the potential for sand liquefaction."

"The first incident occurred in 2009 shortly after the Starter Dam was completed," writes the panel in its report. The starter dam was eventually subsumed by the larger dam as more capacity was added.

"Due to construction defects in the base drain, the dam was so badly damaged that the original concept could no longer be implemented. Instead, a revised design substituted a new drainage blanket at a higher elevation.

"Together with the revised design there was a fundamental change in the design concept whereby more widespread saturation was allowed and accepted. This increase in the extent of saturation introduced the potential for sand liquefaction."

The Fundão tailings dam in 2015 before its failure

The report finds later mishaps: deposition of slimes in areas that were not not intended and structural problems with the concrete conduit that caused the dam to be raised over the slimes.

By 2015 parts of the dam were already in a precarious state and eventual failure was already "well advanced". Three small seismic shocks caused the dam to fail:

Computer modeling showed that the earthquake forces produced an additional increment of horizontal movement in the slimes that correspondingly affected the overlying sands. Although the movements are quite small and the associated uncertainties large, this additional movement is likely to have accelerated the failure process that was already well advanced.

Hence the failure of the Fundão tailings dam by liquefaction flowsliding was the consequence of a chain of events and conditions. A change in design brought about an increase in saturation which introduced the potential for liquefaction. As a result of various developments, soft slimes encroached into unintended areas on the left abutment of the dam and the embankment alignment was set back from its originally-planned location. As a result of this setback, slimes existed beneath the embankment and were subjected to the loading its raising imposed. This initiated a mechanism of extrusion of the slimes and pulling apart of the sands as the embankment height increased. With only a small additional increment of loading produced by the earthquakes, the triggering of liquefaction was accelerated and the flowslide initiated.

There is an excellent step-by-step video showing the series of mishaps leading to the failure.

The panel chairman sums up the findings of the panel in the video below.

Image of Samarco dam failure aftermath from Wikipedia.

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BHP whistleblower paid $3.7 million

The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that the US Securities and Exchange Commission paid an unnamed whistleblower at BHP Billiton $3.75 million relating to a bribery investigation at the world's top mining company going back more than eight years.

"Citing legal sources, the newspaper report said it was the first time an employee of an Australian company had received a U.S. whistleblower bounty," according to Reuters. Melbourne-based BHP told the newswire that it had not been aware that a whistleblower had been part of the investigation.

BHP last year paid $25 million to settle charges relating to the probe that it violated a U.S. anti-bribery law by paying for dozens of foreign government officials from Asia and Africa to attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The SEC concluded that BHP violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as it sponsored the bill government officials to attend the sports event, while they were in position to help the company's business and regulatory endeavours.

The SEC said it found out that BHP invited 176 government officials and employees of state-owned enterprises to attend the Games at the company's expense, but it ended up paying for only 60 of them, as well as some spouses and others who attended along with such guests.

“BHP Billiton recognized that inviting government officials to the Olympics created a heightened risk of violating anti-corruption laws, yet the company failed to implement sufficient internal controls to address that heightened risk,” said the SEC in a statement.

As part of the settlement, BHP neither admitted nor denied the SEC's findings. However, the deal requires the company to report to the SEC on the operation of its FCPA and anti-corruption compliance program for a one-year period.

In a separate statement, BHP Billiton said it had no independent compliance function at the time of its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. Instead, accountability for complying with the company's anti-corruption policies was vested in its operating business units.

In 2010, BHP revealed it was conducting its own internal investigation in response to inquiries from US authorities. The probe, said the company at the time, had uncovered evidence "regarding possible violations of applicable anti-corruption laws involving interactions with government officials."

BHP supplied the materials for gold, silver and bronze medals used in the 2008 Beijing Games.

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World's largest gold mine could come under threat

In an unprecedented move on Sunday, authorities in Uzbekistan released a statement that Islam Karimov, President of central Asia's largest state, has been hospitalized suffering from a brain hemorrhage.

Karimov, 78, who became president as the Soviet Union was breaking up, has no clear successor and his illness raises fears a power vacuum and the influx of radical Islamist groups.

Foreign Policy reports since assuming the presidency in 1991, the Uzbek leader has "focused on consolidating power in the most brutal ways, including deadly crackdowns, such as the 2005 Andijan massacre":

"With no pre-set procedures of succession and a complete lack of experience in holding open elections, anyone who comes to power will continue the same level of political repression or engage in even harsher methods"

"Over the last 25 years, the president and his ruling circle of former Soviet intelligence operatives have developed a vast system of repression that monitors the activities of any opponent to the regime — real or perceived."

Erica Marat, an assistant professor at the National Defense University, told Foreign Policy “there will be losers from Karimov’s demise no matter how smoothly succession takes place":

"With no pre-set procedures of succession and a complete lack of experience in holding open elections, anyone who comes to power will continue the same level of political repression or engage in even harsher methods.”

The nation of 31 million people, representing more than half the population of the central Asia region, is one of the poorest in the world with gross domestic product of $1,800 per head or just 15% of the world average. Uzbekistan has also been hard hit by economic slowdown in its two largest trading partners Russia and China. Many Uzbeks who've been working on Russian oilfields have returned home, while Chinese imports of Uzbek resources have also moderated.

NBC News reports despite the brutal crackdown on religious groups and dissidents the threat of radicalization and terror remains and "jihadism remains an attractive ideology due to the region's poverty and despotism":

"An attack attributed to a sleeper jihadist cell killed eight in Kazakhstan in June. A prominent police official in Tajikistan — a country that lived through a jihad-tinged civil war in the 1990s — defected to ISIS last year.

Image: Wikimedia

"Post-Soviet Central Asia has provided thousands recruits to ISIS, and some prominent local Islamist groups — such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan — have pledged allegiance to ISIS.

"An estimated 13,000 people have been jailed since 1991 for their religious convictions in Uzbekistan, according to local rights activists. Between 150 and 1,800 were killed in 2005 in what the Uzbek government said was an Islamist uprising and many locals described as peaceful protest."

Not only is Muruntau the world's largest gold mine producing more than twice as much as its nearest rival but the mine also boasts the globe's largest reserves of roughly 170 million ounces  

Muruntau's unique steep incline conveyer. Image: Navoi

Mining is a big source of revenue for the country with the state mining company Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat controlling 48 mines and processing facilities producing copper, lead, molybdenum, zinc, bismuth, tellurium, bismuth and uranium mines besides precious metals. The country is the world's number seven producer of uranium and 12th largest producer of gold.

Gold output grew by more than 4% in 2014 to more than 80 tonnes or 2.8 million ounces worth $3.7 billion per year. Nearly all the country's gold is produced at the giant Muruntau mine which has been in operation since 1967.

Not only is Muruntau the world's largest gold mine producing more than twice as much as its nearest rival (and at some of the cheapest cost per ounce anywhere in the world), but the mine also boasts the planet's largest reserves of roughly 170 million ounces.

The Muruntau mining complex consists of a huge open-pit mine measuring 3.35km in length, 2.5km width and a 560m depth, making it one of the deepest in the world.

Due to depletion of oxide reserves, Navoi recently commissioned world’s biggest BIOX (bacterial oxidation, a biohydrometallurgical process developed for pre-cyanidation treatment) plant.

Image: Mining Atlas

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Juno nous montre Jupiter de près (MAJ)

Arrivée autour de Jupiter le 5 juillet, la sonde Juno va très bien. Le 27 août, elle a achevé avec succès sa première orbite autour de la planète géante. L’exploration approfondie a d’ores et déjà commencé.

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Canada's Ivanhoe Mines to hire strategic adviser after unsolicited interest

Shares in Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) were soaring Monday morning after the Canadian miner revealed it would seek “strategic advice” after receiving “unsolicited interest” in the company and its projects.

Mining veteran Robert Friedland, the Vancouver-based miner chief executive, said the firm would likely hire an investment bank to advise the board on all strategic options for Ivanhoe.

The company stock was trading more than 10% higher from Friday close at Cdn$1.84 at 10:07 am ET. So far this year, the miner’s shares have jumped 197%.

Ivanhoe’s Kamoa project in the DRC is believed to be the world's largest undeveloped high-grade copper deposit.

The announcement comes only days after the company released fresh drilling results from the Kakula area of its giant Kamoa copper project in Congo, which Ivanhoe said at the time it could prove the discovery is Africa's most significant deposit of the red metal ever found.

“The mining industry has taken notice of our company,” Friedland said in the news release. “Our remarkable Kakula Discovery on the Central African Copperbelt certainly is helping to generate attention,” he noted.

The Kakula discovery represents a major extension of the Kamoa copper deposit, which Ivanhoe Mines found in 2008.

According to Friedland, the firm has received several “unsolicited inquiries” from “significant mining industry participants” in Asia, Europe, Africa and elsewhere.

“In response, our board has taken the prudent decision to seek strategic advice,” he said.

Ivanhoe Mines, which has a market value of $1 billion (Cdn$1.42 billion) in Toronto as of Monday morning, owns three major projects in sub-Saharan Africa: the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper discovery in South Africa; upgrading and exploration at the Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in Congo, and the touted mine development and exploration Kamoa copper project also in the DRC.

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Après l'impression 3D, l'impression 4D ? (MAJ)

Le terme d’impression 4D est employé dans le cas d’une impression 3D à partir de matériaux dits « à mémoire de forme ». Ceux-ci sont programmés pour changer de forme dans le temps – la quatrième dimension dont il est question ici –, sous l’effet de la température, par exemple. Si certains...

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Alrosa diamond sales drop in second quarter on fading demand

Russia’s Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world's top diamond producer by output in carats, reported Monday a 21% drop in sales from April to June when compared to the previous quarter, on what the company called “fading” demand for rough diamonds.

Net profit for the period, however, increased substantially — up 61% from a year ago to 40.5 billion roubles ($625 million), helped partly by the rouble's weakness against the US dollar. Yet the figure is 19% lower than the record high profit recorded in the first quarter of the year.

Alrosa, which together with De Beers controls almost two-thirds of the diamond market, said it maintains a “conservative outlook” on the diamond market going forward. It also said it continues to executes cost control measures.

Last month, Russia completed the sale of a 10.9% stake in the state-controlled miner for 52.2 billion roubles ($813.05 million). The move was the first of a series of planned partial privatizations of state-owned companies to cover the country’s budget deficit, which is suffering from weak prices for its main export — crude oil.

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Pegasus, le logiciel espion qui fait trembler Apple

Apple vient de corriger en urgence trois failles de sécurité majeures exploitées par un logiciel espion redoutablement performant nommé Pegasus. Mis au point par NSO Group, une entreprise israélienne spécialisée dans la création d’outils d’écoutes électroniques pour les États, ce malware...

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Australian fund takes over Anglo American’s Foxleigh coal mine

Embattled miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) completed Monday the sale of its 70% stake in an open cut coal mine in Queensland, Australia to a joint venture led by fund manager Taurus Fund Management.

The disposal of the Foxleigh coal mine is part of Anglo’s recently announced massive and complete exit from coal.

While the sum was not disclosed, Anglo had said the new owners included Middlemount South Pty (a subsidiary of Taurus Funds Management), POSCO and Nippon Steel.

Anglo bought its majority stake in Foxleigh mine for $620 million in 2007 under former chief executive Cynthia Carroll.

According to Middlemount South chief operating officer, Scott Graham, the company plans to keep the mine in production, and meet all current sales contracts.

“This is an exciting time for Middlemount South as we get our feet under the desk and begin to fully investigate current operations,” Graham said in an e-mailed statement.

Anglo American bought its majority stake in Foxleigh for $620 million in 2007 under former chief executive Cynthia Carroll in a bid to grow its share of the coal market. The mine produces around 2.5 million tonnes of the steel-making commodity a year.

Mark Cutifani, Anglo’s chief executive, expects the company to generate between $3bn and $4bn from asset sales this year. In the six months to June 30 this year, the miner reported an $813 million loss, significantly less than the $3 billion it logged in the same period last year.

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La fosse des Mariannes, l'endroit le plus profond du monde

La fosse des Mariannes, située dans l'océan Pacifique, révèle peu à peu ses mystères au fil des explorations. La dernière cartographie, datant de 2012, a permis de préciser la valeur de la plus grande profondeur des océans, jusque-là mal connue. L'endroit le plus profond du monde, nommé...

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Quelles sont les fournitures scolaires dangereuses à éviter ?

Une enquête réalisée par UFC-Que Choisir sur 52 articles de fournitures scolaires s’inquiète de la présence dans 19 de ces produits de substances toxiques, cancérogènes et allergènes. L'association dénonce un manque de législation dans ce domaine.

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Derniers préparatifs d'Osiris-Rex avant son départ pour un astéroïde

La prochaine mission de la Nasa va susciter un très grand intérêt. Le 8 septembre prochain, l’Agence spatiale lancera sa première sonde conçue pour récupérer des échantillons de la surface d’un astéroïde et les rapporter sur Terre. En attendant de vous en donner plus détail, voici un aperçu en...

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Don't go long on iron ore: Aussie bank

Along with gold and silver, iron ore may be a darling among commodities this year, but don't expect the good times to continue into 2017.

That is according to Westpac Banking Corp., which forecasts the benchmark price to fall below last year's low of $38.30 a tonne. In a note, the Australian bank predicts a rough ride for the steelmaking commodity over the next seven months, due to a perfect storm of weak demand, strong supply and building inventories at Chinese ports. Bloomberg quotes the bank saying that iron ore will fall to an average $47 in the fourth quarter, fizzle out the year at $37, and flatten to $38 a tonne in Q1 2017.

"The way prices are moving right now, they're not going against that per se, but if you're looking for a bet further out, the thing they are not recommending is that you go too long."

Sitting at around $61 a tonne, iron ore seems to be holding strong amid a Chinese stimulus package, but that stimulus may soon be coming to an end, Citi Bank said last week. Citing the same reasons as Westpac, Citi believes iron ore will average $51 a tonne in the final quarter of the year and $45 in 2017.

Their views are backed by BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT), the world’s largest mining company and the No.3 iron ore producer, which has repeatedly said prices for the commodity will remain low for at least another ten years due to oversupply.

Bloomberg analyst Joe Deaux said some believe demand for iron ore can sustain itself into 2017, due for example to continued stimulus in China to support economic growth. Another factor is steel exports. If more steel is exported out of China into other markets, that could drive down the price of steel, and along with it iron ore, a key ingredient. Others like Citi see oversupply as the main culprit, citing more production from Vale (NYSE:VALE) and at Roy Hill, the recently-opened mine in Australia that is majority-owned by Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

"The way prices are moving right now, they're not going against that per se, but if you're looking for a bet further out, the thing they are not recommending is that you go too long," Deaux said in a video interview.

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Parked-up equipment a boon for some

Despite a few commodity price run-ups, miners continue to labour under a downturn, with most having to make adjustments in how they manage their mining equipment.

Where equipment four years ago was running full tilt as producers sought to maximize profits to capture high commodity prices, now much of that equipment is sitting idle, or “parked up” – waiting for the day when a resurgent iron ore, gold or coal price revs its engine back to life.

Of the 42,000 haul trucks over 100 tonnes deployed to the world’s mines, an estimated 35 percent are currently gathering dust.

“What we've seen this year, at both our auctions and our competitors’, is a gradual move up the value chain as people get more desperate to sell bigger trucks which aren’t selling.” – Silas Berry, Liquidity Services 

While idle equipment is certainly bad news for mine owners, all that surplus machinery – everything from haul trucks and excavators to screening plants and crushers – is turning into a boon for auction houses who are seeing a big increase in the number of lots for certain pieces of equipment as mine owners take to the digital marketplace to rid themselves of surplus capital goods.

In the past, almost all major transactions of used mining equipment were negotiated sales; either directly between mining companies or through brokers and agents.

But the market has changed dramatically. The long lead times to purchase new equipment in 2012-13 are gone and there is no longer a shortage of new and used equipment. An enormous amount of equipment is currently sitting idle in mines all over the world, but the largest concentration appears to be in Australia.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT), one of the world’s largest companies to manage, value and sell capital assets – and the biggest auctioneer by far in Asia – estimates the net book value of mining equipment that is no longer in service or severely under-utilized in Australia is currently well over AUD$2 billion and rising.

Unsurprisingly, the highest-value equipment sitting idle are haul trucks and mining shovels.

Where miners four years ago could negotiate with other mining or service companies when buying or selling equipment, now that equipment is getting harder to unload, with so much of it available on the used market. That is especially true for large equipment, particularly haul trucks.

“There’s an enormous difference between now and 2012. The biggest trend is that bigger and bigger items have suddenly appeared in the auction space,” says Silas Berry, the Australia-based director of mining practice at Liquidity Services.

In a recent interview with MINING.com, Berry said in 2012 virtually no-one was selling haul trucks at auction, with the vast majority sold by private negotiation.

Caterpillar's Ultra-class 797 haul trucks is the highest-value truck currently being auctioned, and is a strong seller. In contrast, there is almost no demand for the ubiquitous Cat 777s.

“What we've seen this year, at both our auctions and our competitors’, is a gradual move up the value chain as people get more desperate to sell bigger trucks which aren’t selling. That traditional method [by private negotiation] that worked very well in boom times for getting rid of surplus isn’t working anymore. Increasingly everyone is trying to reach global markets and the best way to do that is through online auctions.”

Based in Washington DC, Liquidity Services came onto the auction scene in 1999, as liquidation.com. The company conducts an average half-a-million transactions per year and to date, has sold over $6 billion in gross merchandise volume. Assets are sold via two marketplaces: GoIndustry DoveBid (www.go-dove.com) and Network International (networkintl.com); for certain pieces of equipment, bids will be entertained on both web portals.

Normally, Liquidity Services will list the equipment on its site for two weeks, during which time it is available for physical inspection. Bidding usually takes place over four to five days, up to a fixed deadline.

The company will also act as an agent for the seller, which could be a mining company or mining services company, in which case it will photograph, inspect and market the equipment online.

Berry said it makes sense for Liquidity Services’ mining and large construction division to be focused on Asia, since the region is, for the most part, the buyer of used mining equipment from the developed world. Canada, Australia, South Africa and South America are also big markets for Liquidity Services.

The collapse of commodity prices across the board has not only affected producers but also mining service companies, which often are the firms operating mines and buying equipment. While the mine owners – the likes of BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE:RIO) – have deep pockets that can withstand a sustained downturn, the same cannot be said of mining services companies, and this has resulted in a shakeout of the services segment. As consolidations have occurred, a lot of equipment has become surplus and is ending up at auction.

Because of the widespread availability of used equipment, the major manufacturers are deeply discounting new equipment to try to clear inventory that they have been stuck with.

In the boom times, companies could afford to buy new fleets, but that isn’t the case anymore. Now, everyone is out to cut costs, and buying used equipment is one way to get an edge over the competition.

“The smart contractors are working out that if they buy a second-hand excavator at 60 or 70 percent of new costs, they quote at considerably less than their colleagues who are offering to do it with a new excavator,” says Berry. “That’s how the smart mining services companies are surviving. They’re going out and buying good-quality used equipment at a fraction of the price their competitors are paying for new equipment, and that difference enables them to make a margin at a lower cost.”

Another factor working in their favour: Because of the widespread availability of used equipment, the major manufacturers are deeply discounting new equipment to try to clear inventory that they have been stuck with, due to cancelled orders and the fall-off in demand.

Berry says now is an excellent time to pick up a used piece of mining equipment at auction, but for sellers, much depends on the type of equipment.

Late-model (under 10,000 operating hours) Caterpillar D11 dozers are in demand, but older models and D10s (over 12,000 operating hours) seem to still be falling in price, as more and more appear on the market.

With haul trucks, different segments of the market have also reacted differently to the slowdown. The 100-tonne-capacity Cat 777 has been the workhorse for many mining services companies over the last 30 years but with the closure of so many smaller mines and the cancellation of contracts, it is now perhaps the hardest of all trucks to sell. According to Liquidity Services, there are just too many available and even units with very low hours are selling for a fraction of new cost.

At the other end of the scale, the Caterpillar 400-tonne capacity 797 ‘Ultra’ class haul truck is in demand. There are far less of these in the market and low operating costs make them attractive to miners and contractors who have the right opportunities for them.

The 797 is also the highest-valued piece of mining equipment sold at auction. With the haul trucks running between $4 and $5 million new, they command an enviable second-hand price, and are usually sold in multiples. “Most of the time you sell 2 or 4 or 6 as part of an excavator circuit,” says Berry.

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La taille de l'univers visible doit-elle être revue à la baisse ?

Un chercheur états-unien et son étudiant pensent qu’il faut revoir la taille de l’horizon cosmologique ainsi que celle de l’univers visible à cause des données de Planck. Qu’ils aient raison ou non, c’est l’occasion de se pencher sur ces notions et pourquoi le rayon de l’univers observable vaut...

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Parrot Disco : une étonnante aile volante

Dévoilé au Consumer Electronics Show (CES) de Las Vegas en janvier 2016 et présenté comme une aile volante pour être en immersion avec les oiseaux, le Parrot Disco FPV va être commercialisé à partir de septembre sous la forme d’un pack comportant le drone mais aussi une télécommande et un...

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Grâce à Mars 2020, nous entendrons les sons martiens pour la première fois

Après plusieurs essais infructueux, la Nasa a décidé d'ajouter un microphone à l’instrument SuperCam, embarqué sur le rover de la mission Mars 2020. L'appareil, qui sera réalisé par le Cnes et l’ISAE-Supaéro, ne servira pas qu'à restituer une ambiance sonore. Il complètera aussi l'analyse des...

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Des traces de rivières géantes sur Mars

Une équipe de chercheurs ayant identifié un vaste réseau de rivières fossilisées sur Mars défend l’hypothèse que la Planète rouge a été, il y a un peu moins de 4 milliards d’années, un peu plus bleue, car plus chaude et humide.

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Civilisation précolombienne : un précieux manuscrit mixtèque enfin déchiffré

Des chercheurs ont réussi à révéler ce qui se cachait sous l’un des cinq manuscrits rescapés des Mixtèques, cette civilisation précolombienne. Les pictogrammes offrent un rare témoignage qui pourrait se révéler très précieux pour l’interprétation des vestiges archéologiques du sud du Mexique.

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Top 5 des aliments à éviter au supermarché

Vous voulez mettre toutes les chances de votre côté pour rester en bonne santé ? Voici cinq aliments à ne jamais mettre dans votre caddie, parce qu’ils sont riches en sucres, graisses ou sel.

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Whether Clinton or Trump wins the election, US coal’s future is dark

The US mining industry value (MIV) will continue to decline regardless of the results of the US presidential election in November 2016, according to a new report from BMI Research. Of all the commodities, coal is the one that will continue to suffer the most. The decline could be greater with a Democrat in the White House, as the current high price of mining is likely to rise even more. On the other hand, a win for the Democrats could lead to an improvement in the outlook for the steel sector.

BMI’s prediction for the US focuses on coal, which made up 45% of the MIV in 2015. Other mining operations attract less political scrutiny, and will likely be less impacted by the election results. BMI predicts a continued decline for coal due to weak prices for thermal and metallurgical coal; significant coal stockpiles; and competition from cheap natural gas.

BMI is cautiously confident about a win for Democrat Hilary Clinton, giving her a 65% probability of winning. They also predict that the Democrats will take back control of the Senate. However, they expect the Republicans to retain control of the House of Representatives.

For the MIV, the most significant difference between a Republican and a Democratic win will be the impact on environmental regulations. The Obama administration has tightened environmental regulations, hastening the decline of the MIV by raising prices and pushing coal out of the power mix. These regulations could tighten further if Clinton wins – BMI forecasts a medium chance that Clinton will enact her environmental policies, which would exacerbate the decline of coal.

On the other hand, there is a more promising outlook for steel. First, Clinton is strongly opposed to foreign steel dumping. Second, BMI predicts a medium chance she will get her infrastructure spending plan through Congress. She will most likely not get the full USD275bn she proposed in November 2015, but even partial funding will be good for the steel sector, as a pillar of Clinton’s plan is bolstering domestic steel demands. This will not have an immediate impact, but could mean that the steel sector will start to grow again sooner than 2019 (the date BMI previously predicted).

If Republican Donald Trump wins, this could be better for mining, as he will attempt to loosen or even dismantle environmental regulations. If both houses of Congress are Republican (and there is only a 15% chance of this, according to the BMI), Trump will have more success. However, dismantling regulations will not be sufficient to offset the market factors that are forcing coal down. The best that can be expected is that the decline will slow down. So despite Trump’s promises, lay-offs in the coal mining industry will continue.

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Striking Bolivian miners lift roadblock after killing country’s deputy minister

Striking Bolivian miners lifted Friday a roadblock where violent protests took place this week, a day after kidnapping and allegedly torturing and beating to death the country’s deputy interior minister, Rodolfo Illanes.

The miners, who have been demanding more mining concessions, the right to work for private companies, and greater union representation, seized Illanes (56) and his bodyguard early Thursday in Panduro, south of capital La Paz, Peruvian paper El Comercio reported (in Spanish).

He had traveled to the area to negotiate with the miners. His body was found in the early morning by the side of the highway that connects La Paz with the city of Oruro, wrapped in a blanket, Bolivia TV showed:

President Evo Morales called the brutal act a "political conspiracy,” criticizing the "cowardly attitude" of the protesters and insisting on that his government had "always been open" to negotiation, paper La Demajuana reported (in Spanish).

Long-running tensions between miners and the government over strict regulations approved in 2014 grew increasingly violent over the past few days.

Two miners were killed Wednesday after shots were fired by police, Reuters reported.

After Illanes' death, Defense Minister Reymi Ferreira broke down on national television.

"This crime will not go unpunished," Ferreira said, telling audiences that about 100 people have been arrested.

Attorney General Hector Arce called Illanes "a great man and lawyer who served his country," vowing that justice would be served.

On Twitter, Attorney General Hector Arce called Illanes "a great man and lawyer who served his country," vowing that justice would be served.

Mining is deeply embedded in Bolivia's national identity. During colonial times, so much silver was shipped from mines in the southern region of Potosi to Europe that people used to say a bridge of pure silver could be built from the top of Cerro Rico Mountain to the royal palace's entrance in Spain.

But that boom came at an extremely high price tag — an estimated eight million slaves died in Potosi alone between 1500 and 1800 AD.

By the time mining was nationalized after the 1952 national revolution, tin had long since ousted silver as the main mineral product. In the 1980s a sharp fall in commodity prices led to a shutdown of the government mines, displacing 25,000 salaried miners.

Bolivian mining cooperatives account for about 35% of the country’s mining output. They are tax-exempt organizations and pay royalties at lower rates than other mining companies.

The industry was privatized again 1990s under neoliberal structural adjustment policies that ended up destroying Bolivia's miners-led revolutionary trade union movement, once the most combative in Latin America.

When Morales, Morales, South America's first indigenous President, took office in 2006, he hiked mining taxes for foreigners and nationalized the country’s key natural gas industry. He also expropriated the telecommunications and electricity sectors, and seized and nationalized assets, including those of Vancouver-based South American Silver Corp. (TSX:SAC) in 2012, and Glencore’s (LON: GLEN), which recently announced it was taking Bolivia to an international court over the issue.

Bolivian mining cooperatives account for about 35% of the country’s mining output. They are tax-exempt organizations and pay royalties at lower rates than other mining companies.

Though rich in mineral and energy resources, data from the Unicef shows that Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the weakest economy in all of South America.

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Higher gold price will add 10m annual ounces by 2020

Gold was treading water on Friday exchanging hands for $1,330 in afternoon trade in New York. Gold is coming off two-year highs hit early this month and year to date the metal is still up more than 25% or $270 an ounce.

Gold's best first half since 1980's banner year when the inflation-adjust gold price topped $2,000 an ounce has sparked fresh investment in the sector with a new report forecasting steady production growth through 2020.

BMI Research, a division of Fitch, predicts in a new report that gold miners will add 10 million ounces or more than 280 tonnes to global production with average annual growth of 2.7% for a total of 110 million ounces or 3,118 tonnes yearly output by 2020. This represents a slight deceleration in growth rate compared the previous five-year average of 3.2%.

Projects expected to add substantial ounces to global gold production before the end of the decade include Endeavour Mining's Hounde project in Burkina Faso, Goldcorp and Teck's Corridor JV in Chile and Torex Gold Resources giant El-Limon-Guajes ramp up to full production.  Beyond 2020, Continental Gold's Buritica project, Phase 2 at Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia and Barrick's Goldrush in the US would further boost production.

BMI is bullish on the outlook for gold prices, saying that gold prices bottomed in 2015 and will edge higher over the coming quarters. The firm forecasts an average of $1,300 per ounce in 2016 increasing to $1,500 by 2020. Gold averaged $1,160 last year.

 

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Samarco restart still a year away

The Samarco iron ore mine  in Brazil – a joint venture Vale (NYSE:VALE) and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) – is likely to resume operations only by mid-2017 André Figueiredo, Vale's head of investor relations told an investors meeting on Friday.

Samarco Mineracao ceased operations in November last year following a deadly tailings dam burst.

At 30 million tonnes per year before the disaster Samarco's pelletizing operations supplied roughly one-fifth of the seaborne trade in the steelmaking raw material that  attracts a premium price over iron ore fines and lump ore. Earlier Samarco said that should the mine reopen output would likely be capped at 19 million tonnes per year.

According to a separate report is in talks to restructure $2.2 billion in debt and last month BHP made provisions for potential losses relating to the Samarco disaster of $1.1–$1.3 billion, a similar figure to that booked by Vale.

A Brazilian judge on in June dismissed a civil lawsuit brought by the National Humanitarian Society in December seeking environmental and property damages amounting to billion reais (roughly $5.8 billion) against Samarco, in which Vale and BHP each own 50%.

Another civil lawsuit brought by Brazilian prosecutors for 155 billion reais (around $45 billion today) against the two companies and Samarco, Brazil’s federal government along with the Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo state governments is still being considered. Demands include an upfront payment of $2.2 billion.

In March Vale and BHP reached a deal with Brazilian authorities and the mine owners agreeing to pay an estimated 24 billion reais or $6.2 billion spread out over several years. Samarco committed to providing $1.1 billion through 2018 into a fund for clean up costs and amounts between $200 million and $400 million to 2021.

The disaster in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state that killed 19 people caused sludge to wash downstream into neighbouring state Espírito Santo through remote mountain valleys reaching the Atlantic ocean 600 kilometres away.

In January BHP said the tailing waste spill was much smaller than previously determined. The volume of tailings material released when two dams were breached was about 32m cubic metres. Initial estimates were put as high as 60m cubic metres. Samarco also found that approximately 85% of the released tailings were retained within 85 kilometres of the Fundão dam.

The benchmark Chinese import price for iron ore fines dropped by more than 3% on Friday, to just below the $60 at tonne level on Friday, but is still up nearly 60% from a decade low struck in December.

 

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Peut-on produire du carburant avec du sable ?

La production d'énergie solaire est intermittente. Une solution pour résoudre ce problème serait de la stocker sous forme de carburant, tout en réduisant les émissions de CO2, voire la quantité de celui contenu dans l'atmosphère. Des chimistes canadiens sont sur une piste prometteuse à partir du...

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Des déchets électroniques pour fabriquer les médailles de JO de Tokyo

Les organisateurs des prochains Jeux olympiques de Tokyo (2020) ont eu une idée des plus astucieuses pour se procurer l’or, l’argent et le bronze nécessaires à la fabrication des médailles : le recyclage des déchets électroniques dont le pays regorge. Reste à mettre en place un système de...

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Kinross Gold halts Maricunga mine in Chile, lays off 300 workers

Kinross Gold (TSE:K) (NYSE:KGC), the world's fifth largest miner of the precious metal by output, has suspended operations at its main mine in Chile earlier than planned after a court upheld the country’s regulator (SMA) decision to shut down the water system linked to the operation over environmental concerns.

The Canadian miner, which disputes the regulator’s accusations of alleged environmental damage, said the move would result in about 300 workers being laid off.

Suspension of Maricunga comes earlier than planned after a court upheld the country’s regulator decision to shut down the water system linked to the mine over environmental concerns.

The suspension of operations at Maricunga, originally scheduled for the fourth quarter, is unlikely to affect its 2016 production and cost forecast, Kinross said in a statement.

Chile's SMA shut down the water system attached to the mine in March, which forced Kinross to suspend mining in May. Operations had resumed last month, but a slower pace and subject to ongoing regulatory proceedings.

The Toronto-based company noted that the Atacama Region, where Maricunga is located, has been the victim of a sustained drought, adding that the resulting drop in groundwater levels was unrelated to the operation.

The mid-size mine produced 44,304 gold equivalent ounces in the second quarter, down from 47,713 ounces in the same period last year. That is equivalent to about 6% of Kinross' total output of 671,267 ounces.

The company also has mines and projects in Brazil, Russia, Ghana, the US and Mauritania. In the later, it has recently restarted its Tasiast mine after a short-term suspension caused by an expatriate work permit issue.

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Le surpoids augmente la probabilité de développer des cancers

Plusieurs liens entre obésité et cancers ont été établis. Une nouvelle étude estime que les personnes en surpoids ont des risques plus importants de développer des cancers. Elle recense huit types de cancers de plus par rapport aux études précédentes.

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Greffe de rein : des patients obèses opérés par un robot au CHU de Toulouse

Le CHU de Toulouse a réalisé deux interventions inédites en Europe : deux greffes rénales assistées par un robot chez des patients obèses, normalement non éligibles à la transplantation du fait de leur surpoids.




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Ils ont réussi à rendre du bois… transparent ! (MAJ)

Un temps délaissé au profit de matériaux réputés plus modernes, le bois pourrait bien opérer un véritable retour en force. Naturel, écologique, renouvelable, robuste et durable, le bois a en effet de quoi séduire. D’autant que des chercheurs sont récemment parvenus à le rendre transparent. Ce...

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La chine dévoile des informations inédites sur sa mission martienne de 2020

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Mining has nothing to fear from Fed rate hikes

The prices of gold and copper are down ahead of the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's much anticipated annual speech on the direction of monetary policy.

Source: Allianz Global Investors, Bloomberg, Datastream, BofA Merrill Lynch. Global equities, Emerging Market equities and global government bond returns in local currency

The consensus seems to have shifted in favour of earlier interest rate hikes than markets have been expecting and the feverish speculation about what will transpire at Jackson Hole has seen an old research report being passed around again.

Two years ago Allianz Global Investors released an excellent study comparing the returns of different asset classes during Fed rate-hike cycles. The German firm with assets under management of $521 billion, looked at the six tightening periods since 1983.

The author of the report Martin Hochstein, Senior Strategist, said "conventional wisdom seems to suggest that a tightening of monetary policy should weigh on financial markets in general and risky assets in particular. The good news is that this assumption is not corroborated by historical evidence":

Commodities – and notably industrial metals and energy, which are the most growth-sensitive subsectors – did particularly well, with an average gain of more than 25%.

While that bodes well for metals and mining stocks, Hochstein does warn that the current rate hike cycle is different given the unconventional policies like quantitative easing that the Fed has employed (not to mention past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results).

Source: Allianz Global Investors

Click here for the full report.

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Marathon shares spike on Newfoundland gold recoveries

Marathon Gold Corp (TSE:MOZ) stock surged as much 13.2% on Thursday after releasing results from metallurgical test work at its Valentine Gold Camp located in central Newfoundland.

In afternoon trade the small-cap changed hands at $0.77, on the Toronto Stock Exchange before paring some of those gains, affording the company a market worth of $123.4 million. Marathon's shares are up five-fold this year on the back of stellar drilling results at Valentine.

On Thursday, the Toronto-based firm released positive results from its 2016 metallurgical test program, costs of which is being paid in part by the Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Tests yielded high gold recoveries from the Marathon Deposit using a combination of conventional gold pre-concentration and leaching technologies according to the company. The latest results also indicate similar recovery rates  as was developed for high-grade zones at its Leprechaun Deposit during the third quarter of 2014.

Taken together, the Leprechaun and Marathon deposits comprise more than 90% of the resources at the Valentine Gold Camp in central Newfoundland:

59.4% of the gold in the Marathon sample was recovered by gravity separation. Flotation of a gold concentrate from the Marathon sample resulted in a gold recovery of 94.7% in a concentrate grading 89.2 g/t. Cyanide leaching of the flotation concentrate using carbon-in-leach (“CIL”) under varying conditions produced extraction of gold from the concentrate ranging from 94.4% to 98.6%.

The combined extraction of gold by flotation followed by cyanide leaching of the concentrate resulted in recoveries that ranged from 89.4% to 93.4% without treatment of the tailings. CIL processing of the tailings increased overall gold extraction to 98.1%.

According to April 2015 estimates the Valentine Gold Camp hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, gold resources totaling 1,060,100 oz. gold at 2.20 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 200,000 oz. gold at 2.85 g/t (Inferred).

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South32 posts $1.6bn loss but pays maiden dividend

Mining scene newcomer and BHP spin-off South32 (ASX, LON, JSE:S32) said Thursday it would pay a maiden dividend despite posting a net loss of $1.6bn for its first full fiscal year due to weak commodity prices and asset write-downs.

Underlying earnings, excluding non-cash impairments and foreign exchange movements for the Perth-based miner, fell sharply — 76% to $138 million. Revenue for the year also dropped 25% to $5.8 billion.

South32 saved $386 million during its first year of operations as a standalone company, while it reduced investment expenditure by $306 million.

Yet, the board decided to pay one cent per share as final dividend, as it had a cash balance of $312 million at the end of June.

Despite the weak results, chief executive Graham Kerr said job cuts and other measures to trim expenses had reinforced the company’s balance sheet during the commodity downturn.

South32 said it saved $386 million during its first year of operations as a standalone company, while it reduced investment expenditure by $306 million.

As a consequence, the diversified miner — the world’s top manganese producer — continues to look for new assets, including Anglo American’s (LON:AAL) 40% stake in their manganese joint venture — Samancor.

While Kerr didn’t say whether South32 has the option to buy Anglo’s part of the venture, it noted his firm was in a good position where it is comfortable to wait. “We’re not going to pay a control premium for something we already have control of,” Kerr said according to The Australian.

South32, listed in Australia, London and South Africa, also has interests in alumina, silver, nickel and coking coal — commodities that were hard hit in the wake of China's economic pullback.

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AVC : les oméga-3 diminueraient les dommages cérébraux après une attaque

Une étude américaine montre les effets réparateurs d’injections d’oméga-3, ces acides gras essentiels, sur le cerveau de souris victimes d’un accident cérébral à la naissance. Cette découverte pourrait ouvrir la voie à de nouveaux traitements chez les nourrissons et les adultes ayant subi une...

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Sibanye logs steep rise in half-year profit, mulls platinum mines future

Shares in Sibanye Gold (JSE:SGL) (NYSE:SBGL), South Africa’s largest producer of the precious metal by output, dropped as much as 12% in Johannesburg Thursday after it revealed that safety stoppages hurt output in the first half of the year.

First-half profit increased by 85% to 333 million South African rand ($23.7 million) on a 44% rise in revenue to 14.71 billion rand.

“If everything had gone right, we know that’s highly unlikely, there’s 1.4 tons of additional gold that we could have produced had we not had the disruptions,” chief executive officer Neal Froneman said in an interview with Bloomberg. “That would have resulted in much better revenue and costs.”

But those ones were one of the very few bad news delivered by the company, which reported a significant increase in first-half profit — it went up by 85% to 333 million South African rand ($23.7 million) on a 44% rise in revenue to 14.71 billion rand.

The gold and platinum miner also hiked its first-half dividend to 85 rand cents a share, up from 10 rand cents a share in the same period last year.

Even with stoppages, gold output increased 4.6% to 746,800 ounces in the first half, said Sibanye, which kept its forecast for full-year gold production at 1.6 million ounces even as it is in the midst of deciding what to do with the Cooke 4 shaft.

Platinum mines in limbo

The miner’s platinum operations, which generated a record 92,773 ounces of platinum group metals (PGM) in the second quarter, are expected to produce 260,000 ounces in the nine months to Dec. 31, the company said.

However, the company revealed that production losses and prevailing low PGM prices are a present threat to the future viability of some of its operations.

Beatrix 3, a gold mine in the Free State province, is also being “carefully watched”, said Sibanye.

“Sibanye is currently assessing the current operational and financial situation at its Platinum Division, which may require remedial action,” it said in today’s statement.

The miner added that Beatrix 3, a gold mine in the Free State province, was also being “carefully watched”.

In October last year, the company bought nearby mines owned by Australia’s Aquarius Platinum Ltd., which has operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The $294 million deal was completed in April.

The firm, which was spun off from Gold Fields in 2013, said its plans to acquire more operations this year were beginning to evaporate following an improvement in the commodity market sentiment. Instead, Sibanye said it would favour growth where synergies and cost savings were on offer.

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La Tesla S P100D devient la voiture de production la plus rapide du monde

Tesla vient de dévoiler une nouvelle version de sa berline électrique, la Model S P100D, équipée d'une batterie de 100 kWh qui lui confère des performances et une autonomie record : 0 à 100 en 2,5 secondes et 613 kilomètres. Le tarif de ce bolide cinq portes frôle les 140.000...

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Huit touristes prêts à débourser 150 millions de dollars pour tourner autour de la Lune

La Lune sera-t-elle une destination touristique dès 2020 ? C'est en tout cas le pari fait par l'Agence spatiale russe et son partenaire américain Space Adventures. Ils souhaitent en effet utiliser la capsule Soyouz pour réaliser ce type de vols commerciaux. Un marché lilliputien estimé à...

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This Australian man just found a massive 145-ounce gold nugget

A lucky Aussie prospector has found a massive 145-ounce gold nugget at the far southern edge of Central Victoria’s Golden Triangle, in South Australia, which he has named “Friday’s Joy.”

But the huge nugget was not the only one unearthed by the man, who chose to remain anonymous, as the previous day he recovered a 9-ounce tennis ball-shaped gold nugget more than two feet deep, using Minelab’s flagship GPZ 7000 metal detector. He then decided to go back for more.

“I thought it was rubbish at first, maybe an old horseshoe,” said the prospector. “About 12 inches below the ground, I could just barely make out the top of something.”

Image courtesy of Minelab.

As he began to scrape away the clay and dig deeper, he said he really couldn’t believe his eyes. “It wasn’t an old piece of steel in front of me. I had just unearthed a colossal gold nugget – a once in a lifetime find! (…) I didn't think nuggets of this size were still around.”

Prospecting on weekends for over ten years in search of coins, relics and gold, he had made a pact with a couple of his closest friends to split the proceeds on any large gold finds found when the group went prospecting together.

Image courtesy of Minelab.

After alerting his cohorts and having a few celebratory beers, the next order of business was to decide what to do with the nugget. “It’s like catching a big fish and not knowing what to do with it! Where do we put it? I washed it in water, covered it in aluminum foil and kept it in my oven on the first night.”

A bit life changing, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to quit his job and retire. Rather, he said he plans to purchase a van and travel across Australia when time allows, mixing travel and sightseeing with his love of detecting and prospecting.

Detector used by the lucky prospector. (Image courtesy of Minelab)

As for the nugget, which is now sitting in a bank vault, a replica is currently being constructed and auction plans are in the works. According to Minelab, it is expected to sell for more than US$190,000 (A$250,000).

Last year, another Australian gold prospector discovered an 87-ounce gold nugget during a prospecting trip near Wedderburn, a town located less than 225 km (140 miles) from Melbourne. That one, called Fair Dinkum nugget, fetched $133K (A$175K) at an auction.

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