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China`s August biodiesel imports fall 29% on month to 82,595 mt

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Platts  Date: September 25, 2014

China`s imports of biodiesel fell 29% month on month to 82,595 mt in August, latest Chinese Customs data released Wednesday showed. Imports from main supplier Indonesia fell 32% over the same period to 77,559 mt, while imports from smaller supplier Hong Kong rose 152% to 5,035 mt, the data showed.
    
Biodiesel market participants including traders in China and Southeast Asia and producers in Indonesia attributed the drop in Indonesian exports to the difficulty Chinese importers faced in securing letters of credit.
    
"It`s possible that vessels were at the port but the cargoes were not discharged," said a biodiesel trader, who added that a vessel he had fixed had moored at a port in South China for 10 days before the buyer was able to secure financing and offload the cargo.
    
A 10,000 mt palm methyl ester cargo that had been fixed to arrive in Guangzhou in early September was heard to have defaulted due to financing issues, a Chinese source close to the matter said.
    
"The independent importer failed to borrow cash to complete the deal due to the tightened risk management for commodities trading by [China`s] domestic banks," the source said.
    
China imported 590,777 mt of biodiesel over January-August, 95% or 562,608 mt of which was of Indonesian origin, the data showed.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China end-August refined fuel stocks down 6% on month

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date: September 25, 2014

China`s commercial crude oil inventories at the end of August gained for a second month, as refiners focused on drawing down refined fuel stocks which fell a steep 6.2 percent over the month, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday.
    
Diesel led the fall with a 10.3 percent decline, as agricultural users started to boost purchases ahead of the harvest season, and as more boats sailed after a fishing ban in northern parts ended, China OGP, a Xinhua oil and gas newsletter, reported.
    
Gasoline recorded a drop of 3.35 percent, as refiners cut wholesale prices to boost sales, the newsletter said.
    
Kerosene, used mostly as aviation fuel, edged up 0.56 percent last month, after a steep fall of nearly 7 percent the previous month due to the peak summer travel season.
    
Crude stocks, excluding the country`s strategic reserves, rose 2.1 percent from the month before.
    
Sources at the country`s major oil companies have predicted that China`s diesel consumption is set to post its first decline in more than a decade this year, as a sputtering economy takes its toll on key industrial sectors.
    
Demand for gasoline and kerosene, however, remained healthy due to strong sales growth in passenger vehicles and an upturn in air traffic.
    
In August, national refinery crude throughput was up 0.8 percent from July at 9.75 million barrels per day.
    
China`s government rarely publishes oil inventory data, commercial or strategic.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China investors scouring for gold, copper, infrastructure assets-industry

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date: September 24, 2014

A growing number of private sector Chinese investors are on the hunt for gold and copper resources in countries such as Australia and Canada, advisers and analysts said on Monday.
    
Growing investment abroad has been identified by Beijing as a strategic priority as it looks to slow the rise of its foreign currency reserves and help its firms climb up the global value chain.
    
"In the past year, we saw almost $8 billion dollars of dedicated equity money organised into funds that are based in Hong Kong," Jorge Ramiro Monroy, managing director of Hong Kong-based adviser Emerging Markets Capital, said at a mining conference in Melbourne.
    
"These funds by and large haven`t started investing yet. The effect that will have on the market could be quite significant," said Monroy, adding that the bulk of the funds came from Chinese financial institutions.
    
Canadian asset manager Sprott Inc and Chinese gold miner Zijin Mining Group launched an offshore global mining fund a year ago with an initial seeding of $110 million to invest primarily in gold and copper mining companies. It has a target size of $500 million, according to its website.
    
China investors were "hugely bullish" gold, in part a strategic push to underpin the yuan as it becomes more freely tradable, said Monroy.
    
State-owned enterprises, in the midst of an anti graft crackdown, are more cautious, having been badly burned on deals such as Australian iron ore in the past. But they are still looking for projects near completion and are increasingly teaming up with local partners.
    
"Particularly the bigger ones are looking for sizable projects with cash flows. If it`s a greenfield project it needs to ramp up in a one-to-three year horizon," said Helen Cai, a managing director of research with China investment bank CICC.

China this month simplified rules to make it easier for domestic companies to invest overseas. Its outbound direct investment by non-financial firms hit $90.2 billion in 2013, up 16.8 percent from the previous year.
    
Jia Yu, a director at a unit of state-owned China Power Investment Corporation, said that each year at least 30 percent of the company`s total revenue has been targeted from overseas investment. "The Chinese government has strong motivational policies and we have strong pressure," she said.
    
Baosteel Resources, working with Australian rail operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd, took control of the West Pilbara Iron Ore project in July after sealing a $1 billion takeover of Aquila Resources.
    
"There is a greater interest from Chinese companies to work together with local companies ... Particularly around risk identification, risk management and interaction with local stakeholders and government," said Paul Glasson, chairman of advisory firm Satori Investments Greater China.
    
Assets that could attract bids from China state-owned firms or their local joint ventures could be the upcoming sale of Australian ports in Queensland and Melbourne, said Scott Gardiner, managing partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons. (1 US dollar = 6.1380 Chinese yuan)

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China coal demand may peak in 2016

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: The Australian  Date: September 23, 2014

New research by the Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) today identifies major financial risks for investors in coal producers around the world, from the domino effect of slowing demand growth in China, where thermal coal demand could peak as early as 2016.
    
CTI`s latest analysis highlights $US112 billion of future coal mine expansion and development that is excess to requirements under lower demand forecasts. In particular it shows that high-cost new mines are not economic at today`s prices and are unlikely to generate returns for investors in the future. Companies most exposed to low coal demand are those developing new projects, focused on the export market.
    
With new measures to cap coal use and restrict imports of low quality coal in China, it appears the tide is turning against the coal exporters. The Institute of Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)`s demand analysis shows how China`s coal demand could surprise people by peaking in 2016 and then decline gradually thereafter, driven by efficiency measures, increased renewables, hydro, gas and nuclear and tougher policies to cut air pollution.
    
China`s desire to reduce imports will cascade through the seaborne market, impacting prices and asset values for export mines in the US, Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. The rapid displacement of coal in the US domestic market has seen US producers try and switch to exporting, but that window is already starting to close.
    
The implication is that Chinese carbon dioxide emissions may peak before 2020, given that these emissions have historically tracked coal demand so closely. Such a peaking would send a powerful message that all countries can target strong, cleaner economic growth, reduce poverty and manage their carbon emissions at the same time.
    
"The world`s coal industry is playing musical chairs with demand ¨C every time the music stops another piece of the market is being taken away." James Leaton, Research Director, CTI.
    
The European Union`s Energy Roadmap to 2050 and the US Environmental Protection Agency`s recent Clean Power Plan show that the construction of new coal plants will be severely constrained in Western markets. Meanwhile, the world`s biggest producer and consumer, China, has indicated a potential coal cap in its next five-year plan starting in 2016. And India has to overcome infrastructure and financial constraints if it wants to import greater volumes of coal. Coal producers around the world are relying on a flawed assumption of insatiable coal demand in China. The business model for coal looks on shaky ground without that demand.
    
"King Coal is becoming King Canute, as the industry struggles to turn back the tide of reducing demand, falling prices and lower earnings." Anthony Hobley, CEO, CTI.
    
CTI`s analysis shows that in a low demand scenario the seaborne coal market will account for an average of 850 million tonnes per year over the next 20 years. Such a scenario will require production only up to a breakeven price of $US75/tonne. This means mines with costs higher than this will not provide investors with a decent level of return (Australian Newcastle FOB export coal price was $US68/tonne - 1 August, 2014).
    
"We see a low demand scenario leading to a $US75/tonne peak break-even price for profitable new development in seaborne markets ¨C companies and investors need to understand their exposure to projects higher up the cost curve," said Mark Fulton, founder, ETA.
    
The CTI analysis shows that some of the world`s biggest greenfield coal projects in Australia`s Galilee Basin are already out of the money under a low-demand scenario. In the US, the potential expansion of mines in the Powder River Basin also has challenging economics. These areas also require major investment in infrastructure to deliver production to the Pacific market, and new ports on the US West coast and adjacent to the Australian Great Barrier Reef have all faced opposition.
    
"The world is changing for the fossil fuel industry, especially the coal sector which is facing a shrinking demand window. Investors want assurances that capital is not being spent on high-cost, high-carbon projects that may not be competitive as global coal demand declines." Mindy Lubber, President, Ceres.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Iron ore seen at $80 long term as China steel output growth slows -CISA

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date: September 23, 2014

Iron ore is likely to hover around $80 a tonne in the long term amid limited growth in China`s steel output, an industry association official said on Monday, discounting any sharp recovery in prices as a supply glut weighs on the market.
    
China would produce about 800 million tonnes of crude steel a year for the next decade, said Li Xinchuang, deputy secretary general of the China Iron and Steel Association, capping the country`s demand for raw material iron ore.
    
"The steel market in China will stabilise at a high level. That means it will give a stable market. But according to my understanding, Chinese production cannot go over 900 million tonnes," Li told a mining conference in Melbourne.
        
China produced a record 779 million tonnes of crude steel in 2013, up 7.5 percent from the previous year.
    
Iron ore prices have fallen nearly 40 percent this year, hitting $81.70 a tonne .IO62-CNI=SI on Friday as growth in supply outstripped demand in China.
    
China, which buys around two-thirds of the world`s iron ore, imported 74.9 million tonnes in August, down 9.3 percent from the previous month, but up 8.5 percent on a year ago.
    
Li said the country`s iron ore imports may hit 900 million tonnes this year, up about 10 percent from 2013, and potentially exceeding that level if prices continue to slide.
    
"If the price goes down to $70 per tonne, I think we will import more than 900 million tonnes of iron ore," he said, as the price slump shuts high-cost mines in China.
    
"The key for local iron mines is that they are close to steel companies. It`s easy for transportation, so that`s the advantage (against imported) iron ore. The price is key to whether they will close or not."
    
Morgan Stanley, which sees a global surplus of 79 million tonnes this year, doubling to 158 million tonnes in 2015, last week said it expects iron ore to drop to $70 in the short term, but should bounce back towards $90 by year-end.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

US diamond market to remain world`s largest: De Beers

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: AFP  Date: September 18, 2014

The US is likely to remain the world`s largest market for diamonds for the next 15 years despite a growing appetite for the gems from China and India, leading producer De Beers said Wednesday.
    
China has the fastest-growing demand, jumping to a share of about 15 percent of the world`s diamond market from less than 3 percent in 2003.
    
But it is not expected to overtake the US market`s 40 percent share for more than a decade, De Beers CEO Philippe Mellier said.
    
"China and India, the engine for growth, these two big markets clearly could be as big as the US in the next maybe 15 years," said Mellier, who was in Hong Kong for the Jewellery and Gem Fair.
    
"For China to go up to 40 percent share of the world market, it`s still some ways to go," Mellier said, adding he expects the Chinese market to grow more than 10 percent per annum for "many more years."
    
Global diamond jewelry sales were about $79 billion in 2013, up 3 percent from 2012, according to De Beers` first Diamond Insight Report.
    
Sales are expected to grow in the long term helped by recovery in the US economy.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Shale exploration `making great strides`

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: China Daily  Date: September 18, 2014

A shale gas facility in Fuling, Chongqing. As of July, about 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) had been invested to find and develop shale gas resources, mainly in the Sichuan Basin.

China has made great progress in shale gas exploration with about 400 wells drilled as of July, and production this year is estimated at 1.5 billion cubic meters, experts said on Wednesday.
    
As of July, about 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) had been invested to find and develop shale gas resources, mainly in the Sichuan Basin, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources. Shale gas reserves are expected to hit 500 bcm, distributed over 170,000 square kilometers, it said.
    
"To accelerate shale gas exploration, the ministry is preparing for the third shale gas auction and encouraging more private investors to enter the field," Che Changbo, deputy director of the ministry`s geological exploration department, said at a news conference in Beijing.
    
China has held two auctions of shale blocks since 2011. Exploration rights for 21 blocks were awarded to oil companies and private investors.
    
Peng Qiming, director of the geological exploration department, said the winners had invested more than 2 billion yuan in exploring these blocks since 2013.

China is just beginning to mass-produce shale gas. Its initial goal of producing 60 to 100 bcm annually by 2020 has been cut to 30 bcm, according to the ministry.
    
"China aims to pump at least 30 billion cubic meters of shale gas by 2020. With proper drilling technology, output can increase to 40 to 60 billion cubic meters," Che said, adding that "complex geological structures and high costs" are hindering exploration and production.
    
He said that costs will decline and profits will rise as technology improves and commercial production yields economies of scale.
    
Researchers are also developing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) methods that do not use fluid as a means to cope with the nation`s tight water supplies.
    
The cost of one well has already fallen from 100 million yuan to 50 to 70 million yuan, according to Peng.
    
There are concerns over the potential environmental impact of shale production and the possibility of geological disasters such as minor earthquakes. Che said that although no such incidents had yet taken place, scientists are studying the possibilities to avoid such incidents.
    
Long Baolin, deputy director of the resources assessment department under the China Geological Survey, said the agency is conducting studies on the environmental influence of shale exploration and will increase research into energy source assessment, especially unconventional resources like shale gas.
    
Two of the nation`s energy giants - Sinopec Corp and PetroChina Co Ltd - have also released exploration plans.
    
PetroChina plans to invest 11.2 billion yuan to drill 154 wells in shale blocks in Sichuan province in 2014 and 2015, with annual output expected to hit 2.5 bcm in 2015, according to the ministry.
    
Sinopec plans to pump about 3.5 bcm of shale gas in 2015 with its investment reaching 21.5 billion yuan from 2013 to 2015 and drilling 253 wells, the ministry said.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Russia`s Gazprom announces to sign gas supply contract with China via western route

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Xinhua  Date: September 18, 2014

Russian energy giant Gazprom plans to sign a 30-year gas supply contract with China via the western route, the company`s CEO Alexei Miller said Wednesday.
    
"Gazprom plans to sign a contract to supply China with 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas via western route over thirty years," Miller told President Vladimir Putin during their meeting here.
    
The China-Russia West Route natural gas pipeline project connects gas deposits in Western Siberia and the northwestern part of China via Russia`s Altai region. Gazprom is to sign the 30-year contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in November.
    
Miller also said Gazprom might consider more than doubling the volume of supply.
    
"During the talks about new contracts on the western route, a possibility of supplying 60 billion to 100 billion cubic meters is being considered," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
    
According to Miller, Gazprom plans to use the existing pipeline infrastructure to implement the western project, which would need less investment than construction of the eastern one.
    
China and Russia signed the China and Russia Purchase and Sales Contract on East Route Gas Project and a memorandum in May, and the 30-year contract will see the east route pipeline start to provide China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018.
    
The Russian part of the joint venture pipeline, officially dubbed "Power of Siberia", will be built by Gazprom with a total investment of 55 billion U.S. dollars. Construction of the China- Russia East Route natural gas pipeline started in this eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk on Sept. 1.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.