Force Majeure at Oyu Tolgoi mine due to border protests

Harmony Gold Mining upgraded the resource estimate for its Wafi-Golpu project in Papua New Guinea on Wednesday increasing it by 57% to over 1 billion metric tons, making it one of the highest grade copper-gold porphyry systems in South East Asia. CEO Graham Briggs said it was a "game-changing asset" for the company and the latest drilling results bring the Wafi-Golpu deposits within sight of Freeport-McMoran’s Grasberg mine across the border in West Papua, Indonesia, which was recently hit by strikes.

Western Japan's electricity supply will fall 1.2 percent short of forecast peak demand for August, as five regional utilities' efforts to boost supply could not offset unplanned shutdowns this month of a nuclear reactor and a coal-fired plant, Japan's trade ministry said on Wednesday. Image of Fukushima Daiichi NPP in 2002 is from KEI. 

Rising appetite for Gold jewelry among households and investors in China and India is driving the global demand for the yellow metal, says a study conducted by the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC). China and India—two largest gold consuming nations in the world—have been driving gold demand in the world in the last few years.

The head of the Atomic Energy Commission said a four-year study has indicated that the Tumalapalli mine near the Indian state capital Hyderbad, which is scheduled to begin operating later this year, could produce up to 150,000 tons of uranium. The Daily Telegraph reports: "It's confirmed that the mine has 49,000 tons and there are indications that the total quantity could be three times that amount," Mr Banerjee said on a visit to a nuclear plant in the western state of Rajasthan on Monday. If that is the case, it will become the largest uranium mine in the world, he added.

Need proof that stakeholder relations can be fraught? See this recently uploaded YouTube video of Siveru Soma, an Indian MP, who was chased away and beaten up by a mob of women who were protesting a Chinese clay mining project in Visakhapatnam district.

The Hindustan Times reports India's new mining bill will empower state governments to hand out leases, take up prospecting and exploration activities before mines and call for bids for commercial utilisation of mineral deposits such as coal and iron ore. The Group of Ministers, which vetted the draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill 2011 a fortnight ago, has given its nod for authorising and incentivising state governments take up "prospecting and exploration, so that adequately prospected ore bodies can be put on bid."

A diamond trader of Surat died, while three others sustained serious injuries in the bomb blast that took place at Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai, on Wednesday evening. Part of a group of traders that went to Mumbai for business, they were caught up in the bomb. Image from YouTube.

"Many of the Opera House diamond merchants' clients are from Israel...they are no strangers to terror and blasts," said Vasant Mehta, a leading merchant who was at home recovering from fever when the blast tore through Mumbai's congested diamond district.

India's Department of Fertilisers raised concerns with the country's Foreign Affairs minister on Thursday over 2011 prices set by Canpotex, the company that markets and distributes Saskatchewan's potash globally. India's farming co-ops have halted imports due to the impasse and while waiting for a government decision on import subsidies. At over 6 million tonnes/year India is the biggest importer but says it pays much higher prices than a country like China can negotiate.