Mining
May 12, 2011
BJP,the chief opposition party in India is finding it hard to fight the ruling party's widespread corruption as its leader are too compromised in land scams of their own.The Karnataka ministers of the BJP are known to be amongst the most corrupt in the country with the CM himself indulging in land scams along with his sons.The Bellary trio of Reddy brothers have amassed billions of dollars through plundering iron ore illegally and having literally bought the government in Karnataka for the BJP with their ill-gotten wealth.Karnataka’s Chief Minister has justified corruption as tradition and despite huge pressure to resign managed to survive due to unique caste politics of India .The Supreme Court has called the corruption in India “mind boggling” while the Chief Vigilance Officer had earlier called 30% of India’s population utterly corrupt.Now the BJP's ministers in the Punjab government have been accused of land scams in the state.Two of the BJP ministers Manoranjan Kalia and Swarna Ram have been implicated in a Land deal on the outskirts of Chandigarh.Kalia holds the industries and local bodies portfolio, Ram is social welfare and justice minister.
May 3, 2011
Coal M&A is picking up at a feverish pace as the demand and price of coal shoot through the roof.Note Coal is the cheapest fossil fuel and powers most of the world's power plants despite its disadvantages.The abundance and cheapness of coal has managed to hide its deleterious effects.Indian and Chinese companies are gobbling up coal mines and companies globally as they rush to secure raw material for the growing thermal power plant capacity.The Adani Group is one of the leading Indian private power companies setting up gigawatts of new thermal power plant capacity.Mundhra Port the Adani Flagship has been buying up coal plants,ports and building power plants to vertically integrate itself in the whole coal supply chain.It recently bought the Australian Linnc Energy's Gaililee coal project for USD 2.7 billion.It has followed it up by buying Abbot Point Coal Terminal from the Queensland state of Australia for 1.8 billion Australian dollars.
May 2, 2011
Arch Coal is the 3rd largest Coal Company in the USA. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company sold approximately 126.1 million tons of coal and operated 19 active mines at 11 mining complexes located in the United States. On October 1, 2009, the Company acquired Rio Tinto’s Jacobs Ranch mine with 345 million tons of coal reserves and integrated it into the Black Thunder mine.International Coal on the other hand is a small producer with a market cap of $2.2 billion previously which has managed a nearly 50% premium.Market Cap of $2.2 Billion is a producer of coal in Northern and Central Appalachia .As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated a total of 11 surface and 11 underground coal mines located in Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Illinois.The Company’s mines in Central Appalachia produced 10.1 million tons of coal in 2009, and the mines in Northern Appalachia produced 3.9 million tons of coal in 2009.
April 25, 2011
China has recently put increased scrutiny and control over the mining,smelting and export of important minerals like tungsten and rare earth oxides.Note mining in China often takes place illegaly without any regard to environment in quest for a quick buck.Japan which is the largest importer of rare earth oxides from China gets most of its demand met through illegal mining.However China has cracked down on this practise as it regards these minerals like tungsten,iron,rare earth,antimony and molybdenum as important for national goals.China has severely curtailed the exports of rare earth exports leading to a sharp rise in rare earth prices and stocks of rare earth companies.This has sparked concern in developed countries and blocks like EU,Japan and USA which has taken the case to the WTO.
April 22, 2011
Mining Industry in India is an important economic sector which contributes significantly to the economy of India. India's minerals range from both metallic and non-metallic types.The total working mines were 2,854 in 2007-08 with 569 mines belonged to coal and lignite, 676 mines to metallic minerals and 1,609 mines to non-metallic minerals.There were 755 mines in public sector and the remaining 2,099 mines in private sector.India is an important exporter of iron ore, titanium, manganese, bauxite, granite, and imports cobalt, mercury, graphite etc. India mineral resources of the country are surveyed by the Indian Ministry of Mines, which also regulates the manner in which these resources are used. The ministry oversees the various aspects of industrial mining in the country.Note Mining in India comes under both the ferderal and state supervision.
April 22, 2011
India's Oil and Gas Industry has an interesting mix of Oil & Gas companies from the government and private sector.Except for some companies providing ancillary and drilling services,most of the companies are huge with billion dollar balance sheet and huge operations as is the case with the Oil and Gas Industry worldwide.Except for Reliance Industries,the upstream sector of oil and gas production and distribution is dominated by government owned companies which are heavily regulated.Despite attempts at liberalizing the APMC and the operations of the PSU Oil Companies,HPCL,BPCL and IOC run billions of dollars in losses as they are forced to sell oil and gas products at below their cost.The government's policies are mostly ad-hoc compensating these companies through bonds and money transfers.It is quite strange as the minority investors are forced to pay for government subsidies for energy.India's Oil Subsidies has led to the flourishing of a massive Oil Mafia which does not think twice before killing government officials and has led to poor outcomes for the country.Despite this government stupidity,some government companies like GAIL,OIL India and ONGC which operates in the production and have to bear less of the subsidy burden have grown and performed admirably.In the private sector companies like Reliance,Aban,Great Offshore,Essar have managed to grow rapidly as well with varying degrees of success.Here is the list of the major Oil and Gas Companies in India.
April 12, 2011
Clean Coal Technologies – Greenwashing or Reality – List of Coal Technologies – IGCC,CHP,FBC,UCC,CCS
Coal is the largest source of electricity supply in the world with 41% of the global power coming from the burning of coal.The Pros of Coal have made the growth of Thermal Power Plants accelerate in developing countries like China and India.This has made Coal Stocks run up by more than 150% in 2010 and another 30% in 2010.However Coal is also the greatest contributor to Greenhouse Gas Emissions.Coal is also responsible for thousands of deaths directly and indirectly due to Coal Mining and Coal Combustion which leads to waste products like Mercury,Arsenic etc which are extremely toxic to human health.To solve the twin problems of cheap energy and global warming, a number of technologies have been been proposed which would reduce the harmful effects of Coal Combustion.
Despite a number of Clean Coal Technologies being developed and employed,carbon emissions from Coal Ming and Use can only be partly reduced and will not make a major impact on the problem of Climate Change.Clean Coal Technology is not a Green Solution to the Disadvantages of Coal.Saying that implementing Clean Coal Technology will result in Climate Change Mitigation is Greenwashing.That said these technologies need to be implemented till the world is ready to move away from its addiction to cheap energy provided by Coal even though it has a deleterious long term affect.
April 11, 2011
Market Vectors KOL ETF provides a good well diversified way to invest in Coal which is seeing a massive upsurge in demand driven by India and China.For investors looking for individual stocks here is a list of US Solar Companies and Stocks and Indian Coal Stocks.China with around 3 Billion Tons of Coal Consumption and India with another 500 million Tons depend on King Coal for majority of their Energy Needs.While China generates 80% of its Electricity from Coal,India generates around 65%.While both countries have Huge Reserves and Production of Coal,their voracious demand is leading to surging imports.These Imports are being sourced from countries like Australia,Canada and USA which are going through Coal Mining Booms.Ports are getting congested as Infrastructure failed to meet the growing coal needs of India and China..The Biggest Advantages of Coal its Abundance and Cheapness of Coal has made it the Fossil Fuel of Choice for Electricity Companies building power plants in developing countries despite its Drawbacks.This has led to a fight to secure Coal Supplies through vertical integration into buying up of coal mines,building ports and railways to transport Coal.Though India too faces some environmental opposition,massive ultra mega power plants with capacity of 4000 MW are getting built by new Indian private utilities.
April 11, 2011
Coal is the biggest source of Energy for Electricity Production in the world and its use is expected to continue to grow to 44% of the Electricity Production by 2030 (IEA).Despite Coal having many dangerous disadvantages,its Advantages of cheapness and abundance have made it the Fossil Fuel of choice.With global reserves estimated to be around 200 years,it does not have the "peak oil" characteristics as well.Though not a Coal Fan,nonetheless Coal stocks are a great investment choice due to the fact of its growing demand which is outstripping supply.China and India are massively growing their electricity,steel and cement production which requires billions of tons of coal.China consumers almost 45% of the global coal production while Indian demand is growing by leaps and demands as well.Indian Power Utilities are grabbing up Coal Mines in Africa,Australia and Asia to secure feedstock for their gigawatt thermal power plants.Despite its growing importance Coal does not have a lot of choice in terms of investment unlike Fossil Fuels like Oil and Gas.Here is a list of Coal Stocks which one can invest in and the sole Coal ETF - Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL).
April 11, 2011
Coal is one of the most important sources of energy for mankind providing an easy way to generate energy in a cheap manner.The relative abundance and low costs of using Coal has made it the the first choice of Fuel for building Power Plants in the world.Coal has huge importance as an Energy source and forms the most important raw material for Cement and Steel.Coal is also used in a variety of other industries like Paper,Aluminium,Chemical,Transportation and Pharma.However Coal also has huge negative consequences as it is the largest source of Carbon Emissions which happen during Coal Combustion.Coal Mining despite two hundred years remain as hazardous as ever resulting in thousands of deaths in India and China.Mercury,Arsenic and pollution of other harmful substances into the environment causes diseases and many deaths as well.However for countries like India and China there are little other alternatives and there is no conviction amongst policymakers to change their energy strategies as well.So the advantages of Coal are currently overpowering those of the Cons of Coal.This despite Coal being the dirtiest form of Energy and causing many deaths globally.The main reason for the cheapness of Coal is that the societal costs are not added on explicitly to the Price of Coal making it seem artificially cheap.
April 10, 2011
Coal is a dominant source of energy for humans accounting for almost for a quarter percentage of human energy consumption and majority of the global electricity production.However Coal is considered as the Dirtiest form of Energy as it leads to Air Pollution,Mercury Poisoning,Global Warming.Renewable Energy is considered as the solution with its non-polluting characteristics,energy security,freedom from peak everything.However Renewable Energy is way more expensive than Coal Energy making it difficult for Renewable Energy to take over Coal.However growing Global Warming Costs will weigh in the future making it inevitable that Green Energy catches up.Here is a list of the pros and cons of Green vs Black where Green represents Renewable Energy and Black represents Coal.Note Green Energy will ultimately win in the end,its only a question of how soon because if the realization comes too late then Climate Change might go far enough to cause catastrophic damage.
April 9, 2011
Coal is the Biggest Contributor to Global Warming generating billions of tons of carbon dioxide during combustion.Coal is one of the most abundant fossil fuels available on earth and it is expected that Coal will last another 200 years.The mass usage of Coal and its deleterious effect on the environment makes Coal a controversial choice of Energy.Coal is responsible for 25% of Human Energy Consumption and is the largest producer of Electricity in the world.
Coal causes Human Deaths in the Thousands each year directly through Mining Deaths and Indirectly through Human Diseases like Lung Cancer,Mercury and Arsenic Poisoning.The costs of Coal are artificially low because these costs are passed onto society and not explicity added onto the cost of coal powered electricity or coal products like Steel and Cement.Reducing Coal Usage gradually is a big necessity but given the growing hunger for energy by India and China and lack of a Climate Agreement that looks unlikely in the near future
April 9, 2011
Coal is one of the cheapest and most important sources of energy, responsible for 41% of electricity productionworldwide. In many important countries like India,China,Germany,USA,Coal is the primary source of electricity and energy.Other smaller countries also heavily rely on coal for example Poland 94% , South Africa 92%, China for 77% and Australia for 76%.Coal has played this a pivotal role in the development of mankind and his progress into the Industrial Age.Coal is an essential raw material and fuel for important global industries like Cement and Steel.Different qualities of Coal are used for different purposes.For example coking coal with higher carbon percentage is used in Steel Production while Thermal Coal is used in Production of Electricity.It was during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries that demand for coal surged. Coal is responsible for almost a quarter of the global energy production,41% of the Electricity Production and more than 60% for Steel Making.Here is a list of the Major Uses of Coal
April 9, 2011
Coal is one of the most abundant fossil fuels available on earth and is a major supplier of energy.Coal is the largest producer of electricity in the world accounting for more than 40% of the global electricity production.This is expected to rise to 44% according to IEA.In the last decade global coal consumption has grown faster than any other fuel.Coal has many other important uses as well such as steel production, cement manufacturing 6 billon tonnes of hard coal and 909 million tonnes of brown coal were used with China accounting for almost 45% of the global coal consumption.Coal is also one of the largest sources of Carbon Dioxide Emissions as well responsible for double the GHG emissions from Oil.Coal is regarded as the dirtiest form of Energy due to high Carbon Emissions,Pollution,Hazardous Substances such as Mercury,Deaths due to Coal Mining etc.However the cheapness of coal,its established industrial base and abundance makes Coal indispensable in the Short Term just like Nuclear Energy.Here are the main Advantages of Coal
March 19, 2011
While Chinese pure play solar panels companies have already captured a majority of the global solar module market,the entry of newer Chinese players into the solar energy market refused to stop.China's 5 largest state owned utilities have already made their presence felt in the Chinese domestic solar installation market by bidding extremely low to win projects under the Chinese Solar Subsidy program.Automotive companies like BYD have also announced a big investment into solar panel manufacturing while Hanlong and Bluestar Groups have decided to invest in the CPV and Polysilicon sectors respectively.
March 19, 2011
Coal Mines in Indonesia,Australia,Africa and North America are selling like hot cakes as Indian,Chinese companies as well as mining conglomerates like Rio Tinto,Vale,BHP Billiton fight to secure raw materials.Note India and China are consuming huge amounts of coal to power their thermal plants.While China consumes a monstrous 3 billion tons,Indian demand is rising at more than 10% a year though on a smaller base.Coal is the cheapest form of power despite its polluting and health hazardous affect.Though Coal Plants in Developed countries are becoming much more expensive to build due to taxes and opposition by environmental groups,there is no stopping their furious growth in countries like China and India.Though India too faces some environmental opposition,massive ultra mega power plants with capacity of 4000 MW are getting built by new Indian private utilities
March 19, 2011
India's Economy is being hampered in its growth trajectory by lack of infrastructure which is leading to supply side problems.India suffers woefully from a lack of roads,electricity,ports etc. and almost a trillion dollars is going to be spent in the next few years as demand outstrips supply.India's Machinery and Capital Goods Industry is set to capitalize on this strong growth and is already seeing massive orders which are 2-3 years worth of their annual revenue.While the stock valuations of the capital goods equipment manufacturers has come down a bit from the heavy days of 2008,they are still quite high reflecting the strong growth potential.India's Engineering Industry is also composed of a number of smaller manufacturers that export light engineering equipment worth several billion dollars mostly to developing countries.India's Machinery Sector is composed of a mix of government owned and private companies as well as the giant capital goods MCN conglomerates like Areva and others.Here is a list of the major Indian equipment manufacturers.
March 13, 2011
Wind Power has come under attack in the USA focused around the Cape Wind Project off the eastern shore.The project which was conceived over 10 years ago has not managed to still build the Wind Farm due to countless number of lawsuits filed for myriad reasons most of which are quite groundless.However some of the reasons have some solid facts behind the opposition to Wind Energy.Note Wind Energy unlike other forms of fossil fuel energy should have much less opposition however it is not so.Unlike Coal,Gas and Oil Energy it does not lead to increase in Greenhouse Gas Emissions and contribute to pollution.It does not lead to deaths of hundreds of miners each year nor has the danger of a catastrophic nuclear meltdown leading to death and disability of thousands.It also does not have the drawback of massive ocean pollution leading to an ecological disaster.However there are still protests against building of Wind Power Capacity and this article examines them in details.At the outset let me mention that advantages of Wind Power far outweighs the Disadvantages.
March 8, 2011
India is set to see a massive infrastructure capex cycle over the next decade as the existing infrastructure fails to support India's massive population.$500 Billion is expected to be spent in India's next 5 year plan with expenditure concentrated on roads,railways,ports,water,power,transportation etc.Capital Goods,Construction and Real Estate Companies will benefit hugely from this capex cycle.A Number of Companies have been raising capital from the Indian Stock Markets as India requires massive amounts of capital to fund its ambitious growth plans. Here is the list of top construction companies in India on the basis of their tie-ups with their international counterparts, technological advancements, generating money from the market to trigger their expansion plans and for establishing an entire township in the wastelands and making it the hottest commercial destination.Note Infrastructure companies in recent days have taken a massive beating falling to their 2008 Lehman lows.This is due the the numerous scams hitting the country,delays due to land acquisition,high interest rates and slow execution.However the long term potential of these construction/EPC companies in India remains excellent due to the massive investments.
March 7, 2011
Coal Demand in India is surging as the power companies set up thermal power plants at an astounding rate to triple the power capacity over the next decade.Soaring Coal Prices have already made the Global Electricity Prices shoot up and its probably going to increase more in the coming decade.China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal accounting almost for the 50% of the world's output at 3 Billion Tons.India is far behind at 400 million tons but will fast catch up given the prodigious rate of power plant building that is happening.The Environment is probably going for a toss as India has allowed "No-Go" Forested Areas to be mined.This plus China and India are importing more and more coal from Australia,South Africa and the USA.The recent looking in Australia saw coal prices shoot up alarmingly.Coal India the world's largest coal producing company recently increased the coal price from its shockingly low price leading cement makers and utilities to raise prices more than 5-10%.While its strange for a green blog to recommend coal stocks,the opportunity does exist over the next 10 years till renewable energy comes to grid parity and policymakers don't come to their senses.Here is a list of coal stocks/companies in India .Note there are not many major private coal companies as in the early 1970s, all privately owned coal producing companies were nationalized under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act.
March 3, 2011
Solar Energy is the only form of Energy whose costs are continuously declining compared to other forms of Energy.This is one of the biggest advantages of Solar Power over other renewable and non-renewable forms of energy.Solar Energy costs have declined by over 50% in the last 2-3 years even as Coal,Oil,Gas and other Energy costs have gone up.While Wind Energy costs have declined in the last year the overall trend is increasing as the costs of copper and steel go up.This is one of the main reasons why solar energy demand has gone up by 150% in 2010.With solar costs going down by another 10% each year over the next few years,expect Solar Energy to grow at a further fast rate in the future as well after growing at 50% CAGR over the last decade.Here are some of the advantages of Solar Energy over other non-renewable energy forms
February 18, 2011
China has come under a lot of fire for its proectionist trade policies from mulitnational corporations like Siemens,GE,Google as well as its major trading partners.One of the bones of contention is its export restrictions on crucial minerals like zinc,lead,cadmium, gold, indium, iron ore, lime, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, phosphate, salt, tin, tungsten, vanadium and zinc.China is surprisingly the biggest producer of these minerals and has been hoarding these minerals.Note China is the biggest importer of minerals like copper,coal,iron ore etc. so its hoarding is surprising.This action by China came under the scanner when it restricted the export of rare earth minerals over a small dispute with Japan.This resulted in alarm bells ringing in Europe,USA and Japan.These countries scurried for alternative sources of these crucial REE in other places as China controlled more than 95% of the world's supply.
February 15, 2011
India's Environment Ministry Jairam Ramesh has been portrayed as the devil incarnate by the industrial lobbies as he has struck down various billion dollar realty, mining and power projects.First it was Vedanta's mining project in Orissa,then the Lavasa township in Pune and then power projects in Andhra Pradesh.While some of these infrastructure projects should go ahead with modifications,it has brought some regard for the environment.While some of the projects like the Jaitapur Nuclear Plant in Maharashtra were given the environmental go-ahead despite serious concerns raised by TISS and local citizens,the trampling of ecology by the corporate lobbies seems to have been curtailed.However India's growing economy and its massive energy needs cannot be kept at bay for long.
December 15, 2010
Rare Earth Metals promise to be a continuing geopolitical drama for the coming few years as Chinese monopoly over these crucial raw materials continues.Japan has already been at the receiving end of a Chinese exports embargo once and has its companies scattering to secure rare earth mineral resources in varied places like India,Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam.Hitachi is looking to increase recycling of rare earth minerals while other companies too are looking to optimize and reuse these metals.USA is currently less susceptible to rare earth disruptions as its requirements are quite low and anyway it imports most of the products using rare earth in finished form.
December 9, 2010
Japan has been desperately looking for Rare Earth Resources after China used its monopolistic position to embargo the supply of REE to Japan.Sojitz has signed a supply deal with new Australian REE developer Lynas while Toshiba is looking to set up a plant in India to mine Rare Metals from the monazite sands of the defunct REE extraction plant in Orissa.Sumitomo the Japanese trading giant too is rumored to be picking up a stake in US REE company Molycorp which expects to soon start its California mine which was shuttered a decade ago after China's low prices bankrupted the REE producers all over the world
December 3, 2010
Karnataka,the southern state of India is known for fostering the growth of the IT industry in India.Bangalore which is the capital of the state is known around the world for being the Technology Capital of India.The state is home to India's biggest and most famous companies like Wipro,Infosys and numerous other IT MNCs.However the state which was known for its Technology prowess is fast becoming the Land Scam Capital.Karnataka has seen numerous land scams as the states politicians took advantage of the appreciating real estate price in Bangalore and surrounding areas.With the sharp increase in purchasing power amongst Bangalore's citizens,the real estate prices shot up in a crazy manner.Real Estate in India is the worst sector in India in terms of Corruption and Real Estate Companies are known to be totally sleazy and corrupt.In fact most of the recent scams in India has one or more Realty Companies as the main prognosticator.
December 3, 2010
Coal Prices have started to increase in the international market alongwith other commodities like wheat,sugar,corn,gold,copper etc.But unlike other commodities,Coal has a disproportionate effect on Energy Prices.Note Coal is the principal supplier of top energy consumers like China,USA,India,Germany etc.The cheap price and abundance of coal has made it the fossil fuel of choice for generating electricity.The Technology for mining,processing and using coal to generate energy is well developed and cheap.This is the main reason for Coal's growing use despite its reputation as the Dirtiest Form of Energy.Coal Mining also regularly leads to hundreds of deaths even in developed countries like USA and New Zealand.However Growing Carbon Emissions due to Coal and its Supply Shortages has resulted in looking for alternative forms.Clean Coal Technology and CCS are looked upon as means to try and improve the carbon footprint of Coal.However the CCS Technology remains immature and expensive as of now .
December 1, 2010
Manganese Ore India Limited (MOIL),the government owned miner has seen massive oversubscription of its IPO being subscribed 55 times and should easily reach around 60 times.I had written that the MOIL IPO price of Rs 340-375 makes the valuation hugely attractive which would lead to oversubscription.The fundamentals of this stock easily command a much higher price given its low cost leadership position in the fast growing Indian market.The valuation of the company was compelling even at a 25% higher price point as I had written earlier but at around Rs 6300 crore,MOIL had become a no brainer.
While some of the oversubscription could also have been due to people's expectation of oversubscription,I think most of the demand was fundamental in nature.The Indian primary market is showing huge demand for quality stocks.Junk IPOs unless they are not manipulated are showing weak demand .Somewhat doubtful IPO of Claris Lifesciences was forced to decrease its price by 20% as there were not enough takers for the issue.
November 29, 2010
Toshiba,the Japanese Conglomerate with diversified interests in Electronics,Nuclear Energy Equipment,NAND Memory is leading the Japanese Search for Rare Earth Minerals.Fears of Chinese monopoly over production of REE came true,when Exports to Japan were blocked over a shipping incident.EU and USA have long been concerned with the Chinese control of 95% of the global REE production with USA even thinking of taking China to the WTO.Japan has recently drastically increased its investment into finding new sources of Rare Earth with recent deals with Vietnam,India,Kazakhstan and others.Sojitz, a Trading Zaibatsu recently signed a long term supply deal with Lynas.Toshiba is the other Japanese firm actively scouting for Rare Earth Minerals looking for newer processes and geographies.
November 24, 2010
Australian Company Lynas Corporation is going to accelerate the production from its Mt. Weld Mining Project in Australia in order to meet increased demand from Japanese companies.Lynas is building a 20,000 tons rare earth mine in Australia with processing to be done in Malaysia.The company had raised around $500 million with strong institutional backing to boost the supply of non-Chinese Rare Earth Production.The Rare Earth Mineral Frenzy has cooled a bit but the supply picture is still in a constrained mode with Chinese exports of REE falling by 77% in the month of October.Japan is the most exposed to the Chinese slowdown of REE minerals with a large processing industry and consumption sector.Japan has been frantically looking towards the surrounding seas,Vietnam and Kazakhstan as China has used its monopoly position for political ends.