steelguru.com wrote:Ningbo Shunxin to tap Thai iron ore mine

Interfax China reported that Ningbo Shunxin Creative Group a privately run Chinese trading company, plans to commission an iron ore mine in Thailand by the end of the year through a recently established joint venture.

The iron ore mine located in northern Thailand's Udon Thani Province is a joint venture between Shunxin Creative Co Ltd the group's Thailand based subsidiary and a Thai individual investor. Shunxin Creative holds a 49% stake in the joint venture while the Thai investor holds the remaining 51% stake.

Mr Ge Liang general manager of Shunxin Creative Import and Export, a Ningbo Shunxin Creative Group subsidiary said "The iron ore mine, located in northern Thailand is scheduled to commence first stage production by the end of the year and is designed to produce about 1 million tons of iron ore per annum over a 10 year lifespan. All offtake from the mine will be transported to China."

Mr Ge declined reveals the name of the Thai investor. He said "It is no easy business doing mining in Thailand, as the Thai government doesn't allow foreign companies to hold controlling stakes in projects. Shunxin Creative has approached dozens of iron ore mines throughout the country, but the one in northern Thailand stood out from the crowd as it has already obtained all the necessary licenses. Still, it took us about a year to close the deal."

Shunxin Creative has also teamed up with an unnamed Chinese state owned company to develop a small iron ore mine in Brazil. Shunxin Creative intends to ship the entire off take from the iron ore mine to China.

Original News Source

Anyone know the exact location of this project?

Iron ore coupled with the recent discovery of the large Potash deposits just south of Udon should make this a major mining center... damn. Suddenly my peaceful, long term retirement plans are being disrupted.

If transported by road one million tonnes per year would need approx 50,000 return trips of (well maintained?) ore wagons - hopefully there would be economic justification to put in a rail connection

"recent discovery of potash??"" This deposit of Potach about 20km south of Udon has been known for a long time.. The original Environmental Impact study was done over 10 years ago.. The Canadian Co. that had the concession to mine sold it to a Thai consortium a few years ago and the project has not moved forward to my knowledge. If there is an Iron deposit in Udon province, I'd wager it is on the western edge in the hilly/ridge areas. Wikipedia says this about the Potash mine concession"

"Asia Pacific Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Italian-Thai Development PLC, owns the concession to the Udon Thani potash mines and plans to develop them. According to press reports, Udon Thani has enough potash to mine 2 million tonnes per year for 25 years. Potash is one of the main components in fertilizer.
Unconfirmed reports that the Government of China is negotiating to buy the rights for Udon Thani from ITD (Italian-Thai Development PCL)"

Ah, here you go.. There is Iron Ore is in Loei province, so if it is also in Udon province I'd wager it's on the western border of the province in the hilly areas....

http://www.alibaba.com/offerdetail/100789034/Thai_Iron_Ore.html

"Detailed Selling Lead Description
We can offer the Iron Ore 62% Fe of Loei province, Thailand North Eastern origin for serious inquiries only." IRON ORE HANDLING

The design of the processing circuit is designed to feature a jaw crusher equipped with a rock-breaker followed by a two stage crushing and screening operation with horizontal washing screen to produce both lump and fines 0-50 mm size or as client's request.

Capacity at 1,000 Mt per day and plan for 4,000 mt

Sufficient stockpiles of ore will be maintained at the processing facilities to allow for uninterrupted trucking/barging to Ayutthaya/Sriracha port.

Specifications;

Iron as Fe: 62 % min : Volumatic test method

Sulfur as S: 0.02%-0.08% max :

Phosphorus as P: 0.02%-0.10% max : Based on ASTM E278-01

Silica as SiO2: 2% to 5.0% max : Gravimatric test method

Aluminum as Al2O3: 0.98%-3.5% max : ICP test method

Specific gravity from 4.0 to 4.5.


Moisture content: Humidity at 105 deg.c on received basis 8%, Rainy season Max.10%.


Sizes: Fine and Lump

Fines are defined as iron ore with the majority of Individual particles measuring less than 10 millimeters diameter. Conversely, lump is iron ore Majority of individual particles measuring more than 10 Millimeters diameter. Iron ore lumps varies from + 10 mm to + 75 mm.

Fe Content: Iron of as high-grade as possible is required because an increased of 1% Fe in the burden increased the productivity by 2% and decreased the coke rate by 3%. In the Dee Laa Mining, the range of the Fe content in iron ore lumps is 60.2% to 66.5%.

Silica: 1.5% decreased of silica causes reduction in the slag volume of 65kg per ton of pig iron. Increase of 100-kg slag per tonne of pig iron raised fuel consumption by 40 kg of coke per tonne of pig iron. In the Thailand Plants, the range of silica in iron ore lumps varies from 2.6% to 5.0% (max.).

Alumina: If the ore is high in alumina, the fluidity of slag is affected. It should not also be too low. In the Indian Plants, alumina content in the ore varies from 3% to 3.5% Generally.

Phosphorus should not exceed 0.10%

DISTANCE ADVANTAGE:

The closest distance to China, Korea and Japan than other iron ore deposits, the transportation of the iron ore to China and Japan requires shorter time than other exporters. (Approximately 2,600 Nautical miles, India approximately 4,000 Nautical miles, Australia approximately 3,600 nautical miles, and Brazil approximately 10,000 nautical miles to China)

location of Potash concession:

Go about 25km south on Rte 2 (Thanon Mittaprap) and on your left you'll see a sign for King Ampoe Prajak Sinlapakon. Turn left and drive till you cross the railroad track. Just a bit further down the road on your left should be the entrance to the concession. Being immediately adjacent to the railroad would mean extending a spur into the concession would be easy. The Thai government does has a "double-tracking" proposal on the table to extend double tracking from Khorat up to Nong Khai.. One of the reasons behind this proposal is possibly to increase the rail capacity in order to allow export of Potash.. This Potash reserve is NOT open-pit accessible as it is 300-800meters deep.. It will definitely be a deep shaft mine. The local concerns are focused on the fact that the mining area is located on a water shed. Any salt pollution caused by "washing" the Potash would result in destruction of the eco-system on both the north and southside of the watershed, in particular the Nong Han Khumpawapi lake which feeds into the river systems that irrigate all provinces southeast of Udon all the way to the Mekong east of Ubon.

Well FrazeeDK, your finely detailed information is waaay beyond my personal experience or need. All I know is, I recently played golf with a mining engineer from Bangkok who was up here looking for housing for he and his family because he was about to start working at the potash facility.

More the I ever wanted to know abou Potash, but leaves little doubt in my mind that minning will begin in our area.

[quote]
Greater China
Apr 22, 2008
China caught in potash crunch
By John Helmer

MOSCOW - The magnitude and growth rate of demand from China still drives global commodity prices. But in the fertilizer sector, where China this month has had to agree to a price for potash more than double what it paid last year, the inflexibility of Chinese demand for food has made it difficult for the country's negotiators to hang on to the commercial advantages they are accustomed to enjoying from being the world's largest consumer.

Last year, Chinese buyers of potash lost their traditional discount; that is, the lower price Chinese importers would pay compared with other buyers in the Asian, Latin American, and European markets on account of the larger volumes they contract for



Recently, the Chinese agreed to pay a premium for their supplies, and they will receive less than they had bargained for.

Chinese buyers also face the shortening of contract terms, canceling their last commercial advantage in the potash market - annual contracts, with prices fixed from one springtime contract agreement to the next.

In an announcement on April 17, it was revealed that Chinese importers of potash have agreed on a price of about US$650 per tonne, delivered from Russia by sea. This is higher than the Indian benchmark price of $625 agreed just weeks ago. It is $400 per tonne above the price of the expiring Chinese contract, signed a year ago. The term of the new pricing deal is just eight months. The volume of deliveries for this period will be just 1 million tonnes, half of the 2007 contract volume oiver a 12-month period.

At a meeting with industry analysts last week in Moscow, Oleg Petrov, deputy director for Belarusian Potash Company (BPC), the dominant global trader for potash, warned that it is preparing to switch to spot-price contracts, providing for deliveries over no more than six months. That, according to BPC, is bound to put further upward pressure on the negotiations with Chinese importers starting shortly.

Potash, as the name indicates, was first produced by burning hardwood, and refining the chemical element potassium from a soluble solution. Its ancient uses were in the manufacture of glass, soap, and crop fertilizers. It is the last of these that predominates today, supplying one of the key nutrients for plant and crop growth.

Instead of burning wood, however, most of the world's supplies of this industrial mineral are mined; and the largest mineral reserves of potash are concentrated in just three countries: Canada, whose stocks are the largest at about half the global aggregate, according to the US Geological Survey; Russia, with more than a quarter; and neighbouring Belarus, with 9%; altogether, these three countries hold 85% of global reserves.

In terms of production capacity, two linked Russian companies, Uralkali and Silvinit, trail just behind Belaruskali, which in turn is just behind Potash Corporation of Canada, and another North American producer, Mosaic. In the global market, the concentration of potash mining is greater than that of gold, silver, diamonds, nickel, copper, and bauxite.

Today's hyper market moves potash's price faster than gold, with an impact on rice, corn and other foodstuff prices that is becoming uncomfortably obvious in Asia. Corn hit an all-time US record $6.43 per bushel this week. Rice is at $22.17 per hundredweight, and still climbing. Merchant hoarding, consumer rioting, export bans, and price controls are reactions that are spreading from Asia to Africa.

The global trade in potash is even more concentrated than OPEC for oil, with just two syndicates dominant: Sinagpore-based Canpotex, which manages sales of the three North American majors (Potash Corporation, Mosaic, and Agrium), and Minsk-based BPC, a joint venture combining Uralkali and Belaruskali.

As population growth drives demand for foodstuffs, and the arable land available to supply food shrinks, it is the mineral fertilizers farmers use that help cover the gap between consumer demand for calories and the productivity of farm land to supply it. Thus, the biggest consumers of potash are the hungriest - China and India, followed by Brazil. Nature has not endowed these countries with the sub-soil resources of potash to meet their own requirements. But with just two syndicates in control of trade, and just three major importers, the global feast of foodstuffs is driving potash demand far faster than the miners can produce it.

The result is that the benchmark commodity price being set by BPC, the swing producer in the world, is driving up the share prices of the mining companies that deliver the fertilizer to the market.

Vladislav Baumgertner, chief executive of Uralkali, told a producers

Wonder if the oil price rise will ensure it goes by train rather than by truck, or wether currently it is now uneconomic to mis=ne at the moment until ifrastructure out in and wasn't there a problem with the local villagers still petitioning, my knowledge is sketchy on this point.

That's an interesting question Guns... would you care to translate for us??

dont worry about the chinese for the moment, theres a mining team already over from laos in nong khai at the moment(all female) and theyre digging for gold in farang alley!

Good comment scouse, however to clarify my bad typing, ( very early in the morning)
As the cost of oil is now so expensive, most mining machines run on fossil fuels, therefore extraction is expensive, also as rail is obviously cheaper to move ore than trucks, maybe they will wait until the Thai govt ( this millenium) put in another rail track to nong khai to ease removal to china.
Also i was led to beleive that the villagers are still fighting for it not to go ahead, but that point I am not sure about.
Now it should be as clear as mud

Send it by boat up the Meakong, I'll find the north east passage for them, or 20,000 labourers and well dig one

The Master

ah, the huge resource requirements of the big brother to the north...

predictions:

- Potash mine will be fully developed and other mineral mines (iron as specified earlier in the string and shipping northward to China.. This will cause:
- construction of a proper road up from Vientiane to NW Laos to intersect with the new Chinese all weather road recently completed.
- construction of a rail link from Vientiane up to southern China which will eventually be double-tracked.
- dredging of the Mekong from Chiang Rai down to Nong Khai enough to allow 200-300 ton small Chinese freighters passage.

- Development and exploitation of massive bauxite reserves (key to aluminum production) in the Lao Bolovens plateau area (also stretching into Vietnam/Cambodia) causing:
- 4 laning of Lao Route 9 from Savannakhet to Danang deep water port.
- Double tracked railway along Rte 9 with spurs southward into the Bolovens.
- Development of additional Hydroelectric potential in Laos to support on-site bauxite to aluminum production (requiring massive electricity reserves)

- Laos becoming the main hydro-electric producer for SE Asia and southern China..

There's lots of resources in Laos and NE Thailand, much totally undeveloped and some actually unknown at this time.. The Chinese have long term economic planning and certainly have their eye on this area..

This "potash bubble" will burst as soon the US ecology looneys send their delegations to China and open their comrades eyes to the wonders of organic agriculture - a touch of dejavue, in rememberance of Mao's Great Leap Forward.