#Chinese Consortium Frontrunner to Buy #Glencore Xstrata's Peruvian #Copper Mine --

Looks like it all worked out just as they wanted...

A group comprising affiliates of state-controlled outfits China Minmetals Corp., Citic Group Corp. and Guoxin Group is the only bidder currently left in an auction that Glencore Xstrata agreed to run to win China's approval for the merger

DJ Chinese Consortium Frontrunner to Buy Glencore Xstrata's Peruvian Copper Mine -- Sources
Wednesday, January 15, 2014 06:39:00 PM (GMT)

 By Gillian Tan, Alex MacDonald and Cynthia Koons 

  A Chinese consortium is the frontrunner to buy Glencore Xstrata PLC's (GLNCY, 0805.HK) Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, according to people familiar with the matter, setting up a takeover that, at $5 billion or more, would be one of the largest foreign acquisitions by a Chinese company.

  A group comprising affiliates of state-controlled outfits China Minmetals Corp., Citic Group Corp. and Guoxin Group is the only bidder currently left in an auction that Glencore Xstrata agreed to run to win China's approval for the merger that gave rise to the natural-resource giant. It's not clear when a deal may be struck, and another competitor could still reappear and win the auction.

  The massive Las Bambas project, which was about 45% complete as of June and is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2015, will be able to produce 450,000 metric tons of copper a year for the first five years and 300,000 during its remaining operating life, Glencore Xstrata has said. It's expected to cost a total of $5.9 billion to develop. A Chinese purchase of Las Bambas would be the latest takeover deal engineered by the world's most populous nation as part of an effort to secure raw materials for its vast and growing industrial machinery. China is the world's largest consumer of copper, which is used in products ranging from cabling for electricity to cars.

  A purchase of Las Bambas could trump in size the $4.7 billion acquisition of U.S. pork processor Smithfield Foods Inc. by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. (SIHL.YY), the largest-ever acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese company, which closed in September.

  Glencore Xstrata agreed to sell Las Bambas to win approval from China's Ministry of Commerce, known as Mofcom, for Glencore International PLC's acquisition of Xstrata PLC. The takeover, which closed in May, valued Xstrata at $44.6 billion.

  The Chinese consortium has discussed financing options with banks, according to some of the people. While talks between Glencore Xstrata and the group are not exclusive, the list of potential buyers for Las Bambas has dwindled. A consortium comprising Teck Resources Ltd. (TCK, TCK.A.T), Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM), Magris Resources Inc. and Blackstone Group LP (BX) that had examined a Las Bambas purchase is not currently pursuing the deal, some of the people said.

  Separate groups--one led by Chinalco, the copper unit of Aluminum Corp. of China (2600.HK, ACH), and the other including Jiangxi Copper Co. (0358.HK), China's largest copper producer--also considered a purchase of the project, but are no longer in the running, the people said.

  Glencore Xstrata promised to provide Mofcom with a list of potential buyers for Las Bambas by Aug. 31, with a view to entering a binding sale agreement by Sept. 30 and completing the deal by June 30, 2015. Las Bambas's buyer must be approved by Mofcom.

Outlook for #mining sector in #Africa

African countries that will most likely benefit from investment in 2014 are:
Country                            Resource

Namibia/South Africa	Uranium
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, South Africa	Gold
DRC, Zambia	Copper / Cobalt
Iron Ore / Magnetite	Cameroon, Guinea, Mauritania, Mozambique, Sierra Leone
Coal (Thermal and Coking)	Botswana (Thermal), Mozambique (Coking), South Africa (Thermal)

Source: KPMG Metals

It is forecast that from 2010 to 2050, annual steel, iron ore and coal consumption will increase by 59.4%, 47.1% and 129.9%, respectively. With the continued expected growth in China’s demand for urbanisation, Africa with its abundance of natural resources will be at the top of most Asian investor wish lists.

See the article online here:  Outlook for mining sector in Africa

#Gas will flow from the Leviathan gas field to the Palestinian Authority #MasterEnergy

Leviathan Partners, Palestinian Authority Enter Gas Deal

January 07th, 2014 12:15am Posted In: Natural Gas, News By Country, Other Countries, Israel, Featured Articles

Gas from Israel’s Leviathan will start by being exported to the Palestinian authority. A $1.2 billion contract between the Leviathan partners (Noble Energy, Delek Group and Ratio Oil Exploration) and the Palestine Power Generation Company was just signed for the export of 4.75 billion cubic meters of gas over 20 years.

The deal is the first of its kind to be signed by the Leviathan partners. The Leviathan natural gas field is the biggest discovery made so far off the shores of Israel and the largest exploration success in Noble Energy’s history. It is located 130 kilometers west of Haifa, has a gross mean resources of 18 Tcf of natural gas and is operated by Noble with a 39.66% working interest. Natural gas was originally expected to begin flowing from the Leviathan by 2016 but the field is now expected to come online by 2017.

Another major gas field offshore Israel is the Tamar gas field also operated by Noble Energy. The Tamar field has a gross mean resources of 10 Tcf of natural gas. It began supplying the domestic Israeli market in March 2013.

The deal between the Leviathan partners and the Palestinian authority comes after months of uncertainty regarding Israel’s export strategy and export markets. Speculations on whether Israel will opt for exports or reserve its natural gas for domestic use were ended when the Supreme Court rejected on 21 October 2013  a petition against a June cabinet decision to export approximately 40% of the gas found offshore Israel.

The June decision also incorporated another important precision, that exports to immediate neighbors - including the Kingdom of Jordan and the Palestinian authority - would be booked as sales: ie they would come out of the export quota rather than reduce the amounts reserved for national consumption.

The Leviathan partners believe that the deal will pave the way for future Leviathan gas deal with other consumers. Neighboring Jordan, who like Israel has a history of reliance on Egyptian natural gas, also suffered from the disruption in the flow of the gas from Egypt to Jordan in the aftermath of the revolution that toppled President Mubarak. Also Egypt is still supplying Jordan with reduced amounts of gas, the Hashemite Kingdom is currently undergoing a major energy crisis. Jordan was forced to import expensive fuel products which caused a spike in its energy bill and in electricity prices. Jordan has been rumored to be considering important gas from Israel.

Egypt, despite its domestic production of natural gas, is also suffering from domestic shortfalls due to export obligations and a growing domestic demand. Egypt and Israel have recently discussed the possibility of entering a new gas deal. The deal would this time stipulate that gas will flow in the opposite direction: from Israel to Egypt rather than the opposite.

A long national debate divided Israel between those who believed that natural gas exports were essential for Israel to pursue further gas explorations and generate substantial revenues and those who were firm in their belief that Israel should save all the natural gas for the consumption of its future generations for decades to come. Discussions also revolved around the various scenarios that Israel could consider to export its gas: the pipeline, the LNG and the floating LNG options. The recent rumor that Israel will start by exporting to immediate neighbors before exploring ways to reach further markets was just confirmed by the Israeli-Palestinian deal.

The Australian giant Woodside was hoping to acquire a 30% share in the Leviathan and inject its LNG expertise to export the gas from the Leviathan to East Asian consumers as liquefied natural gas. The likelihood of Israel opting for LNG is decreasing by the day as Israel seems to be more inclined towards using a pipeline to transport natural gas to regional customers including Turkey.

Neighboring Cyprus also has the ambition of attracting Israeli gas to its onshore LNG facility in the coastal area of Vasiliko. Such a collaboration would enhance the island’s chances of materializing its ambition of becoming a regional energy hub and would justify the multi-billion dollar project. So far, there is no indication that Israel will opt for this option.

Karen Ayat is an analyst focused on energy geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean.  Email Karen on ayat_karen@hotmail.com. Follow her on Twitter: @karenayat

Read the article online here:  Gas will flow from the Leviathan gas field to the Palestinian Authority