Mozambique Mining Industry: Tax payments leads to disagreements between Tax Authority and mining companies

The Tax Authority (AT) of Mozambique has notified Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto to pay tax due to the State for the purchase of Australian company Riversdale Mining, wrote the daily newspaper Notícias. The purchase process of Riversdale Mining, completed in 2011, led to Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique, the Mozambican subsidiary of the group, to own the mining concessions of Benga – currently the only one in operation – Zambezi and Changara.

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Mozambique Energy Industry: Cabinet approves concession contracts for hydroelectric power plants

The government of Mozambique has approved the concession contracts of the hydroelectric Chemba I and Chemba II hydroelectric projects that will produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity, according to Mozambican news agency AIM. Concession-holding companies Hidroeléctrica de Chemba and Sociedade Energética de Tambara will produce 600 MW and 400 MW, respectively.

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Mining & Taxes: No going back for Zambia royalty hike

Zambia is pushing ahead with its plans to more than triple royalties on open-pit mines in a move that will leave up to 12,000 jobless and which is likely to sour the already fractious relationship between the government and mining companies. Mines minister Christopher Yaluma said Tuesday it would raise rates from 6% to 20% for open pits and from 6% to 8% for underground operations on Jan.1 as planned, because it was in the best interests…

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Africa Mining Industry: Angola gets US$1.2 billion from diamonds sale

Diamond production in Angola, until November, earned the country US$1.2 billion, the Angolan minister of Geology and Mining said in Luanda according to Angolan news agency, Angop. Francisco Queirós said that with the current results, the diamond industry was expected to reach almost 100 percent of its annual sales target.

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Power Utility: Zimbabwe’s Pungwe B Hydropower Online in 2015

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) said that the Pungwe B hydropower station was expected to be fully operational in 2015. The hydropower station has the potential to generate 50 MW once completed to help make up 800 kW needed to meet demand. Current demand stands at 2,000 MW, but the country only produces 1,200 MW.

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Africa Oil & Gas: Repsol and Tower Settle in Namibia

Tower Resources and Repsol Exploration (Namibia), operator,reached an agreement over the disputed costs associated with the drilling of the Welwitschia prospect offshore Namibia. Tower had previously reported in September that Repsol’s estimate of well and other related costs for the drilling of the Welwitschia prospect, which was completed in June, increased to $33 million net to Tower. At that date, Tower’s subsidiary, Neptune Petroleum (Namibia), had settled $25.3 million of these costs.

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OILPRICE: OPEC May Cull Weaker Members

While much has been made of the oil price war theories lately, whether it is a direct competition between the United States and Saudi Arabia, or whether the two are in collusion to cripple the Iranian and Russian economies, there is another aspect to the current situation that is worth considering.

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Picture of the day: Nigeria LNG facilities at nigh

Nigeria LNG’s Bonny Island facility currently has six trains in operation with a total capacity of some 22 mtpa of LNG. It requires about 3.5 bcf/d feedgas intake at full production. Plans for building Train 7 that will lift the total production capacity to over 30 mtpa LNG, are currently at an advanced stage.

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Oilprice.com: Saudi Oil Minister Says Will Never Cut Production Regardless Of Price

Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, still on the offensive, says his country would never cut production to prop up the price of crude, even if it dropped to $20 per barrel. “Whether it goes down to $20, $40, $50, $60 – it is irrelevant,” was al-Naimi’s succinct conclusion in an interview published Dec. 22 in Middle East Economic Survey (MEES).

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Global Markets: Iron Outlook 2015 brings Hope in Expensive Toys

Iron ore prices have careened from one disaster to the next throughout 2014, but hope for the construction material could lie in specialty steels. Prices have dropped about 50 percent to a five-year low of $73.59 per tonne for ore shipped to China as weakening demand and a glut of output continue to take a toll on the metal.

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