Latest news with #licences
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Delayed placer miner licences could hurt local economy, says Dawson City businesses
The Klondike Visitors Association and the Dawson City Chamber of Commerce say the industry contributes nearly half the town's commercial revenue. Both groups say if miners cannot work because of expired licences, everyone suffers. Chris MacIntyre has more.
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
NSW government approves KEPCO coal exploration licence extensions in Bylong Valley
The New South Wales Resources Department has granted extensions to two controversial coal exploration licences held by a South Korean energy company in the state's Bylong Valley. KEPCO, which has the South Korean government as its largest stakeholder, applied to renew the coal-specific licences in the valley in December 2024. Updates published to the NSW Resources Mining Titles Register show the two licences, which allow the company to explore for coal, now expire in early 2027. The extensions do not allow any mining to take place. KEPCO took over the coal deposit in Bylong in 2010 and spent $700 million on 13,000 hectares of land in the valley with plans to build an open cut and underground coal complex. Many landholders sold, and with the population dwindling local events ceased and services like the general store closed. The mine was rejected by the state's Independent Planning Commission in 2019 and subsequent appeals were knocked back by multiple courts. The High Court of Australia rejected the company's last-ditch appeal in February 2022, meaning it had exhausted its final legal avenue to develop the project. Bylong farmer Phil Kennedy said while it was confusing he was not surprised to hear the licences have been extended. "[The New South Wales Resources Department] don't want to give them the right to mine, yet they continue to give them a mining licence, so it's a bit confusing. A bit ambiguous," he said. "[KEPCO] have spend a lot of money [on land], they've put a lot at stake. "Maybe the government didn't want to rock too many boats and just rubberstamped it. The ABC's Stateline program visited Bylong earlier this year and heard from multiple landholders who said KEPCO has been silent on its plans for Bylong. Those landholders also called on the NSW government to be forthcoming with what it knows about KEPCO's plans for the region. Mr Kennedy, who is president of the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, said locals were still yet to hear from KEPCO. He said rumours of a solar farm project being considered by the company seemingly fizzled since the end of last year. He said he was hopeful to meet with the government and discuss protecting Bylong from mining permanently and ensure its future as an agriculture region. "To bring [the land] back into private hands — to Australian farmers, mums and dads — would be great. "To put the valley off limits [to mining] once and for all would be good." The ABC attempted to contact KEPCO's Sydney office regarding the licence extensions but the company did not respond. The ABC has contacted NSW Resources Minister Courtney Houssos for comment.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yukon placer miners left high and dry as licenses expire while miners wait for renewals
It's a tough living, made tougher now because some of their licences are expiring while their renewal applications are backed up with the government. The CBC's Chris MacIntyre has more on the consequences for miners.
Zawya
16-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Guinea repossess 51 mining licences, information minister says
Guinea's military government has taken back 51 mining licences as it steps up efforts to repossess claims or concessions where operations have either not been launched or where it says permits are being underutilised, its information minister said. Reuters first reported that the government planned to cancel the licences on Thursday. Fana Soumah announced in a televised address late Thursday night that Guinea's military ruler Mamady Doumbouya had signed the repossession decree, which covers bauxite, gold, diamond, graphite and iron concessions. The concessions had been "returned free of charge to the state," Soumah said, citing multiple articles in Guinea's mining code as legal justification for the licence withdrawals. Guinea is home to the world's largest reserves of bauxite, the main ore used to produce aluminium, and its exports are crucial to global production of the industrial metal, particularly in China and Russia. It had previously moved to withdraw bauxite licences belonging to Kebo Energy SA and Emirates Global Aluminium. "Government pressure on Guinea's bauxite industry is building," said Tom Price, investment bank Panmure Liberum's head of commodities. "We suspect Guinea's government is consolidating the number of foreign bauxite miners, and forcing the reformed industry to invest in local downstream processing capacity," he added. However, another analyst familiar with Guinea's mining sector operations, who asked not to be named, said the companies affected by the decree were inconsequential players. Guinean authorities did not respond to requests for comment on their planned next steps. The decree affects mining operations with licenses granted between 2005 and 2023. Some of the permits had already expired while others would have still remained valid for decades. The move reflects an increasingly complex operating climate in West Africa, where military regimes in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have tightened control over mineral assets since 2020 in a bid to boost revenues. (Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Guinea repossess 51 mining licences, information minister says
DAKAR, May 16 (Reuters) - Guinea's military government has taken back 51 mining licences as it steps up efforts to repossess claims or concessions where operations have either not been launched or where it says permits are being underutilised, its information minister said. Reuters first reported that the government planned to cancel the licences on Thursday. Fana Soumah announced in a televised address late Thursday night that Guinea's military ruler Mamady Doumbouya had signed the repossession decree, which covers bauxite, gold, diamond, graphite and iron concessions. The concessions had been "returned free of charge to the state," Soumah said, citing multiple articles in Guinea's mining code as legal justification for the licence withdrawals. Guinea is home to the world's largest reserves of bauxite, the main ore used to produce aluminium, and its exports are crucial to global production of the industrial metal, particularly in China and Russia. It had previously moved to withdraw bauxite licences belonging to Kebo Energy SA and Emirates Global Aluminium. "Government pressure on Guinea's bauxite industry is building," said Tom Price, investment bank Panmure Liberum's head of commodities. "We suspect Guinea's government is consolidating the number of foreign bauxite miners, and forcing the reformed industry to invest in local downstream processing capacity," he added. However, another analyst familiar with Guinea's mining sector operations, who asked not to be named, said the companies affected by the decree were inconsequential players. Guinean authorities did not respond to requests for comment on their planned next steps. The decree affects mining operations with licenses granted between 2005 and 2023. Some of the permits had already expired while others would have still remained valid for decades. The move reflects an increasingly complex operating climate in West Africa, where military regimes in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have tightened control over mineral assets since 2020 in a bid to boost revenues.
