May 30, 2016 by: Jamie Smyth in the Hunter Valley, Australia A wedge-tailed eagle soars above a picturesque hillside blanketed with shrubs and flowers, looking for prey. “The animals are coming back,” says Damien Ryba, environment and community officer for mining group Glencore. “This is a sign that the land is returning to a natural state.” Five years ago outsized trucks crowded a track thick with coal dust near the company’s Mangoola mine, one of the biggest open-pit developments in Australia’s Hunter Valley. It is now part of a pilot project by the Switzerland-based miner to rehabilitate former mining sites as it attempts to rebuild support in the community. Alarmed by growing concerns about new mines, some companies are placing more emphasis on rehabilitating existing ones, particularly in the developed world. These initiatives follow centuries of poor practice that have caused environmental disasters, threatened human health and left taxpayers with large clean-up bills. There are about 50,000 abandoned mines in Australia. The bill for cleaning them up would stretch to tens of billions of dollars, well beyond the level of financial assurances that miners provide to state governments, analysts say. “In the past, many smaller companies just disappeared and their mines were abandoned with little or no rehabilitation,” says Peter Erskine, research fellow at the University of Queensland. “But there has been a societal shift in expectations towards mine rehabilitation, with more communities and governments pushing for miners to properly close operations and leave an enduring positive legacy,” he says. The Hunter Valley has been a coal region since European colonisation, and produces more than 100m tonnes per year. But the industry has been stung by a decision by planning authorities to refuse permission to Anglo American to expand a nearby mine. Farmers have also won the right to refuse permission for exploration drilling on their land. “Successful rehabilitation of mined lands costs millions of dollars over the life of a mine,” says Tony Israel, Glencore operations manager at Mangoola. “But it enables us to maintain our social licence to operate and demonstrate that our operations can and do successfully coexist with local communities and other industries.” Mangoola’s licence extends to 2026 and any extension must be approved by local authorities. The pilot project is taking place while mining continues. This enables Glencore to integrate mining activity and rehabilitation, deploying its truck and digger fleets to shape a landform to match the surrounding countryside. Natural drainage lines are being re-established to prevent soil erosion at the site. The project area stretches for 1,300 hectares and Glencore uses local endemic seed collected to replant the rehabilitated land. It has installed 900 bird boxes and has set up several orchid nurseries to replant rare species in the area. “We recently identified a masked owl — a threatened species in New South Wales,” says Mr Ryba. “It’s a great result that we are showcasing to the community.” Glencore has also begun cattle-grazing trials on rehabilitated pastureland at its nearby Liddell mine, successfully selling the first batch of beef produced for the export market. It is producing wine and honey on its land in partnership with local farmers as it seeks to overturn perceptions of coal mining as a dirty, polluting industry. But anti-coal campaigners warn that such showcase projects are designed to capture positive publicity without addressing the tens of billions of dollars of costs associated with rehabilitation of all abandoned mines. “While individual rehabilitation projects are a good start, it is important to note that these projects represent a drop in the ocean of what’s required,” says Nikola Casule of Greenpeace. He says it is impossible to return former coal mines fully to their natural state after mining. Others say the fact big miners are still only engaging in pilot rehabilitation projects is disgraceful given that some have been excavating sites for decades or even centuries. “There are ways to game the system. For example, big resource companies can sell on their mines and rehabilitation obligations to small players,” says Tim Buckley, director at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “This is why it is essential that regulators push miners to progressively rehabilitate sites as they mine them.” From lake district to subterranean amusement — what to do after mining? ● A century of lignite mining left the countryside around the German town of Pritzen — a 90-minute drive south-east of Berlin — scarred by open pits, dust and water pollution. As mining tapered off, German authorities embarked on an ambitious plan to create Europe’s largest artificial lake district. They flooded the mines, turning them into lakes, replanted forests and created marinas and sandy beaches to attract tourists. ● The end of tin mining near the English town of Pool in 1998 after four centuries of activity created an economic vacuum and an environmental challenge. With financial support from the National Lottery, the Heartlands project was born, transforming the former derelict mine at Robinson’s Shaft into a 19-acre cultural centre featuring historical exhibitions, art galleries, climb-on sculptures, cafés and shops. ● Salina Turda in Romania was one of the largest salt mines in the world until mining activity ceased in the 1930s. Over the past 20 years it has been transformed into an enormous underground theme park complete with museum, swimming pool, spa, underground lake with rowing boats, a big wheel, bowling alley and mini-golf course. Source link

New York state’s attorney-general is investigating ExxonMobil over its reporting of its asset valuations, widening the probe launched last year into the company’s disclosures on climate change. Eric Schneiderman is looking into why Exxon has not followed its peers in the oil and gas industry in taking large non-cash charges for writedowns in the value of its assets, according to an individual briefed on the investigation.  Mr Schneiderman’s office would not confirm the probe, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.  The move builds on the attorney-general’s ongoing inquiry into whether Exxon misled investors and the public over the risks of climate change. Last year, he sent a subpoena to the company seeking emails, financial records and other documents going back to the 1970s, relating to the company’s statements on climate and its support for outside groups.  Exxon said in a statement that its results were reported in accordance with the standards set by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the financial regulator, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the private sector body that sets reporting rules.  In the oil and gas downturn of the past two years, many companies have taken non-cash charges for writedowns in the values of their assets, which have often run into the billions of dollars. Royal Dutch Shell, for example, took a charge of $8.2bn in October last year after writing down the value of its US shale gas assets, while Chevron in July announced a $2.8bn charge for writedowns.  However, Exxon said in a statement that it had valued its assets in accordance with reporting standards, and did not have to take any material charges as a result. It added that late last year it had assessed its main long-lived assets that were most at risk for potential impairment, and concluded that “the future undiscounted cash flows associated with these assets substantially exceed the carrying value of the assets”.  On Friday morning, its shares were slightly outperforming those of leading US rivals Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, suggesting investors were initially relaxed about the reports of the investigation.  Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones, said investors generally paid “very little” attention to non-cash impairment charges.  “If you write down $1bn of reserves, it doesn’t mean you can’t produce that oil and gas somewhere down the road. It just means you can’t in today’s conditions,” he said.  As concerns have mounted about oil companies’ ability to finance their capital spending programmes while continuing to pay their dividends, investors have come to focus more on cash flows, which exclude asset writedowns, as the most significant indicators of financial health. Sample the FT’s top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Source link

ADEY hosts first CIPHE global webinar Published:  11 May, 2016 Water treatment manufacturer Adey Professional Heating Solutions is hosting a global best practice webinar organised by the Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineers (CIPHE). Aimed at installers, the technical forum will be held at Adey’s Conference and Training Centre on Tuesday 17 May between 6 and 7pm. The webinar is part of CIPHE’s Proud to be Professional campaign and will be filmed and broadcast live to delegates throughout the UK and internationally. “It’s really exciting for us to be involved,” said Dr Watson. “It’s CIPHE’s first global technical webinar and we’re delighted not only to host the event, but also lead the technical discussion. The aim is to help participants understand how best practice can extend the lifespan of boilers, which will ultimately build loyalty with customers.” To register, visit Adey Live Stream Registration and fill in the online form. Once complete, a confirmation which will include a link to the live stream. This will also be emailed on the day of the webinar as a reminder. Registration is free and every participant will also be entered into a free prize draw to win Adey’s complete best practice bundle of a MagnaCleanse kit, MagnaClean Professional2 filter and MC1+ and MC3+ chemicals. Pictured: Dr Neil Watson from Adey who will speak at the event Source link

Property professionals from throughout the UK took to the streets of Edinburgh and showed they were good sports in a 5k charity race organised by Aberdeen Asset Management. The company’s property team staged its second 5k race in the Scottish capital earlier in the month for rugby charity Wooden Spoon which supports children. More than 200 property sector professionals signed up for the second race to be organised by Aberdeen Asset Management’s property team, which is one of the largest investors in the UK property market. A number of competitors wore fancy dress for the event and all runners enjoyed fantastic the fantastic scenery of the most iconic landmarks in the city, including Scottish Parliament, Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh castle. Aberdeen Asset Management colleagues Elaine McCann and Laura Hughes organised the race for the second year in a row as part of a series of fundraising efforts for the Wooden Spoon charity which funds life changing projects throughout the UK and Ireland, supporting disabled and disadvantaged children. Hughes commented: “The atmosphere on the day was fantastic. We had 200 registered and we were extremely lucky with the weather. “We had surveyors, investors and consultants from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. We’re delighted that the race has raised in excess of £7,000 so far, with donations still coming in, and we’d like to thank everyone for their generous support.” The winner of the race for the second year in succession was Graham Evans, of Cushman and Wakefield, with a winning time of 18 minutes and 23 seconds. The Cushman and Wakefield team – Graham Evans, Stuart Low, David Davidson and Ollie Barron – lifted the award for winning team for the second year in a row. In fancy dress, the team from Addleshaw Goddard was crowned Queen of the ladies and Aberdeen Asset Management’s Nick Johnston was King.