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Tag: natural resources

Guest post: let’s start an R30 Group to manage global resources

Feb 1, 2013 4:21pm by beyondbrics
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By Bernice Lee of Chatham House

Resource insecurity is back with a vengeance. It is time for world leaders to respond to burgeoning demand from emerging economies, which has driven up commodity prices and made them more volatile, and led to supply disruptions, environmental degradation and political tensions.

Governments have mostly reacted with unilateral – and often myopic – policies, alongside vague attempts at collaboration. This is not enough. The world’s top resource-producing and resource-consuming nations should establish a Resources 30 (R30) Group, and cooperate in managing global natural resources. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Global |

[video] Resource nationalism

Dec 20, 2012 3:07pm by beyondbrics
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Resource nationalism isn’t just the expropriation of major companies or industries, like YPF in Argentina – it also takes subtler forms. James Smither, associate director at risk consultancy Maplecroft, explains to Rob Minto how shifts in commodity prices can undermine a country’s resource leverage and the more nuanced ways revenue can be retained within domestic borders.

Tags: , , , Posted in Global |

Sierra Leone: polls could be followed by tax increases for mining companies

Nov 16, 2012 4:46pm by Kimberly S. Johnson
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Sierra Leone pre elections

Photo: Tamika D. Payne

Investors typically take a wait-and-see approach to elections in Africa. And things are no different in Sierre Leone, which holds a presidential poll on Saturday, in its third election since its civil war.

There’s a lot at stake for the small West African nation looking to move beyond its bloody past – and for the energy and mining companies eyeing its natural resources. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , , , Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone |

China: running short of water

Sep 19, 2012 4:43pm by Leslie Hook
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Between now and 2030, China will be adding as much new power capacity as the US, UK, and Australia combined use today, according to calculations from HSBC. That is a lot of power.

But there is a catch: Generating electricity requires water, and Chinese supplies are increasingly running short. Whether it is water used to cool nuclear power stations, in coal-washing, steam turbines, or solar panel factories – everything that generates electricity needs water at some stage. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in China |

S Africa lifts fracking ban

Sep 7, 2012 2:58pm by Ruona Agbroko
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South Africa on Friday lifted a 2011 ban on shale gas exploration in its semi-arid Karoo region, allowing oil majors resume the scramble for exploration licences.

The country’s estimated 485tn cubic feet of technically-recoverable shale gas resources are the fifth largest in the world, placing it just behind China, which has 1,275tn cubic feet, the US, Argentina and Mexico. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa, South Africa |

Guest post: Russia must wake the sleeping Siberian tiger

Aug 30, 2012 1:30pm by beyondbrics
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By Oleg Deripaska

For centuries Russia has walked in step with Europe. Our country and its citizens have been at the centre of the continent’s history. It is our biggest trade and foreign investment partner. But while Russia is rightly proud of its place in Europe, this focus has left our eastern regions underdeveloped. We need to put this right if we are to develop the full potential of Siberia for the benefit of the country and of the rest of the world. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Russia |

Gloucester Coal: in time for Christmas?

Dec 22, 2011 7:53am by Stefan Wagstyl
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China’s Yancoal seems ready to get its estimated A$2bn takeover bid for Australia’s Gloucester Coal in before Christmas. Trading in Gloucester was suspended on Thursday as the boards of both companies were reportedly due to meet later in the day or on Friday.

Gloucester said  in a public statement seeking the suspension of its shares that it was not yet in a position to make an announcement. But investors expect that it soon will be. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in China |

BB: time to register

Dear beyondbrics readers,

After more than three years of fully open access, we are taking the step of asking our readers to register on FT.com to read our articles. Beyondbrics will still be free but we'd like to know a bit more about you, our readers. Other FT blogs (including Alphaville) already do the same thing. Registration is active on beyondbrics from May 6.

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Stefan Wagstyl, emerging markets editor

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beyondbrics

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