Cement, Energy and Environment

unwelcome to him and to the jobless US electorate in the run-up to the presidential elections in 2016. Global uncertainty An added impediment to a strong deal being struck in Paris is the present uncertain global economic and political situation. The slowing down of the Chinese economy has had more than a ripple effect all over the globe except India; falling oil prices and sanctions have robbed many an oil producing country including Russia and Canada of foreign earnings; Brazil is in an economic recession; the EU, just having got over the convulsions of GREXIT, is faced with the migrant problem; and the situation in West Asia is surcharged with big power rivalry. These issues of the immediate present may crowd out the issue of the future, climate change , from the degree of attention it would receive otherwise. During a recent visit to Alaska to flag off prospecting for oil in the American Arctic, Obama threw a hint on what may happen in Paris: "... the key for Paris is just to make sure that everybody is locked in , saying, 'We're doing this'.....once we get to that point, then we can turn the dials... Hope builds on itself. Success breeds success." His pragmatism should be appreciated. Doing the doable in steps is a sensible approach to solve a long-term problem. The writer was Secretary to the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (This article was published on October 11 , 2015) Courtesy: The Business Line, 12. 10.2015, from Internet News Brief Mining CASH-RICH MINERS LIKE NMDC, HINDUSTAN ZINC TO TAKE A HIT BY NEW MINING LAW KOLKATA: Earnings of cash-rich miners such as NMDC and Hindustan Zinc are likely to be hit by the provision in the new mining law to provide higher funds for the District Mineral Foundation (DMF). Although the DMF payout structure has not been spelt out in detail, mining companies are likely to see their margins shrink, a concern that also seems to be affecting mining stocks. While the contribution to the DMF is proposed to be an amount not exceeding the royalty paid by existing miners , an increase in royalty rates in September 2014 has made things difficult. Existing miners are supposed to pay an amount equal to the royalty to the fund while new mines need to pay one-third of the royalty to the DMF. Anal ysts said this is a negative development for existing miners and will have a significant impact on the profitability of the companies, especially the captive players, in the short to medium term . "Mining companies are likely to see their margins shrink due to contribution to DMF under new mining laws amid low demand and weak metal prices," said Akhilesh Joshi, CEO of Hindustan Zinc. Hindustan Zinc has decided to go in for 100 per cent provisioning, which combined with a lowerthan-expected volume profile keeps year-on-year EBITDA accretion minimal for the company, ICICI Securities said in its latest report. It further said that falling aluminium prices have led to moderation in ferrous earnings expectations while headwinds in commodity prices will temper earnings of National Aluminium Company, Tata Steel and NMDC. Hindalco is likely to see a 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter EBITDA drop, the report said in its quarterly results preview for the metals sector. NMDC could see a sharp 30 per cent drop in margins in April-June, compared to that in the previous quarter, due to price cuts on iron ore in April, the report said. In the quarter to June, NMDC produced 5.93 million tonnes of iron ore , with sales of 6.65 mt. This represents a 25.3 per cent drop from its production level of 7.94 mt and a 22.5 per cent dip in sales of 8.59 mt in April– June 2014. "Demand remained weak in Q1 FY16 and we have cut down prices substantially," NMDC chairman and managing director Narendra Kothari said. The details of the DMF contribution are yet to be intimated but it will definitely have an impact on NMDC's financials. Courtesy: ET Bureau Ju/11, 2015. From Internet