Replies to post #13005 on Sierra Resource Group Inc. (fka SIRG)

[lmcat]

As previously posted, Rod will release the SIRG funding details when he is ready.

Copper production around the world faces many problems that will affect the future supply of copper, creating shortages. Here are a few examples.

03 Jul 2012
Chinese protesters halt copper plant plan
A Chinese city has halted work on a £1 billion molybdenum-copper refinery after protesters fought with riot police in the latest example of environmental activism.
Violence broke out in the city of Shifang, Sichuan province, on Monday when protesters stormed the local government headquarters and marched in the streets to stop the construction of the plant.
Some carried banners saying: "Unite to protect the environment for the next generation" and "Protect our home town, oppose the chemical factory's construction".
At least 13 people were injured after police used tear gas to disperse the crowds, the city government said.
The project was supposed to reverse the fortunes of Sichuan Hongda, a huge lead and zinc producer which has been loss-making for the past two years.
When it announced the refinery last August, Hongda said it would have annual sales of 34.69 billion yuan (£3.4 billion) and profits of 1.38 billion yuan.

The refinery, which was scheduled to go into operation in 2015, would have been supplied with alloys from enormous mines on the Tibetan plateau. Even as the protests were going on, Hongda was inking co-operation agreements with Tibetan mineral exploration companies.
Residents in Shifang told the Global Times they had petitioned to stop the refinery going ahead, but that the local government had taken no action.
The refinery could produce as much as 400,000 tons of copper each year and 40,000 tons of molybdenum, which is mostly used to strengthen steel.
However, campaigners were concerned that enormous quantities of sodium cyanide would be used in the refining process and that sulphur dioxide would be one of the plant's by-products.
Yesterday the local government temporarily halted the project, but also threatened to punish the organisers of the protests, suggesting that some impressionable youths had been stirred up by "people with special purposes".

It added, in a statement: "When you are poor you need to think about how to change. Getting left behind is as bad as being beaten up. We should not trust paper tigers. They are cruel and they only feed us protests. The Communist party is taking us down a road that everyone can benefit from."
Public security officials will be lenient to people who surrender within three days for their roles in "incitement, planning and organising the illegal assembly demonstrations and vandalising", the government promised.
"The local government will definitely carry out supervision during the entire process of constructing the project. If the company fails in the environmental protection assessment, the local government would not allow it to go into production," said Xu Guangyong, the mayor of Shifang, to the protesters.
There has been growing environmental awareness in China and a spate of protests in the past year has succeeded, on occasion, in halting new chemical plants and power stations.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9371944/Chinese-protesters-halt-copper-plant-plan.html

April 15, 2012 7:39 pm
Codelco buys in copper to meet deliveries


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The world’s largest copper miner has been forced to buy from other miners and traders to meet its deliveries to customers, a rare move that underscores how the mining industry is struggling to lift output to meet demand for the red metal.
Codelco, Chile’s state-owned mining company, bought copper on the spot market earlier this year after problems at one of its smelters left it struggling to meet its annual contracts, according to traders with direct knowledge of the transactions.

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The shortage is emblematic of the difficulties faced by the Chilean copper industry, which accounts for a third of global supply. Copper bulls argue that falling production from the country – where the superstar mines developed in the boom of the 1980s are fading – is likely to support prices for the metal, which is crucial to the global manufacturing sector because of its widespread uses in electrical wiring and appliances.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f151f6da-8596-11e1-90cd-00144feab49a.html#axzz1zwVquqoh

Energy Shortage Challenges Chile’s Copper Outlook
Wednesday May 2, 2012,

When it comes to the global copper market, two truths remain constant. First, Chile is the world’s largest producer of the red metal, and second, China is the world’s largest consumer of copper. However, continuing to produce copper at the rate it has until now is proving challenging for Chile due to growing worries about energy supply in addition to concerns about global copper prices and market demand.

The South American nation produces about one-third of the world’s copper supply and holds 28 percent of total global reserves. As a result, the copper industry accounted for about 15 percent of Chile’s GDP, and state-owned Codelco remains the world’s largest copper producer.

Still, the country faces considerable challenges in reaching its goal of producing over seven million tonnes by 2020, such as securing a steady energy supply. At the annual meeting hosted by Chile’s Center for Copper and Mining Studies (CESCO) last month, Codelco CEO Diego Hernandez stated that ensuring a steady supply of energy is the single biggest challenge facing Chile’s mining industry. Of course, infrastructure development has always been a major issue for miners, not just in Chile but in locations worldwide, from Mongolia to Arizona. In Chile, though, analysts estimate that the government will need to increase energy supply by nearly 50 percent over the next eight years in order to keep up with demand from domestic producers as well as international mining giants like BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO).

“Chile will have to shelve many of the country’s mining investments due to the high cost and scarcity of electricity,” warned Chile’s Mining Council president, Joaquin Villarino. Indeed, blackouts are not uncommon, and many expect them to become more frequent as energy demand from mining giants increases. The problem is that public opposition to building new power plants is becoming an increasingly large obstacle for lawmakers to overcome.

Instead of waiting for the government to step up investments in infrastructure, some private companies are looking to take matters into their own hands. BHP Billiton, for instance, is considering building a power station in Northern Chile. As for Vancouver-based Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK, TSX:TCK.B), it is looking into possible locations and providers for a power station in the Atacama Desert that would supply its $5.6 billion Quebrada Blanca mine. The site is slated to more than double Teck’s copper production and increase the mine’s life by about 30 years.

[86IROCZ]

The mine will be profitable.

This is why SIRG is reopening the mine.

[LarryM1977]

The funding is the part that likes to be hidden or sugar coated, people are to believe that some "detective" work is all that is needed to make statements such as "anyone can clearly see that funding is in place," however the fact is that there is no verifiable funding. Heck even the LOI was based on funding and it can be easily seen that it has not materialized, even though the LOI was all the hype back sometime, up until it was becoming clear that it was not going to materialize, then it was twisted that the LOI was not important. Guess it became unimportant to try to cover it up with smoke. The new pump now is permits, imho if they go the way of the dead LOI there is not going to be enough smoke to cover that up.