By John Helmer in Moscow Ivanov tries a second board meeting to push through mine licence and share transfer. In Russian villages, they say the law is like a sleigh. A clever man can steer it either way. If the villagers knew about share emissions, their suspicion would be the same. On December 18, the […]

by John Helmer - Friday, December 14th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow The war over Norilsk Nickel’s shares to trigger owners’ battle on Friday. “Let the man who seeks revenge,” the old Chinese proverb warns, “remember to dig two graves.” For months now, Russia’s most valuable mining asset, Norilsk Nickel, has been the object of a bitter personal war between the two […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Putin’s endorsement of Medvedev, and vice versa, leaves mining policy issues up in the air. President Vladimir Putin did his best to make the selection of Dmitry Medvedev, 42, his former chief of staff and St. Petersburg lawyer, as natural an endorsement as he could of the capabilities of a […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Silvinit, until now a second string potash producer, challenges Uralkali, with state help. Until recently, Silvinit, a major Russian potash miner, appeared to be playing second-fiddle to its larger, and financially more powerful mining neighbour in the Urals, Uralkali. But in the hungry Russian resource market, with potash’s accelerating value […]

by John Helmer - Monday, December 10th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Confidence in Roman Abramovich’s staying power supports Highland Gold’s value Top-secret documents have recently been discovered, proving that sex between consenting adults cannot be managed in space. That’s because zero gravity makes the normal positions impossible. US and Russian experiments are also reported to have been carried out to determine […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, December 6th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Ukraine demand for coking-coal weighed against rising death toll in possible decisions to shut down coal mine where 106 miners have been killed and many injured in methane explosions. Ukrainian miners have proved that when it comes to methane, lightning can strike twice, and thrice, in the same place. This […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Is holding hedge fund a gold share price hawk or a vulture? On Thursday of last week, Oxus Gold, a junior gold miner listed on the London Alternative investment Market (AIM), lost 18% of its market value, pricing at 25.5 pence, with a market cap of GBP93 million. The chart […]

by John Helmer - Monday, December 3rd, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Nigeria’s President Yar’Adua promises US to reopen Rusal smelter deal. Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch who controls UC Rusal, the world’s second largest producer of aluminium, is in hot water in Nigeria, and in Washington, DC, as US companies have persuaded the Bush Administration to back them in a bid […]

by John Helmer - Friday, November 30th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Adam Smith hides his talent — making Tajik mining’s sow’s ear into a silk purse. A European Commission (EC) contract to promote foreign mining investment in Tajikistan collapsed this month into denials and mystification, as the deputy head of the Tajikistan government’s committee on foreign investment claims he has never […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russian oligarchs use the media for pressure on price and financing terms for change of ownership at Norilsk Nickel. The Arab bedouin had a term for it – the jackals’ wedding. That’s a marriage of convenience between angry dogs, who couple for a single night, and then bite each other, […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, November 25th, 2007
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