By John Helmer in Moscow The apparent owner and board chairman of the Zasyadko mine has been targeted for blame in Ukraine’s worst mine explosion by surviving miners. Miners who survived the catastrophic methane explosion at the Zasyadko mine in the Ukraine on Sunday say that the mine’s chairman and apparent proprietor, Yefim Zvagilsky, is […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Suddenly this month, Hydro Aluminum, the state-led metal producer of Norway, has been called to public account by senior members of the Norwegian Parliament; by independent Norwegian experts; and by Norway’s trade and foreign ministers over the terms of alumina and aluminum contracts the company signed last December with the […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow De Beers, NM Rothschild hold secret talks which could result in the release of Russian diamond asset How long must the clock tick before disclosure delayed turns into news concealed, and insider trading? Speculators on the share value of Toronto-listed Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) — ticker AAD — thought they […]

by John Helmer - Monday, November 19th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russian diamond cutters face shutdown of operations or domestic supplies if VAT tax waiver is abolished on January 1. Alrosa, Russia’s dominant supplier of rough, has sent a notice to domestic diamond cutters, warning that from January 1, it will add 18% value-added tax (VAT) to its rough diamond pricing. […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Suddenly this month, Hydro Aluminium, the state-led metal producer of Norway, has been called to public account by senior members of the Norwegian parliament; by independent Norwegian experts; and by Norway’s Trade and Foreign Ministers over the terms of alumina and aluminium contracts it signed last December with the Tajikistan […]

by John Helmer - Monday, November 12th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Israelis claim Russian identity to announce Angolan diamond mine venture. That Russian mining companies have deep pockets and Kremlin clout is a handle that has been tried on South African gold bugs and the Canadian venture investor market with modest and shortlived effect. But it is unheard-of for a group […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, November 8th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow BlackRock pays bargain-basement price for Russian gold miner after IPO fails. The controversial US equity fund manager BlackRock, part-owned by Merrill Lynch, has failed in a bid to keep secret two transactions in which the fund appears to have acquired 34% of the shares of a small Russian gold miner, […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow German miner Chronimet and America’s Comsup Commodities reveal mystery of Armenia’s molybdenum mines. Molybdenum is a metal that doesn’t lose its cool. Used in a variety of alloys for steel, it remains rigid at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and doesn’t melt until 4,730 degrees F, a point at which everything but […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Kremlin insiders fall into disarray over ‘strategic’ mineral resources. Only in Russian politics can it be true that a politician, who is commanding in the polls, may also lack the authority to rule. And only in Russia is the political solution for this to lock everyone up. In 1925, Mikhail […]

by John Helmer - Monday, October 29th, 2007
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By John Helmer in Moscow Can outsiders like Rio Tinto see who commands, who follows, in Russian uranium sector planning? It was Winston Churchill who once epitomized what he didn’t know of Russians, and what he didn’t like, by describing them as bulldogs fighting under a rug. In the Russian uranium business, the rug has […]

by John Helmer - Monday, October 29th, 2007
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