Trading Bougainville Copper (ADRs) 867948

Brief an die ESBC scheinen wohl miteinander zu tun zu haben.
Klingt fuer mich alles nach einer gezielt lancierten Zermuerbungsstrategie.
Sonstigen Meinungen?  

 

By Aloysius Laukai
The ABG House of representatives started the 2012 sitting at 2pm this afternoon the last for 2012.
Upon opening the session,ABG PRESIDENT presented his opening remarks to open this session of parliament, President Dr. John Momis highlighted the need for the ABG to make its own laws in which to operate with.
The member for LATO William Lavapua moved that the former North Solomons Provincial government laws be adapted by the ABG and in the process of implementation the house can ammend these laws to suit todays situation.

In response President Momis clarified that the process of drawdown of powers will address these issues and the ABG does not need to adapt laws from the old North Solomons Provincial Government.
He said that the ABG needs to make its own laws based on the Bougainville Peace Agreement,but lacked the capacity to prepare for these laws.
He said that the ABG was looking at one or two legal draftsmen to help the ABG to look into these issues.
Chief Momis said that there will be a Comprehensive participation by all stakeholders to gauge their views before the laws are enacted.
He said that he was also frustrated as the Law making body...which was moving very slowly.
Meanwhile government back benchers really challenged the Executive government to move the administration to speed up the process.
The President then promised to Create a parliamentary committee on legislators next year and further called 2013 as a legislation year

http://bougainville.typepad.com/.  

Bei dem hc Poster handelt es sich eindeutig um einen Morumbi "Fan", der Verfasser der Mail versucht eher die Verflechtungen u. Connections der Trickser aufzudecken.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/business/...pagewanted=all&_r=0

Auch ein Blick auf die Morumbi Präsentation lohnt sich (auch im Hinblick auf die BOC Leases)

http://www.morumbi.ca/pdf/MOC%20Presentation%20October%202012.pdf

.................angegebenen Gebiete umfassen zumindest in der Gegend von Atamo, einen Teil der BOC Leases.

Seite 9 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/business/...pagewanted=all&_r=0

Schwarz darin eingezeichnet die BOC Leases.

 

Wie die angeblichen "Lease" Verträge mit den Lo`s zustande kamen kann man unter

http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2012/12/...ning-story.html#more

nachlesen.

 

 

http://bougainville.typepad.com/

191212ABG TABLES 2013 BUDGET
By Aloysius Laukai
The ABG Minister for finance, Treasury and Planning Albert Punghau this afternoon tabled the ABG'S 2013 budget totalling Three hundred Ninety Million Seven hundred Seventy three thousand and Five hundred eighteen kina, the highest since the establishment of the Autonomous Bougainville Government in 2005.

In tabling the budget at the ABG House this afternoon, MR.PUNGHAU this represents the largest budget that the ABG has ever passed in its short history.
He said that this budget is ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MILLION in excess of the 2012 budget.
The Minister said that this increase was brought about as a direct consequence of the rollover of NINETY FOUR MILLION KINA under the high impact project programme for 2012, FIFTEEN MILLION Restoration And Development Grant, THIRTY MILLION DSIP,FIFTEEN MILLION Provincial Support Improvement Programme PISP and the reappropriated project funds of SEVENTEEN POINT NINE MILLION KINA for 2011.

Additionally, ONE HUNDRED MILLION KINA representing the second tranche of thevspecial financing Package for High Impact Projects to be implemented during 2013 is also incorporated in this budget.
The members will debate on this budget before passing it .
Ends  

Verdict for ex-fighters on the 19th
Quelle: Post Courier, 18.12.2012

THE 3 Regional Ex-combatants Association representatives of South, Central and North Bougainville will meet again this week with the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) cabinet to find out whether their petition has been addressed and taken on board by ABG.

The 3 regional representatives first met from the 5th to the 6th of this month and resolved to adopt a common position on the priority activities that should guide the ABG to address issues more effectively in the lead up to the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) review and the negotiation of the new BPA.

In their first meeting with the ABG cabinet, the 3 regional ex-combatants’ representatives passed 2 resolutions regarding the mining policy, Mining and Land Acts and BPA negotiations and the re-opening of the Panguna Mine.

Veterans chairman Peter Bari, in a press release said, the ex-combatants and political leadership will meet again on the 19th of this month (December) regarding the ex-combatants petition on the BPA review.
Mr Bari added: “Bougainville’s call for the reference is drawing near, but the ABG does not have a proper Peace Agreement.” he said. “If only Bougainville should have a proper Peace Agreement in place. The ABG should engage professional Bougainvilleans in the private sector with cross-sector experience in the legal profession, the mining sector and other related professions or sectors, in the drafting team to ensure checks and balances are properly administered.” Mr Bari said.
This week’s meeting, as Mr Bari highlighted, should put ABG into the picture; but he also noted that parties have no later than March 31, 2013 to complete the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

Chief John Momis and his cabinet meet this week for the 2013 Budget, which starts on Tuesday and ends on Friday.  

http://bougainville.typepad.com/newdawn/2012/12/...t-projects-by.html

191212 HIGH IMPACT PROJECTS
BY Aloysius Laukai
The ABG has identified High Impact Projects under its 2013Budget totalling ONE HUNDRED MILLION KINA.
They include, the Buka Ring Road which has been allocated TWENTY MILLION KINA.
Kokopau to Buin road sealingwhich has been allocated EIGHTEEN MILLION KINA.
Provincial Trunk Roads Arawa,Buiwai,Bana TEN
MILLION KINA.
Feeder Roads TEN MILLION KINA and the Siara Korepovi road FIVE MILLION KINA.
Under sea transport, the ABG has allocated FIVE MiLLION KINA for Atolls shipping.
Under Health and Sanitation Infrastructure a further TEN MILLION KINA has been allocated fpr Arawa and Buka water supply and sewerage.
Under Public Utilities a frither FIVE MILLION KINA has been allocated for BOUGAINVILLE POWER UPGRADING.
And THREE MILLION KINA has been allocated for Comminucation Development project.

Under Economlc Development a further FIVE MILLION KINA has been allocated for COCOA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT and COMMERCIAL FISHING has received TWO MILLION KINA.
For Law and Order a further FOUR MILLION KINA has been allocated for Law and Justice and THREE MILLION KINA for Weapons Disposal.

ist gelaufen. Was können wir mitnehmen? Nix wird so heiß geegssen wie gekocht. Morgen, bala, nächste Woche, nächsten Monat... alles Schmarrn. Es dauert so lange wie es dauert.

Der Kampf um den Kuchen ist noch nicht einmal wirklich eröffnet. 2013 wird das auch nix. Ich werde fleißig weiter einsammeln. Unfassbar, dass man bei dem Stand der Dinge so billig einsammeln kann.

Schönes Restjahr etc.  

...halte die Sammelstrategie zwar hin und wieder auch für sinnvoll. Allerdings gibt mir der Faktor Zeit hier zu bedenken, doch eher in andere Werte mit mittelfristigem Anlagehorizont zu investieren anstatt hier Geld unnötig zu binden.

Da kaufe ich im Falle von fundamentalen Änderungen zu Gunsten von BOC doch lieber 50 oder 100k market und freue mich dann über einen signifikanten Kursanstieg als womöglich ewig darauf zu warten.

Frohes Fest und guten Rutsch.  

wenn man das zetilich genau getimet bekommt. mir ist das zu stressig, alle paar stunden nachzusehen, ob sich was tut. ich "binde" lieber Kapital. andere werte geben auch keine garantie, hier sehe ich die gewinnmöglichkeit als exorbitant hoch. insbesondere, weil ein großer teil steuerfrei und billig eingekauft und weil die spätere dividende den heutigen kurs schon um faktor 2,5 - 3 übersteigen wird  

....schließe ich mich an und ...


WÜNSCHE ALLEN EIN FROHES FEST & EINEN GUTEN RUTSCH ( +starke Nerven weiterhin ;d))))  

Seit vor zwei Jahren bei mir freudige Erregung aufkam hat sich der Kurs gedrittelt und die vielen kleinen Schlachten zwischen den Landownern, dem AGB, Port Moresby und wem noch alles haben uns gelehrt das es noch Jahre so weiter gehen kann. Das ist enttäuschend!
Ich bin überzeugt das BOC auf der Prioritätenliste von Rio weit hinten ist. Und natürlich ist daran die politische Lage schuld.
Ich glaube an keine der Verschwörungstheorien die letztlich hier im Forum gewälzt wurden. Es ist schlicht und einfacht nichts los was substanzielle Kurssteigerungen bewirken könnte. Breit gestreute Investoren können trotzdem ruhig schlafen. Ich möchte allerdings nicht in der Haut derer stecken die ALLES auf die Panguna Mine und ihre Wiedereröffnung gesetzt haben.
Uns allen wünsche ich ein positives 2013!  

Jeder nach seiner Erfahrung und seiner Anlagestrategie.

Allerdings gibt es Technik, die "alle paar Stunden nachschaut, ob sich was tut." Schaut sogar realtime 24/7/365 nach. Man sollte auch beim Geldverdienen mit der Zeit gehen (Kurstrigger, Kursalert, Smartphone, App etc.)  ;-)

P.S. Bocs exorbitante Gewinnmöglichkeit ist fürwahr EINE von vielen Möglichkeit. Das zumindest sollten Neu-Interessierte dieses Wertes bedenken und sich über den Tellerrand Ariva hinaus informieren.  

Allen ein frohes Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch!
Bis 2013  

trotzdem frohe Weihnachtstage,bei BCL gibt es leider nichts zu feiern  

... was ist denn das für eine Trübsalblaserei hier - und das sogar von solch einem (Ex-)Superoptimisten wie Dir @sumoey??? Nein nein, nur ruhig Blut, es läuft doch alles wie expected im Land des unexpected und wie auch von dem einen oder anderen BCL-Fachmann in den letzten Jahren häufig wiederholt: Bislang immer wieder und alles nur BlaBla - aber hinter den Kulissen, da geht's rund.

In diesem Sinne schließe ich mich den frommen Wünschen an und wünsche auch schöne Weihnachtstage, wiederum ein erfolgreiches neues Jahr, weiterhin viel, viel Geduld und ... Erben, die es wert sind ...

Auf die paar Monate ...

 

verkauft wird ja trotzdem nicht  

in drei Jahren gehe ich in Rente. Bis dahin könnte es mit der Wiedereröffnung klappen.  

Gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest und für das Neue Jahr 2013 viel Glück, Erfolg und vor allem Gesundheit und dass es mit unseren Böcken auch wirklich mal klappt und das große Warten sich irgendwann einmal lohnt.

Auch ich muss noch ein bissel arbeiten (macht auch noch Spaß)  

x-mas  ...   -oder so-

allen eine schöne -hoffentlich weiße- Weihnacht,
nen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr -ohne aus zu rutschen-
und Kopf hoch, es geht weiter ... später auch wieder gen Norden -zu mir-

Es ist ein wenig ärgerlich, dass es sich so hinzieht ...
dafür geht es dann aber um so schneller und höher vonstatten ...
RT wird schon wissen, was sie machen ...
auch wenn sie mal verkaufen, werden einige "Groschen" mehr bei raus kommen, als wir hier jetzt alle bezahlt haben.

Allen Info- und Tipplieferanten nochmals recht herzlichen Dank

Bis zum nächsten Jahr
Carlchen

--------------------------------------------------
^
ein  Freund  der  Bougainville Copper Limited   -BOC-
-Kürzel: BOU1 - ISIN: PG0008526520 - WKN: 852652-
siehe ua auch:  http://www.bougainville-copper.eu/  

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/12/22/...bougainville-story/

Bougainville politics & the characteristics of its people

by LEONARD FONG ROKA

HAVING LIVED ALL MY LIFE in Bougainville, and travelled extensively around the island, and growing up with the Bougainville secessionist conflict since 1988, there are certain things I have gleaned about my island.

Bougainville has 27 or more languages, which means there are 27 or more nations

each having its own culture and independent way of behaving and thinking.

But there are also certain shared cultural traditions that bind these peoples in the geographic unity of Bougainville, uka and the Solomon archipelago.

My view is that the bloodshed since 1988 was the result of the long denial by the state of Papua New Guinea of Bougainvilleans’ rights in their own geographical setting of the Solomon archipelago.

Colonialism - forced annexation by the Germans and British - had far reaching impacts in the Bougainville psyche. The acculturation since 1768, the year of the island’s discovery by Louis De Bougainville, embedded certain significant characteristics that affect the political processes today.

In a geo-political interpretation, I could claim that, in Bougainville, North Bougainville has a population of ‘feigning’ people, Central Bougainville has a population of ‘talkers’ and South  Bougainville has a populace of the ‘practical’.

Many people, looking at Bougainville’s problems, see the situation through Papua New Guinean lens, which to me is not the way to find an amicable solution. People must see the problems in a Bougainvillean way because we are struggling with Bougainville nationalism, not a Bougainville longing to be in PNG.

Bougainvillean resistance to foreign intruders was in evidence back in October 1768 when locals in north Bougainville  marked their dislike of the navigator Louis de Bougainville and his men by shooting an arrow at them from a retreating canoe after an onboard gesture discussion with the European sailors.

This resurfaced in our conflict against Bougainville Copper Limited and the PNG government after 1988.

The 1979 book, Bougainvillean Nationalism by Alexander Mamak and Richard Bedford, said that in the 1960s the Napidakoe Navitu independence movement of central Bougainville claimed to have run a referendum for Bougainville independence.

South Bougainville claimed that secession for Bougainville was too early and the north
Bougainvilleans sided with the south.

This contradicted the fact that it was the north that birthed the idea of Bougainville independence with movements such as John Teosin’s Hahalis Welfare Society. The north denied the fact that it was it who influenced the central Bougainville resistance.

In the recent 1988-90 conflict, the problems caused by the ‘opportunist rascals’ in the name of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army was concentrated in the vicinity of areas around Buka town.

But the people in the far off Haku area of Buka island were quick to sail to New Guinea and forge an agreement in New Ireland to re-invite the PNG government back into Bougainville.
The north pretended that they could not address the situation in a Bougainvillean-to-Bougainvillean dialogue or resist the rascals in a collective north Bougainville coalition. So the north went ahead to seek help from the PNG government.

Culturally, north Bougainville is populated by people that hide the truth of their living standards. On the island of Buka, most village standards are similar to the squatter settlements of PNG’s urban areas. Yet people act so westernised.

This can be also seen in the Bougainville’s top cocoa producing district, Tinputz, which continues to produce the highest percentage of cocoa, but the money earned has not brought positive developmental to the villages as can be seen in central and south Bougainville in post crisis times. In Tinputz, despite the high cocoa generated income, housing standards are yet to be improved.

When travelling along the Kokopau-Arawa highway’s Salau to Tinputz section, or around the island of Buka, it is noticeable that living standards are not economically consistent with the value of cocoa and copra produced.
Since the north is now the gateway into Bougainville, the development rate should be the highest. But in my analysis all key development in the north is controlled by the south Bougainvilleans with little doses from central Bougainville.

In Central  Bougainville where the Kietas are politically and economically dominant, I see a lot of ‘big mouths’ that just cannot stop talking. Central ougainvilleans are creative in exporting their dreams without testing the practical outcomes of those thoughts. But this population also readily absorbs change and adapts change to create results.

In Central  Bougainville, nobody looks before leaping. There is also extreme stubbornness in this mountainous land that even the peace process or the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has not yet eradicated.

Before PNG independence in 1975 it was the Central Bougainvilleans that created a lot of anti-PNG noise with ideas they imported from the north. Through such organizations as the Napidakoe Navitu, they attempted to change Bougainville politically once and for all.

All this effort was done without proper strategizing. And in the 1989 conflict, this flawed approach was repeated by the late Francis Ona.

In today’s Bougainville politics, Central Bougainville is where most hot politics is played with great spill-over effects.


From the mountains of central Bougainville the 1989 crisis was created; the problem of Meekamui was created and even the cult of UV-Stract and the Twin Kingdoms of Papaala, now based in Siwai, got start-up fuel from Central Bougainville.

Central Bougainville is blessed with dreamers with loud voices without any practical
application of their thoughts.

Across many villages of Central Bougainville politics is present in every mouth of all ages. Bougainville political chit-chat is replacing the old tradition of myth telling in the night. Men and women discuss and condemn politicians—both Bougainvillean and Papua New Guinean.

This culture lacks the ability to heal political divisions. This is the problem for the loud talkers in—they lack the capacity to be practical. The late Francis Ona was a talking machine who lacked the capacity to navigate to create physical change for the benefit of the Bougainville people.

It can also be seen today in Central Bougainville’s realm of politics: a Kongara man dreams of a Kongara influenced Central Bougainville; a Panguna man wants a Panguna controlled Central Bougainville; a Nasioi (Kieta) man envisions his Nasioi area to be masters of Central Bougainville.

A significant case can be seen with the Morgan Checkpoint to the old copper mine which is controlled by the rebel Chris Uma from Nasioi, who longs to have a say in all things happening in the Panguna District.

Central Bougainville is the home of ‘big mouths’, people with selfish hearts who do not
have the knowhow to achieve their dreams. I believe that this attitude developed because the area was the centre of the pre-crisis and post crisis  Bougainville politics and pre-crisis economic development.

Because of this, people began to have the feeling that Central Bougainville is the natural leader.

Central Bougainville today is host to many developments that have the whole island and the ABG aching. People with characteristics of ‘careless leaping’ are inviting people into illegal business partnerships. They care nothing for who is the authority but fight for what they see will bring betterment to themselves.

In South Bougainville, the story is a bit different. The Napidakoe Navitu conducted a ‘referendum’ for independence in the 1970s and the voters in South  Bougainville did not turn out. People in the south saw that Bougainville lacked skilled people to drive it forward but most in Central Bougainville were not bothered by this fundamental concern.

In most literature about colonial Bougainville, it can be noted that colonizers regarded South  Bougainvilleans as people, especially the Siwai, with practical capabilities.

This was the direct result of two reasons: (1) the land in south Bougainville is not so fertile or productive; and (2) economic development came late to the region.

In so many political events of historical significance for Bougainville, it was the South Bougainville men who stood behind the ‘big mouths’ of Central Bougainville to bring about the wanted impacts.

For example, the 1970s Napidakoe Navitu group was effective because of leaders like the late Sir Paul Lapun from Banoni and, later, the shutting down of BCL’s Panguna mine spearheaded by the late Francis Ona in 1989 was effective because of the direct involvement of South  Bougainville leaders such as the late James Singko from Nagovis.

There is a trend here; problems are created in Central Bougainville and spill over to South  Bougainville. For example, we have had the recent Konnou Crisis in Buin and the ongoing cult of the Twin Kingdoms of Papaala and the UV-Stract scam in the Siwai district.

In the economic arena, Bougainville is controlled by South Bougainville businesses. The Siwai people are now in charge of most business operations in Buka and a growing investment in Arawa. This is also the situation in non-urban settings.

Many South Bougainvilleans are sweating their guts to earn money for Bougainville or th ir own bread and butter as Central Bougainvilleans are occupied by the talks of reopening the Panguna mine and the north Bougainvilleans just relax to collect development as a by-product of their region being the current gateway into Bougainville.

One crisis event that should support my theory for the south Bougainvillean nature is the killing in Panguna of the late Anthony Anugu from Siwai.

In 1990 when the PNG government and the BCL left Bougainville, the late Francis Ona  was in the hills of Panguna blinded by the joy of winning a confrontation with the PNG troops and BCL.

With his ‘big mouth’ he was not interested in the practical burden of providing the goods and services for the shattered people of Bougainville.

In the anarchy that was unfolding, the late Anthony Anugu from South Bougainville responded by creating the South Bougainville Interim Authority (SBIA) for the sole purpose of providing for basic services to the people whilst Ona was in Kieta ordering his BRA to persecute his enemies instead of bringing development. This act of providing some service to the people was a threat to On,a so he had Anugu killed.

With these observation I see that South Bougainville is where the practical people are. I can pinpoint this fact from the Konnou crisis in Buin. Here Damien Koike of Meekamui and Thomas Tari with his Freedom Fighters who are pro-ABG got into action.

This spirit of putting into practice what comes into mind cannot be seen in Central Bougainville and North Bougainville.

In summary, thinkers in the ABG should consider Bougainville along the lines of geo-politics when planning the development of the island: North Bougainvilleans as ‘pretenders’; Central Bougainvilleans as ‘talkers’; and South Bougainvilleans as the ‘practical’ people.

Through such observation and understanding of our people, I believe we can create realistic policies in government and also bring tangible development and positive change on the ground. Furthermore, I see that my thoughts can be a resource in addressing many issues affecting Bougainville today.

geben

Das hier Morumbi nicht mitspielen kann steht wohl außer Frage,bleibt noch eine andere;wer könnte das Stemmen,und bleibt wirklich was hängen?



* Xstrata study estimates Frieda River cost at $5.6 bln

* Partner says talks on future ownership due next year

MELBOURNE, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Xstrata has raised its capital spending estimate for the undeveloped Frieda River copper mine in Papua New Guinea by $300 million to $5.6 billion, as costs to develop new mines continue to escalate.

Xstrata Copper delivered a feasibility study to minority partner Highlands Pacific on Friday that indicated the $5.6 billion capital cost estimate, Paul Gow, general manager of the Frieda River project, said in a statement.

Rising costs have forced many miners to review the spending required on greenfield copper projects as they battle over a limited pool of skilled workers and equipment, particularly in remote locations like Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Antofagasta on Friday halted development at its $1.7 billion Chilean copper mine Antucoya as it reviews escalating costs, and Xstrata put back a target to start production at the Tampakan copper-gold mine in the Philippines by three years to 2019 earlier this month.

Xstrata had estimated the Frieda River project to cost $5.3 billion when it released an earlier study two years ago.

The company, with an 81.8 percent stake in Frieda River, sees the mine yielding 304,000 tonnes of copper at an average cost of 71 U.S. cents per pound over the first five years.

Over the entire life of the operation, it sees an average yield of 204,000 tonnes annually at a cost of $1.11 per pound.

Xstrata is expected to review its pipeline of copper projects after its takeover by Glencore International.

The company is following the course of other mega miners, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto , in conserving capital amid uncertainty over global growth and falling commodity prices.

Earlier this year, Xstrata flagged its willingness to potentially sell all or part of its stake in Frieda River after conducting a review of its operations worldwide.

It said on Monday it had not made a decision yet on whether to divest or partially divest the project at this stage.

"Xstrata is currently assessing the interest of other investors in the project but declines to comment about potential timetables," a company spokesman said in an email.

Highlands Pacific said discussions were planned next year to determine future ownership of the project.

"During 2013 we will hold discussions with all parties, including the PNG government to determine the project's development path and the desire of the PNG government to take up a direct 30 percent equity stake in the project," it said.

Via its Petromin investment arm, PNG has invested in 17 projects, including a $19 billion liquefied natural gas field under construction by Exxon Mobil.

It is allowed to take up to 30 percent of mining and 22 percent of oil and gas projects, which it must then help fund.

Exxon Mobil in November said it faces a $3.3 billion spike in costs at its gas project in Papua New Guinea.

This year BHP scrapped an $80 billion spending plan, which included delaying indefinitely the expansion of its Olympic Dam copper mine in Australia, where analysts estimated costs had ballooned three-fold to more than $30 billion in just two years.

Shares in Xstrata were trading 1.1 percent higher at 1,062 pence by 1206 GMT, outperforming a flat FTSE 100 index  

Australian miners have been increasingly beset by burdensome expenses, cost blowouts and project delays in recent years, with many now pointing the blame at miners themselves for retaining superfluous management personnel and employing out-dated procedures.

The Australian reports that a new study from the Centre for Innovative Practice at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia has concluded that miners incur many needless expenses and delays due to inefficient management structures, which often mean key issues are unknown to senior management personnel for weeks.

Dr. Richard Fulford who led the research project says that productivity on construction projects could be "startlingly poor" due to an overabundance of subcontracted personnel and superfluous levels of management staff.

Fulford says he has seen as many as 12 levels of subcontracted staff between the main contractor and operations themselves, and claims that on some major projects information can take seven weeks to rise through the management chain.

"It's certainly costing billions and billions over time," says Dr. Fulford.

Outdated procedures also bear their share of the blame for bloated costs, with many construction techniques currently employed on projects dating from "15 to 20 years ago."

ABS data indicates that mining industry costs have surged since the start of the decade following a period of moderate fluctuations throughout the eighties and nineties, and are currently approaching the $120bn mark.