May 2010, Issue 32
In this month's issue:-
- THE FRASER INSTITUTE - ANNUAL SURVEY OF MINING COMPANIES 2009 - 2010
- TOCOM - ANNOUNCES ITS BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR 2010 - 2013
- BFX - ANNOUNCES EXCHANGE LAUNCH DATE
- ICDX - NEW EXCHANGE LAUNCHES WITH COMMENCEMENT OF GOLD FUTURES CONTRACT
- CHINESE CUSTOMS - NEW RULES FOR SCRAP METALS IMPORTS
- EU REACH - WHAT'S NEW?
THE FRASER INSTITUTE - 2009 / 2010 ANNUAL SURVEY OF MINING COMPANIES- TOP 10 JURISDICTIONS
The Fraser Institute, an independent research and educational organisation based in Canada, has released its 2009/2010 Annual Survey of Mining Companies . The survey assesses how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect exploration investment. The survey represents the opinions of 670 mining executives and managers worldwide covering 72 jurisdictions on all continents except Antarctica.
The Top 10 jurisdictions are:-
- Quebec
- New Brunswick
- Finland
- Alberta
- Nevada
- Saskatchewan
- Chile
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Manitoba
- South Australia
www.fraserinstitute.org
TOCOM - ANNOUNCES ITS BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR 2010 - 2013
On 14 April 2010, The Tokyo Commodity Exchange Inc., announced its FY2010 Business Plan based on its newly formulated Management Plan (April 2010 - March 2013).
TOCOM expects to achieve an average daily trading volume of 170,000 contracts by i) re-opening gas oil futures trading on 6 May 2010, ii) its Nikkei-TOCOM Commodity Index listing, iii) extending its trading hours, iv) enhancing the trading platform and v) strengthening its sales and marketing activities.Concerning it's business strategy for commodities, the Exchange has added LNG to its existing products which are under a feasiblity study:- LPG, coal, copper and electricity. These are being considered for the mid to long term. Also, consideration is being given for listing commodities linked to OTC trading, commodity CFDs and OTC Clearing.
To download TOCOM's Business and Mid-Term Management plans, please go to:-
Mid-term Plan - www.tocom.or.jp
Business Plan - www.tocom.or.jp
BFX - ANNOUNCES EXCHANGE LAUNCH DATE
The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) announced on 13 April 2010 that it will begin its operations in October 2010. The Exchange will be internationally accessible to trade cash instruments, derivatives, structured products and shariah-compliant financial instruments.
Over the past year the exchange has been working on completing its entire infrastructure, including the development of its products and services within both the Islamic and Conventional sectors, along with the implementation and testing of its state of the art technology. The BFX has its own clearing corporation, The BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation (BCDC) and an in-house International Training Institute.
For more information, please go to:-
www.bfx.bh/media
ICDX - NEW EXCHANGE LAUNCHES WITH COMMENCEMENT OF GOLD FUTURES CONTRACT
On 6 April 2010, The Indonesia Commodity & Derivatives Exchange, based in Jakarta, was officially launched along with the introduction of a Gold Futures Contract.
The contract is based on 99.99% purity gold and will be traded in Rupiah. ICDX intend to introduce a dollar-based contract as well. Contract size will be 100 grams per lot and the point of delivery will be PT Logam Mulia, a precious metal refining unit of state miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk.
ICDX plans to list additional commodity products covering softs (coffee/cacao), metals (tin) and energy (coal, natural gas and crude oil). On 21 May 2010 it's Crude Palm Oil (CPOTR) contract will be launched.
For more information, please go to:-
www.icdexchange.com
Back to Top
CHINESE CUSTOMS - NEW RULES FOR SCRAP METAL IMPORTS
These notices (in Mandarin) can be downloaded from the General Administration of Custom's website:-
EU REACH - WHAT'S NEW?
REACH LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
The European Commission launched a website that will act as the official channel for stakeholder comments for the REACH review. Stakeholders comments must be submitted to the website by 1 December 2010 using a specific form available on the website. The consultation specifically asks for "a specific instance where a provision in EU Legislation has overlapped with a REACH provision or where there is a gap in the interface between REACH and other EU Legislation" such as exemptions, definitions, risk assessment, specific authorisations, restrictions regimes etc. REACH requires the Commission to complete a legislative review by 1 June 2012.
To access the website, please go to:-www.reachscope.eu
ECHA PUBLISHES GUIDANCE ON REACH EXEMPTIONS
The European Chemicals Agency released guidelines for exemption from obligations to register substances under REACH.
To download these guidelines, please go to:-
http://guidance.echa.europa.eu
PRACTICAL GUIDES TO HELP COMPANIES COMPLY WITH REACH
The European Chemicals Agency has published six Practical Guides to help registrants meet their information requirements for REACH registration. These guides provide registrants with comprehensive and in-depth advice on preparing their registration dossiers using IUCLID 5. ECHA expects that the Guides will help registrants to make the best use of integrated testing strategies and be clear about the level of detail needed to meet their obligations under the law.
To download these guides, please go to:-
www.echa.europa.eu