Europe

When we last spoke to Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Managing Director of EMED Mining, it was late 2009 and he had been hoping to get the company’s flagship project, Rio Tinto open-pit copper mine near Seville in Spain into operation by 2010. That was at any rate the original objective of the company, which in 2005 had been floated on London’s AIM market by a group of Australian mining specialists who saw a real opportunity across Europe and the Middle East.

“The US alone,” managing director, Gordon Stove enthuses, “represents the single largest geophysics space in the world, with a revenue generation of over $2.4 billion a year from geophysical survey services alone. This is just one of the reasons why we are so keen to expand into that part of the world.”

The proposed £14 billion power plant, to be built at Hinkley Point in Somerset, would eventually be capable of powering some five million homes.

It is believed that EDF hopes to build two new reactors at Hinkley that would provide approximately seven percent of the UK’s electricity needs, while employing 25,000 people on the construction of the project alone. The energy giant says the project would generate taxes equivalent to a few percentage points of what the entire financial sector yields for the exchequer.

Ciner Group was put together by billionaire Turgay Ciner, who owns a diversified portfolio of companies including electric power plants, copper aluminium and soda ash mines, hotels and a media company in Turkey in addition to owning the Istanbul soccer team Kasimpasa Spor. Park Elektrik is the only quoted company in the group, with Ciner himself the majority shareholder but trading 35 percent of its shares on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (─░MKB) following an IPO in 1997.

Soda ash is perhaps better known as sodium bicarbonate, and it is a substance with a very large number of applications and uses. Far from being just an antacid that one can take to counteract dyspepsia after a night out, it can be used as a regular food additive, giving sherbet its fizz and noodles their texture. It is also used in baking, photography, as a degreaser, a water softener or a fixative for dyes.

The Turkish economy grew in a highly protectionist mould for more than half a century following the foundation of the modern republic after World War 1. However, in 1983 Prime Minister Turgut Özal initiated a series of reforms designed to shift the economy toward a more private sector, market-based model and since then many former state-owned enterprises have been privatised. One of Turkey’s largest integrated mining and beneficiation company’s is Eti, which has a number of subsidiary units responsible for several mining activities throughout Turkey.

Boasting a proven track record for producing quality products that meet the needs of the market, Turkey is recognised throughout the world as a major player in steel production and exportation. Over the last several decades the country has experienced consistent growth within its steel sector, expanding exponentially to the point where, in 2012, it was ranked as Europe’s second largest crude steel producer and eight in the world ranking of steel-producing countries.

In the same way that it had a hugely symbolic meaning to ancient Egyptian culture, gold was just as central to ancient Greeks, in this case as a financial commodity. In fact it was as early as 550 BC that the Greeks had begun mining for gold across the Mediterranean and into Middle Eastern territory. By 325 BC, the Greeks had successfully mined across an area spanning from Gibraltar to Asia Minor and Egypt.

The company’s 12 percent profit rise, to the tune of £443 million, was underpinned by the strong performance of its minerals division.

Weir Minerals, which specialises in supplying slurry handling equipment, was boosted by continued demand growth in Chinese and emerging markets for key commodities such as copper.

Weir also said cost efficiencies helped it achieve a record year, which saw revenue up by 12 percent to more than £2.5 billion.

It was in 1972 that Dame Shirley Bassey released the iconic song Diamonds Are Forever. Immortalised as the theme tune to one of Sean Connery’s greatest James Bond adventures the song spoke of how diamonds will remain long after a person’s love has gone. The truth is that not only will diamonds outlive many generations to come, the creation of natural diamonds pre-dates life on earth itself.