U.S. mining companies attractive to foreign acquisition

Standard & Poor project that foreign companies will actively acquire U.S. mining companies and resources because of the weak dollar, the need to gain economies of scale by expanding operations, and the desire to get a foothold in the U.S. market.

This report comes on top of an analysts conclusion that mining company stocks are under-valued compared to the price of commodities. Together, these suggest we should expect a wave of foreign bids for U.S. mining properties and companies.

Assessor: earth fissures drop home value 60%

A decision by the Pinal County Assessor's Office to cut the property value 60% for a residential lot cut by earth fissures is being described as a first-ever move and by some as precedent-setting. The size of the reduction is attracting attention and may be a factor in setting selling prices on other properties with fissures that similarly affect structures.

Pinal County reduced the assessed value Joan Etzenhouser's 3.3-acre lot in the San Tan mountains area, from about $160,000 to about $64,000 last week. The decision has to be finalized by the County Board of Supervisors in July

The East Valley Tribune quotes Joan as saying the decision also froze her property value unless the fissure issue worsens, which implies the assessed value could drop more.

A spokesperson for the county however, said individual valuations are not precedent setters and that appraisals of other properties with fissures may yield different results.

Citigroup: copper to $5 this year; $5.50 by 2010

A report on Mineweb.com says Citigroup is predicts "the copper price is bottoming, and will move sharply higher in 2009 and 2010."

Citigroup increased its price forecast for copper from US$3.50 to $5 per pound in 2008, from $3 to $5.50 per pound in 2010, and upped its long term price from $1.45 to $1.60 per pound.

One of the driving forces is continued rapid economic growth in underdeveloped nations. Citigroup says Chinese copper demand is expected to increase at around 15% per year.

Another factor is that copper production does not seem to be growing to keep pace with demand.

New book: "Anatomy of the Grand Canyon"

A copy of Ken Hamblin's magnificent new book, "Anatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology" arrived today, and after a couple of minutes flipping through it, I knew I had to take it home and savor it leisurely.

The 143 page, large format book is dominated by dozens and dozens of two-page panorama photos from the river, the canyon rims and from the air. Each panorama has an accompanying geologic cross-section to put it all in perspective. Ken has admirably achieved his goal of creating a dazzling geologic tour that is understandable and inviting to the completely uninitiated reader who opens the cover, while still fascinating to the most jaded geologist. The book is visual. Beautiful block diagrams and shaded relief maps show the geology and geomorphology, juxtaposed with striking photos. Text is limited, simple, but compelling.

The picture above is a bit misleading. It is actually more elongated that it appears, ensuring the panoramas are maximized on the page. The production standards are wonderful, although Vulcan's Throne is spelled "Volcans Throne" on p111, the Hurricane Fault is difficult to delineate from another in one of the cross sections, and the figure caption formation names are cut off on p135. These are trivial problems in an otherwise beautiful and engaging volume that I expect to pick up again and again.

The book is published by Grand Canyon Association and sells for $49.95. We expect to carry it in our stores in Tucson and Phoenix.

Hearing set on Resolution Copper land exchange

A bill to exchange public and private lands to allow the Resolution Copper mine to be developed will have a hearing in the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests on July 9 in Washington DC. The bill (S3157) was introduced last month by Sen. Jon Kyl to try to resolve issues holding up the mining operation.

The Arizona Republic newspaper this morning ran an editorial entitled "Shiny Outlook," noting the economic benefits of the mine and endorsing efforts to work out the environmental and cultural issues that may be affected. Interestingly, they praised the average $60,000 wages expected for the 1,200 workers at the mine.

In contrast, last week, the Tucson Citizen ran an editorial blasting the proposed Rosemont copper mine south of Tucson for it's expected $59,000 average salaries, arguing that surely some workers would make a lot more than that, so others would actually be making low wages with no benefits, and we don't need more low wage employers.

I urge you to read and compare the two editorials.

New Mexico geothermal plant to power Phoenix

The first commerical geothermal power plant in New Mexico is expected to deliver 10 megawatts to the Phoenix area by December.

Raser Technologies Inc. of Provo, Utah will provide the power to Salt River Project to supply about 5,500 homes.

The 2,500-acre Lightning Dock geothermal field in Hidalgo County has 41 wells with water temperatures from 250 to over 300 degrees (F). It has supplied hot water to greenhouses in the area for many years and generated binary power for local use. Raser expects to expand the facility to maximize the resource at a later date. [photo: binary power unit at Lightning Dock field. Credit, Geo-Heat Center]

Proposal: a federal Earth Systems Science Agency

A group of highly respected former federal science officials is calling for merger of the USGS and NOAA into an Earth Systems Science Agency. The proposal is in the new issue of Science:

The United States faces unprecedented environmental and economic challenges in the decades ahead. Foremost among them will be climate change, sea-level rise, altered weather patterns, declines in freshwater availability and quality, and loss of biodiversity. Addressing these challenges will require well-conceived, science-based, simultaneous responses on multiple scales, from global and national, to regional and local. The executive and legislative branches of the federal government and of the states will have to transcend bureaucratic boundaries and become much more innovative in developing and implementing policy responses

We strongly believe organizational changes must be made at the federal level to align our public institutional infrastructure to address these challenges. The most pressing organizational change that is required is the establishment of an independent Earth Systems Science Agency formed by merging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The lead author on the Science proposal is Mark Schaefer, a former acting director of the USGS and senior official in the Interior Dept. Mark and I served on the National Research Council’s Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) a few years ago, and with Steve Bohlen, then head of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, wrote a letter to the chair of BESR, urging a re-examination of the federal earth science agencies.

Among the recommendations we made in the July 4, 2005 letter were:

Overall, we see the need for better coordinated policy formulation and implementation for the national earth science enterprise. The geological, hydrological, and biological work of the USGS, coupled with the oceanic and atmospheric work of NOAA, offers a potentially integrated approach to earth science.