The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has launched a $1bn fund with the Chinese government with the intention to invest in the Caribbean and Latin America, said the bank’s President Luis Alberto Moreno late on Monday. It is believed the move will help China strengthen its ties to prominent institutions in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. The main target for the fund, which is to commence before the end of 2012, will be “sustainable economic development,” according to Moreno. Additionally, the IADB confirmed that it is to create a separate contingency fund for the region, which will focus on helping various nations deal with the effect of natural disasters and assist in fighting the effects of global warming.

After a controversial struggle with mining corporations which spanned two years, parliament has passed a law imposing a 30 percent tax on coal mine profits. The tax will affect any company that makes $75m in profits, and with 30 Australian mining companies breaking the barrier, the government believes it will raise somewhere in the region of $10.6bn in its first three years. The levy is also designed to gradually increase employer payments into worker pension funds from 9 to 12 percent in seven years, and generate $6bn of infrastructure funding. The tax was originally touted in May 2010. The scheme sparked a furious reaction from the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies, who embarked on PR and advertising campaigns attacking the proposal. The successful passing of the tax represents a significant victory for embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her minority administration, which currently faces serious problems trying to get any legislation approved. The bill relied on support from the Green Party, who themselves had fought unsuccessfully to maintain the original rate of 40 percent, and extend the tax to gold and uranium miners. The government was predictably triumphant in parliament upon the bill’s successful passage, with Treasurer Wayne Swan proclaiming “this is a historic day for economic reform in Australia,” and Gillard responding to criticism that the reforms will result in “the fruits of the resources boom” being enjoyed broadly, not merely by “the privileged few”. On Tuesday, the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies again publicly criticised the […]

Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer by volume, said on Monday that adjusted net profit results for 2011 showed a plunge of 91.7 percent due to high debt servicing outgoings and lower aluminium prices. The group posted a net profit of $237m compared to $2.87bn the year before largely because of a write-down in the value of its share in miner Norilsk Nickel. Figures were well below expectations, with Thomson Reuters’ analysts predicting $2.04bn. Revenues for 2011 increased 12 percent to $12.29bn from $10.98 year on year. The company also announced it has replaced executive director Tatiana Soina with Maxim Sokov. The news comes just days after the company replaced chairman Victor Vekselberg with Barry Cheung.

There is a growing concern about cost inflation in the Chilean mining industry, according to the CFO of London-listed Chilean mining group Antofagosta. The news comes amid worries about overall copper production in Chile, which recorded a down trend of almost eight percent year on year in January. Hussein Barma at the Jefferies copper conference on Thursday said that sourcing skilled labour will be a key driver in the future. The CFO indicated that labour accounts for just over 10 percent of Antofagasta’s total cost base but a limited pool of skilled stuff is already taking a toll on its operations. Both its projects in Caracoles and Telegrafo, which could potentially produce up to 150,000 tons of copper annually, were affected as a result of limited skilled labour. Barma said Antofagasta is roughly four weeks away from completing negotiations with four contractors to establish the cost of developing its $1.3bn Antucoya project in Chile. Antofagasta has recently undergone a management shakeup due to unsatisfactory production results, which saw the resignation of CEO Marcelo Awad and a reshuffle of several other managers.

An executive director at US investment giant Goldman Sachs on Wednesday resigned publicly by way of a contemptuous opinion piece in the New York Times, saying the work environment had become “toxic and destructive” at the bank. Greg Smith’s parting shocker accused Goldman in the paper of losing touch with its moral compass and being ruled by a greed infested corporate culture where “clients continue to be sidelined” while the bank just “thinks about making money.” The head of the firm’s US equity derivatives business in Europe, added in the NY Times column: “Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “Muppets,” sometimes over internal e-mail. I mean come on. Integrity? It is eroding.” Smith’s opinion letter was entitled “Why I am leaving Goldman Sachs” and concluded, saying that he resigned on Wednesday after a dozen years with the firm. CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, told employees that Smith may have had a grudge against the company, while Goldman Sachs responded to the accusations in a statement, saying: We disagree with the views expressed, which we don’t think reflect the way we run our business.”