Quebec lays out plans to raise mining taxes

(Reuters) - The Quebec government has laid out plans to extract up to C$1.8 billion (US$1.8 billion) more in taxes from the mining sector over the next 12 years, with measures that include a minimum royalty, arguing that Quebecers need to see greater benefits from mining ventures in the province.

The new taxation plan, less punishing than a scheme the separatist Parti Quebecois had promised in its 2012 election campaign, came as sagging demand and falling metal prices cut into already tight margins in the mining sector.

The plan, posted on the provincial government website late on Monday, would see miners pay the greater of two options: either a royalty on the value of ore, set at 1 percent for the first C$80 million and 4 percent for anything over that, or a graduated tax on profits, ranging from 16 to 28 percent.

The Parti Quebecois had previously proposed a 5 percent royalty on the gross value of all mining output, and a "super-tax" on profits above a certain point.

Dale Coffin, a spokesman for Agnico-Eagle Mines which operates three gold mines in Quebec, said the overall impact on Agnico's operations appeared to be minor, although he noted the company was still reviewing the proposed changes.

"Hopefully this will signal an end to this period of uncertainty, as it is important that stability and investor confidence is restored for the long-term viability of the industry," he said.

Metal prices hit record highs after the global financial crisis, prompting governments around the world to demand a bigger slice of profits from mining companies.

Quebec said the plan would increase government revenues by a total of between C$770 million and C$1.8 billion over the next 12 years. In 2015 revenues should be C$50 million higher than under the existing regime, introduced by the previous, Liberal, government.

"Quebecers were justifiably dissatisfied with the Liberal regime because some mining corporations could continue developing natural resources over a long period without paying a penny in royalties," Quebec Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau said in the statement.

"In addition, when large profits were earned because of a sudden rise in prices, the share of profits paid in royalties did not budge."

($1=$1.01 Canadian)

(Reporting by Randall Palmer in Ottawa and Julie Gordon and Allison Martell in Toronto; Editing by Bernard Orr and Janet Guttsman)

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Australia plans to buy 12 EA-18G Growler aircraft

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australia said Friday it would buy 12 Boeing EA-18G Growler advanced electronic warfare technology aircraft because it can't risk delivery delays in their replacement, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

The government announced last year that its air force will equip 12 of Australia's F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters with Growler radar-jamming equipment and other gear to knock out a wide array of electronic devices from 2018.

But the reviewed defense strategy released Friday said the government now plans to buy 12 new Growlers and to keep Australia's existing 24 Super Hornets as they are. Australia will be the only country other than the United States to operate Growlers, which are to be replaced eventually by JFSs.

"We've made decisions to protect our own air combat capability with the previous acquisitions of Super Hornets and now additional Growlers," Defense Minister Stephen Smith told reporters.

"It is quite clearly the case on our one analysis but also on U.S. analysis that the Joint Strike Fighter project ... has improved, but there are still risks associated with that and we're not prepared to ... take the risk of a gap in our air combat capability or superiority," he added.

The government has not said when the new Growlers will be delivered. Smith said they will cost around $1.5 billion.

Australia plans to buy 14 JSFs for $3.2 billion and is contracted to buy two which will be delivered in 2014 and 2015.

The government announced last year that it was pushing back delivery of most of the JSFs by two years to 2019 as a cost-cutting measure.

The JSFs are to replace the Growlers and Super Hornets which are expected to be retired around 2030. Smith said the first of three JSF squadrons are scheduled to be delivered from 2020.

Lockheed Martin Corp. welcomed the government's announcement that it maintained a long-term strategy announced in 2009 to buy as many at100 JSFs for $17 billion.

"Lockheed Martin is honored by the trust and confidence the Australian government showed in the F-35 program with today's announcement," the company said in a statement.

"Along with the first two Australian jets in production, which will deliver in mid-2014, we will work closely with the government to support their purchase of their remaining 100 F-35 aircraft," it added.

Smith said a "modest increase" in defense spending will be announced on May 14 with the government's budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1.

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Australian behind new Titanic plans political bid

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A wealthy Australian who is rebuilding the Titanic plans to do the political equivalent. Clive Palmer said Friday he intends to refloat the United Australian Party, a once dominant force in Australian politics that sank without a trace in the 1940s.

The mining magnate plans to revive the Great Depression-era party and stand candidates for every seat in the House of Representatives and Senate at general elections on Sept. 14. Palmer intends to run himself in the electoral district in Queensland state where he owns a golf resort.

"I'm standing to be the next prime minister of Australia," he said.

"I have no personal interest. I have made enough money in my life. I'm not seeking any enrichment of wealth for myself, I'm seeking it for the Australian people," he added.

Analysts say the UAP could win a few conservatives seats with a campaign bankrolled by Palmer. But any gains by the party are unlikely to alter the election result, with opinion polls pointing to a crushing victory by the conservative opposition.

Palmer said he decided to enter politics because of poor policy decisions by the center-left Labor Party government and a lack of confidence in the opposition coalition.

He said his party would stand on a platform of honesty in government free of vested interests.

"Politicians are being compromised by the reliance on lobbyists and their client's check books," he said.

He described the historic example of UAP as a "shining light" for where Australia needed to go.

Palmer had been the leading donor to the conservative Liberal National Party which governs Queensland and is part of the federal opposition. But he quit the party in November after failing to win its endorsement to run for federal politics against Deputy Prime Wayne Swan and public clashes with the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman.

The 59-year-old businessman has cultivated a reputation for bold and unconventional plans. In February, he announced that construction will soon commence in a Chinese shipyard on a replica of the famously doomed ocean liner Titanic that could set sail in 2016.

Last month, he announced he had ordered 117 mechanical dinosaurs from China as added attractions to his luxury Palmer Coolum Resort north of the Queensland capital Brisbane.

Australian National University political scientist Norm Abjorensen described the original UAP as a divided and "hastily cobbled together alliance" during a period of economic crisis that met an end analogous to the Titanic hitting an iceberg.

"It's really the only time in our political history where a major political party ... has just about totally imploded," Abjorensen said. "I don't think Clive's inspiration is all that bright."

But bankrolled by Palmer's fortune, the revamped party could win a few seats, he said.

Palmer said an application for the party's registration has been made to electoral authorities. Two Queensland state independent lawmakers are considering joining the party.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard declined to comment on Palmer's political bid other than to tell Australian Broadcasting Corp. the registration of the UAP was "a question for Mr. Palmer and the appropriate party registration processes."

Opposition leader Tony Abbott dismissed the prospect of Palmer splitting the conservative vote.

"The people of Australia are very savvy here and they are going to vote for the people who are serious; they are going to vote for the people who have done the work, who have put in the hard yards, and who can deliver competent, stable and trustworthy government," Abbott told reporters.

Palmer will not reveal his wealth. Forbes estimates he is worth $895 million while Australia's Business Review weekly last year estimated his fortune at almost $4 billion.

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Australian behind new Titanic plans political bid

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A wealthy Australian who is rebuilding the Titanic plans to do the political equivalent. Clive Palmer said Friday he intends to refloat the United Australian Party, a once dominant force in Australian politics that sank without a trace in the 1940s.

The mining magnate plans to revive the Great Depression-era party and stand candidates for every seat in the House of Representatives and Senate at general elections on Sept. 14. Palmer intends to run himself in the electoral district in Queensland state where he owns a golf resort.

"I'm standing to be the next prime minister of Australia," he said.

"I have no personal interest. I have made enough money in my life. I'm not seeking any enrichment of wealth for myself, I'm seeking it for the Australian people," he added.

Analysts say the UAP could win a few conservatives seats with a campaign bankrolled by Palmer. But any gains by the party are unlikely to alter the election result, with opinion polls pointing to a crushing victory by the conservative opposition.

Palmer said he decided to enter politics because of poor policy decisions by the center-left Labor Party government and a lack of confidence in the opposition coalition.

He said his party would stand on a platform of honesty in government free of vested interests.

"Politicians are being compromised by the reliance on lobbyists and their client's check books," he said.

He described the historic example of UAP as a "shining light" for where Australia needed to go.

Palmer had been the leading donor to the conservative Liberal National Party which governs Queensland and is part of the federal opposition. But he quit the party in November after failing to win its endorsement to run for federal politics against Deputy Prime Wayne Swan and public clashes with the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman.

The 59-year-old businessman has cultivated a reputation for bold and unconventional plans. In February, he announced that construction will soon commence in a Chinese shipyard on a replica of the famously doomed ocean liner Titanic that could set sail in 2016.

Last month, he announced he had ordered 117 mechanical dinosaurs from China as added attractions to his luxury Palmer Coolum Resort north of the Queensland capital Brisbane.

Australian National University political scientist Norm Abjorensen described the original UAP as a divided and "hastily cobbled together alliance" during a period of economic crisis that met an end analogous to the Titanic hitting an iceberg.

"It's really the only time in our political history where a major political party ... has just about totally imploded," Abjorensen said. "I don't think Clive's inspiration is all that bright."

But bankrolled by Palmer's fortune, the revamped party could win a few seats, he said.

Palmer said an application for the party's registration has been made to electoral authorities. Two Queensland state independent lawmakers are considering joining the party.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard declined to comment on Palmer's political bid other than to tell Australian Broadcasting Corp. the registration of the UAP was "a question for Mr. Palmer and the appropriate party registration processes."

Opposition leader Tony Abbott dismissed the prospect of Palmer splitting the conservative vote.

"The people of Australia are very savvy here and they are going to vote for the people who are serious; they are going to vote for the people who have done the work, who have put in the hard yards, and who can deliver competent, stable and trustworthy government," Abbott told reporters.

Palmer will not reveal his wealth. Forbes estimates he is worth $895 million while Australia's Business Review weekly last year estimated his fortune at almost $4 billion.

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Aussie firm plans ammonia plant near New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- An Australian fertilizer company and a Jefferson Parish chemical company are investing $1 billion in a new ammonia plant and related improvements at a site 20 miles from New Orleans, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Wednesday.

The Dyno Nobel Americas plant will provide 65 jobs with salaries averaging more than $55,700 a year, officials said. Five will be employees of Dyno and the rest will work for Cornerstone Chemical Co., which owns the site in Waggaman.

Dyno's parent company, Incitec Pivot Ltd., of Southbank, Victoria, is investing $850 million.

The plant will be able to produce 800,000 metric tons — about 881,800 tons — of ammonia a year and the company has customers for all of it, according to an announcement that Incitec Pivot Ltd. posted Wednesday on its website.

Dyno Nobel, which Incitec described as North America's largest manufacturer of industrial explosives, will use 300,000 metric tons and the rest will go to Cornerstone and to Transammonia Inc.

Incitec Managing Director & CEO James Fazzino said the project is expected to pay for itself in less than five years.

State officials said it also will provide the foundation for Cornerstone to continue its planned investment of $175 million in maintenance, upgrades and infrastructure expansion at its site over a six-year period. It also will keep 441 existing Cornerstone jobs.

Both companies are expected to get Louisiana's industrial tax exemption and rebates under the state's quality jobs program, which provides a 5- or 6-percent cash rebate of annual gross payroll for new jobs for up to 10 years, and can provide a 4 percent sale and use tax rebate on capital spending or a 1.5 percent investment tax credit.

Cornerstone will also get a $3 million modernization tax credit over five years and use the state's job training program.

Dyno Nobel estimated that construction employment will peak at 750.

Incitec subsidiary Dyno Nobel Louisiana Ammonia LLC has a contract with KBR Inc. to engineer and build the plant, the Australian company said.

"This plant will set a new standard in clean, efficient ammonia production and will provide a significant economic benefit to the state and regional communities," Fazzino said.

The plans are scaled up a bit from those Jindal and Simon Atkinson, president of Incitec U.S. subsidiary Dyno Nobel International, described last May, when they said Dyno was making a $30 million feasibility study.

The company was then considering an $800 million plant that would produce 750,000 metric tons a year, creating 60 jobs — 10 for Dyno and 50 at Cornerstone.

Construction also apparently will take longer than initially planned, with production slated for the third quarter of 2016 rather than in late 2015.

The site is a brownfield — land where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by known or possible contamination. The site provides "infrastructure, including ammonia logistics and access to the U.S. ammonia market," Fazzino said.

He said Incitec was attracted by "a brownfield site, competitively-priced energy, labor productivity and responsive regulatory environment."

The ammonia plant will be the seventh worldwide for Incitec, the company said.

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Kerry praises plans for 'safe' Afghan elections

KABUL (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a show of unity Monday, shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations between the two countries.

Kerry, in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit, said he and Karzai were "on the same page" when it comes to peace talks with the Taliban.

Karzai had infuriated U.S. officials by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration presses ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.

But Kerry told a joint news conference that "I am confident (Karzai) does not believe the U.S. has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace."

"So we're on the same page. I don't think there is any disagreement between us and I am comfortable with his explanation," Kerry said.

For his part, Karzai said "today was a very good day," citing the turnover of the detention facility at the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul.

The two spoke at a joint news conference during which Kerry also praised what he said was Afghanistan's commitment to "safe, secure" and transparent elections, scheduled for April 2014.

During Kerry's 24-hour visit to the country — his sixth since President Barack Obama became president but his first as Obama's secretary of State — Kerry also planned to meet with civic leaders and others to discuss continued U.S. assistance to the country and how to wean it from such aid as the international military operation winds down, and upcoming national elections.

U.S. officials accompanying Kerry said he did not plan to lecture Karzai on his earlier rhetoric, which the U.S. had seen as jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism.

Kerry, who arrived in Kabul from Amman, Jordan, had hoped also to travel to Pakistan on his trip to the region but put it off due to elections there. Instead, he met late Sunday in Amman with Pakistani army chief for Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, officials said.

The pair had a private dinner at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Jordan as Pakistan continued to seethe in the aftermath of the return from exile to the country of former president Pervez Musharraf, himself a former army chief.

Earlier Monday, the U.S. military ceded control of the Parwan last detention facility near the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer. Karzai demanded control of Parwan as a matter of national sovereignty.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, handed over Parwan at a ceremony there after signing an agreement with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. "This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan," Dunford said.

The dispute over the center threw a pall over the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral security agreement that would govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.

An initial agreement to hand over Parwan was signed a year ago, but efforts to follow through on it constantly stumbled over American concerns that the Afghan government would release prisoners that it considered dangerous.

They have reason to worry. Zakir Qayyum — a former Guantanamo detainee, was released into Afghan custody in 2007. He was freed four months later and rejoined the Taliban. He has reportedly risen to become the No. 2 in the Taliban.

A key hurdle was a ruling by an Afghan judicial panel holding that administrative detention, the practice of holding someone without formal charges, violated the country's laws. The U.S. argued that international law allowed administrative detentions and also argued that it could not risk the passage of some high-value detainees to the notoriously corrupt Afghan court system.

An initial deadline for the full handover passed last September and another earlier this month.

The detention center houses about 3,000 prisoners and the majority are already under Afghan control. The United States had not handed over about 100, and some of those under American authority do not have the right to a trial because the U.S. considers them part of an ongoing conflict.

There are also about three dozen non-Afghan detainees, including Pakistanis and other nationals that will remain in American hands. The exact number and nationality of those detainees has never been made public.

A new agreement, or memorandum of understanding, was signed at the ceremony by Dunford and Khan, but the U.S. military said it will not be made public. The agreement supplants one signed last March, which had been made public.

The U.S. military said in a statement that the new agreement "affirms their mutual commitment to the lawful and humane treatment of detainees and their intention to protect the people of Afghanistan and coalition forces," an apparent reference to the release of detainees deemed to be dangerous.

There are about 100,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan, including about 66,000 from the United States. American officials have made no final decision on how many troops might remain in Afghanistan after 2014, although they have said as many as many as 12,000 U.S. and coalition forces could remain.

The U.S. started to hold detainees at Bagram Air Field in early 2002. For several years, prisoners were kept at a former Soviet aircraft machine plant converted into a lockup.

In 2009, the U.S. opened a new detention facility next door. The number of detainees incarcerated at that prison, renamed the Parwan Detention Facility, went from about 1,100 in September 2010 to more than 3,000.

After Monday's handover, it was renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan and the U.S. military said it would provide the Afghan army with advisers and $39 million in funding.

The United States has spent about a quarter of a billion dollars to build the Bagram facility along with Kabul's main prison located in the capital.

_____

Patrick Quinn in Kabul and Rahim Faiez in Bagram, Afghanistan contributed to this report.

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Venezuelan leader warns of sabotage plans

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro claims government opponents are planning to sabotage the country's power grid and interrupt food distribution ahead of the April 14 presidential election.

Maduro's comments come amid growing concerns about sporadic shortages of some basic foods and occasional power outages in several regions of Venezuela.

Government foes have rejected similar allegations about planned sabotage in the past.

Opposition politicians argue that the government is to blame for shortages because it has not allotted sufficient U.S. dollars to businesses that import food. They also say the government is responsible for the blackouts because it has not made investments required to maintain the power grid.

Maduro made the allegations during a televised speech on Monday.

He did not provide details of the alleged plans.

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No plans to change Canada uranium ownership policy: minister

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada has no plans to change its rules that limit foreign ownership of uranium miners, the country's minister of natural resources said on Monday.

"We don't have any plans to change the rule, which is a maximum of 49 percent foreign ownership in the development of uranium, and that's a longstanding policy," Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver told reporters on Monday.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel; Writing by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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