Deutsche Bank AG (DB)

Deutsche Bank AG (DB) is Germany`s biggest investment bank.

In March 2007 it secured nearly 52% voting interest in Crescent Gold Ltd (Australia) with purchase of 316 million shares [MJ 30 March 2007].

DB`s London subsidiary was, at the same time, invested in the Masara mine project of Crew Gold (now Intex) in the Philippines; and acted as a broker for the Tampakan project, also in the Philippines, operated by Xstrata. [Piplinks Research, 2007].

Deutsche Bank …

• in 2008 was the second biggest shareholder (at 18.33%) in Nufcor Uranium Ltd [ Hemscott 14 February 2008];
• held 4.75% of share capital of Lonmin Plc [Hemscott 22 January 2008];
• has 4.09% of UK COAL (see Artemis Investment Management)
• was in 2008 a 3.16% shareholder in Aurum Mining PLC [Hemscott 24 January 2008]
• Deutsche Bank Asset Management in 2008 had 7.92% of LonZim PLC, effectively the holding company for, inter alia, Lonrho PLC (see Tudor Capital) [Hemscott 12 February 2008]

Among its own and self-managed shares (as of late 2007) were ones in:

• Freeport McMoran- Phelps Dodge (US$ 1,063 million);
• Barrick Gold (US$ 226.6 million);
• Newmont (US$ 339.2 million);
• GoldCorp (US$ 330 million);
• Vedanta Resources (US$ 19 million), and
• Anvil Mining (US$ 1.3 million) [Bank Secrets 2007]

Deutsche Bank, in February 2009, joined by JP Morgan Cazenove, led Xstrata`s rights issue, in an attempt by the UK-Swiss mining company to grapple with its debt [TheLawyer.com, 9 February 2009].

In July 2009, Deutsche Bank acted, along with the State Bank of India and the country’s IDBI, as joint lead arranger for a 6,150 crore (over US1 billion) loan to Sterlite (Vedanta Resources) for construction of a coal-firedpower project in Orissa, aimed at supplying elcectricity for the UK company’s Jharsaguda aluminium smelter.

In August 2010, Deutsche Bank (London branch) agreed to provide US$45 million as a "prepaid gold facility" in return for delivery of 68,000 ounces of gold from Petaquilla Minerals Ltd, a Canadian gold mining company active in Panama.

In October 2010, the ASX-listed WPG Resources Ltd mandated Deutsche Bank to provide a US$ 120 million funding package for that company's iron ore project, amusingly called "Peculiar Knob".

Located in South Australia, the "Knob" is claimed by WPG to be "the highest grade undeveloped DSO [direct smelting of ore] project with the lowest level of the key impurities alumina and phosphorous" in the country [MJ 29 October 2010].

In March 2011, DB, along with UBS AG provided US$375 million to US-based coal producer, James River Coal, in order to finance that company's aquisition of International Resource Partners and IRP's marketing subsidiary, Logan & Kanawha Coal [EBR Report, 7 March 2011].

In September 2011, Deutsche Bank, along with Goldman Sachs Group, announced it would manage an IPO for the Erdenes-Tavan Tolgoi (ETT) company in Mongolia, which owns the eastern portion of what is believed to be one of the largest - if not the largest - untapped coal resources on the planet. "Unusually", commented the Mining Journal, the IPO would be conducted on three stock exchanges: in London, Hong Kong and Ulaan Bator, the country's capital [MJ 2 September 2011].

During 2011, DB acted as advisor to Brazil's Ferrous Resources, as the iron ore company sought a buyer. (The world's biggest mining outfit, BHP Billiton, was rumoured to be in the bidding [Business Spectator, 26 October 2011]).

On the eve of the 2011 climate change conference (Conference of Parties) held in Durban, South Africa,four organisations (urgewald of Germany, BankTrack, and South Africa groups Earthlife Africa and groundWork)identified Deutsche Bank as the fifth heaviest financier of coal fired electricity and coal mining in the period 2005-2011. According to their report, the bank had released nearly 11,500 million euros of such funding [Bankrolling Climate Change, urgewald et al, 2011].

According to DB's 2010 Financial Reprt, the only mining company in which the bank holds substantial capital is Crescent Gold Ltd, which is active in Australia.