Cochran will be responsible for developing and driving strategies to realise and optimise the value of the Group’s substantial uranium resources, as well as for leveraging his track record of value creation in the uranium industry to capitalise on other opportunities that may arise, the company said.

Cochran is a respected international mining executive with over 30 years of experience in a diverse range of commodities and in various leadership positions globally and in uranium.

His uranium industry experience spans over 15 years, beginning in 2006 when he joined Uranium One’s South Australian team. He guided the Honeymoon mine through its environmental approvals and oversaw the establishment of the Mitsui, Uranium One Australia JV.

Cochran also led the due diligence team on Uranium One’s C$3.8 billion acquisition of UrAsia Ltd. in 2007, which was the largest uranium transaction in history, and was responsible for the integration and management of the Kazakh joint venture interests.

Cochran has also led other uranium companies including Namibia-focused uranium developer Deep Yellow Ltd. and most recently, as the managing director and CEO of Aurora Energy Metals, which has an advanced uranium project in the US.

Prior to Aurora, he was the CEO Reward Minerals, an aspiring sulphate of potash development company.

The world’s No. 2 gold miner wants to continue exploring the region, it said, after its success at the Kibali gold mine in northeastern DRC. The mine yielded 343,000 ounces of gold in 2023, representing nearly 8.5% of the company’s output for the year.

“Kibali has transformed what was previously the disadvantaged northeast region of the country into a new economic frontier and a flourishing commercial hub,” Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said in a news release.

“Of our $5 billion investment in the DRC, more than half has been spent with local contractors and suppliers,” Bristow said.

Last year, Barrick announced it intended to search for additional copper deposits in Zambia and the DRC as part of its efforts to expand its presence in the African copper belt.

The Swiss company totalled 432.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, compared with in 2022, reversing the downward trend of recent years.

In its 2024-2026 Climate Action Transition Plan (CATP), Glencore noted it was still “on track” to meet its 15% reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for its industrial assets from 2019 levels by the end of 2026, and of 50% by the end of 2035.

The rest of Glencore’s revised climate plan is much like a previous plan it released — but this time includes the interim 2030 target.

“[The new plan] reflects a wide range of inputs, including analysis of the evolving market landscape, new regulatory requirements, mining and energy peer approaches, the IEA’s latest modelling, stakeholder inputs, and emerging insights from the most recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dialogue,” chief executive officer Gary Nagle said in a statement.

“We have also undertaken extensive engagement with our shareholders and appreciate their time and support as we have developed this CATP,” Nagle noted.

Glencore, like most of the world’s biggest listed companies, published its first climate action plans in 2020 in a bid to help with reaching the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of capping temperatures within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Baar, Switzerland-based firm, one of the top global thermal coal exporters, has faced backlash for being one of the few top miners still involved in the extraction of the fossil fuel used to generate electricity.

After facing pressure from major investors and shareholders, Glencore committed to run down its coal mines by the mid-2040s, closing at least 12 by 2035.

“We recognize the different roles of thermal coal and steelmaking coal – and the different transition pathways for both,” Nagle said while presenting the new strategy.

The executive noted the company “remains committed” to the responsible phase-down of its coal portfolio and is not progressing any greenfield thermal coal investments. 

The company continues to produce and recycle commodities considered key for today’s cleaner transition technologies. Nagle said the speed and direction of Glencore’s decarbonization efforts are significantly shaped by geopolitics, policy decisions, and technological advancements.

Tackling Scope 3 emissions

Glencore plans to cut “Scope 3” emissions — those produced when customers burn or process a company’s raw materials — by 30% by 2035 and achieving net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2050.

The company did not include its marketing activities in the these goals. It justified the decision by saying that, by trading in the third party volumes, its activities do not generate additional Scope 3 emissions, “which in the ordinary course are associated with the transformation or use of the product by third parties”.

Glencore recently acquired a 77% interest in Teck’s (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B)(NYSE: TECK) steelmaking coal business, Elk Valley Resources (EVR). The transaction remains subject to mandatory regulatory approvals and is expected to close by no later than Q3 2024.  

In recognition, the School of Mining, Manufacturing and Engineering Technologies has been renamed the Nutrien School of Mining, Manufacturing and Engineering Technologies.

“With this significant contribution, we are not just constructing a new campus, we are building a launchpad for tomorrow’s leaders,” Dr. Larry Rosia, Sask Polytech CEO said in a news release.

“For more than 40 years, the connection between Nutrien and Sask Polytech has been mutually beneficial and has evolved to become an indispensable partnership that plays a critical role in Saskatchewan’s economy. Nutrien’s generous gift will leave a lasting impact on Sask Polytech and future generations of students.”

The C$15 million gift to Sask Polytech’s Time to Rise campaign will directly support the construction of the new Saskatoon campus.

This investment will also enable Sask Polytech to continue working closely with Nutrien to train the workforce of tomorrow and provide skilled graduates for Nutrien’s potash operations. Nearly 300 of Nutrien’s current employees are Sask Polytech graduates, working at various Nutrien locations across Saskatchewan.

The new Saskatoon campus will transform an existing network of multiple decentralized, outdated buildings into a revitalized complex that offers modern, technology-rich learning for students and greater opportunities for applied research and investment.

The report, commissioned by the Kootenay-based environmental organization, underscores a substantial disparity between the C$1.9 billion required by the province for Teck to reserve for emergency shutdowns and mine reclamation, and the projected expenses of the company’s initiatives to combat selenium pollution resulting from coal mining in BC’s Elk Valley.

Selenium, a naturally occurring element toxic to fish in high concentrations, has been seeping for decades from waste rock piles surrounding Teck’s coal mines.

Teck, in response to Reuters, said Wildsight’s estimates were inaccurate and inconsistent with calculations made under BC government policy.

“Their provisions with respect to capital spend do not align with BC government policy and their use of simplified assumptions overstate ongoing water treatment operating costs alone by 50-60%,” Dale Steeves, Teck’s director of stakeholder relations said.

The report, conducted by consulting firm Burgess Environmental, calculated the C$6.5 billion by assessing the costs of implementing Teck’s current plan, which involves constructing water treatment plants until 2027 and operating them for 60 years.

Since 2014, Teck has allocated over C$1.4 billion towards mitigating selenium concentrations, with plans to invest an additional $150 million to $250 million by the end of 2024.

The miner sold its coal assets to Glencore and two Asian steelmakers for $8.9 billion last year as it shifts its focus to critical metals like copper. The deal is pending approval from the Canadian government.

Glencore declined to comment on the report.

“We hope that both Glencore and the Canadian government will give careful consideration to this report as they assess the sale, ensuring accountability for the selenium crisis is upheld throughout the ownership transfer,” said Simon Wiebe, mining policy and impacts researcher at Wildsight.

(With files from Reuters)

The existing partnership was established in August 2022, when Sumitomo adopted the MineHub’s blockchain-based platform for its copper concentrates business. Before that, the companies had been working to bring more efficiency, transparency and responsibility to industrial supply chains.

“By joining forces to drive commercial traction and integrating Sumitomo’s refined copper business onto our platform, we are poised to unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation in the metals industry,” MineHub CEO said in a news release.

“We believe that integrating our refined copper business onto the MineHub platform will not only streamline our operations, but also enhance our ability to serve our customers effectively,” Takeshi Ishimaru, general manager of Sumitomo’s non-ferrous metals and raw material unit, added.

The Japanese trading house expects to integrate its refined copper business onto the MineHub platform starting with key customers in the Asian market.

The Dutch suit is being pursued by law firms Pogust Goodhead and Lemstra Van der Korst against Vale and Samarco Iron Ore Europe, a marketing unit of the Samarco JV, which was responsible for operating the dam. 

Pogust Goodhead, which is also involved in the UK case against BHP, told the Financial Times on Tuesday the firm was acting on behalf of 77,000 individuals, nearly 1,000 businesses, and seven municipalities.

BHP is already dealing with a major class action lawsuit from around 700,000 claimants in the UK related to the same incident. The rupture of the Fundão mining waste facility on November 2015 resulted in 19 fatalities and pollution of waterways that reached the Atlantic Ocean, more than 650 km (400 miles) away. 

According to Vale, the Renova foundation, which the companies have been using to pay for some of the damages caused by the fatal dam collapse, had recieved 34.7 billion reais ($6.9 billion) in socioeconomic and environmental compensation as of December 2023.

A Brazilian court ruled in January that Samarco, Vale, and BHP had to pay $47.6 billion reals ($9.44bn) in compensation for the dam collapse. Both Vale and BHP have stated that they may appeal this decision.

That ruling did not apply to individual victims, Pogust Goodhead said in January.

The miner said on Tuesday it had inked signed definitive agreements with a group of international lenders, including the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Export Development Canada, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and several commercial lenders for the term loan. The financing has a four-year drawdown period and a 12-year term, Antofagasta said.

“The Centinela Second Concentrator project is a prime example of how Antofagasta can unlock value from its portfolio and our dedication to sustainable and responsible copper production,” chief executive Ivan Arriaga said in the statement.

The company has also signed a separate agreement granting Centinela the option to obtain water for its current and future operations from an international consortium. This group would acquire Centinela’s existing water supply system and extend it to serve the second concentrator. The international consortium is in the process of finalizing its financing to fulfill this agreement within the year.

As part of this deal, Centinela will transfer its current water transportation assets and rights for about $600 million to be received in 2024. The consortium will handle the construction and related capital expenses amounting to $380 million for the planned expansion of the water transportation system.

The $4.4 billion second concentrator at Centinela, whose construction was approved in December 2023, is expected to start operations in 2027.

Launched Monday, the Barrick Academy is designed to offer tailor-made training programs aimed at developing the miner’s frontline managers to grow as leaders in their fields, while equipping them with the skills to manage their teams more effectively and to improve performance.

The Barrick Academy will be training more than 2,000 foremen, supervisors and superintendents from the Africa and Middle East region in the next 24 months.

Barrick said the Academy would also gear up to include contractors and expand the curriculum to cover wider disciplines, including financial leadership, advanced computer literacy and safety courses.

The opening follows the construction of an airport terminal at Buzwagi’s Kahama airstrip in January, which has paved the way for a scheduled airline service that can serve more than 200 passengers at a time, Barrick said, adding that it is expected to be a major catalyst for economic growth in the region.

According to Barrick’s chief operating officer for the Africa and Middle East region, Sebastiaan Bock, the airport terminal and Academy form part of Barrick’s plan to turn Buzwagi into a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

A feasibility study commissioned in 2021 showed that the creation of the SEZ had the potential to replace the mine as the region’s economic driver and could sustainably create 3,000 jobs annually, generate more than $150,000 each year from service levies for the local municipality and deliver approximately $4.5 million in employment taxes a year.

The government of Tanzania approved the conversion of the mine into a SEZ through a government notice that was issued in February this year. A number of investors have started the process of setting up manufacturing industries inside this area.

“How we close our mines is just as important to us as how we build and operate them,” Bock said in the statement.

“Our Buzwagi mine was a significant economic powerhouse in the region for nearly 15 years before it poured its last gold in 2021. From our perspective, however, that is not the end of the story for Buzwagi as we transform it into an alternative productive asset that will serve the community.”

“If we were playing a card game, our country would have five winning cards: reserves and geology to develop projects; a promising demand in the international market; leading actors; a stable macroeconomic environment over the last decades, and people prepared to make these projects a reality,” Heeren said. “We have the winning hand, but civil society, the private sector and the government must work together.”

According to the state news agency Andina, the executive noted that Peru has proven to the world that it is possible to advance mining projects in the country as it has maintained ‘proper’ macroeconomic levels and miners operating there have shown to be resilient in the past few decades. This is despite the challenges that still need to be addressed when it comes to administrative and permit procedures, as well as infrastructure.  

“This situation is very similar in other countries. The main difference lies in the ability to work as a team to overcome challenges. This is where some countries rebound and others stall,” Heeren said.

The CEO of Anglo American Peru emphasized that in addition to all the prior, investors are paying close attention to countries’ and companies’ sustainability indicators. Therefore, he stressed that miners should have a clear course of action when it comes to their environmental, social, and governance strategies. 

As an example, he mentioned that the use of autonomous trucks as part of an automation process not only increases efficiency, sustainability and safety but also fosters the creation of new companies within the mining sphere.

The Don Lindsay Teck Award contributes C$1 million to each of Canada’s two largest mining schools: the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at UBC and the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining at Smith Engineering at Queen’s. The endowments will generate annual renewable scholarships at each university, providing financial support for students pursuing mining studies.

The award, funded by Teck, was established in recognition of former CEO Don Lindsay’s contributions to the mining sector in Canada and internationally. During his 17-year tenure, Lindsay’s commitment to philanthropy and supporting the next generation of mining talent has left a mark on the mining sector.

The Mining Engineering award builds on the longstanding partnerships with the mining schools at UBC and Queen’s University, spanning decades and aligns with Teck’s commitment to increasing the pipeline of mining industry talent to strengthen the industry’s future.

“The Don Lindsay Teck Award in Mining Engineering will shape the next generation of mining engineers,” James Olson, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC, said in a media statement. “UBC is building the mining industry of tomorrow, which will leverage critical minerals to solve climate change. We extend our deepest gratitude to Teck for this endowment, and its immeasurable impact on education and research at UBC Engineering.”

“The C$1 million endowment will have a profound impact on the heart of Queen’s University: its students,” added Kevin Deluzio, Dean, Smith Engineering at Queen’s University. “Our partnership with Teck over the years has enriched programs, provided employment opportunities, and supported research, contributing significantly to the educational experiences for our students.”

Glencore last year said it planned to develop a recycling hub in Europe with Li-Cycle to produce materials including lithium carbonate in response to a global shortage of key raw materials for the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

This not the first investment Glencore made in Li-Cycle. In June 2022, it invested $200 million in the Canadian-based battery recycling firm. Li-Cycle’s CEO Ajay Kochhar said at the time that the agreement would “further secure and diversify” the company’s lithium-ion battery supply and feedstock sources and help improve its position in North America and Europe.

The demand for lithium-ion batteries used in EVs has been on the rise as the world looks to meet its goal of transitioning away from fossil fuels by 2050. The recycling of lithium-ion batteries, however, is not expected to take off before 2030 due to obstacles such as the lack of recyclable feedstock and the long life of EVs, according to Wood Mackenzie.

“This financing enhances Li-Cycle and Glencore’s existing long-term, strategic partnership and represents an interim step in our funding strategy to support Li-Cycle’s future plans,” Kochhar said in a news release. “We also continue to work closely with the US Department of Energy on the conditional commitment for a loan of up to $375 million.”

Li-Cycle said it is continuing to review its global recycling network and its go-forward strategy for the paused Rochester Hub in the US, including analyzing potential end-product mix options and construction strategy.

“Glencore is committed to bringing scalable and sustainable circularity into the supply chain of battery materials,” Kunal Sinha, Glencore’s global head of recycling and non-executive director of Li-Cycle’s board, said in the statement.

“Our original investment in Li-Cycle, alongside key commercial agreements, formed part of this strategy. Today, we are pleased to further support Li-Cycle through this additional $75 million investment so both Li-Cycle and Glencore can continue to build the battery circularity platform of choice for our customers.”

Li-Cycle’s stock surged over 38% in Tuesday’s afternoon trading in New York. By 2 p.m. EDT, the shares had traded at a volume of 51.6 million, compared to an average daily volume of 3.3 million. The company has a $97.8 million market capitalization.

The Porgera mine in the hills of the Pacific island country was under care and maintenance from April 2020 to December 2023 while Barrick and partner Zijin Mining renegotiated terms with the government. Hiring is going better than envisioned and the mine will ramp up this year, Bristow said in an exclusive interview with The Northern Miner last week.

“We poured our first bar of gold under the new company – we don’t make too much fuss about it,” Bristow said with a laugh in the Barrick headquarters in Toronto before turning more serious. “We’ve got some work to do re-erecting the power towers after people blew them up.”

Tribal conflicts and protests have downed power lines several times since Porgera started production in 1990 under Canada’s Placer Dome which Barrick acquired in 2006 and may continue even with the new agreement. Assaults on illegal miners and toxic waste claims dogged the operation, like at the Acacia mine in Tanzania.

But Bristow, who’s led the company since it merged in 2019 with the South African company he built, Randgold Resources, transformed Acacia after what he called “a great deal for a crippled organization.”

Barrick had 72% of Acacia but no management control when authorities shut it down forcing the company to take it private and renegotiate operations over several years. At the giant Reko Diq copper project in Pakistan, it took a decade to resolve arbitration in Barrick’s favour, and four years to sort out Papua New Guinea’s nationalization of Porgera.

Reko Diq

Now, Porgera has an ownership structure where locals control more than half the company and its profit, similar to how Barrick is developing Reko Diq with half split evenly between the central government and Baluchistan state, leaving Barrick with half. Operating in locations deemed risky is about building partnerships because without permissions, the mines shut, Bristow says.

“It’s all about licence to operate,” he said. “Mining rights are binary. You either have a mine or you don’t. You can’t sort of say ‘I’m in a tough jurisdiction, so I’m going to discount it by 20%.’ I mean, there’s no such thing.”

All gold miners have benefited from the metal achieving record prices this month – $2,177.10 per oz. on Monday – which Bristow ascribed to global risks such as slackening economic growth and rising geopolitical tensions.

But Barrick’s gold and copper production fell slightly in 2023. The company has had to contend with an 18-month delay to permits at the Goldrush project, part of its Nevada Gold Mines partnership with Newmont (NYSE: NEM; TSX: NGT), and a slow start to commissioning at the Pueblo Viejo mine expansion in the Dominican Republic.

Reported talks to acquire the shut Cobre Panama copper mine in Central America from First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM), which Bristow again denied, saw no deal even though it would have suited the CEO’s penchant for expanding more into the energy transition metal and turning around troubled assets. Especially ones marred by poor relations with governments.

Site visits

Bristow, a hands-on CEO, visits each of the company’s roughly 20 sites at least three times a year, with the fourth round reserved for those that need attention or new initiatives.

“I don’t believe in offices,” the South African native said. “For mining to be successful and agile, the mine management should own their businesses. That calls for a better quality general manager on the mines and we look to more CEO-style people.”

Bristow has long stated his aversion to paying a premium for projects. Between China increasing its reach in the world economy more aggressively from about 2005, through a 2011 gold price peak and fall until it started rising again in 2019, the CEO figures the industry had to write off almost US$80 billion in value because of deals often sweetened with cash on top of premiums.

“There are moments when you will pay a premium, it depends how the market values the asset,” he said. “When you pay premiums on premiums, you’ve got to rely on the gold price to get yourself into the money. I’ve never done that.”

Bristow’s Randgold Resources brought African assets into the merger with Barrick, including the Loulo and Gounkoto mines in western Mali, Tongon in Ivory Coast and Kibali in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it doubled the gold reserve within two years to 10 million ounces. Kibali, Africa’s largest gold mine, still has 10 million oz. in reserves more than a decade after starting production.

Greenfields expansion

This year, Barrick is focused on Nevada, where the company is increasing greenfields exploration spending to replicate discoveries like Fourmile and Goldrush with a 20-million-oz. find that could boost Barrick’s gold production. It was 4.1 million oz. last year.

At Goldrush underground, where permits at last arrived in December, crews are preparing to install ventilation ducts allowing annual output to increase to 400,000 oz. by 2028 from 130,000 oz. this year, the CEO said. Permit delays had affected cash flow, he said.

While mining in the U.S. might be considered less risky than say, the remote northeast DRC home of Kibali, America has its own hazards, such as litigation by anti-mining groups and lengthy permits processes. During the pandemic, when many states suffered lack of revenue for services, Barrick and Newmont stepped up to pay their taxes in Nevada ahead of time.

“No matter how you own it, a mine is actually is a national asset,” he said. “When you invest in it to develop it, you should be investing in its people and its businesses, and people should benefit out of it and the economic benefits should be split. It should be shared.”

According to local media, the mine workers blocked the entrance road to the deposit and completely stopped production, in a strike that will be indefinite, according to Ricardo Torrejón, president of the Radomiro Tomic union.

Torrejón said that the strike aims to bring attention to the “serious safety issues and the lack of equipment maintenance” taking place at the operation. In his view, this was the cause of Rojas Farías’ accident. 

The 30-year-old woman was operating an extraction truck Friday afternoon when it suddenly caught fire. 

Police and authorities from the National Geology and Mining Service are still investigating the causes of the accident but have yet to share their findings. 

The Antofagasta Labor Directorate, on the other hand, issued an order suspending the use of extractor trucks.

Although Codelco self-suspended operations on Saturday, the supervisory agency extended this measure so that it not only related to the work area but also to the driving of heavy machinery. This interruption will be reassessed once the expert assessment of the damaged truck is completed.

“Codelco deeply regrets this fatal accident, expresses its deepest condolences to the family of Ana Rojas, to her colleagues and reiterates its call to promote safety as a non-negotiable value,” the state miner said in a media release. 

Back in 2020, a 33-year-old operator who worked on an extraction truck was also killed in an accident at Radomiro Tomic.

In June 2023, an electrical accident at Codelco’s El Teniente mine in central Chile left one worker dead, while in July 2022, two workers died in separate accidents at Codelco’s Chuqui Subterranea and Rajo Inca projects.

Between 2021 and 2023, Codelco was sanctioned 29 times for having seven fatal accidents. Most of the incidents were in project construction and not routine mining operations.

Lack of maintenance partly due to supply chain and staffing issues during the covid-19 pandemic caused a series of delays and equipment failures that are still being felt, according to the company. 

Delays in structural projects also affected maintenance since the company was forced to keep using machinery it had planned on retiring after new projects came online.

Chile is the world’s largest copper supplier and Codelco accounts for just over a quarter of the country’s output.

The firm, which owns and operates 57.5% of the Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, and has other producing and exploration assets in the country, including the Spence and Cerro Colorado mines, says female presence in its operations is more than double the national industry average of 15%.

Back in 2016, when BHP had only 17.5% female presence globally, the mining giant set a public goal to achieve gender balance by 2025.

“Gender parity was a goal that many believed impossible. Today, at BHP Americas, we can proudly confirm that we have achieved 40% female representation, one year ahead of schedule,” BHP Americas president Rag Udd said in a statement.

“We are aware that this journey does not end here. Although gender balance is important, it is vital that we focus on creating an inclusive culture, in which everyone can contribute with their full potential,” Udd noted.

At Escondida alone, BHP employs 1,509 women out of 3,935 workers. 

The company says that increased female representation at its operations is a result of the implementation of policies addressing gender pay gaps, the promotion of labour flexibility, as well as training and talent retention initiatives. The company notes that adapting operational infrastructure to better suit the needs of women has also been a factor in the equation.

A recent report by the CCM-Eleva Alliance, a joint initiative between Chile’s Mining Council and Fundacion Chile, analyzed workforce trends and the challenges 27 mining and supplier companies are facing.

One of the report’s main conclusions is that female participation in the labour market sits below those of developed countries. When it comes to decision-making across the mining industry, however, women accounted for 17% in 2022. This means country is better positioned in terms of women’s participation in the mining industry than Peru, and at the same level as the United States.

The mining industry’s treatment of women came under increased scrutiny in 2002, when the government of West Australia published the results of an inquiry that revealed “horrific” incidents at remote projects. 

At Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO), more than a quarter of female workers experienced sexual harassment and bullying, the company revealed in 2022.

The same investigation revealed that BHP recorded 91 reports of alleged sexual harassment or assault in the year through June 30, 2021, of which 79 were substantiated. 

The mining giant, which completed in 2023 a A$300 million ($191 million) project to make its mining villages in Western Australia safer by adding extra CCTV cameras, security lighting, doors and fences, saw a 20% increase in reported sexual harassment last year.

Dundee acquired the smelter in 2010 to secure a processing plant for the complex concentrate from the company’s Chelopech mine in Bulgaria. With developments in the global smelting market and changes in the quality of the Chelopech concentrate, the company says it can now place the concentrate at several other third-party facilities.

“We are pleased to announce the sale of the Tsumeb smelter, which is consistent with our strategic objective of focusing on our gold mining assets and simplifying our portfolio going forward. We are extremely proud of the investments that we have made to transform Tsumeb’s operational and environmental performance into a specialized custom smelter with a highly skilled workforce,” CEO David Rae said in a news release.

“We would like to thank the government of Namibia, the community of Tsumeb and our employees for their support over the past 13 years. We will work closely with Sinomine to ensure a smooth transition to support a successful future for the operation and all of its stakeholders,” he added.

Dundee made significant upgrades at Tsumeb in the past years. Sulphur dioxide emissions were reduced 95% from 2014 to 2021. There has also been a 72% decrease in average arsenic exposure since 2012 with the oversite of the arsenic advisory council.

The smelter produces 95% blister copper which is then refined in Europe and Asia as well as sulphuric acid which is sold to third-party clients for use in uranium and copper mining.

The Chelopech underground copper-gold mine is 100%-owned by Dundee. It has proven and probable reserves of 305 million lb. of copper and 1.6 million oz. of gold. Production guidance for 2024 is 29 million to 34 million lb. of copper and 155,000 to 175,000 oz. of gold. The all-in sustaining cost will be between $650 and $790 per oz. of gold sold.

According to the Federal Regional Court of the Sixth Region in the Brazilian state, prosecutors did not meet the minimum standards to prove the former Vale president’s involvement in the dam breach at one of the company’s iron ore mines.

The disaster in January 2019 resulted in the deaths of 270 people.

The court consists of three members. On Dec. 13, federal judge Boson Gambogi was the first to vote to dismiss the charges. This Tuesday, federal judge Pedro Felipe Santos followed his colleague’s decision, as reported by Folha de São Paulo.

However, votes can be changed until Mar. 12.

Fifteen other individuals, including executives from Vale and the consulting firm Tuv Sud, are defendants in the case. All are accused of qualified homicide and environmental crimes.

According to a report presented by the Federal Police in February 2021, the breach occurred after liquefaction of the tailings during drilling on the dam.

Schvartsman’s lawyer, Maurício de Oliveira Campos Júnior, said that the executive was unaware of that drilling.

Glycine leaching technology (GLT) uses glycine, a non-toxic, recyclable and biodegradable amino acid that is commonly used as a food additive, to recover gold, copper, nickel, and cobalt.

GLT was inspired by nature when researchers at Curtin University in Perth observed plants absorbing gold and other metals out of the soil through the presence of glycine, which carries those metals through the soil and into the plant.

GLT has the capacity to revolutionize the mining industry and the potential to save mining companies billions of dollars, says Draslovka. It significantly reduces processing costs, enhances a mine’s sustainability profile and can extend mine life by lowering the cut-off grade or unlocking value hidden in a mine’s tailings.

GlyCat technology can dramatically reduce cyanide usage while also lowering, or in some cases completely eliminating, detoxification measures. In select ores, the process also results in higher recoveries.

In 2023, Barrick rolled out a global testing and implementation program with the goal of using GlyCat to unlock substantive savings and generate value for its operations while also improving its environmental footprint at the Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania.

The GlyCat pilot programme has led to an 80% reduction in cyanide consumption while achieving gold recoveries that are comparable to traditional cyanidation. With GlyCat as part of the process, the mine’s tailings are free of cyanide, thereby reducing detoxification requirements and costs.

“The application of GlyCat technology within our operations has significant potential to deliver improved operational efficiencies and cost savings, whilst also improving our environmental legacy,” said Barrick mineral management and evaluations executive Simon Bottoms.

“Consequently, we are very pleased to embark upon this strategic partnership with Draslovka to take advantage of this innovative technology across our global operations.”

Pavel Bruzek Jr, CEO of Draslovka, commented: “GlyCat provides significant economic and sustainability benefits at a time when the future of mining is conditional on cost savings, sustainable operations and securing social license to operate.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Barrick and am confident others in the sector will soon see that GlyCat is revolutionary, and its development will enable a major shift for the gold mining industry through massive economic and environmental benefits.”

Draslovka is a chemical technologies, products and services company creating value and improving sustainability in several industries, including mining, agriculture and manufacturing. The company is best known as the world’s largest producer of sodium cyanide, however its most important contribution to the sector is its glycine leaching technology.

The company aims to convert these agreements into firm offtakes within the next 12 to 18 months, according to BHP’s chief commercial officer Ragnar Udd.

In October, BHP announced a $4.9 billion investment in Stage 2 of its potash project in Saskatchewan to double capacity by the end of the decade.

This investment adds to the $5.7 billion that the world’s largest miner is already pouring into Stage 1 of Jansen, along with an initial investment of $4.5 billion before the project’s first phase was even approved.

BHP expects potash demand to increase by 15 million tonnes to roughly 105 million tonnes by 2040, representing a growth rate of 1.5% to 3% annually.

Jansen is expected to begin production in late 2026, ramping up to 4.35 million tonnes annually.

BHP anticipates Jansen becoming one of the world’s largest potash mines, doubling production capacity to approximately 8.5 million tonnes per year by late fiscal 2029.

The world’s biggest miner reported that the first stage of the project is 32% complete and progressing as scheduled. The second stage is expected to take six years and produce about 4.36 million tonnes a year at a capital intensity of about $1,050 per tonne.

BHP plans to sell potash to distributors, rather than directly to companies that re-sell the fertilizer to farmers, Udd said.

“Our opening (sales) approach doesn’t take us as far down the supply chain as potentially others do, which actually allows BHP to specialize in where we actually excel, in the rock production of resources,” Udd said.

The project is located in northwest British Columbia about 60 km south of Telegraph Creek and near an existing seaport. The study is due by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

Planned expenditures at Schaft Creek this year are C$18.7 million, which will be fully funded by Teck. Metallurgical tests will be concluded, and drilling will be carried out in the high wall, tailings storage facility and the rock storage facility.

Engineering studies of those sites and proposed infrastructure will be done, and the road alignment and the construction timeline will be updated. Updates to the resource, geologic, structural and slope stability models will also be made. The environmental baseline data collection begun last year will continue with the collaboration of the Tahltan Nation.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) was done for Schaft Creek in 2021. At that time, a pre-tax net present value with an 8% discount was $1.4 billion and the internal rate of return was 15.2%. The after-tax NPV8% was $841.1 million and IRR was 12.9%.

Over a 21-year mine life, 5 billion lb. of copper, 3.7 million oz. of gold, 226 million lb. of molybdenum and 16.4 million oz. of silver in concentrate will be produced.

The initial capex was given as $2.65 billion, and the sustaining costs were $848.7 million, including closure costs of $154 million. All-in sustaining costs were estimated at $1.18/lb. payable copper.

Also in 2021, the resource estimate was upgraded to 1.3 billion tonnes grading 0.26% copper, 0.16 g/t gold, 0.017% molybdenum and 1.25 g/t silver in the measured and indicated category. The M+I resource contains 7.77 billion lb. of copper, 1.18 million oz. gold, 511 million lb. molybdenum and 9.3 million oz. silver.

There is also an inferred reserve of 344 million tonnes grading 0.17% copper, 0.11 g/t gold, 0.013% molybdenum and 0.84 g/t silver.

The company acquired the mine from AngloGold Ashanti four years ago. The new investment will extend Mponeng’s life from seven to 20 years, with work due to begin in 2025, it said.

Harmony also announced on Wednesday its financial and operating results for the six-month period ending December 31, 2023.

The miner saw a 14% increase in half-year gold production to 832,349 oz., up from 733,325 oz. during the same period in 2022. Output was buoyed by a 30% increase in production from Mponeng.

Harmony’s profit tripled to 5.96 billion rand in the final six months of 2023 compared to a year earlier. As a result, it will pay a record interim dividend of 147 rand cents per share.

Meanwhile, the group’s full-year 2024 production guidance remains unchanged at 1.38 to 1.48 million oz.

“While strong commodity prices have provided Harmony with good tailwinds, improved safety, good mining discipline and operational flexibility with a stable and a predictable cost structure, remain fundamental to creating the long-term value expected by our stakeholders,” said Peter Steenkamp, chief executive officer of Harmony.

Shares of Harmony Gold rose 1.1% by 11:30 a.m. in New York. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $3.5 billion.

“Right now, our attention is focused at Çöpler. The events of February 13, 2024 were tragic and overshadow today’s results,” SSR executive chairman Rod Antal said in Tuesday’s release.

On February 13, a landslide occurred at the mine site located in the Erzincan province of eastern Turkey, leaving nine workers trapped under the soil. To date, the missing workers remain unaccounted for despite extensive search efforts by Turkish authorities.

Authorities said as much as 10 million cubic meters of earth were dislodged across a 200-meter slope. SSR described the incident as a “large slip on the heap leach pad”.

In the aftermath, the Çöpler mine, which represents one of SSR’s cornerstone assets, was suspended amid fears of cyanide contamination, and the company also had its environmental licence annulled by the Turkish government.

In 2023, the Çöpler mine accounted for 220,999 gold ounces of the 706,894 gold-equivalent ounces produced across SSR’s entire portfolio. Its full-year cost of sales was $1,191 per ounce and AISC was $1,433 per ounce.

In its results release, SSR said it is now in the process of evaluating the estimated remediation costs for Çöpler and anticipates recording a remediation liability during the first quarter of 2024. It also anticipates recording an impairment of inventory and specific assets directly impacted by the Çöpler incident.

As of year-end 2023, the Çöpler leach pad inventory of $73.3 million represents 19% and 10% of Çöpler’s total inventory and of the company’s total inventory, respectively. The mineral, properties, plant and equipment related to the leach pad had a total value of $33.1 million.

Due to a non-cash impairment at Çöpler for removing some resources from the mineral reserve base, the company posted an attributable net loss of $217.8 million or $1.07 per share in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the full year, attributable net loss was $98 million or $0.48 per diluted share.

Shares of SSR Mining were down 5.1% by 11:45 a.m. in Toronto, trading at C$6.00 apiece. The stock recently plummeted to a 52-week low of C$5.10, while its high during that period was C$23.71. The miner’s market capitalization is approximately C$1.2 billion ($880m).

The Raglan mine, located in northern Quebec, began operations in 1997. It was the first mining project to sign an impact and benefits agreement with the local Indigenous bands.

The mine’s name Anuri, which means “wind” in Inuktitut, was chosen by a committee of Raglan employees. The mine is part of the Sivumut or “moving forward” project in Nunavik.

Glencore director of projects, geology and exploration Jan-Francois Verret said the project was a “challenge on every level, particularly given the pandemic, the Arctic climate and numerous logistical challenges.”

“Nevertheless, we completed the Sivumut project ahead of schedule, under budget and with everyone’s safety at the heart of every step. We achieved this through outstanding collaboration within our team and with our partners.”

With the Sivumut project, Glencore has continuously improved the Raglan agreement, particularly in the area of land use, culminating in the current ESG protocols that meet Quebec’s provincial environmental act and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

The Sivumut project is composed of two phases: Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Raglan mine. Phase 2 consists of the expansion of an existing mine, the Qakimajurk mine, and the opening of a new underground mine, the Anuri mine project. Mining is expected to take place from 2020 to 2035. The extension of the Qakimajurk mine, known as project 8, was completed in 2021.

The Sivumut project lies entirely within the property boundaries of the Raglan mine. All mining will take place underground to reduce the surface footprint of the activities. Existing infrastructure is leveraged – the concentrator, housing, port facilities at Deception Bay, airport, roads and all water treatment systems.

The Raglan project has proven and probable reserves of 15 million tonnes grading 2.54% nickel, 0.72% copper and 0.06% cobalt. Reserves are included in the measured and indicated resource, which totals 44 million tonnes at 2.51% nickel, 1.96% copper, and 0.05% cobalt.

As part of the consolidation for Éléonore South, Fury will also spend C$1.3 million ($960,000) to buy the approximately 30.4 million shares of Sirios Resources held by Newmont for investment purposes.

The Éléonore South project is in an area of prolific gold mineralization, with Newmont’s Éléonore mine located to the north and Sirios’ Cheechoo deposit to the east.

Newmont said last week it plans to sell six non-core assets, including Éléonore in Quebec, the Musselwhite and Porcupine mines in Ontario, the Coffee project in the Yukon Territory, and its 70% stake in the Havieron joint venture with Greatland Gold in Western Australia, with proceeds from the transactions used to cut debt.

“Our team has historically ranked the ESJV as one of our more prolific targets for discovery,” Fury Gold Mines CEO Tim Clark said in a news release. “We are excited to now have 100% ownership as we expect this to provide a clearer pathway for more exploration and potential upside in returns for our investors from this project consolidation and investment in Sirios.”

Prospecting to date has identified two distinct styles of mineralization within the project: structurally controlled quartz veins hosted within sedimentary rocks similar to the high-grade mineralization observed at the Éléonore mine; and intrusion-related disseminated gold mineralization similar to that seen at the low-grade bulk tonnage Cheechoo deposit, Fury said.

Numerous gold in-till anomalies remain undrilled throughout the project and will be a focus, it added. The bulk of the untested gold anomalies are similar in characteristics to the Cheechoo style of mineralization.

The JT and Moni prospects at Cheechoo represent a potential higher-grade style of intrusion related gold mineralization with historical drilling intercepting 53.3 metres of 4.22 g/t gold; 6.0 metres of 49.50 g/t gold and 23.8 metres of 3.08 g/t gold. Several of the noted drill intercepts have not been followed up on and remain open, the company said.

Fury Gold Mines is also advancing its Eau Claire project in Quebec, where recent drilling returned 3.5 metres of 31.7 g/t gold at the Hinge target.

Cash flow (before changes in non-cash working capital) also rose 35% to $246.5 million on a quarter-over-quarter basis, the Canadian miner said.

Hudbay also unveiled its operational results on Friday, including consolidated copper production of 45,450 tonnes and a record consolidated gold production of 112,776 oz. in the fourth quarter.

The production was attributed to sustained higher grades at the Pampacancha deposit in Peru and the Lalor mine in Manitoba, along with contributions from the newly acquired Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia.

In 2023, the company achieved consolidated production guidance for all metals. Copper production reached 131,691 tonnes, gold production totalled 310,429 oz. and silver production was 36 million oz. These figures represent increases of 26%, 41% and 13%, respectively, compared to 2022.

Hudbay’s Peru operations benefited from sustained higher grades at the Pampacancha satellite pit, resulting in 33,207 tonnes of copper production and 49,418 oz. of gold production in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, its Manitoba operations achieved a quarterly record of 59,863 oz. of gold, as higher-grade gold and copper zones were mined at Lalor, and the New Britannia mill processed significantly more gold ore. The British Columbia operations produced 8,508 tonnes of copper.

BMO mining analyst Jackie Przybylowski said in a note to clients that it was a “terrific” quarter for the company and singled out the performance of its Manitoba operations.

“Hudbay exceeded all expectations with strong production, notably including gold production from Manitoba, which contributed to adjusted EPS $0.20 — well ahead of our $0.07 and the consensus $0.12-0.14 estimates,” she wrote.

Shares of Hudbay Minerals rose 7% by 11:32 p.m. EDT in Toronto. The miner has a market capitalization of C$2.51 billion.

The precious metals producer kicked off in October a restructuring process at its four loss-making mines that was expected to result in the loss of 4,095 jobs. 

Sibanye-Stillwater said the reduction in the number of layoffs was possible thanks to strategic decisions taken in consultation with interested parties. These include going ahead with the announced closure of the Simunye shaft, which ceased production in 2023, as well as keeping the 4 Belt (4B) shaft at Marikana open.

The miner said that the Marikana mine shaft, which employs 1,496 permanent workers and 54 contractors, will only stay in production if it does not run up net losses on a monthly basis.

Two other shafts, Rowland and Siphumelele, which were hit by operational and geological issues, “have been repositioned for sustainable levels of production at a lower cost structure”, Sibanye-Stillwater said.

The Johannesburg-based firm noted that almost 1,300 employees had voluntarily left their jobs or accepted early retirement packages, while 467 people left since September due to “natural attrition”.

The company said earlier this week that it expects to report a 91% loss for 2023 due to multiyear-lows for platinum-group metals prices. It also flagged an impairment of 47.5 billion rand ($2.58 billion). 

Palladium and platinum prices decline has driven producers in South Africa, including Sibanye-Stillwater to apply severe cost-cutting measures. 

Impala Platinum Holdings has offered voluntary job cuts, including at its deep-level Rustenburg complex, while Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has announced plans to cut 3,700 jobs after its profit plunged 71% last year.

The permit will allow Zijin to increase the mine’s capacity to 350,000 tonnes per day by 2025. Once the Julong expansion is completed, the asset will become China’s largest single copper operation, with ore mining and processing volumes of more than 100 million tonnes a year.

Total investment required for the project has been pegged at about 17.5 billion yuan ($2.43 billion), Zijin said. It added it’s already planning to further increase production and capacity at the Tibet mine.

If the third phase of expansion is approved by local authorities, Julong could raise annual output to about 200 million tonnes, making it the largest single copper mine in the world, Zijin said.

The company, China’s largest gold miner and one of the country’s top copper producers, took control of the Julong project in 2020 and had it up and running only 18 months later.

Zijin has several assets in Tibet, including the Zhunuo copper mine, which it acquired in August 2023. It also has a controlling interest in lithium producer Lakkor Resources, and is the second-largest shareholder of Tibet-based companies Yulong Copper and Tianyuan Mining.

That company was called Allied Mining and Processing and you’ve probably never heard of it. But from small roots this tiny outfit grew into one of Australia’s largest listed companies with a market cap exceeding A$88 billion. 

Twenty years ago, Andrew (Twiggy) Forrest renamed this micro-cap stock to Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG). The rest is history, but it was quite the story behind Twiggy’s road to immense wealth. 

Fortescue was perhaps the single biggest success story from the last mining boom. A stock that grew from a measly A2¢ per share back in 2003 to more than $10 a share just five years later. 

It seems absurd, but that’s around a 50,000% return. 

Junior iron ore miners were the poster child from the early 2000s China-led commodity rush. However, it wasn’t a smooth road to success.  

You see, back in 2003, Forrest was looking to break into the monopolized iron ore market, a sector dominated by mining giants Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) and BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP). 

At the time, his ambitious venture was mocked by analysts and journalists. 

Accessing cash to build a capital-intensive iron ore operation was near impossible in the early 2000’s. Sure, iron ore mining in Australia is relatively cheap and relatively easy to extract. Simply load rock on a boat and ship it to China’s massive steel refineries.  But few consider the vast infrastructure required to get to that point. Iron ore is a bulky commodity. 

Mine feasibility studies must include costs that extend well beyond the mining operation: railways, ports, loading facilities. It’s this barrier to entry that enabled the majors to retain their grip over iron ore supply in Australia. Yet these challenges didn’t deter Forrest. 

Similar to today’s evolving energy transition story, China was emerging as a powerful source of demand for iron ore. In 2003, the country’s GDP was surging at around 9% per year. But few predicted this growth would continue, and fewer still could have comprehended the incredible trajectory of iron ore prices over the next five years.  

In 2003, the global economy was reeling from a tech bust and terrorist attacks, with iron ore prices sitting below $20 per tonne. 

History repeating?

2023 was a terrible year for most commodities — especially those tied to the renewable energy trend. That’s despite investment in renewable energies hitting an all-time high in 2023 at $1.8 trillion. 

According to BloombergNEF that was up 17% from 2022. Yet, junior mining stocks have endured back-to-back years of underperformance. 

But while the mainstream narrative turns bearish on critical metal stocks, the world’s most liquid insiders continue to build exposure. That includes mining tycoons Andrew Forrest, Gina Rinehart and Robert Friedland. 

These heavyweights are still long on the critical metals mega-theme.  

Have no doubt, the spoils will go to those who are able to stick with these gargantuan commodity trends. Twenty years ago, that was iron ore: a commodity that was slow to respond to China’s rampant growth before a massive takeoff. 

By 2005, iron ore prices had almost tripled reaching $50 per tonne. Three years later and the price was hovering just below $200 per tonne — almost a 10-fold surge in five years. 

Liquidity challenges stalling new mines

Ultimately, higher iron ore prices turned Andrew Forrest’ iron ore ambitions into reality, despite steep development costs. 

Which brings us back to today’s market. In a case of history rhyming, critical metal developers sit at the edge of enormous opportunity. It’s why I like to say critical metals stocks are the iron ore developers from 2003. 

Sitting at the precipice of a major upward leg in the commodity cycle — yet hobbled by enormous cost of capital required to get projects underway. 

Just like it did with iron ore in the early 2000s, expect downbeat sentiment to shift rapidly in line with rising prices. 

This is how commodity cycles work. This is how inconceivable capex finds its way into new projects. But don’t take my word for it — watch the world’s biggest insiders and follow their lead. 

James Cooper runs the commodities investment service Diggers and Drillers. You can follow him on X @JCooperGeo.

The project remains on schedule with commercial production expected towards the end of the second quarter of 2024, the company said, adding that Mara Rosa is expected to produce between 83,000 to 93,000 ounces of gold in 2024 at an all-in sustaining cost of between $1,090 and $1,120 per ounce.

Hochschild said Mara Rosa will provide near-term production at a significantly lower cost, with strong potential to find additional resources through the brownfield exploration program.

Based on a pre-feasibility study in 2018, the Posse deposit at Mara Rosa is estimated to contain 513,000 oz. of gold in the proven category from 9.6 million tonnes at 1.65 g/t gold and 574,000 oz. of gold in the probable category from 14.2 million tonnes at 1.26 g/t gold, for total reserves of 1.09 million oz. from 23.8 million tonnes grading 1.42 g/t gold.

“We are all very proud of the team for delivering Brazil’s newest gold mine,” CEO Eduardo Landin said in the statement. “Mara Rosa will be a low-cost operation that will create significant value for all our stakeholders. The first pour is testament to the hard work done by all our employees, contractors and local communities who have enabled us to construct this exciting operation on schedule and on budget.”

“We are now focusing on completing the ramp up of the processing plant to achieve commercial production. In addition, our brownfield team is continuing its program to further grow the resource base at a number of targets in the region,” Landin added.

The world’s largest gold miner, which completed the acquisition of Newcrest Mining in November, said that proceeds from the transactions will be used to cut debt. The company, which had $8 billion in debt at the end of 2023, has set a near-term debt-reduction target of $1 billion.

The US-based miner has also identified an additional $500 million in cost and productivity improvements, including job cuts.

“A big part of our commitment is to deliver $100 million of free cash flow by bringing Newmont and Newcrest together…there is a reduction in headcount in order to achieve those synergies,” chief executive Tom Palmer said in a statement.

After the divestments, the gold giant will focus on ten tier-1 assets, its “go-forward portfolio”, which it plans to secure long-term growth. 

“Our go-forward portfolio is the new standard for gold and copper mining [and] provides our shareholders with exposure to the highest concentration of Tier 1 assets in the sector,” Palmer said.

Tier 1 assets are “company making” mines and projects, which are not only large in size, but also have a long productive life and low costs.

Challenges

The gold giant, which also announced its fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results, said it produced 5.5 million ounces of gold last year, a 6.9% drop from the 5.96 million gold announces it churned out in 2022.

Its overall performance was affected by several challenges, including $1.9 billion in impairment charges, $1.5 billion in reclamation charges, and $464 million in Newcrest transaction and integration costs. 

The Denver, Colorado-based company said it had a loss of $3.21 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 50 US cents per share, slightly short of the 51 US cents estimated by Wall Street.

Despite the challenges, Newmont handed $1.4 billion in dividends to shareholders and is forecasting 2024 total production of nearly 6.9 million gold ounces, underpinned by 5.6 million gold ounces from its tier 1 portfolio.

The company also reported higher gold reserves of 135.9 million attributable ounces for 2023 compared to the 96.1 million ounces it had at the end of 2022. Newmont noted it has significant upside to other metals, including more than 30 billion pounds of copper reserves and nearly 600 million ounces of silver reserves.

Stausholm said the company aims to commence iron ore production from the $20 billion development as early as 2025. “The board yesterday approved the largest mining project in the world,” Stausholm told the Financial Times.

Rio said in January it expects to begin infrastructure work on the massive Simandou iron ore project this year following almost three decades of setbacks and scandals.

Set to be the world’s largest and highest grade new iron ore mine, the project will add around 5% to global seaborne supply when it comes on line. It is a partnership between Rio Tinto, the Guinean government and at least seven other companies, including five from China.

The project has been the subject of prolonged negotiations due to its complex ownership structure, delays caused by legal disputes, Guinea’s political changes and construction challenges.

Rio Tinto plans to invest $6.2 billion in the mine, rail, and port project in the Republic of Guinea, in collaboration with other companies, including five from China.

However, final investment approval from Rio’s state-owned Chinese partners, including Chinalco and Baowu, is still pending.

Nonetheless, Stausholm expressed confidence that this approval would be granted soon.

In January, Baowu raised $1.4 billion from a bond issue in China intended to support the project, which entails the construction of a 552-kilometre rail line to transport high-grade iron ore from two new mines in the Simandou mountains — one to be constructed and operated by Rio Tinto — to a new deepwater port on Guinea’s Atlantic coast.

Rio Tinto holds two of four Simandou mining blocks as part of its Simfer joint venture with China’s Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH) and the government of Guinea. Rio Tinto holds a 53% stake, while CIOH holds the remainder.

Launched in late 2022, the objective of SQM Lithium Ventures is to identify and promote new lithium-related technologies. For this purpose, it will provide initial funding of $25,000 for early-stage startups and up to $3 million for venture investments (Series A).

Altilium’s technological focus is to produce high-volume, low-carbon domestic sources of cathode and anode materials from recycling waste streams already in circulation, such as lithium scrap.

In 2022, it opened its battery recycling technology centre in Devon, England, to deepen and strengthen its competitive edge in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. The scale-up processing line will provide the company with data to make informed decisions on materials handling, scalability, and product quality at the UK’s largest planned EV battery recycling facility, to be located in Teesside.

The plant will have the capacity to process scrap from over 150,000 EVs per year, producing 30,000 metric tons of cathode active material, 20% of the expected demand in the UK and one of the largest projects in the UK and Europe.

Since SQM’s initial investment of $2.57 million last year, Altilium has hit a number of key development milestones, including the expansion of its UK recycling facilities, enhancement of its proprietary EcoCathode hydrometallurgical process and strengthening of its senior management team.

The additional funding follows a year of progress in the scaling up of Altilium’s proprietary battery recycling technology and underscores both companies’ commitment to developing a circular economy for sustainable low and carbon battery materials, the Chilean group said.

The latest investment in Altilium completes the Series A funding round and marks the largest investment to date for SQM Lithium Ventures, now totalling $12 million.

The additional funding of $9.43 million is expected to accelerate the scale-up Altilium’s UK and European activities, paving the way for the roll-out of the company’s full battery circularity customer offering, which includes zero-carbon EV battery collection, black mass recycling and chemical refining direct to cathode active material (CAM).

Key developments in 2024 include the construction of a 18,000-square-foot facility in Plymouth, Devon; building the first battery recycling station to efficiently transform discarded EV batteries into high-quality black mass; and the retrofit of an existing plant in Eastern Europe, with plans to process 8,000 metric tons of black mass to EV batteries later in the year. Today, most EV batteries are shredded into black mass and shipped to China for processing.

“This round of funding with SQM Lithium Venture has been a pivotal achievement for Altilium and reflects the significant strides the business has made over the past 12 months,” Altilium CEO Kamran Mahdavi said in a statement.

Carlos Díaz, CEO of SQM’s lithium-potassium division, said that the investment gives the company the chance to participate in the creation of a new industry: the recovery of critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt from recycled batteries.

“This will allow us to add value to the new battery supply chain, while at the same time maintaining sustainable consumption levels of resource consumption, water use, and carbon footprint,” Díaz said.

The company said it expects to report in March a loss per share for 2023 of 12.68 rand to 14.01 rand, compared with a profit of 6.51 rand a share the previous year. This is equivalent to an eye-popping 91% drop in annual profit.

The announcement comes only two months after the South African miner announced it would lay off 1,500 workers from its gold mines. It also said at the time it had begun talks that could affect 4,000 more employees at its platinum group metals (PGMs) operations, including those in the United States.

“We have already taken proactive steps to address loss-making production at unprofitable operations and the group remains focused on ensuring the sustainability of our business and delivering on our strategical essentials through this period of low commodity prices,” the company said in a statement.

Sibanye shares fell more than 5% in afternoon trading in Johannesburg, closing at ZAC 1,994. The stock has lost almost 48% of its value in the past year, mainly due to the prices decline of palladium and rhodium.

The sharp drop of PGMs prices decline has driven producers to apply severe cost-cutting measures. Anglo American Platinum said on Monday it would cut 3,700 jobs at its South African operations, or 17% of the Anglo American unit’s workforce. 

Impala Platinum Holdings has offered voluntary job cuts, including at its deep-level Rustenburg complex.

Despite the challenges, Sibanye noted that all its South African and Australian operations were profitable before the end of the fourth quarter of 2023. 

RELATED: In election year, South African mines bleed cash, jobs

Few that is, except for Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM), which has hired a dozen heavy duty mechanics from Mexico to work at its Macassa mine in Kirkland Lake, northern Ontario.

“Being able to attract 12 skilled mechanics is a great win for us,” Nathan Cloet, human resources director for Agnico’s Ontario region told The Northern Miner. “In this market environment it’s hard to find skilled mechanics. The mining industry across Canada and Ontario does not necessarily leverage immigration as much as they could or should. So for us, we want to try this out.”

The workers are part of a new program Agnico is piloting that seeks to fill positions with employees from sister operations, in this case its La India mine in Mexico’s northern state of Sonora, which closed last year after it reached its end of life. The program is putting the workers and their families on a permanent residency-track and Cloet expects they’ll start working at Macassa by March or April.

Agnico’s program comes as Canada’s mining labour force is expected to face even more shortages in the next decade, mainly due to workers retiring, but also from waning interest in mining among young people, according to the Ottawa-based Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR).

The council’s 2023 Canadian Mining Outlook report forecasts the industry’s total workforce will — in a baseline scenario — decrease by 5% to 170,796 in 2033. That’s due to decreasing commodity prices in line with World Bank projections and higher interest rates. Even to meet that reduced level, 158,220 jobs will have to be filled over the 2023-2033 period across the mining and milling, support services and primary metal manufacturing sub-sectors.

Meanwhile, only 137,934 people are projected to enter the industry, leaving an employment gap of 20,287 across all sub-sectors.

Labouring to meet needs

In Cloet’s view, competition for skilled mining labour is tight in northeastern Ontario, could worsen as older workers retire.

“We have continuous needs for hiring,” he said. “Even the 12 workers we hired don’t meet our needs for Macassa. It’s an ongoing concern we’re trying to address.”

He’s quick to note that Agnico first tried to find Canadian workers for the roles. When it couldn’t, it had to go through the labour market impact assessment (LMIA) process, which requires employers to show that no Canadian or permanent residents are available to fill the job.

Cloet acknowledged that employing foreign labourers might raise issues about skills transfer and tensions about hiring non-Canadian workers, but he also said that the 12 mechanics will be paid the same as a Canadian would be.

“There are risks,” he said. “But for us, it helps that these people already have worked for us. We believe this can be successful. In the framework of Canada immigration, I would advocate that it’s something to try.”

The MiHR has also noted in its 2023 Canadian Mining Workplace Profile that immigrants are a relatively untapped potential talent pool. In 2022, immigrants represented about 30% of the country’s overall workforce, but only 10% of mining and quarrying, the report stated.

“From this perspective, the mining industry has been losing ground to other industries over the last decade and a half,” it said.

Leave no stone unturned

Mining and mineral engineering masters student Raisul Islam Atik has yet to formally enter the workforce, but he has discovered many opportunities through education in his 13 months in Canada.

While downsizing at Laurentian University in 2021 saw many of its courses cut, including environmental geoscience, its still-intact mineral engineering program drew Atik from his native Bangladesh, where he was studying the life cycle of electric vehicle batteries.

At Laurentian, he didn’t want to “seclude” himself from Canadian society as he said some other international students have done, and discovered there are many open roads into the industry.

“I wanted to take a different route, and I wanted to actually learn and immerse myself in whatever learning opportunities that I could get about this mining industry,” he said.

He began volunteering with the Modern Mining & Technology Sudbury organization that promotes awareness about mining. That eventually led him to being selected for the Mineral Industry Leadership Certificate at Laurentian, a program of training modules and site visits that also came with a $3,000 scholarship.

For the mentorship part of the program, he was paired with Morne Beukes, head of Canadian operations with mining engineering firm BBE Group.

“He’s an amazing man from South Africa,” Atik said. “I’m constantly in touch with him when I want to know something. As an international student, it was impossible for me to get access to such an experienced professional on my own.”

Reviewing barriers to entry

Even though Atik has made his way to the doorstep of Canada’s mining industry, many others like him might lose out on that opportunity after the federal government in January cut back on the number of international student permits.

Peggy Bell, founder and principal consultant with Resource Becoming, a non-profit consultancy that aims to enhance equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in mining, says the industry’s labour woes should be viewed in that larger context.

“EDI is a philosophy, and we need to develop diversity within mining, but it’s also a function to develop talent pools,” she said. “If we don’t have that access or if we don’t have the same number of new Canadians coming to the country to study, we potentially are losing that talent pool.”

Bell explained that attracting foreign – or Canadian – talent to the industry can also be sped up if mining companies re-examine their barriers to entry, such as the distinctions between qualifications, skills and experience.

She cited the Professional Engineers Ontario, which was the first association to act on legislation passed last May by the Ontario government that banned regulated professions from requiring Canadian work experience.

“How are we creating barriers for new Canadians and new talent?” she asked. “Can (miners or operators) accept a foreign degree with a certain amount of job experience? Or are they willing to accept the foreign degree and train the new employee on the job?”

According to the British news network, Cengiz Demirci, Turkey director and senior vice-president of operations, is the latest figure associated with the Denver-based miner to be held in custody.

As Reuters had reported on Friday, as many as eight SSR employees were detained amid an investigation into a massive landslide at the Copler mine that left nine workers missing since Tuesday.

Turkey’s energy minister says hundreds of search and rescue personnel are still looking for the missing workers, who were presumably left trapped under rubble after the landslide engulfed the gold mine, located in the mountainous Erzincan province of in eastern Turkey.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s environment ministry announced over the weekend that it is cancelling the environmental permit and licence held by Anagold Madencilik, the Copler mine operator that is 80% owned by SSR.

Experts have warned the mine site is a potential environmental hazard, because the soil was laced with dangerous substances, including cyanide, which is used in gold extraction. In 2020, the mine was temporarily shut down following a cyanide leak into the Euphrates River.

SSR Mining said late on Friday that all operations at Copler remain suspended. The company, through Anagold, has operated the mine since 2009, employing more than 650 people.

The mine disaster has so far wiped out about nearly half ($1 billion) of the company’s market value on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The project entered 2023 with construction about 64% complete and finished the year at 98%, said CEO Renaud Adams in a news release.

“While first gold is on the horizon, our primary focus and efforts are on positioning the project for a steady ramp up of gold production through the year to achieve commercial production in the third quarter,” Adams said in the statement.

“We are now executing and ramping up commissioning activities, with crushing and screening successfully commissioned, and pre-commissioning ongoing on the HPGR and wet side of the plant,” he said.

“At steady run-rate, Côté Gold will be the third largest gold mine in Canada with an expected mine life exceeding 18 years and significant opportunities for growth.”

The mine is expected to produce 495,000 oz. per year at an all-in sustaining cost of $854/oz. for the first six years of its life.

IAMGOLD owns 60% of the project under a joint venture with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining (40%). Production at Côté, on a 100% ownership basis, is projected to range between 220,000 and 290,000 oz. next year.

The company produced 465,000 oz. last year, hitting the upper end of its guidance range of 410,000-470,000 oz.

The majority of its production in 2023 came from the Essakane mine in Burkina Faso, with output totaling 372,000 oz. The Westwood mine in Quebec exceeded its guidance range of 70,000-90,000 oz. by producing 93,000 oz. for the year, including a record 12,400 oz. in December.