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 Bangkok-based construction company is working with an adviser and talking with potential buyers, including from China, one of the people said.

Talks with potential interested parties are ongoing and may not lead to a deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Asia Pacific Potash referred queries from Bloomberg News to ITD, which didn’t respond to a request for comment.

ITD, one of Thailand’s biggest construction firms, acquired Asia Pacific Potash in 2006. The company has exploration and development rights to high-grade potash deposits in the northeastern Thai province Udon Thani.

Asia Pacific Potash applied to the government for rights to the 10,500-acre site in 2003, but it took until 2022 for it to receive official approval to operate the project for 21 years, according to the company’s website. It has annual capacity of 2 million tons of potash, the company said.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin inspected the main mine on Feb. 19, according to a government statement. He asked about the source of funds for the project and also met citizens opposed to the potash mine, it said.

ITD’s market value has shrunk since reaching around $3 billion in the 1990s, falling to $100 million now. The company, which was founded in 1954, reported a net loss of 44.7 million baht ($1.2 million) in the third quarter of 2023 and a 4.76 billion baht loss for full-year 2022.

The company’s president and biggest shareholder, Premchai Karnasuta, was released from prison on parole last year after being sentenced for wildlife poaching, including, according to the Bangkok Post, a rare black panther.

Krungthep Turakij newspaper reported in January that ITD planned to delay payment of 2 billion baht in bonds due the following month. Bondholders later agreed to approve extending redemption dates for two years.

(By Dong Cao, Elffie Chew and Anuchit Nguyen)

The authors point out that 2023 was the first time that more than 50% of BRI engagement was through investments where Chinese investors take equity stakes as opposed to construction contracts, which are typically financed through loans provided by Chinese financial institutions or contractors, often accompanied by guarantees from the host country.

Last year Africa overtook the Middle East as the no. 1 target of BRI projects after a 114% jump in investments and a 47% jump in construction projects on the continent. Investments in Latin America and the Caribbean also doubled last year.  

China’s BRI-related investment in metals and mining reached $19.4 billion in 2023 according to the study, a 158% jump compared to 2022 and the highest on record.  

Minerals and metals investment focused on the green energy transition with copper making up the lion’s share of new project announcements last year, followed by sizable lithium, nickel and uranium spending under the BRI. 

Apart from a giant new copper processing facility in Saudi Arabia, mining investments were focused in Indonesia and various countries in Africa and South America.  

Examples include vertical integration investments by the world’s largest battery manufacturer CATL, which bought shares for a nickel mining concession in Indonesia from PT Aneka Tambang (Antam).

Lithium projects in Mali attracted investment from Chinese firms Jiangxi, Ganfeng and Hainan Mining (through the acquisition of Kodal Minerals) while Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt commissioned a lithium processing plant in Zimbabwe.

Downstream investment in battery and electric vehicle manufacturing also soared, reaching nearly $10 billion, according to the report. The largest investors under the BRI last year were CATL, accounting for more than 15% of overall spending, followed by Zijin Mining at 11%.  

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt contributed nearly 9% of the total while CMOC (formerly China Molybdenum) and Minmetals each had a 5%-plus share of the $92.4 billion total investments in 2023. 

For 2024, the Griffith Asia Institute sees further growth of Chinese BRI engagement with a strong focus on country partnerships in renewable energy, resource-backed mining and related technologies including EV batteries.  

The explorer entered voluntary administration in December, engaging in a formal restructuring. It’s now finalizing the audit of its 2023 financial accounts and is working towards resumption of trading on the Australian Stock Exchange in March this year, it said.

“The company’s balance sheet has been significantly restructured with all previous trade creditors and other payables agreeing to the settlement terms proposed in the deed of company arrangement presented on Jan. 19,” managing director and chief executive, Matt Shackleton, said in the statement.

Australian Potash noted it had also re-analyzed all previous results on the Lake Wells gold project and had identified walk up drill targets to target immediately. The explorer will also push forward with the requisite access and heritage agreements at the Nexus rare earths project in the West Arunta.

To mark the new phase, the company has appointed Jonathan Fisher to its board, while Natalia Streltsova and Rhett Brans have resigned their directorships.

At the end of 2023, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners reached a combined $1.42 trillion, up a healthy, if far from spectacular $48.7 billion over the course of 2023. Mining’s top tier is also worth $330 billion less than in March 2022.

Metal and mineral markets are volatile at the best of times – the nickel, cobalt and lithium price collapse in 2023 was extreme but not entirely unprecedented. Rare earth producers, platinum group metal watchers, iron ore followers, and gold and silver bugs for that matter, have been through worse.

Mining companies have become better at navigating choppy waters and as a whole the majors performed fairly consistently last year despite geopolitical and market turmoil, but within the ranking, 2023 fortunes were made and lost over what seemed like days.

The forced closure of one of the world’s biggest copper mines – and the subsequent collapse of owner First Quantum Minerals stock – served as a stark reminder of the outsized risks miners face over and above market swings.

Panama root canal

After months of protests and political pressure, at the end of November the Panama government ordered the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama mine following a ruling by the Supreme Court that declared the mining contract for the operation unconstitutional.

Public figures, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Hollywood actor Leonardo Di Caprio backed the protests and shared a video calling for the “mega mine” to cease operations, which quickly went viral. 

That mining cobre is at the nexus of the green energy transition is clearly an irony lost on those trying to save the world.  FQM is seeking arbitration and completely winding down operations will take time, but a reopening of Cobre Panama is not on the cards. 

From 25th position in the ranking at the end of March 2022 and a valuation well above $20 billion, the November-December sell off saw FQM drop out of the top tier altogether, ending 2023 at number 58 with a market cap below $6 billion. 

Cobre Panama supplied more than 40% of the company’s revenue, and with nickel prices plummeting FQM has also been forced to suspend operations at its Raventhorpe mine in Australia. 

Amid the inevitable takeover rumours now in circulation, shares in the Vancouver-based company have rallied in 2024, but still not enough to reenter the top 50.

No. 12 with a bullet 

If 2023 was an annus horribilis for FQM it was mirabilis for Amman Mineral Internasional. Stock in the Indonesian firm surged by 269% from its July debut in Jakarta to reach a market capitalisation of more than $30 billion at the end of last year – and number 12 in the ranking. 

That valuation is quite an achievement on annual revenue of $2 billion no matter how fat margins are at the company’s Batu Hijau copper and gold mine.  Batu Hijau is the third largest mine worldwide in terms of copper equivalent output (but no match for Cobre Panama when it comes to the orange metal alone)  and has been in production since the turn of the millennium. Amman is also developing the adjacent Elang project on the island of Sumbawa. 

Amman Minerals’ ascent has minted at least six new billionaires and the stock appears to be building on its success in 2024, rising by double digits in January already.

Indonesia’s other major mining IPO, Harita Nickel, was on a different trajectory altogether. After listing in April and raising $672m, the company has had a tough go of it and the stock has shed more than 38% since then as nickel prices continue to decline.

Shiny gold, dull silver, tarnished PGMs

The price of gold hit an all-time record on December 1, 2023.  But bullion’s best ever level passed without the usual fanfare and despite bullish indications for 2024, gold mining stocks did not exactly storm the rankings of the most valuable miners.

Over the course of 2023 gold and royalty companies on the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners added a collective $20.8 billion in market cap. 

And judging by gold miners’ performance so far this year, gold above $2,000 is not providing enough support. Newmont is already down 17%, Barrick has shed 13% and Agnico Eagle shareholders are 9% poorer. 

The number of precious metals companies in the top 50 has also been relatively stable over the years. With Newmont’s absorption of Newcrest now complete, the open slot was taken up by Kinross, which spent a few years in the wilderness. 

Anglogold Ashanti was just edged out by Jiangxi Copper for position number 50 on the last trading days of 2023, but based on its performance so far in 2024 the London-listed company is already back among the top tier. Indeed Anglogold is the only major gold player in the black year to date.

Silver has not been able to ride gold’s coattails and the top 50 has not had a silver specialist for a few years after Fresnillo dropped out (now at #61) and while Pan American Silver has come close in recent years at the end of last year it made it to #58 only. 

The exit of platinum and palladium majors like Sibanye Stillwater and Impala Platinum, now both valued at less than $4 billion, made space for Royal Gold to reenter at 47 at the end of last year, up from 57th in 2022. 

After a dismal 2023, the sole remaining PGM specialist Anglo American Platinum looks likely to lose more ground this quarter as palladium and platinum prices continue to slide into the new year.

Not too tough at the top 

London-listed Anglo American has had a rough year in part due to its exposure to platinum group metals and control of AngloPlat, and is now valued at $30 billion after peaking at $70 billion in March 2021.  

Were it not for the London-listed company’s iron ore operations, the 40%-plus slump in share value may have been deeper. Rumours that Glencore may be sniffing around now that the Swiss behemoth’s bid for all of Teck Resources has soured is also keeping Anglo from falling further down the rankings .  

Investors in Anglo, with a history going back more than a hundred years on the South African gold and diamond fields, have had a particularly wild ride over the last few years. In January 2016, Anglo’s market cap fell below $5 billion after it came close to suffocating under a pile of debt.  

Against expectations, iron ore seems to be holding above $120 a tonne, Chinese property bankruptcies and Beijing’s tepid stimulus response notwithstanding. 

Iron ore’s resilience despite Chinese troubles has also kept the share prices of the other diversified majors, which make their fattest profits from the steelmaking ingredient, from skidding. 

The top 10 mining companies have been able to keep their share of the total above 50% for a few years now. Not quite the magnificent seven, but size does matter in mining, particularly when access to capital is no longer a headache but a migraine. 

Expectations of another active year of M&A in the sector is likely to make the Top 50 top-heavier, especially now that it’s painfully obvious just how one-commodity companies like the lithium stocks can so easily be derailed. Coal miners’ strong 2023 suggests there are still exceptional minerals that prove the rule.   

Lithium losers 

After defying gravity early on, the combined losses for lithium miners in the top 50 climbed to nearly $30 billion in market cap over the 12 month period. Four counters occupy the worst performance table for 2023. 

The M&A drama surrounding Liontown, Albermarle and Hancock Prospecting turned out to be a soap opera and Chile’s move to take control of its lithium industry now appears far less consequential than feared.

Despite the precipitous decline in lithium prices in 2023, after hitting all time highs above $80,000 a tonne in November 2022, none of the battery metal miners’ stock performance was dire enough to drop out of the Top 50.

The merger of Livent and Allkem to form Arcadium Lithium could in fact up lithium mining’s representation in the ranking to seven should Pilbara Minerals’ January bleeding be stanched. But with lithium prices far from stabilizing, the battery metal’s presence in the top 50 may fade further. 

Pilbara Minerals, which unlike its peers was still able to show share price gains last year,  joined the Top 50 last year, bringing the number of companies based in the Western Australia capital to five, surpassing the tally of Vancouver, BC as the top home base in the ranking. 

With the exit of First Quantum, three mining companies in the top 50 call Vancouver home while the return of Kinross saw the ranks of Toronto-headquartered miners move back up to four.  

Nuclear options

Uranium prices more than doubled during 2023 and recently hit triple digits for the first time in 16 years. The breakthrough for the nuclear fuel comes after a decade in the doldrums following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Canada’s Cameco made the best quarterly performer list once again in Q4 and after doubling in market worth in 2023.  The Saskatoon-based company now sits at no 23 in the ranking after jumping 22 places since end-2022.    

The value of shares in Kazatomprom, the world number one uranium producer, topped $10 billion at the end of 2023, placing it at position 38.  Until last year the state-owned Kazakh company was outside earshot of the Top 50 since its dual-listing in London and Astana in 2018.  

None of the smaller uranium companies are likely to pierce the top 50 by themselves, but combinations among the rank and file may edge in when countries aiming to ditch fossil fuels stop thinking they can have their yellowcake and eat it too.

*NOTES:

Source: MINING.COM, Morningstar, GoogleFinance, company reports. Trading data from primary-listed exchange at December 28 2023 to January 2, 2024 where applicable, currency cross-rates January 2, 2024. 

Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, which owns the world’s largest gold mine, Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec. 

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialised financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining still makes up a small portion of its valuation.  

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

The company, which last year sold its 50% stake in the Colluli potash project in Eritrea to Chinese buyers for $121 million (A$154.7 million), returned nearly 90% of the proceeds to shareholders mid-January.

Danakali now has cash reserves of about A$38 million, or about A$0.11 a share. This means shareholders are being offered less than 10% of the underlying value of their shares, it said.

The Australian miner noted in a separate statement it was already exploring a range of new liquidity options for shareholders. These include an off-market share buyback and further distribution of the firm’s cash reserves in the form of a capital return.

The alternatives are part of Danakali’s efforts to get its shares re-listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Its latest proposal to resume trading was rejected.

“We believe the extended suspension of our shares puts our shareholders in a difficult position and we will now explore other options to achieve additional liquidity while continuing to engage with the ASX,” executive chairman Seamus Cornelius said in a statement.

“From what we can ascertain, most of the activity has originated offshore and potentially beyond the reach of Australian regulators. Any shareholder who has received such an offer should contact Danakali directly,” he noted.

The Perth-based miner said it had taken the first steps to pursuing a new project in Eritrea by applying to an exploration licence covering 1,537 km². Preliminary work at the property shows the area may be prospective for copper and gold, the company said.

Danakali noted it would report back to shareholders on the outcome of the board’s work and talks in coming weeks.

At the end of 2023, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners reached a combined $1.42 trillion, up a healthy, if far from spectacular $48.7 billion over the course of 2023. Mining’s top tier is also worth $330 billion less than in March 2022.

Metal and mineral markets are volatile at the best of times – the nickel, cobalt and lithium price collapse in 2023 was extreme but not entirely unprecedented. Rare earth producers, platinum group metal watchers, iron ore followers, and gold and silver bugs for that matter, have been through worse.

Mining companies have become better at navigating choppy waters and as a whole the majors performed fairly consistently last year despite geopolitical and market turmoil, but within the ranking, 2023 fortunes were made and lost over what seemed like days.

The forced closure of one of the world’s biggest copper mines – and the subsequent collapse of owner First Quantum Minerals stock – served as a stark reminder of the outsized risks miners face over and above market swings.

Panama root canal

After months of protests and political pressure, at the end of November the Panama government ordered the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama mine following a ruling by the Supreme Court that declared the mining contract for the operation unconstitutional.

Public figures, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Hollywood actor Leonardo Di Caprio backed the protests and shared a video calling for the “mega mine” to cease operations, which quickly went viral. 

That mining cobre is at the nexus of the green energy transition is clearly an irony lost on those trying to save the world.  FQM is seeking arbitration and completely winding down operations will take time, but a reopening of Cobre Panama is not on the cards. 

From 25th position in the ranking at the end of March 2022 and a valuation well above $20 billion, the November-December sell off saw FQM drop out of the top tier altogether, ending 2023 at number 58 with a market cap below $6 billion. 

Cobre Panama supplied more than 40% of the company’s revenue, and with nickel prices plummeting FQM has also been forced to suspend operations at its Raventhorpe mine in Australia. 

Amid the inevitable takeover rumours now in circulation, shares in the Vancouver-based company have rallied in 2024, but still not enough to reenter the top 50.

No. 12 with a bullet 

If 2023 was an annus horribilis for FQM it was mirabilis for Amman Mineral Internasional. Stock in the Indonesian firm surged by 269% from its July debut in Jakarta to reach a market capitalisation of more than $30 billion at the end of last year – and number 12 in the ranking. 

That valuation is quite an achievement on annual revenue of $2 billion no matter how fat margins are at the company’s Batu Hijau copper and gold mine.  Batu Hijau is the third largest mine worldwide in terms of copper equivalent output (but no match for Cobre Panama when it comes to the orange metal alone)  and has been in production since the turn of the millennium. Amman is also developing the adjacent Elang project on the island of Sumbawa. 

Amman Minerals’ ascent has minted at least six new billionaires and the stock appears to be building on its success in 2024, rising by double digits in January already.

Indonesia’s other major mining IPO, Harita Nickel, was on a different trajectory altogether. After listing in April and raising $672m, the company has had a tough go of it and the stock has shed more than 38% since then as nickel prices continue to decline.

Shiny gold, dull silver, tarnished PGMs

The price of gold hit an all-time record on December 1, 2023.  But bullion’s best ever level passed without the usual fanfare and despite bullish indications for 2024, gold mining stocks did not exactly storm the rankings of the most valuable miners.

Over the course of 2023 gold and royalty companies on the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners added a collective $20.8 billion in market cap. 

And judging by gold miners’ performance so far this year, gold above $2,000 is not providing enough support. Newmont is already down 17%, Barrick has shed 13% and Agnico Eagle shareholders are 9% poorer. 

The number of precious metals companies in the top 50 has also been relatively stable over the years. With Newmont’s absorption of Newcrest now complete, the open slot was taken up by Kinross, which spent a few years in the wilderness. 

Anglogold Ashanti was just edged out by Jiangxi Copper for position number 50 on the last trading days of 2023, but based on its performance so far in 2024 the London-listed company is already back among the top tier. Indeed Anglogold is the only major gold player in the black year to date.

Silver has not been able to ride gold’s coattails and the top 50 has not had a silver specialist for a few years after Fresnillo dropped out (now at #61) and while Pan American Silver has come close in recent years at the end of last year it made it to #58 only. 

The exit of platinum and palladium majors like Sibanye Stillwater and Impala Platinum, now both valued at less than $4 billion, made space for Royal Gold to reenter at 47 at the end of last year, up from 57th in 2022. 

After a dismal 2023, the sole remaining PGM specialist Anglo American Platinum looks likely to lose more ground this quarter as palladium and platinum prices continue to slide into the new year.

Not too tough at the top 

London-listed Anglo American has had a rough year in part due to its exposure to platinum group metals and control of AngloPlat, and is now valued at $30 billion after peaking at $70 billion in March 2021.  

Were it not for the London-listed company’s iron ore operations, the 40%-plus slump in share value may have been deeper. Rumours that Glencore may be sniffing around now that the Swiss behemoth’s bid for all of Teck Resources has soured is also keeping Anglo from falling further down the rankings .  

Investors in Anglo, with a history going back more than a hundred years on the South African gold and diamond fields, have had a particularly wild ride over the last few years. In January 2016, Anglo’s market cap fell below $5 billion after it came close to suffocating under a pile of debt.  

Against expectations, iron ore seems to be holding above $120 a tonne, Chinese property bankruptcies and Beijing’s tepid stimulus response notwithstanding. 

Iron ore’s resilience despite Chinese troubles has also kept the share prices of the other diversified majors, which make their fattest profits from the steelmaking ingredient, from skidding. 

The top 10 mining companies have been able to keep their share of the total above 50% for a few years now. Not quite the magnificent seven, but size does matter in mining, particularly when access to capital is no longer a headache but a migraine. 

Expectations of another active year of M&A in the sector is likely to make the Top 50 top-heavier, especially now that it’s painfully obvious just how one-commodity companies like the lithium stocks can so easily be derailed. Coal miners’ strong 2023 suggests there are still exceptional minerals that prove the rule.   

Lithium losers 

After defying gravity early on, the combined losses for lithium miners in the top 50 climbed to nearly $30 billion in market cap over the 12 month period. Four counters occupy the worst performance table for 2023. 

The M&A drama surrounding Liontown, Albermarle and Hancock Prospecting turned out to be a soap opera and Chile’s move to take control of its lithium industry now appears far less consequential than feared.

Despite the precipitous decline in lithium prices in 2023, after hitting all time highs above $80,000 a tonne in November 2022, none of the battery metal miners’ stock performance was dire enough to drop out of the Top 50.

The merger of Livent and Allkem to form Arcadium Lithium could in fact up lithium mining’s representation in the ranking to seven should Pilbara Minerals’ January bleeding be stanched. But with lithium prices far from stabilizing, the battery metal’s presence in the top 50 may fade further. 

Pilbara Minerals, which unlike its peers was still able to show share price gains last year,  joined the Top 50 last year, bringing the number of companies based in the Western Australia capital to five, surpassing the tally of Vancouver, BC as the top home base in the ranking. 

With the exit of First Quantum, three mining companies in the top 50 call Vancouver home while the return of Kinross saw the ranks of Toronto-headquartered miners move back up to four.  

Nuclear options

Uranium prices more than doubled during 2023 and recently hit triple digits for the first time in 16 years. The breakthrough for the nuclear fuel comes after a decade in the doldrums following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Canada’s Cameco made the best quarterly performer list once again in Q4 and after doubling in market worth in 2023.  The Saskatoon-based company now sits at no 23 in the ranking after jumping 22 places since end-2022.    

The value of shares in Kazatomprom, the world number one uranium producer, topped $10 billion at the end of 2023, placing it at position 38.  Until last year the state-owned Kazakh company was outside earshot of the Top 50 since its dual-listing in London and Astana in 2018.  

None of the smaller uranium companies are likely to pierce the top 50 by themselves, but combinations among the rank and file may edge in when countries aiming to ditch fossil fuels stop thinking they can have their yellowcake and eat it too.

*NOTES:

Source: MINING.COM, Morningstar, GoogleFinance, company reports. Trading data from primary-listed exchange at December 28 2023 to January 2, 2024 where applicable, currency cross-rates January 2, 2024. 

Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, which owns the world’s largest gold mine, Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec. 

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialised financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining still makes up a small portion of its valuation.  

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

On September 20, 2021, a worker stepped into an uncovered floor opening at the company’s facility near Rocanville, according to a Saskatchewan labour ministry news release.

On December 19, 2023, the Canadian potash maker pled guilty in the Moosomin provincial court to one health and safety violation.

Nutrien was given a fine of C$142,857.14 with a surcharge of C$57,142.86 for its failure “to ensure that any opening or hole in a floor or other work surface into which a worker could step or fall is covered,” the government release said.

Specifically, the company contravened a clause for “failing to install a covering that is capable of supporting a load of 360 kilograms per square metre and that is provided with a warning sign or permanent marking clearly indicating the nature of the hazard.”

One other charge was withdrawn, the government also said.

Rocanville is one of six potash operations owned by Nutrien, currently the world’s largest producer of the crop input.

A year where the gold price sets an all-time record should be unalloyed good news for the mining and exploration industry, which despite all the buzz surrounding battery metals and the energy transition still represents the backbone of the junior market.

Metal and mineral markets are volatile at the best of times – the nickel, cobalt and lithium price collapse in 2023 was extreme but not entirely unprecedented. Rare earth producers, platinum group metal watchers, iron ore followers, and gold and silver bugs for that matter, have been through worse.

Mining companies have become better at navigating choppy waters, but the forced closure of one of the biggest copper mines to come into production in recent decades served as a stark reminder of the outsized risks miners face over and above market swings.

Panama shuts down giant copper mine

After months of protests and political pressure, at the end of November the Panama government ordered the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama mine following a ruling by the Supreme Court that declared the mining contract for the operation unconstitutional.

Public figures including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Hollywood actor Leonardo Di Caprio backed the protests and shared a video calling for the “mega mine” to cease operations, which quickly went viral. 

FQM’s latest statement on Friday said Panama’s government hasn’t provided a legal basis to the Vancouver-based company for pursuing the closure plan, a plan that the industries ministry of the central American nation said will only be presented in June next year.

FQM has filed two notices of arbitration over the closure of the mine, which has not been operating since protesters blocked access to its shipping port in October. However, arbitration would not be the company’s preferred outcome, said CEO Tristan Pascall.

In the aftermath of the unrest, FQM has said it should have better communicated the value of the $10 billion mine to the wider public, and will now spend more time engaging with Panamanians ahead of a national election next year. FQM shares have bounced in the past week, but is still trading more than 50% below the high hit during July this year.

Projected copper deficit evaporates

Cobre Panama’s shutdown and unexpected operational disruptions forcing copper mining companies to slash output has seen the sudden removal of around 600,000 tons of expected supply would, moving the market from a large expected surplus into balance, or even a deficit.

The next couple of years were supposed to be a time of plenty for copper, thanks to a series of big new projects starting up around the world.

The expectation across most of the industry was for a comfortable surplus before the market tightens again later this decade when surging demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure is expected to collide with a lack of new mines.

Instead, the mining industry has highlighted how vulnerable supply can be — whether due to political and social opposition, the difficulty of developing new operations, or simply the day-to-day challenge of pulling rocks up from deep beneath the earth.

Lithium price routed on supply surge

The price of lithium was decimated in 2023, but predictions for next year are far from rosy. Lithium demand from electric vehicles is still growing rapidly, but the supply response has overwhelmed the market.

Global lithium supply, meanwhile, will jump by 40% in 2024, UBS said earlier this month, to more than 1.4 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent.

Output in top producers Australia and Latin America will rise 22% and 29% respectively, while that in Africa is expected to double, driven by projects in Zimbabwe, the bank said.

Chinese production will also jump 40% in the next two years, said UBS, driven by a major CATL project in southern Jiangxi province.

The investment bank expects Chinese lithium carbonate prices could fall by more than 30% next year, dipping as low as 80,000 yuan ($14,800) per tonne in 2024, averaging at around 100,000 yuan, equivalent to production costs in Jiangxi, China’s biggest producing region of the chemical.

Lithium assets still in high demand

In October, Albemarle Corp. walked away from its $4.2 billion takeover of Liontown Resources Ltd., after Australia’s richest woman built up a blocking minority and effectively scuppered one of the largest battery-metals deals to date.

Eager to add new supply, Albemarle had pursued its Perth-based target for months, eying its Kathleen Valley project — one of Australia’s most promising deposits. Liontown agreed to the US company’s “best and final” offer of A$3 a share in September — a near 100% premium to the price before Albemarle’s takeover interest was made public in March.

Albemarle had to contend with the arrival of combative mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, as her Hancock Prospecting steadily built up a 19.9% stake in Liontown. Last week, she became the single largest investor, with enough clout to potentially block a shareholder vote on the deal.

In December, SQM teamed up with Hancock Prospecting to make a sweetened A$1.7 billion ($1.14 billion) bid for Australian lithium developer Azure Minerals, the three parties said on Tuesday.

The deal would give the world’s no.2 lithium producer SQM a foothold in Australia with a stake in Azure’s Andover project and a partnership with Hancock, which has rail infrastructure and local experience in developing mines.

Chile, Mexico take control of lithium

This week Chile’s President Gabriel Boric hailed the formation of a new government-controlled lithium partnership that fuses assets of state-run Codelco with private miner SQM, as the leftist leader advances his push for greater public control over the battery metal. 

SQM said it would partner with copper giant Codelco for the future development and production of the metal in the Atacama salt flat, in a tie-up set to kick off in 2025 and run through 2060.

The deal gives Codelco majority control in line with the president’s plans announced in April to strengthen state control of lithium to generate more broad-based benefits from surging demand and to allow only public-private partnerships to participate in its exploitation.

For much of the year, the firms had been locked in talks over the future of lithium mining and production in the salt flat, located in Chile’s north and the home to 90% of the nation’s lithium reserves. The South American country has the world’s largest proven lithium reserves.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in February signed a decree handing over responsibility for lithium reserves to the energy ministry.

Lopez Obrador urged the private sector to work with the new state miner, saying the size of the investment needed means the government needs partners.

But analysts argue that companies are more likely to focus near-term investments in Chile or Argentina’s sprawling salt flats, where industries are more established and policies more market-friendly.

In August, Chinese lithium giant Ganfeng said Mexico’s mining authorities had issued a notice to its local subsidiaries indicating nine of its concessions had been terminated.

Gold to build on record-setting year

The New York futures price of gold set an all-time high at the beginning of December and looks set to surpass the peak going into the new year. 

London’s gold price benchmark hit an all-time high of $2,069.40 per troy ounce at an afternoon auction on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of $2,067.15 set in August 2020, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) said.

“I can think of no clearer demonstration of gold’s role as a store of value than the enthusiasm with which investors across the world have turned to the metal during the recent economic and geopolitical turmoils,” said LMBA’s chief executive officer Ruth Crowell. 

JPMorgan predicted a new record back in July but expected the new high to occur in the second quarter of 2024. The basis of JPMorgan’s optimism for 2024 – falling US interest rates – remains intact:

“The bank has an average price target of $2,175 an ounce for bullion in the final quarter of 2024, with risks skewed to the upside on a forecast for a mild US recession that’s likely to hit sometime before the Fed starts easing.”

Even as gold climbed new peaks, exploration spending on the precious metal dipped. A study published in November overall mining exploration budgets fell this year for the first time since 2020, dropping 3% to $12.8 billion at the 2,235 companies that allocated funds to find or expand deposits.

Despite the sparkling gold price, gold exploration budgets, which historically have been driven more by the junior mining sector than any other metal or mineral, dropped by 16% or $1.1 billion year-on-year to just under $6 billion, representing 46% of the global total. 

That’s down from 54% in 2022 amid higher spending on lithium, nickel and other battery metals, a surge in spending on uranium and rare earths and an uptick for copper. 

Mining’s year of M&A, spin-offs, IPOs, and SPAC deals

In December, speculation about Anglo American (LON: AAL) becoming the target of a takeover by a rival or a private equity firm mounted, as weakness in the shares of the diversified miner persisted.

If Anglo American doesn’t turn operations around and its share price continues to lag, Jefferies analysts say they can’t “rule out the possibility that Anglo is involved in the broader trend of industry consolidation,” according to their research note.

In October, Newcrest Mining shareholders voted strongly in favour of accepting the roughly $17 billion buyout bid from global gold mining giant Newmont Corporation.

Newmont (NYSE: NEM) plans to raise $2 billion in cash through mine sales and project divestments following the acquisition. The acquisition brings the company’s value to around $50 billion and adds five active mines and two advanced projects to Newmont’s portfolio.

Breakups and spin-offs were also a big part of 2023 corporate developments.

After being rebuffed several times in its bid to buy all of Teck Resources, Glencore and its Japanese partner are in a better position to bring the $9 billion bid for the diversified Canadian miner’s coal unit to a close. Glencore CEO Gary Nagle’s initial bid for the entire company faced stiff opposition from Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government and from the premier of British Columbia, where the company is based.

Vale (NYSE: VALE) is not seeking new partners for its base metals unit following a recent equity sale, but could consider an IPO for the unit within three or four years, CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said in October.

Vale recruited former Anglo American Plc boss Mark Cutifani in April to lead an independent board to oversee the $26-billion copper and nickel unit created in July when the Brazilian parent company sold 10% to Saudi fund Manara Minerals.

Shares in Indonesian copper and gold miner, PT Amman Mineral Internasional, have surged more than fourfold since listing in July and are set to keep rising after its inclusion in major emerging market indexes in November.

Amman Mineral’s $715 million IPO was the largest in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy this year and counted on strong demand by global and domestic funds.

Not all dealmaking went smoothly this year.

Announced in June, a $1 billion metals deal by blank-cheque fund ACG Acquisition Co to acquire a Brazilian nickel and and a copper-gold mine from Appian Capital, was terminated in September.

The deal was backed by Glencore, Chrysler parent Stellantis and Volkswagen’s battery unit PowerCo through an equity investment, but as nickel prices slumped there was a lack of interest from minority investors at the stage of the $300 million equity offering which ACG planned as part of the deal.

Talks in 2022 to acquire the mines also fell through after bidder Sibanye-Stillwater pulled out. That transaction is now the subject of legal proceedings after Appian filed a $1.2 billion claim against the South African miner.

Uranium upsurge

In late November uranium prices scaled $80 per pound for the first time in 15 years, driven by a resurgence in demand for nuclear power and supply disruptions.

Global yellowcake supply might reach 145 million lb. this year or next according to the World Nuclear Association. But annual demand is already at 180 million lb. and the industry group expects it to nearly double to 300 million lb. by 2040.

Some 60 nuclear plants are under construction globally and more are planned. Countries like Germany and Japan that considered phasing them out are reversing course.

Activity in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca uranium hotspot is intensifying. NexGen received environmental approval for its Rook I project in November, the province’s first OK for such a project in two decades. Denison Mines released a feasibility study for its Wheeler River project before investing in junior explorer F3 Uranium’s Patterson Lake North property.

Also, IsoEnergy took over Consolidated Uranium in September. Uranium Energy spent C$570 million over the past two years buying Uranium One, UEX Corp. and Rio Tinto’s Roughrider project. Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners in October closed their deal to buy Westinghouse’s nuclear plant construction unit for $7.9 billion.

Nickel nosedive

In April, Indonesia’s PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, better known as Harita Nickel, raised 10 trillion rupiah ($672 million) in what was then Indonesia’s largest initial public offering of the year. 

Harita Nickel’s IPO quickly turned sour for investors, however, as prices for the metal entered a steady and long decline. Nickel is the worst performer among the base metals, nearly halving in value after starting 2023 trading above $30,000 a tonne.

Next year is not looking great for the devil’s copper either with top producer Nornickel predicting a widening surplus due to lacklustre demand from electric vehicles and a ramp-up in supply from Indonesia, which also comes with a thick layer of cobalt:

“…due to the continuing destocking cycle in the EV supply chain, a greater share of non-nickel LFP batteries, and a partial shift from BEV to PHEV sales in China. Meanwhile, the launch of new Indonesian nickel capacities continued at a high pace.” 

Palladium also had a rough year, down by more than a third in 2023 despite a late charge from multi-year lows hit at the start of December. Palladium was last trading at $1,150 an ounce.

China flexes its critical mineral muscle

In July China announced it will clamp down on exports of two obscure yet crucial metals in an escalation of the trade war on technology with the US and Europe.

Beijing said exporters will need to apply for licenses from the commerce ministry if they want to start or continue to ship gallium and germanium out of the country and will be required to report details of the overseas buyers and their applications.

China is overwhelmingly the top source of both metals — accounting for 94% of gallium supply and 83% of germanium, according to a European Union study on critical raw materials this year. The two metals have a vast array of specialist uses across chipmaking, communications equipment and defence.

In October, China said it would require export permits for some graphite products to protect national security. China is the world’s top graphite producer and exporter. It also refines more than 90% of the world’s graphite into the material that is used in virtually all EV battery anodes, which is the negatively charged portion of a battery.

US miners said China’s move underscores the need for Washington to ease its own permit review process. Nearly one-third of the graphite consumed in the United States comes from China, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents auto supply chain companies.

In December, Beijing banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets on Thursday, adding it to a ban already in place on technology to extract and separate the critical materials.

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for use in electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics.

While Western countries are trying to launch their own rare earth processing operations, the ban is expected to have the biggest impact on so-called “heavy rare earths,” used in electric vehicle motors, medical devices and weaponry, where China has a virtual monopoly on refining.

Like most of its peers, the company has been hit by weak commodity prices and rising costs globally. Its stock, currently trading at 1,714p, is down almost 48% this year, which means the copper, diamonds, iron ore and platinum miner has lost about £30 billion (almost $38bn) of its value so far this year.

Anglo’s shares suffered their biggest one-day fall since March 2020 on Friday when the miner cut overall production targets by 4% for 2024 and a further 3% for 2025.

Brokerage firm Jefferies and banks, as well as Barclays and RBC, have cut their target price for the stock in response. They noted than Anglo American has significantly underperformed other London-traded top miners such as Rio Tinto (LON: RIO), which is down less than 6% this year, and Glencore (LON: GLEN), down only 1% so far in 2023.

If Anglo American doesn’t turn operations around and its share price continues to lag, Jefferies analysts say they can’t “rule out the possibility that Anglo is involved in the broader trend of industry consolidation,” according to their research note.

Analysts at Bernstein Research agree. They say that Anglo’s low valuation and diversified portfolio makes it an attractive target for potential acquirers, who could unlock value by selling off some of the assets or restructuring operations. 

Bernstein estimates that a bidder could pay a 30% premium to Anglo’s current market value and still generate a return of 15% on their investment. 

“We believe Anglo American is the most likely takeover candidate in the sector,” they wrote in a note to clients. “We think the company is undervalued, undermanaged and underappreciated.”

Logistical issues

Chief executive Duncan Wanblad, who took the reins in April 2022,  said on Friday that logistical difficulties at its top copper mines in Peru and Chile, as well as at its South African unit, Kumba Iron Ore, had led to the cut in production forecasts. He also said the company would cut capital expenditure by $1.8 billion by 2026.

Key operating issues over and above prior expectations included suspending Los Bronces’ older plant (one of two) due to harder ore, rescheduling of the mine plan at Quellaveco due to geotechnical issues, additional ramp-up challenges in met coal, persistent infrastructure issues at Kumba, and ore hardness/maintenance for Minas-Rio.

In February, Anglo also took a $1.7 billion hit on its Woodsmith project to produce fertilizer nutrients in the north east of England.

“We think Anglo is now a show-me story without a bottom-up near-term catalyst, but value remains and we continue to expect a better year from its commodity suite in 2024,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Tyler Broda said in a note.

Expert consensus seems to be that Anglo American could be worth up to 50% more than its current market capitalization of £23 billion ($28 billion) in a takeover scenario. 

There are, however, significant barriers to a deal, such as political risks in some of the countries where the miner operates, regulatory hurdles and environmental liabilities. 

The majority of analysts consulted by MINING.COM think the company’s management is likely to resist any hostile approach and will, instead, focus on improving its performance through cost-cutting, asset sales and debt reduction.

Mines minister Pralhad Joshi said the auctions would be held in eight states, including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir and would include minerals such as lithium, potash, vanadium, graphite, and rare earth elements.

“I also take this opportunity to invite prospective bidders from across the globe to participate,” Joshi said at the launch.

The first tranche, which will end on February 20, will auction 20 blocks and is part of a planned auction of 100 blocks.

The government has also taken up 125 projects to explore critical minerals in the country, the country’s mining secretary V. L. Kantha Rao said at the launch event.

The Indian government in June this year, listed 30 minerals, including nickel, titanium, vanadium and tungsten as critical to drive its clean energy push. The federal government had previously listed 12 strategic minerals, including lithium – a critical raw material for electric vehicle batteries.

Lithium reserves were discovered earlier this year in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir. These reserves would be auctioned as part of first tranche, Joshi said on Wednesday.

India will also announce the acquisition of lithium blocks in Australia and Argentina in a month or two, he said at the event.

India’s largest power producer NTPC Ltd and state-run miner Coal India are looking at acquiring lithium assets in Australia, a government source separately told Reuters.

India is among the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters and has been pursuing overseas pacts to secure key minerals in resource-rich countries such as Australia, Argentina and Chile.

India aims to be a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2070.

($1 = 83.2950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Neha Arora. Writing by Kanjyik Ghosh. Editing by Jane Merriman)

The decision does not cancel the permits already granted to the Canadian miner, but rather prevent it from moving forward, Brazil Potash said.

The ruling responded to a new request from the federal prosecutors office (Ministério Público Federal – MPF), claiming there were serious violations and irregularities in the granting of a preliminary permit. 

The MPF, which is a body independent from Brazil’s government, alleges to have reviewed audio recordings, video reports, telephone calls, and that it has have face-to-face hearings, all of which show “the chaotic situation established between the Mura people and indigenous leaders in the villages”.

This is the third time the Amazon State’s Court rules against the interests of the company, its local unit Potássio do Brasil, and its key stakeholders, including the Mura Indigenous people, chief executive Matt Simpson told MINING.COM.  

The first time was 2018 and a second one in September this year. Both rulings were overturned by the Federal Court in Brasilia, which said the lower court’s judge based his decision in flawed and biased information.  

Brazil Potash said it was confident the newest recent lower court ruling would be overturned by the Federal Court, given that it conflicts with a prior ruling from the top court itself, along with the “highly questionable merits of the case”. 

Indigenous leaders told MINING.COM in October that there wasn’t a consensus on the benefits of the Autazes among the Mura people, with some against the project and others, such as the Mura Indigenous Council (CIM), in favour.

Brazil Potash has consistently denied any wrongdoing, adding that the opinion of 34 of the 36 villages impacted by the project were heard.

A fifth of Brazil’s potash needs

The proposed mine and processing facilities in Autazes, 75 miles (120 kms) southeast of the capital of Amazonas state, Manaus, would require about three years to complete.

The project will be built on low density cattle farm land, deforested several decades ago by prior owners, Brazil Potash says. The ore body is not located under indigenous land, but is within 10km of two reserves resulting in the need for consultations with locals.  

Production is expected to start in 2026 with an initial output sufficient to cover about 20% of Brazil’s potash needs. Project capacity is pegged at 2.2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year according to the company.

Potash is a vital commodity in Brazil, and there are several potential projects in a 400-km belt south of the Amazon which the government hopes will end its almost complete reliance on imports of the material.

The majority of potash used in Brazil comes from mines in Canada, the world’s number one producer, and Russia. Russia and Belarus jointly account for about 41% of global potash exports – but disruptions spurred importer countries to find other suppliers.

The Woodsmith mine, on which Anglo American announced a $1.7 billion writedown in February, has the world’s largest known deposit of polyhalite, a naturally-occurring mineral containing nutrients including potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur, which it is marketing as POLY4.

Until now the mineral has only been produced in small quantities and its market is not commercially proven at scale, but Anglo American says polyhalite has the potential to improve the crop yield by 3% to 5%.

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo’s Crop Nutrients division, also predicted the rising global population, concern about climate change and the impact of extreme weather on arable land would boost demand.

“The limit of existing fertilizers is that they are CO2 intensive,” he said.

“Farmers are looking for a product that is organic and sustainable. We are the caterer for that.”

Anglo has signed supply and distribution agreements with five companies and is looking for more partners in the Middle East and Africa, McCulley told reporters.

Deals so far included global grains merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co in North America, German agriculture group BayWa in Europe and the Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative (IFFCO), he said.

The miner is also part of a low carbon fertilizer program run by Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco, he added.

Speaking during a site visit to the mine in Britain’s North York Moors National Park, he said analysts’ estimates that the total cost of the mine of around $9 billion were not “too far off”, but refused to give details.

Anglo American, whose market cap is $34.5 billion, bought Woodsmith for 405 million pounds ($497.42 million) in 2020 after previous owner Sirius Minerals struggled to raise funding.

It aims to produce around 5 million tonnes annually in the first three years from its 2027 estimated start and eventually to ramp up to full capacity of 13 million tonnes for the 40-year plus mine.

Sirius had aimed for output of 10 million tonnes a year in the initial phase.

The world’s largest miner BHP Group has also entered the potash fertilizer market with its Jansen project in Canada, aiming to start production in late 2026.

($1 = 0.8142 pounds)

(By Clara Denina; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

Potash prices experienced a decline as a result of the resumption of shipments from Belarus and Russia.

Analysts have noted that fertilizer demand remained subdued for a significant part of the year, with farmers holding off on purchases until prices stabilized.

During Q3, potash prices averaged $250 per tonne, in stark contrast to the $633 per tonne recorded a year earlier.

Nutrien reported earnings of $82 million in the third quarter, down from $1.6 billion a year earlier.

The company says sales were $5.6 billion, down 31% from $8.2 billion. Diluted earnings per share were 15 cents, down from $2.94.

Shares of Nutrien were up 1.98% by 12:10 p.m. EDT. Since January, however, shares are down 23%. The company has a market capitalization of C$37.65 billion ($27.33 billion).

(With files from Reuters)

Read More: BHP CEO says ‘ship has sailed’ on potential acquisition of Nutrien

The investment adds to the $5.7 billion the world’s largest miner is pouring into stage one of the potash project in Saskatchewan, and an investment of $4.5 billion the company sunk into Jansen before its first phase was even approved.

BHP considers potash, used in crops fertilizers, as one of its pillars of future growth. It expects potash demand to increase by 15 million tonnes to roughly 105 million tonnes by 2040, or 1.5% to 3% a year, along with the global population and pressure to improve farming yields given limited land supply. 

With the additional investment announced on Tuesday, BHP expects Jansen to become one of the world’s largest potash mines, doubling production capacity to approximately 8.5 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) in late fiscal 2029.

“This is an important milestone that underscores our confidence in potash and marks the next phase of the company’s growth in Canada,” chief executive officer, Mike Henry, said in the statement.

The first stage of the project is 32% complete and progressing as per schedule, BHP said. The second stage is expected to take six years and produce about 4.36 mtpa at a capital intensity of about $1,050/tonne, which is in line with BHP’s strategy to invest in large deposits that have high barriers to entry and offer strong margins.

The company’s move shouldn’t come “as too much of a surprise”, BMO analyst Alexander Pearce wrote in a note to investors.

“A final investment decision decision in FY2024 [has been] well flagged and there has been increased focus on the project in recent presentations (…)  However, nearer term, the higher combined cash costs ($105-120/t, +5-20%), and a slightly lower run rate for Stage 1 is likely a slight negative,” Pearce said.

BHP had tried to tap into the fertilizer market for some time. In 2010, it unsuccessfully bid $38.6 billion for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, which in 2018 merged with Agrium Inc. to form Nutrien (TSE, NYSE: NTR). 

Jansen had the potential to produce 16-17 million tonnes of potash a year under a four-phased development. This would account for about 25% of current global demand.

BHP had originally planned to begin production at Jansen in 2027. Market conditions, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Belarusian potash, prompted it to bring forward stage 1 first production into 2026.

At the end of Q1 2022, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s biggest miners hit an all-time record of a collective $1.75 trillion as copper spent time above $10,000 a tonne, real nickel trades were being made above $40,000, lithium shipped for over $60,000 and everything from gold and platinum to uranium and tin were rallying hard. 

Uranium prices have doubled since then to above $60 a pound, tin is also trading higher, although well below its March 2022 peak while gold’s recent safe haven rally means the precious metal is also trading higher compared to March 2021.

Iron ore, where the top diversified mining companies dig for most of their profits, has also held up remarkably well, trading at $120 a tonne this week, little changed from end-June.  

Base and battery metals however have entered a deep slump since those heady days. Copper, zinc and aluminium are firmly in bear market territory down by a fifth or more, nickel and palladium investors are nursing 40%+ losses, cobalt is nearing record lows and lithium prices are hovering above $20,000.

After defying weakness on metals markets due to high expectations of strong future demand, particularly for copper, lithium and nickel, mining stock valuations have now succumbed. 

At the end Q3 2023, mining valuations for the industry’s top tier have slumped a total of $516 billion since the all-time highs. Declines so far this year total $145 billion for a combined market value of $1.38 trillion – back to levels seen at the end of September 2021.  

Just how bad sentiment is across the board is evident from the best performer list for Q3, which includes for the first time three counters which lost ground over the period. 

Archipelago ascent

The first Indonesian company to make it into MINING.COM’s ranking of world’s 50 most valuable mining companies, Amman Minerals Internasional, has surged 213% in US dollar terms since its July debut in Jakarta to reach a market capitalisation just shy of 450 trillion rupiah, or more than $28 billion.

Amman Minerals is the owner and operator of the giant Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in production since the turn of the millennium and is developing the adjacent Elang project on the island of Sumbawa. 

Elang is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold porphyry deposits and is currently in the feasibility stage. Elang boasts 4.7 million tonnes of proven and probable copper reserves and over 15 million ounces of gold.

Indonesia has become a red-hot IPO market this year and Amman was the largest of the year so far raising more than $700m in its IPO, and now sits at number 11 on the ranking. 

Bloomberg reports Amman Minerals’ ascent has minted at least six new billionaires, including chairman Agus Projosasmito, whose stake in the company is now worth $2.7 billion. The miner’s spectacular market performance has also added $4 billion to the net worth of Anthoni Salim, who helms one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates, taking the tycoon’s paper billions to within shouting distance of double digits.

Indonesia’s other major mining IPO, Harita Nickel, is on a different trajectory altogether. Listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange  in April raising $672m, the company has had a tough go of it and the stock has shed more than 60% since then as nickel prices continue to decline.

Lithium losses

The strength of the lithium sector outside China had been remarkable given the precipitous decline in prices for the battery metal since hitting all time highs above $80,000 a tonne in November last year. 

But during Q3 the slump in prices of the battery raw material caught up with the six stocks represented in the Top 50, for a combined loss of over $30 billion in market cap over the three month period to just over $70 billion. 

Measured from their 52-week highs the correction in the sector has been brutal – Perth-based Pilbara Mineral has bled 31% in market cap, making it the best performer. Mineral Resources has given up 37% while the declines for Albemarle, SQM, Ganfeng and Tianqi have been over 50%.  

Pilbara Minerals, which unlike its peers is clinging onto year-to-date gains,  joined the Top 50 last quarter and brought the number of companies based in the Western Australia capital to five, surpassing the tally of Vancouver, British Columbia as the top home base in the ranking.

The chances of another Perth-based lithium miner, IGO, of entering the Top 50 has dimmed. With a market cap of $5.4 billion, the company is down to the mid-60s in the ranking. 

The merger of US-based Livent and Australia-Argentina lithium miner Allkem, expected to close before 2023 is out, may also not be enough for the combined firm to enter the Top 50. Together the two companies are now worth $7.4 billion, which would edge out AngloGold Ashanti for the last spot, but the fortunes of lithium and gold going into 2024 are diverging widely.  

The blocking tactics of Gina Rhinehart’s Hancock Prospecting against the takeover of Liontown Resources by Albemarle turned out to be successful with the US lithium giant deciding to walk away from the deal this week.

Liontown’s 127% surge this year afforded the Perth-based company a market value of $4 billion before the collapse of the takeover which halted trading in the stock. Liontown on Thursday said it has secured the necessary funding to bring its Kathleen Valley project into production.

Enriched uranium

In September, uranium scaled $60 per pound for the first time since 2011. The breakthrough for the nuclear fuel comes after a decade in the doldrums following the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The World Nuclear Association predicts world reactor requirements for uranium to surge to almost 130,000 tonnes (~285 million pounds) in 2040. That’s up from an estimate of 65,650 tonnes in 2023. 

A significant portion of the WNA’s upward growth adjustments can be attributed to the accelerated adoption of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as part of decarbonisation efforts for a range of industries from shipping to data centres with powering remote mine sites near the top of the list for SMR potential.

Canada’s Cameco makes the best performer list over the three months again in Q3 after spending much of the post-Fukushima period in the wilderness. The Saskatoon-based company enters the top 30 for the first time after jumping 19 places so far this year.    

The value of shares in Kazatomprom, the world number one uranium producer, topped $10 billion at the end of Q3 placing it at position 36. Until this year the state-owned Kazakh company was outside earshot of the Top 50 since its dual-listing in London and Astana in 2018.  

Diversified drop

BHP’s market position has also been supported by uranium prices as the Melbourne-based company boosts output at its Olympic Dam operations. 

The world’s top mining company’s market value has declined by less than 8% year to date for a $142 valuation, outperforming other diversified heavyweights Rio Tinto, down 17%, Glencore (–21%), Vale (–25%) and Anglo American (–38%). 

London-listed Anglo American has had a rough year in part due to its exposure to platinum group metals and control of Anglo American Platinum, and is now valued at $32 billion after peaking at $70 billion in March 2021.  

Investors in Anglo, with a history going back more than a hundred years on the South African gold and diamond fields, have had a particularly wild ride over the last few years. In January 2016, Anglo’s market cap fell below $5 billion after it came close to suffocating under a pile of debt.  

The dramatic slump in palladium prices (down 38% this year) and platinum (–16%) have also seen AngloPlat drop to its lowest position ever at a valuation of $10 billion, down from nearly $40 billion end-March 2021. 

Former PGM high flyers Impala Platinum and Sibanye Stillwater, both valued around the $4 billion mark today, have lost sight of the Top 50 altogether. 

*NOTES:

Source: MINING.COM, Mining Intelligence, Morningstar, GoogleFinance, company reports. Trading data from primary-listed exchange at Sep 29-Oct 5, 2023 where applicable, currency cross-rates Oct 7, 2023. 

Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, which owns the world’s largest gold mine, Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec. 

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialised financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem as does battery makers like CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining still make up a small portion of its valuation.  

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

BHP Group Ltd. (ASX: BHP) CEO Mike Henry is talking down the chances of acquiring Canadian fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. (TSX: NTR), as the world’s biggest mining company concentrates on building its own potash business instead.

In 2010, the giant British Australian miner attempted to buy Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Nutrien’s predecessor company, but the deal was blocked by the federal Conservative government as not being of net benefit to Canadians.

BHP held talks with Nutrien in 2021 around a possible joint venture on its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan. However, discussions between the two companies eventually fizzled. BHP elected instead to go it alone on the $7.5-billion project, the most expensive the company has ever undertaken.

With BHP making steady progress on construction of Jansen in the years since and first production expected in 2026, Mr. Henry indicated in an interview with The Globe and Mail that the industrial logic for a tie-up between BHP and Nutrien has faded away.

“There’s no kind of burning desire or need,” he said. “It’s very different than we were, way back when we were still facing a decision about whether we wanted to develop through an acquisition, or through developing our own resources. That ship has sailed.”

BHP is so bullish on Jansen that it is contemplating pulling the trigger on a second phase of the mine, even before the first phase comes into production, and will make a decision on that by the end of its financial year. Under an accelerated timeline, Jansen’s Phase 2 could be up and running in 2029.

BHP is making its potash push in Canada at a time of extreme volatility in the market. When Jansen was commissioned in 2021, potash was trading at roughly $695 a ton. Last year, after major potash producer Russia invaded Ukraine, the commodity skyrocketed to about $1,200 a ton. That dynamic prodded Nutrien to embark on a major production increase. The commodity has since fallen sharply to US$350 a ton, owing to a projected global supply shortfall not panning out, and farmers cutting back on their usage.

Mr. Henry says the ups and downs of the past 18 months in the potash market are a reminder that commodities are cyclical. Investment decisions on major projects like Jansen are taken, he said, in the full knowledge of that cyclicality, and based on a call on what the long-term price of the commodity is likely to be. Mr. Henry is convinced that over time potash demand will grind inexorably higher, owing to global population growth, the increased adoption of higher-calorie diets and growing pressure on arable land. He’s confident that BHP can be cash-flow positive on Jansen through any commodity cycle, even as he admits that forecasting short-term price movements are a fool’s errand.

“No matter what price we forecast, it’s going to be wrong,” he said.

BHP is in the process of restructuring its business to reduce or eliminate its exposure to environmental, social and governance-unfriendly commodities such as oil and gas, and coal, as it pivots more toward ESG-friendly critical minerals such as potash and copper, which are also assigned a premium valuation from investors.

Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TECK-B) is embarking on a similar strategy, and is auctioning off its metallurgical coal assets to double down on copper and zinc.

Mr. Henry indicated that BHP is not interested in either Teck’s existing metallurgical coal assets, or what might remain of the company after its restructuring, signalling that Teck’s copper mines would not offer the scale BHP would covet to make a difference.

Mr. Henry, a Canadian by birth, has lived in Australia for decades. Canada, he says, is considered a top-tier jurisdiction for BHP, owing in part to its skilled mining work force and its stable political system that encourages inbound investment.

“We do see Canada as being attractive for investment because it’s got the resources and talent, but it also has, in relative terms, pretty stable policies, which gives rise to greater predictability and reduces the risk associated with investment,” he said.

“We found governments at the federal level, and at the provincial level to be very pro-active about engaging with a company like BHP and trying to draw in investments.”

The federal government last year provided C$100-million in financial aid to BHP to develop Jansen.

Apart from its big bet on the Canadian potash industry, BHP has also invested in several Canadian exploration and development companies over the past few years.

BHP however last year lost out in a protracted attempt to buy Noront Resources Ltd., the Canadian junior that owns the most promising assets in Ontario’s as yet to be developed Ring of Fire region. Instead Noront went to another Australian company, Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd.

Mr. Henry who earned a chemistry degree at the University of British Columbia, joined BHP in 2003. Before becoming chief executive in 2020, he ran the company’s massive Australian minerals business.

Federal Judge Marcos Augusto de Souza suspended a lower court decision that ruled that if the land would be demarcated Indigenous in the future, then only Brazil’s Congress and federal agency Ibama could authorize mining in the area.

Federal prosecutors alleged in a civil action that the Institute for Environmental Protection of Amazonas (Ipaam), a regional agency, which initially granted the permit, didn’t have the right to do so.

Prosecutors also claimed that Potássio do Brasil, the Brazilian unit of Canadian miner Brazil Potash, violated local Indigenous population’s constitutional right of land usage, didn’t conduct sufficient consultation with affected communities and threatened local leaders.

Indigenous leaders told MINING.COM that the new decision doesn’t reflect the opinion of the 12,000 people who live in the region.

“There is no consensus on this. Especially in the village of Soares, which is the one that will suffer the most impact and unfortunately has been excluded from the dialogue,” said Herton Mura, a member of the Organization of Indigenous Leaders of the Mura People of Careiro da Várzea.

“The Federal judge disregarded that the consultation with residents of the region was not carried out correctly in accordance with the consultation protocol, that the Soares indigenous land is in the process of demarcation,” Mura said.

The Autazes project, however, is supported by the Mura Indigenous Council (CIM), one of the organizations that represent Indigenous peoples in the region.

“The company co-opted CIM leaders. It made promises of royalties, promises of improvements such as the construction of schools and health centers. These are public policies, not the company’s responsibility,” said Mariazinha Baré, coordinator of the Articulation of Organizations and Indigenous Peoples of Amazonas (Apiam).

CIM denies the allegations and said over 90% of the communities agreed with the project.

Brazil Potash also denies any wrongdoing. Adriano Espeschit, the President of Potássio do Brasil Ltda., told MINING.COM that 34 of the 36 villages impacted by the project were heard.

The proposed mine and processing facilities in Autazes, 120 km southeast of the capital of Amazonas state, Manaus, would require about three years to build.

The $2.5bn project would be built on low density cattle farm land, deforested several decades ago by prior owners, Brazil Potash said. The ore body is not located under Indigenous land, but is within 10km of two reserves resulting in the need for consultations with locals.

Production is expected to start in 2026 with an initial output sufficient to cover about 20% of Brazil’s potash needs. Project capacity is pegged at 2.2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year, according to the company.

Paul Mitchell, Global Mining & Metals Leader at the management consulting firm says the latest ranking of the top 10 business risks for mining and metals in 2024  which is based on interviews with 150 executives involved in the sector “highlights the complex operating environment miners will face in 2024”: 

“Responses to these risks are now clearly embedded into the strategies of the best operators — particularly environmental, social and governance and license to operate — and will remain priorities for a number of years to come.”

Respondents to the survey say scrutiny from all stakeholder groups is increasing, particularly around ESG issues and, according to EY mining firms that get ESG right will enjoy “significant benefits, including improved access to capital, a healthier talent pipeline and stronger licence to operate.”

While a “healthier talent pipeline” has become less of a worry for mining executives (now tenth on the list of top risks), “improved access to capital” is now considered the second most important priority for major miners after ESG as the massive outlays required by the green energy transition become a firm boardroom agenda item. 

Growth capital not growing

A renewed focus on growth capital could mark something of a turning point for the mining industry. 

Average shareholder returns by the top 30 miners have increased by a compound annual growth rare of 22% from 2019 to 2022, according to the EY report.

Despite a return to mega-profits at the top tier, the focus has remained on dividends and capital discipline, not gearing up for growth. 

Over the past 20 years, expansion capital spending across the industry has typically run above 20% of top line profits, which is to be expected in an industry with depleting assets and falling grades. 

The last couple of years have seen this metric slip to around 10% as companies continue to favour shareholder returns over building new mines.

So far however, growth capital for the energy transition does not appear to be flowing into mining with the report finding iron and steel, gold, and coal companies attracting the most capital since 2022. Not exactly Mining 2.0 money.

The report states that capital raised through debt and equity in the first seven months of 2023 has remained steady ($196 billion compared with $192 billion in the same period of 2022) and according to the authors “this trend is expected to continue into 2024.”

There is no doubt lithium and nickel are attracting attention as mainstream investors and outside capital jump on the electric car bandwagon, but steep price falls for these commodities this year may see many cool on EV raw materials sooner than expected. 

It’s also noteworthy that money raised for copper – the crux of the energy transition – is down 28% in 2023 while specialty metals investment is down by almost 50%, despite the many “critical minerals” lists drawn up by countries over the last few years.

In the first seven months of 2023, mining and metals companies issued $1 billion of green bonds, down from nearly $4 billion in the same period of the prior year. EY expects the trend of linking ESG bonds to specific projects, for example renewable energy, biodiversity and investing in local communities, rather than large overall targets, continuing.

Get the balance right

Building new mines has become a trickier proposition with new ESG requirements adding significantly  to capex costs – and not just for greenfield projects.  The financial woes of Codelco struggling to lift output from a decades low at its existing operations serves as a warning to the rest of the industry.

Recent volatility has exacerbated the problem of capital productivity that has long concerned the mining sector, adding that apart from increased input costs, higher interest rates are pushing up the cost of capital, says EY.

A review of 132 development projects requiring more than $1 billion of capital investment showed nearly one in five faced cost overruns, with an average blowout of $500 million.

EY says miners “should be mindful of the need for older projects to meet newer ESG requirements, which may include electrification, green energy and low water usage, to win financing.”

EY highlights the challenge miners face to “balance returns with responsibilities” and quotes one executive who said “new mines need to be carbon neutral from the outset” and another who stated “you can no longer develop brownfields if there is no green power supply”:  

“As miners adapt models and make more difficult investment decisions, they will need to make sure they bring investors along on the journey. 

“With interest rates unlikely to decline soon, companies may need to work harder to balance sustainable alternatives with economic returns.“

Israel’s Port of Ashdod, just north of Gaza and a key hub for the country’s potash fertilizer exports, is in emergency mode amid the deadly conflict. That’s putting as much as 3% of global potash supply at possible risk, Ben Isaacson, a Scotiabank analyst, said in a note Monday.

Further, if Iran, a critical nitrogen exporter in the region, is drawn into the conflict, Isaacson said prices of the nutrient needed for grain production could spike due to limited supply and potential premiums in benchmark Dutch TTF natural gas, a commodity used to make nitrogen-based fertilizers.

Nutrien Ltd., the world’s biggest potash maker, rose as much as 4.2%, the most since July. CF Industries Holdings Inc., the leading nitrogen producer, gained as much as 6.2%, the most in more than a month. Mosaic Co., climbed as much as 6.7%, the stock’s biggest intraday gain in almost a year.

Global fertilizer prices had significantly cooled this year after surging in 2022 due to supply disruptions from the war in Ukraine.

Potential involvement from Iran in the Israel conflict could endanger movement of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit that Tehran has previously threatened to shut down. A third of traded liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway, Isaacson noted.

Firmer nitrogen prices were already expected later this year due to a nearly 10% surge in European natural gas prices following a pipeline leak in the Baltic, Alexis Maxwell, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, has said.

(By Kim Chipman)

The company in an emailed statement to Reuters said the vehicle was operated by Prairieland Transport and was en route to its Warrensburg, Illinois location from its Lima Nitrogen facility, when the crash occurred.

Five people were dead and five were seriously hurt in the collision on Friday. The truck was carrying about 7,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia when it crashed.

“While no Nutrien employees or equipment were involved in the incident, the safety and well-being of the community and environment remain our top priorities,” said Nutrien on Monday.

Anhydrous ammonia is used in the agricultural sector as one of the primary sources of nitrogen for crops, and is toxic when inhaled.

Bloomberg first reported the news on Monday.

(By Tanay Dhumal; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

The Waverly Biochar project, which is being developed by Restoration Bioproducts, involves the construction of a biochar production facility located at a wood pellet manufacturer.

Biochar, short for biological charcoal, is produced by heating biomass, that is, organic feedstocks such as wood, peanut shells, manure and crop waste, in the near or total absence of oxygen, resulting in a very stable form of carbon that prevents the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for centuries, making it valuable for sequestration purposes. This process is known as pyrolysis.

Producing biochar and burying it in soils is a way of storing carbon for centuries. According to Project Drawdown, biochar could scale to sequester between 1.36–3.00 gigatons of carbon emissions by 2050, equivalent to between two and four and a half years of Canada’s 2021 carbon emissions.

The Waverly initiative is expected to deliver up to 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide removal credits per year towards Microsoft’s carbon-negative target.

“We’re pleased to work with Carbon Streaming to support the development of biochar as a carbon removal approach through the Waverly Biochar project,” Brian Marrs, senior director of energy and carbon for Microsoft, said in a media statement. “Carbon Streaming’s capacity to provide project-level finance is an important part of scaling this industry and it ensures we can focus on procuring carbon removal from high-quality projects.”

Carbon Streaming said that its approach provides capital to project developers, enabling them to accelerate their projects. This also benefits corporations using carbon credits as part of their climate strategies. Rather than having to provide upfront capital to climate projects, corporations can instead commit to purchasing the verified removal upon issuance. 

“This relationship between Carbon Streaming, project developers and corporate end users aims to remove a key barrier to corporate action – the internal ability to invest upfront,” the Ontario-based firm noted in the press release.

Karnalyte Resources Inc. abruptly canceled plans to meet with its Indian board members as the governments of Canada and India traded barbs over the killing of a Sikh leader on Canadian soil. The Saskatchewan-based potash firm counts two Indian executives and one Indian banker among its board members.

“We were preparing to welcome our board colleagues from India for a visit to Canada this week but they cancelled their trip due to the tensions that arose and quickly escalated last week,” Karnalyte’s interim chief executive officer Danielle Favreau said in an email. “We hope to be able to reschedule their visit soon.”

Karnalyte is planning to build a potash mine in Western Canada and counts Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. — one of India’s largest fertilizer and industrial chemicals manufacturing companies — as its largest shareholder. When the mine starts producing, most of its output will go to the state-owned Indian firm.

Karnalyte’s chairman is Vishvesh Nanavaty, who is also Gujarat State Fertilizer’s chief financial officer, while director Dilip Pathakjee works as a senior vice president for the Indian firm, according to Canadian company’s website. Another Karnalyte board member, D.C. Anjaria, is from India and has international banking experience.

Since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government earlier this month of orchestrating the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian activist pushing for an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region, India has suspended visa applications for Canadians who want to travel to the country. Meanwhile, Canadian firms including AtkinsRéalis, formerly SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., have limited travel to India for Canadian employees.

(By Jacob Lorinc)

While the miner’s Autazes project is not located on indigenous land, there are two reserves within 10 km of the project that had a legal right to be consulted.  Following set protocols, Mura leaders decided which tribes would be consulted, under what format and what would be the vote support threshold.  

“Ultimately they decided to consult with 35 tribes ranging from those located close to the project site to some being over 70 km away in a series of gatherings during which the Mura learned about the project, its impacts on their way of life and opportunities to improve their wellness,” Simpson explained.

Based on these consultations, several hundred Mura people voted in support of the project being constructed and operated by Brazil Potash’s local unit Potássio do Brasil.

“This is a major milestone achievement in the project’s development as it clearly demonstrates respect for the Mura’s wishes,” Simpson said.

Brazil Potash still requires the country’s Indigenous people’s agency (FUNAI) to complete their review of the company’s Indigenous Consultation Study (ECI) being the second last item required prior to being granted a construction licence, which the Mura have approved as part of recent consultations.  

“Having this free, prior, and informed Mura vote sends a clear and positive message to FUNAI that the Mura wishes are to have the project built, permits to be issued and to not demarcate the lands required to extract potash as being indigenous owned,” Brazil Potash said.

A fifth of Brazil’s potash needs

The proposed mine and processing facilities in Autazes, 75 miles (120 kms) southeast of the capital of Amazonas state, Manaus, would require about three years to build.

The project, to be built on low density cattle farm land, is expected to begin production in 2026, with an initial output sufficient to cover about 20% of Brazil’s potash needs. Project capacity is pegged at 2.2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year, according to the company.

Potash is a vital commodity in Brazil, and there are several potential projects in a 400-km belt south of the Amazon which the government hopes will end its almost complete reliance on imports of the material.

The majority of potash used in Brazil comes from mines in Canada, the world’s number one producer, and Russia. Russia and Belarus jointly account for about 41% of global potash exports – but disruptions spurred importer countries to find other suppliers.

India is a leading fertilizer importer to support its vast agriculture sector, which employs about half of its 1.4 billion people and accounts for nearly 15% of its $3 trillion economy.

Canada is one of the key suppliers of potash to India and Indian companies last year signed a memorandum of understanding with Canpotex to buy up to 1.5 million metric tons of potash a year for 3 years, starting from 2023.

In April, Canpotex said it had agreed a supply contract with Indian Potash for shipments through Sept. 30.

“We don’t expect any impact on our potash imports from Canada. Canpotex’s deals with Indian companies are commercial contracts. So far, it is a business as usual for us,” Indian Potash Ltd managing director P.S. Gahlaut told Reuters.

“(The) Canadians have already signalled their willingness to extend the contract regardless of political upheavals,” he said.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Canpotex out of normal working hours.

Ties between India and Canada deteriorated sharply after New Delhi and Ottawa expelled one of the other’s diplomats in a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in the Canadian province of British Columbia in June.

This has raised concerns over supplies of Canadian potash, a source of potassium used directly by farmers as well as in combination with other nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate.

India depends entirely on imports to meet its annual need for about 4 million metric tons of muriate of potash (MOP), the government said in a statement last year.

Apart from Canada, India also buys the soil nutrient from Belarus, Russia, Israel and Jordan.

Indian companies have imported about 550,000 tonnes of potash between April and September this year, about the same as last year in the same period, Gahlaut said.

(By Nidhi Verma; Editing by Alexander Smith)

“It’s estimated that synthetic nitrogen fertilizer supports half of the global population,” Ted Sargent, corresponding author of the paper that presents the new solution, said. “A chief priority of decarbonization efforts is to increase quality of life on earth, while simultaneously decreasing society’s net CO2 intensity. Figuring out how to use renewable electricity to power chemical processes is a big opportunity on this score.”

Sargent pointed out that in his field, many researchers have developed alternate routes to make ammonia, a precursor to many fertilizers, but few have looked at urea, which is a shippable, ready-to-use fertilizer representing a $100 billion industry. The team said the research stemmed from asking the question “Can we use waste nitrogen sources, captured CO2, and electricity to create urea?”

Yuting Luo, the paper’s first author, a post-doctoral fellow in the Sargent Group, said that a deep dive into historical references helped identify what would become their “magic” hybrid catalyst.

Typically, chemists use alloys or more complicated materials to trigger reactions, limiting them to favour a single reaction step at a time. “It’s quite uncommon to put two catalysts together that cooperate in a relay mode,” Luo said. “The catalyst is the real magic here.”

The idea of combining two elements came from references dating back to the 1970s. Such texts implied that pure metals—like zinc and copper—can be useful in processes involving carbon dioxide and nitrogen conversion.

These preliminary experiments, which the Sargent lab went on to replicate, converted relatively little of the initial ingredients into the desired product, that is, about a 20-30% conversion efficiency to urea.

The team also conducted a thorough life-cycle analysis, including each energy input and output in various scenarios.

“Using an average US grid, the energy emissions are about the same,” co-author Chayse Lavallais said. “But when you go to renewable sources, several factors lower energy emissions, including CO2 sequestration and carbon credits stored in end-use polymers. In a water treatment facility, if it adds emissions or energy, they’re not encouraged to use the technology. We saw this doesn’t impact the daily operational costs significantly, and there’s potential to sell the product.”

They found the conversion efficiency would need to reach 70% to be practical.

Happy accident

The researchers ultimately reached their target starting with a simple mistake. Their hypothesis was solid—a layer of zinc on copper would result in better performance. But initially, they weren’t finding that at all because they were applying the layer of zinc too thick and using a one-to-one ratio of zinc to copper, resulting in the material behaving as if it was only interacting with zinc.

At one point, someone added less binder than was typical to the mix and some zinc washed away, and the experiment worked well. The team then tuned the metals accordingly and determined a ratio of one part zinc to 20 parts copper, resulting in optimal performance.

The Sargent group also applied a computational lens to uncover why copper and zinc worked so well together, and why it seemed there needed to be synergy between the two reactions. Because it’s impossible to capture these reactions visually—they happen at the scale of nanoseconds—one must calculate them and determine how electrons move across a reaction.

This process had two distinct sections. First, the carbon must interact with zinc, as a reaction with copper produces a weak reaction. In the second stage, the opposite is true—nitrogen and copper create an efficient reaction, while zinc does very little.

The researchers noted that there is a way to go before the process can be commercialized. Primarily, the reaction as it stands does not account for impurities found in a water treatment context. They also hope to increase the amount of time their process can operate.

Judge Jaiza’s decision responded to a request from the federal prosecutors office (Ministério Público Federal – MPF), alleging that various procedures related to the granting of the permit were not properly followed. 

The MPF, which is a body independent from Brazil’s government, alleged in its civil action, that the Institute for Environmental Protection of Amazonas (Ipaam), which initially granted the permit, didn’t have the right to do so.

It also claimed that Potássio do Brasil violated local indigenous population constitutional right of land usage, didn’t conduct sufficient consultation with affected communities and threatened to local leaders.

Brazil Potash’s CEO, Matt Simpson, told MINING.COM that the resolution doesn’t affect the company’s preliminary permit for the $2.5bn Autazes potash project.

He noted that the land where the project is located is not indigenous. “We cut our permit between indigenous and non-indigenous lands and the only lands included in our Nov 2022 Pre-Feasibility Study and being permitted are non-indigenous,” Simpson said.  

The executive pointed out that it’s difficult to hold the MPF accountable for actions they undertake. “At times [their actions] are based on personal biases as opposed to enforcement of the laws as they should solely be doing. Brazil Potash’s situation is unfortunately an example of MPF’s abuse of power,” he said.

Simpson noted the MPF’s leader is trying to stop the Mura indigenous consultations from proceeding because of of his “personal bias against mines being developed in the Amazon”, regardless of what the Mura group believes is in their best interest.

In April, Brazil’s Superior Court reinstated Brazil Potash’s preliminary license for the $2.5 billion Autazes potash as granted by the State Environmental Protection Agency (IPAAM), acknowledging the company met the terms of its agreement with the Mura, the MPF and the lower court.

The top court’s judge also criticized the lower court judge for interfering in the consultation process between Brazil Potash and the Mura Indigenous peoples.  

A fifth of Brazil’s potash needs

The proposed mine and processing facilities in Autazes, 75 miles (120 kms) southeast of the capital of Amazonas state, Manaus, would require about three years to build.

The project will be built on low density cattle farm land, deforested several decades ago by prior owners, Brazil Potash says. The ore body is not located under indigenous land, but is within 10km of two reserves resulting in the need for consultations with locals.  

Production is expected to start in 2026 with an initial output sufficient to cover about 20% of Brazil’s potash needs. Project capacity is pegged at 2.2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year according to the company.

Potash is a vital commodity in Brazil, and there are several potential projects in a 400-km belt south of the Amazon which the government hopes will end its almost complete reliance on imports of the material.

The majority of potash used in Brazil comes from mines in Canada, the world’s number one producer, and Russia. Russia and Belarus jointly account for about 41% of global potash exports – but disruptions spurred importer countries to find other suppliers.

** The original article mistakenly said that the local court had suspended the company’s preliminary permit. We regret the error **

“We have finished the bid selection process for the development of the potassium mine in Malargue,” Mendoza Governor Rodolfo Suarez said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Authorities will now advance in the final negotiations of a contract to develop the Rio Colorado mine with the most qualified bidder, following UBS’ guidelines, he added.

More than 30 national and international companies participated in the bidding process, according to Suarez.

The construction period for the complex is expected to be five years with a likely annual production of 1.5 million metric tons.

“The reactivation of this project will double the province’s exports,” Suarez said.

Vale withdrew from the project in December 2012 amid a slump in potash prices and the government’s refusal to offer tax concessions to mitigate soaring costs linked to inflation.

Before the stoppage of the project, the Brazilian company had invested $2.2 billion in the mine, completing 45% of the works.

Argentina, an agricultural powerhouse, is making efforts to lure global mining firms by offering tax breaks and promises of security.

(By Lucila Sigal and Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Construction outlays at the site 180 km north of Regina are planned to rise to $1 billion from $647 million as crews work to start the mine in late 2026 instead of in 2027 as earlier planned, the company’s Calgary-based potash unit said. Jansen’s $5.7 billion stage one is 26% complete and would produce 4.4 million tonnes a year when finished, it said.

“There is no change to the overall capital estimate for Jansen stage one,” chief financial officer David Lamont told an earnings call on Aug. 22. “We have pulled that project forward around about nine months, so therefore the capital spend is over a shorter period of time, and that has some impact into the guidance that we’ve given.”

Melbourne-based BHP is developing potash production in Canada, the world’s largest producer of the fertilizer ingredient, as markets flex to restrictions of imports from top-five producers Russia and Belarus as well as Ukraine because of the war there. However, Belarus has been increasing potash exports recently despite sanctions for its role as a Russia ally, lowering prices.

Potash has dropped from a record spot price of more than $800 a tonne in November to about $340 per tonne in July. This month, Saskatchewan-based Nutrien (TSX: NTR; NYSE: NTR), the world’s largest potash producer and a failed takeover target for BHP in 2010, cited market conditions as it indefinitely postponed plans to increase annual potash output capacity to 18 million tonnes. It produced 13 million tonnes last year.

Long-term view

BHP says its potash outlook is measured in decades not years, although there could be lingering impacts from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Potash demand is expected to increase by as much as 3% annually in the years ahead, BHP says.

“Longer-term, we see potash as a future-facing commodity with attractive fundamentals,” Huw McKay, vice-president of market analysis and economics, said in a commodity outlook presented last week. “Demand for potash stands to benefit from the intersection of global mega–trends: rising population, changing diets and the need for the sustainable intensification of agriculture.”

Jansen, being considered in four phases, would produce 17 million tonnes a year at its height as the world’s largest underground potash mine and the first new operation of its kind in Saskatchewan in 30 years. Global annual potash consumption was about 45 million tonnes in 2021, according to the US Geological Society. Worldwide production was 72 million tonnes that year, according to the government of Canada.

BHP is working on a feasibility study for phase two to be completed this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2024, before making a go-ahead decision. BHP said it will spend about $125 million on the expansion’s pre-commitment work this year. First production from the second stage is estimated to be as early as late fiscal 2029.

“What we are really looking at to trigger Jansen phase two is strong underlying fundamental economics around capex and projected returns on that timeframe,” BHP CEO Mike Henry said on the Aug. 22 earnings call. “The second aspect is continued execution of Jansen stage one in line with plan or better than plan, and that is what we are seeing.”

War’s impact

The company is also considering how the war in eastern Europe impacts the medium- and longer-term output of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, and may allow BHP to replace lost global supply.

“Market opportunity may indeed be stronger or opening up earlier than was originally anticipated,” Henry said. “There is no decision yet. The study continues, but we do want to position the company with the option to take an earlier [approval] decision in the coming year.”

This year, Canada’s federal government granted C$100 million to the Jansen project to help it develop the mine as a low-carbon emitter. In March, BHP awarded C$260 million in contracts to local Indigenous suppliers, bringing to a total of C$470 million of business to that community since the company approved stage one two years ago.

BHP was able to insulate Jansen’s first stage capital costs from inflation by adopting cost-saving measures it learned from developing several iron ore projects at the same time, such as integrating service providers and fine-tuning commercial strategies, Henry said. The company may act similarly if it approves stage two, he said.

“There may be a further opportunity for us to navigate an inflationary environment by being able to roll the skilled labour and contractors from one project into another, but that’s a subject of a further [approval] decision in the year ahead.”

Shares of the top US phosphate maker fell 1.7% in extended trading.

Bruce Bodine, Mosaic’s senior vice president of North America, would take charge as the new CEO in January next year, the company added. Bodine has been part of Mosaic since its formation in 2004.

O’Rourke has been at the helm of the company since 2015 and helped Mosaic cement its position as the leading phosphate maker through the acquisition of Vale SA’s fertilizer business.

O’Rourke would remain as a senior advisor with the company till his retirement in mid-2024.

Mosaic had missed second-quarter profit estimates earlier this month due to falling fertilizer prices.

(By Sourasis Bose; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

The US-based company had aimed to boost potash output capacity to 18 million tonnes, but “unprecedented volatility” over the last year and a half forced it to change plans, CEO Ken Seitz said. 

“We continue to see demand strengthen in our key markets, in particular North America; however the process of recovery has been more uneven in offshore markets,” Seitz said on a call to discuss second-quarter results.

Potash prices have been depressed after the resumption of shipments from  top producer Belarus. Exports from the country, however, remain below the pre-Russia’s invasion of Ukraine levels.

Nutrien noted it has also been impacted by a dockworkers’ strike at the port of Vancouver, which is the main hub through which it exports its fertilizer products. It cut production at its Cory Potash mine in Saskatchewan, and said it expected its full-year profit to take a hit from lower exports.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada concludes the two-day vote at 6 p.m. local time on Friday, after an uncertain period that included a 13-day shutdown in July of more than 30 port terminals and other sites.

Nutrien, as expected, posted this week earnings of $1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $3.9 billion in the first half of the year, down 79% and 49%, respectively, when compared to the same period of 2022.

“It could take several more weeks until the backlog is cleared and the supply chain returns to normal,” Jeff Tarsi, Nutrien’s executive vice-president and president of global retail said on the conference call. He noted this resulted in a lower estimate for global potash shipments in 2023, to a range of 63 to 65 million tonnes.

The company is also lowering capital expenditures by about $200 million this year to $2.8 billion, and targeting a $100 million reduction in expenses.

The Colonsay site near Saskatoon was reopened in July to mitigate a temporary production drop because of planned maintenance at the Esterhazy potash complex on the eastern edge of the province, the US fertilizer producer said in its second-quarter earnings statement. Colonsay had been idled in December after weaker demand sent fertilizer prices sliding across North America.

Mosaic said global supplies of potash and phosphates are expected to remain tight “through 2023 and likely beyond” because of lower shipments from Belarus, port constraints in North America and exports from China that remain “well below” 2021 levels. Meanwhile, the company sees demand benefiting from “favorable grower economics” amid high crop prices.

“Mosaic is well-positioned to capitalize on the fertilizer market’s recovery, which is well underway,” chief executive officer Joc O’Rourke said in the statement.

Mosaic reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share, down 71% from a year earlier and trailing analysts’ average estimate, mostly reflecting a drop in prices for crop nutrients.

(By Gerson Freitas Jr.)

At the end of the first quarter of 2022 metals and minerals were setting all-time records led by bellwether copper, which briefly traded above $5 a pound or more than $11,000 per tonne. Iron ore, the second most traded bulk commodity after crude oil and the cash cow for the top tier of the mining world, was above $150 a tonne. 

Both commodities are down by more than 20% since then – officially a bear market. 

At the end of Q1 2022, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s biggest miners hit an all time record of a collective $1.75 trillion. 

Half way through 2023, mining valuations have slumped a total of $356 billion after giving up a collective $47 billion during the second quarter.

The Top 50 now has a combined market value of $1.38 trillion – back to levels seen end-June 2021.

Indonesian debut 

The first Indonesian company to make it into the top 50 is Amman Minerals Internasional, owner and operator of the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine and developer of the adjacent Elang project. 

Elang is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold porphyry deposits and is currently in the feasibility stage. 

Indonesia has become a red-hot IPO market this year and Amman was the largest of the year so far. 

The company debuted in Jakarta on July 7, raising more than $700m, and enters the ranking at no. 46 with a valuation just shy of $9 billion, or 135 trillion rupiah, up smartly since the IPO.

Harita Nickel, which listed in Jakarta in April raising $672m, has had a tough go of it and the stock has shed more than 30% since then as nickel prices decline at a similar rate. 

In USD terms Harita Nickel is worth less than $4 billion, which places the stock outside the 70 most valuable mining stocks globally.     

Lithium ranks grow 

Lithium producer Pilbara Minerals makes a spectacular entry into the Top 50 at position no. 42 after spending several quarters bubbling under the ranking. 

Pilbara Minerals shares are up over 40% so far this year, lifting its value to over $10 billion, surpassing that of fellow lithium miner and Perth neighbour, Mineral Resources. 

Pilbara Minerals, which is the ranking’s best performer for the quarter,  brings the number of companies based in the Western Australia capital to five, surpassing the tally of Vancouver, BC as the top home base. 

Another Perth-based lithium miner, IGO, has been climbing the charts and currently sits at number 52 in the ranking at a valuation just shy of $8 billion. Worth a collective $101 billion, lithium stocks make up 7.4% of the value of the Top 50.     

The strength of the lithium sector outside China has been remarkable given the precipitous decline in prices for the battery metal since hitting all time highs in November last year. 

Official projections from top producer Australia, responsible for half the world’s output of lithium, are for more pain over the next three years amid a production boom.  

The disappointing launch this week of lithium futures in Guangzhou China is another harbinger of weakness and points to further losses for shares in Ganfeng and Tianqi, already down 50% over the past 12 months. 

Potash problems

Fertiliser prices have been on a dramatic decline over the last year and after hitting 14-year highs in April last year on the back of the Ukraine war, potash at the port of Vancouver has now halved in value. 

Stock of sector heavyweights Nutrien, which cut its guidance and production at one of its Saskatchewan mines this month due to a port strike, and Mosaic have fallen sharply as a result, with the North American companies losing a combined $10 billion during the quarter. 

The retreat in the market cap of fertilizer maker ICL Group in Tel Aviv sees the company drop out of the Top 50 altogether.

While Russian potash is finding itself onto world markets, deliveries from Belarus remain below the pre-war total.

At the same time, large new projects are being developed including in Brazil, the world’s foremost importer of the crop nutrient, and in Canada, where the  province of Manitoba greenlit a new potash mine and processing plant in June.   

The Canadian government earlier this year injected $75 million into BHP’s Jansen project as the Anglo-Australian giant seeks to fast-track construction of the mine, which if built to full capacity will be the world’s largest. 

*NOTES:

Source: MINING.COM, Mining Intelligence, Morningstar, GoogleFinance, company reports. Trading data from primary-listed exchange at July 17, 2023 where applicable, currency cross-rates July 18, 2023. 

Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, which owns the world’s largest gold mine, Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec. 

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialised financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem as does battery makers like CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining still make up a small portion of its valuation.  

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel, Adani Enterprises and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

The country’s mining exports in the first six months of the year reached 177.2 million metric tons, up 10.2% year-on-year, Ibram said.

($1 = 4.7952 reais)

(By Marta Nogueira; Editing by Sarah Morland)

The agreement sets out a potential collaboration to develop a process flowsheet to extract rare earth elements from Mosaic’s phosphogypsum stack in the Uberaba area of Minas Gerais.

Rainbow believes the Uberaba stack has a similar grade and make-up to that of its Phalaborwa project in South Africa. Both operations, it said, involve a hard-rock carbonatite phosphate deposit being mined and processed into a phosphate slurry and then into phosphoric acid.

Rainbow and Mosaic expect to collaborate on the production of a preliminary economic assessment of the opportunity to extract rare earths.

“This agreement with Mosaic represents a major opportunity for Rainbow to apply the proprietary extraction technology developed in conjunction with K-Tech to become a multi-asset producer of rare earth elements from secondary sources,” Rainbow chief executive George Bennett said in the statement.

“We’ve made considerable strides over the years in advancing gypsum reuse – and this work is a natural extension of that,” senior vice president of Mosaic, Corrine Ricard, noted.

Rainbow said this collaboration could mean that simpler hydrometallurgical processes can be used to produce separated and purified rare earth oxides.

The International Longshore & Warehouse Union, representing more than 7,000 workers, and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association reached an agreement on a new four-year deal, according to a statement on Thursday. The parties didn’t release details.

The agreement paves the way for an end of the work stoppage at ports in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, the country’s busiest and third-busiest hubs.

Over the past 13 days, the strike at ports that handle a quarter of Canada’s total traded goods reduced arrivals of container ships and diverted vessels to US facilities, impeding imports of materials for manufacturing as well as exports of natural resources like potash.

The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters trade group estimated the strike caused daily trade disruptions amounting to C$500 million ($380 million). The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association on Tuesday put the tally of disrupted cargo at C$8.6 billion so far. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned the disruptions could fuel inflation.

More than half of business owners belonging to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business were affected by the strike through missed sales, delayed production or orders, and the inability to export products. The world’s biggest fertilizer producer, Saskatchewan-based Nutrien Ltd., has cut production at its Cory potash mine, citing the port stoppage.

(By Randy Thanthong-Knight)