The scale of these challenges are massive, but they are far from insurmountable, and there are an array of options that Australia’s iron ore miners can pursue.

The trick is choosing a path that maximizes profits, or at least minimizes costs, while ensuring that the industry continues to prosper.

Australia is the world’s largest exporter of iron ore, the key raw material used to make steel, and it shipped out about 930 million metric tons last year, which at current prices would be worth about $93 billion.

Australia is also the world’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal, used to make steel, ranks second in thermal coal and in liquefied natural gas, while also being the biggest exporter of lithium and the largest net exporter of gold.

But the exports of all these commodities together barely exceed the value of iron ore shipments, underscoring the outsized role of the ore, which is mainly produced in the state of Western Australia.

Just over 80% of iron ore exports head to China, which buys about 70% of the total global seaborne volumes and produces about half of the world’s total steel.

Putting these numbers together gives a picture of a dominant producer and a dominant buyer in the iron ore market.

The rise of China since the late nineties allowed Australia’s iron ore miners to massively ramp up output, reap economies of scale and become hugely profitable.

But the nature of both China’s demand and the process of making steel are likely to change in the next few years, threatening the current model whereby Australia produces vast quantities of iron ore that is turned into steel in blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces, processes that require the use of coking coal.

China’s steel output has flatlined for the past five years around the 1 billion ton per annum level, and most analysts presenting at this week’s Global Iron Ore and Steel Outlook Conference in Perth predicted that production will gradually decline in the next few years.

This is partly because China’s infrastructure and housing construction will ease, but also because China will increasingly use scrap steel in electric arc furnaces to produce new steel products.

While Australia’s iron ore miners may be able to offset the loss of some of China’s demand by selling to newer steel producers in Southeast Asia, it’s likely that the overall market for iron ore will soon decline.

It’s also likely to change in composition, with higher grades of iron ore preferred as these can be more easily used as a feedstock along with scrap in electric arc furnaces.

Higher grades of iron ore can also more easily be upgraded into direct reduction iron (DRI), which in turn can be turned into steel without using coal as a fuel.

Making steel using DRI produced with green hydrogen and renewable energy is one of the ways the industry is thinking of reducing carbon emissions.

Even using natural gas to make DRI can reduce emissions by up to 75%.

The problem is that DRI is tricky to export given it can be volatile, so it tends to be made at the same location as the steel furnaces.

Value chains

So, if Australia’s iron ore miners are thinking of moving up the steel value chain, they would have to find ways of producing DRI and turning it into steel in Australia, using renewable energy.

Another path is upgrading the iron ore into hot briquetted iron (HBI), which is an upgraded form of DRI, whereby the DRI is converted into a compact form using heat.

HBI can be shipped, and can be used in either an electric arc furnace or a basic oxygen unit.

Should Australia’s iron ore miners move to upgrade their product, they will need significant investment, and there is no certainty that the upgraded products will deliver sufficiently higher margins.

For example, if an iron ore miner agreed with its customers in China, Japan and South Korea to supply HBI instead of iron ore fines, this would require significant investment in a clean energy system.

The iron ore miners have been successful in running complex operations at low costs, but setting up a wind/solar power plants, a green hydrogen electrolyser and possibly battery storage as well would be a totally different challenge.

There is also the possibility of exporting iron ore to a third country for processing into HBI, with Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia a potential destination.

These countries have large quantities of natural gas which could be used to turn iron ore into HBI in a process that would still be more environmentally friendly than using coking coal.

The HBI could then be shipped from the Middle East to customers in Asia.

However, there are several other factors that would come into play, such as steel nationalism.

Many countries see steel as a key commodity and want to retain their own industries. It’s unlikely Japan would want to buy green steel from Australia, but it might be prepared to buy HBI and keep the final process of making steel inside its borders.

The problem for Australia’s iron ore sector is that it has a plethora of options in adjusting to decarbonization and peak steel in China.

But all involve risks and costs, and this is trouble for an industry that has spent the last decade de-risking itself and concentrating on improving shareholder returns.

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Clyde Russell, a columnist for Reuters.)

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

The company also said that it has so far not applied for lithium blocks on a nomination basis from the Indian government.

In June last year, Reuters reported that NMDC’s unit Legacy Iron Ore had signed a lithium exploration pact with Australia’s Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.

NMDC shares were down 1.7% on Friday.

(By Neha Arora, Ashna Teresa Britto and Navamya Ganesh Acharya; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

But are customers willing to pay more for low-carbon nickel? Some analysts say yes — under certain conditions.

“If the market sees a benefit in paying a premium for certain supplies then it will,” Jim Lennon, managing director of commodities at Macquarie Group, told The Northern Miner in an interview. “A buyer would be willing to pay a premium if they can see an economic benefit in using that product, such as receiving a government subsidy or securing a sale of a ‘greener’ electric vehicle.”

The price of nickel has been on a downtrend since late 2022 when it was $33,575 per tonne ($15.23 per pound). The price on Tuesday was $17,678 per tonne ($8.02 per lb.) and in February dipped as low as $15,850 per tonne ($7.19 per pound).

The price doldrums have prompted Wyloo Metals and BHP (ASX: BHP) to suspend operations in Australia, with BHP announcing it would take a $2.5 billion impairment on its assets.

Given the devastation to its nickel sector, Australia has been the most vocal in creating new variable price brackets for low-carbon emissions nickel.

The idea for premium ESG pricing isn’t new. In fact, some experts argue that there’s already a premium.

Canada Nickel (TSX: CNC) CEO Mark Selby says people might be surprised to learn that price premia have already been paid for various North American products perceived as cleaner on Asian markets.

Selby notes that domestic premiums for certain materials have been sustained over several years, which might not be directly attributable to lower carbon footprints or ESG factors alone but could be influenced by a combination of factors, including local supply.

But this type of premium isn’t helping Australian nickel miners. And deliberately imposing an ESG premium would be a different story.

“The main challenge is defining what ‘ESG-compliant’ actually means,” Macquarie’s Lennon said.

It’s an obstacle that the London Metal Exchange (LME) is facing as it investigates and prepares for the potential emergence of premium pricing for low-carbon products on separate trading contracts.

Georgina Hallett, LME’s chief sustainability officer, says that there’s increasing interest from producers, consumers, and investors in establishing a price premium for metals produced with lower carbon footprints. However, defining what constitutes ‘low carbon’ or ‘green’ metals isn’t easy due to the lack of a standardized, universally accepted framework for measuring and verifying the environmental impact of metal production processes.

“The aim is to build a robust framework that supports the gradual introduction of sustainability-linked pricing mechanisms while ensuring broad market participation and avoiding undue disruption,” Hallett told The Northern Miner. “By taking a step-by-step approach, the LME hopes to align the interests of various stakeholders and drive meaningful progress toward the integration of sustainability into the global metals market.”

Free market forces

Lennon suggests that establishing a special low-carbon contract for metals on the LME is unnecessary. This is because the prices for different products are already determined by normal market activities, such as supply and demand. Just like prices for different metal shapes and origins adjust based on market conditions, the prices for products with various ESG qualities would naturally adjust in the same way.

“Exchanges don’t need necessarily to get involved since they can focus on ‘objective criteria for delivery (shapes, metal purity, etcetera) and leave the market to decide on ‘subjective’ factors such as value-in-use of different products/shapes and ESG,” Lennon said.

From an exchange perspective, like the LME, there is also a risk of damaging liquidity if they were to introduce multiple contracts. Compared with large commodity derivative markets, nickel is not particularly liquid and dividing this liquidity could reduce the usability of the market for some participants.

Lennon says markets will ultimately determine the outcome. Currently, nickel prices vary significantly between products depending on supply and demand.

Today’s primary nickel products that are LME deliverable include metal rounds, pellets, cut cathode, and full plate cathode. When delivered to LME warehouses, each product is assigned a associated warrant. When buyers want to take delivery from the LME, they are often willing to pay LME brokers a premium for warrants of a particular material shape or origin.

Similarly, other non-LME deliverable products, including intermediates (concentrates, mattes, MHP, MSP, etc.) or finished products (ferronickel, nickel pig iron, nickel sulphates, nickel chlorides, etc.) also sell at varying discounts or premiums to LME base prices. Lennon said these premiums/discounts can shift dramatically due to changes in supply and demand.

For example, nickel pig iron was selling at a premium to the LME price at the start of 2022 and then had fallen to a discount of 40% to the LME by the first half of last year.

“Product type, ESG, and country of origin are all important properties and presumably were factors that led major automakers to agree to term supply contracts with BHP and Vale in recent years. ESG was no doubt a factor in these negotiations,” Lennon said.

Canada Nickel’s Selby emphasized the importance of provenance tracing rather than setting up a formal two-tiered pricing system.

He points out that imposing a pricing mechanism before the market is ready can lead to inefficiencies, such as a benchmark that does not accurately reflect market conditions. He suggests letting the market sort it out.

“We will continue to observe the distinction between Western-supplied, clean, green nickel and the high-carbon, less ESG-compliant nickel from China and Indonesia,” he said. “As for the necessity of a formal pricing mechanism, it’s typically better if such mechanisms emerge naturally in the marketplace before establishing a formal platform for trading them.”

Aussie nickel rout

An increase in supply from Indonesia has cratered nickel prices, as the southeast Asian nation boosted production of refined and semi-refined nickel, mainly on the back of an export ban on raw ore, which led to massive investment from China in new processing plants, according to Lennon.

Indonesia has become the dominant nickel producer, accounting for 55% of global supply, up from 7% in 2015, according to Bank of America data. But it relies on coal-fired power.

Higher-cost Australian supply can’t compete. Australia’s federal resources minister Madeline King responded to the raft of nickel suspensions by adding nickel to the country’s critical minerals list, enabling industry access to part of the A$4 billion ($2.6 billion) federal funding earmarked for critical energy transition minerals exploration and development.

“Prices paid for Australian minerals need to recognize the high ESG standards the Australian industry adheres to and the fact that Australian workers enjoy good working conditions and the highest safety standards.”

At PDAC, she noted that Canada and Australia have agreed to jointly advocate for robust ESG credentials to be built into global, transparent and traceable critical minerals supply chains.

Laying foundations

The LME has been considering introducing a premium for green or sustainable metals since it released a 2020 white paper on the topic, Hallett noted.

In 2021, the LME collaborated with Metalshub, a digital metals procurement platform which facilitates buyers’ access to the physical metal that meets specific attributes including carbon intensity and other ESG criteria. The LME said that low-carbon nickel, classified as producing 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide or less per tonne of nickel, could already be traded on Metalshub’s system.

The platform aims to allow market participants to specify and search for metals that meet specific sustainability standards, thereby fostering the emergence of a market-driven definition of ‘green’ metals.

Hallett says the critical missing component to formalizing a new price bracket is doing the less sexy but foundational work around how one measures emissions the same way across the industry. The point is to create an equal playing field for products in the value chain included in that new contract.

The LME has initiated several measures to promote sustainability within the metals market. One of the key initiatives is the development of metal-specific measurement methodologies, in collaboration with metal industry associations, to standardize measuring carbon emissions across different metals.

However, the LME’s taking a deliberate approach to implementing a low-carbon pricing mechanism for nickel and other metals, given the still-evolving market for low-carbon metals.

“Our approach remains one of cautious optimism and pragmatic progression,” Hallett says. “We are committed to leading the industry towards a more sustainable future, understanding that real change is achieved not by rushing but by thoughtful, collective action.”

The suspension could exacerbate a tightened supply of zinc concentrates, feedstock to make refined zinc, which is mainly used to galvanise steel to protect it from corrosion.

“MRM has temporarily ceased operations as we monitor flooding in the region and assess impacts onsite at our operations,” Glencore said in a statement.

McArthur River mine is one of the world’s biggest zinc and lead operations. It produced 262,200 tonnes of zinc in concentrates and 50,400 tonnes of lead in concentrates last year, according to Glencore’s production report.

The site experienced rainfall this week which exceeded the previous record dating back about 50 years to 1974.

Also backed by Glencore, Peruvian zinc, lead and silver miner Volcan suspended three of its mines in the country earlier this week as it works on updating an operating permit for its Rumichaca tailings dam.

Delay in the start of major Russian zinc mine Ozernoye, suspension of Europe’s biggest zinc mine Tara, also led to a lower supply of mined zinc.

(By Julian Luk; Editing by David Evans)

The United States has backed two Australian-listed rare earths projects with up to $850 million of funding as Western nations build a supply chain for the strongly magnetic metals used in sectors from renewable energy to defence.

Australian Strategic Materials ASM.AX said on Thursday it has received a letter of interest (LoI) for a debt funding package of up to $600 million from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to support construction of its Dubbo rare earths project northwest of Sydney.

The bank has also offered up to $250 million in preliminary support for Australian-listed Meteoric Resources MEI.AX, which is developing its Caldeira rare earths project in Brazil, Meteoric said on Thursday.

Shares in ASM surged as much as 39% to A$1.65 before paring gains to $1.40 while Meteoric shares were up 1% at A$0.2425.

“When it comes to rare earths, there is a priority for critical minerals and the U.S. supply chain being developed domestically using feedstock and raw materials supply from allied nations,” said Dylan Kelly of fund manager Terra Capital.

“They are putting their money where their mouth is and effectively backing high-probability projects,” he added.

Backing by a government authority is seen as key to attract commercial lenders and private investment to the sector given a recent drop in prices and complex, often costly production requirements.

ASM is due to make a final investment decision by year-end on the Dubbo project that will produce light and heavy rare earths oxides. It already has A$200 million ($132.24 million) of initial support from the Australian government.

In December 2021, it said the plant would cost A$1.68 billion, but construction costs have since surged. It also operates a processing plant in South Korea.

Meteoric is targeting an investment decision late next year for Caldeira which will produce light rare earths neodymium, praseodymium (NdPr) and heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium.

“The LoI represents a material step in ASM’s project funding strategy and is recognition of the strong engagement the Company has experienced from government, investors, and industry groups in North America,” ASM said in an exchange filing.

The U.S. has already offered support to Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) for its processing facilities in Texas that are under construction.

The U.S. and Australia last year set up a critical minerals taskforce as Australia looks to drum up investment for minerals processing from allied nations as an alternative to top producer China, which accounts for more than 80% of global supply.

EXIM’s support for both projects is linked to the potential U.S. content in equipment, goods and services.

ASM last year agreed to sell neodymium iron boron alloy from its South Korean metals plant to U.S.-based rare-earth magnet maker Noveon Magnetics Inc from material sourced from Vietnam.

Australia last week said it would provide up to A$840 million ($550 million) for a combined rare earths mine and refinery in the country’s Northern Territory, owned by Arafura Rare Earths ARU.AX.

($1 = 1.5124 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Ayushman Ojha and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Josie Kao, David Gregorio and Jamie Freed)

Sydney-based coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd.’s deal last month to secure a $1.1 billion loan for buying two mines attracted 17 private credit lenders and only one bank. A consortium led by Golden Energy and Resources Pte Ltd. also is sounding out private credit funds, as well as banks, to secure financing for its $1.65 billion acquisition of a coal mine in Australia, according to people familiar with the matter.

Their talks reflect the growing prominence of private credit, which has ballooned to a $1.7 trillion market worldwide by taking on riskier projects with attractive margins. Private credit firms’ forays into the coal business signify more battles ahead for ESG proponents even while banks back away from environmentally questionable projects.

“There’s different forms of private capital, family office money and other individuals who don’t have the same ESG obligations or pressures as what some of the big funds do,” said Nick Sims, co-head of investment banking, Australia & New Zealand at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “There’s a role for them and they have been playing that role.”

More broadly, private credit is one of several alternative funding sources that the energy industry has tapped in recent years as ESG-based lending metrics hamper banks. Private equity firms have been more active in the business amid the retrenching. Asset-backed bonds, supported by oil and gas reserves, have also come into play.

Another funding source for coal miners is to sell a minority stake to their customers, such as steel manufacturers, who want to ensure their supply can be sustained, according to Rory Simington, principal analyst for Asia Pacific thermal coal research at analytics firm Wood Mackenzie. JSW Steel’s reported talks to buy a 20% stake in a Whitehaven-owned coal mine may be an example, he said.

Higher borrowing costs

Whitehaven’s reception from private credit firms is in sharp contrast to its struggles last year. The company had to pull a A$1 billion ($653 million) loan refinancing due to banks’ unwillingness to extend the loan, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Some of Australia’s major banks — Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. — all have committed to limit or refrain from lending to thermal coal miners.

Whitehaven’s new pool of lenders are mainly international funds, such as Hong Kong-based Asia Research & Capital Management Ltd, Farallon Capital Management LLC and Sona Asset Management Ltd.

Its deal also underscores the fact that alternative lenders would be typically more expensive. Whitehaven is paying 650 basis points over SOFR for the debt.

“Mainstream lenders do not want to finance coal, so they have to go to higher cost hedge funds and family offices,” said Patrick Marshall, head of private credit at Federated Hermes.

Private credit could also come in handy as coal miners transition into new business lines. Whitehaven’s private credit loan refinances a $900 million bridge loan to back the takeover of two mines for metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steel manufacturing and considered less environmentally threatening than thermal coal.

“If you can badge your project or your company as metallurgical coal rather than thermal coal, it makes a huge difference in terms of who you can talk to or who’s able to finance,” Simington at Wood Mackenzie said.

(By Sharon Klyne and Megawati Wijaya)

The new per-share offer price of A$0.575 represents a 4.5% increase over its previous bid of A$0.55, which was turned down by OreCorp earlier in the year. However, the Perth, Australia-based gold miner has maintained its confidence in completing a deal, and earlier this month, it extended its previous offer to April 19.

Perseus currently holds 22.01% of OreCorp’s share capital, having increased its stake by another 2.11% immediately prior to the new offer. It is now the largest shareholder of OreCorp, just ahead of Silvercorp (21.11%).

In a news release confirming Perseus’ latest offer, OreCorp said it has notified Silvercorp of what is determined to be a “superior proposal” in accordance with the matching rights process set out in the bid implementation deed signed between the companies in December 2023.

Silvercorp, which initiated its takeover proposal in August 2023, now has a five business days to make a better offer.

Should Silvercorp fail to provide such an offer within the five-day period, the OreCorp board intends on recommending that shareholders accept the amended proposal in the absence of a superior proposal, the Australian gold developer said.

OreCorp also said it had received statements of intent from major shareholders, who in aggregate hold approximately 15.6% of its shares, indicating that they intended to accept the new proposal from Perseus.

At the heart of this takeover battle is the Nyanzaga project in Tanzania, located near Barrick Gold’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) Bulyanhulu mine and AngloGold Ashanti’s (JSE: ANG) (NYSE:AU) Geita mine.

A 2022 definitive feasibility study gave the project an after-tax net present value of $618 million at a 5% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 25%.

Geographically, Perseus is the closer suitor with three operating mines in West Africa producing gold at a rate of more than 535,000 ounces per year.

Silvercorp has two producing mines in China but has been looking to diversify its portfolio.

In a paper published in the journal Solar RRL, the researchers explain that the process involves creating metallic ‘clusters’ of just nine gold atoms chemically ‘anchored’ to titanium dioxide which, in turn, drives the reaction by converting the energy of absorbed UV light.

The gold nanocluster cocatalysts enhance the photocatalytic work of the titanium dioxide and reduce the time required to complete the reaction by a factor of six.

“These types of heterogeneous semiconductor-mediated photocatalysis systems provide a significant advantage over other advanced chemical processes,” Gunther Andersson, senior author of the study, said in a media statement. “It can facilitate the mineralization of a large range of organic pollutants, like azo dyes, into water and carbon dioxide molecules with a high degradation efficiency.”

Methyl orange

Andersson explained that a variety of physical, chemical and biological processes are currently used to remove carcinogenic and recalcitrant organic compounds from water. This is because chemical industries, including dye manufacture, and textile and cosmetics production, release toxic and non-biodegradable dyes into the environment.

Nearly half of the dyes used in the textile and dye industry are azo dyes. Methyl orange – one of the most common indicators used in analytical chemistry to determine pH – is among the widely used water-soluble azo dyes.

With this in mind, the researchers have also demonstrated the usefulness of the gold cluster cocatalyst and modified semiconductors for the synthesis of novel photocatalysis systems for the degradation of methyl orange.

In a second study, published in Applied Surface Science, they tested photocatalysis in a vortex fluidic device developed at Flinders University.

They wanted to address the issue of traditional treatment methods often not effectively removing dangerous contaminants from wastewater.

“The reason for this is that some chemicals, especially those with aromatic rings, are resistant to chemical, photochemical and biological degradation,” Anahita Motamedisade, lead author of the paper, said.

“In addition, they generate dangerous byproducts – by oxidizing, hydrolyzing, or undergoing other chemical reactions – of synthetic dyes containing wastewater, which are detectable wherever they are disposed of. We hope to build onto these more sustainable and thorough photocatalytic degradation processes to help completely remove the toxins and tackle this global problem.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tackling Scope 3 emissions

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

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

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

The diversified miner had initially forecast a production of 3.4 million wet metric tons (amt) of manganese in fiscal 2024, slightly lower than 3.5 million amt produced in fiscal 2023.

South32 is the world’s largest producer of manganese, used as a steel additive, and owns 60% of GEMCO while the rest is owned by Anglo American.

Operations at GEMCO were halted due to the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Megan, with initial assessments indicating flooding in the mining pits, the miner said.

The company has also confirmed significant structural damage to the wharf and port infrastructure at the mine with alternative shipping arrangements being evaluated.

“Further assessment of the full impact of the damage is ongoing,” the company said, adding that it will release manganese production forecast along with March quarter production results.

(By Roushni Nair; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar)

“The hard work of our Rincon team is laying the groundwork for our first lithium production by year’s end,” he said in a statement to Reuters late on Monday, after a recent trip to the project in the northern province of Salta.

Rio Tinto, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, is one of the few large mining companies betting on lithium even as counterparts such as BHP stay away from investing in the metal, which is used in electric vehicle batteries.

The company purchased the Rincon project from Rincon Mining in 2022 for $825 million, and plans to develop a battery-grade lithium carbonate plant with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons.

Rio Tinto said it is working with local communities and authorities to ensure environmental standards.

Argentina, part of a so-called “lithium triangle” with Chile and Bolivia which holds half the world’s resources of the mineral, has increasingly attracted investment from international lithium miners.

The country’s lithium production increased more than 45% from 2022 to 2023, according to the US Geological Survey, reaching 9,600 metric tons.

(By Lucila Sigal; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Alistair Bell)

In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the UB scientists present a global atlas of unburnable oil. This map was designed with environmental and social criteria that warn which oil resources should not be exploited to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The atlas reveals that to limit global warming to 1.5°C, it is essential to avoid the exploitation of oil resources in the most socio-environmentally sensitive areas of the planet, such as natural protected areas, priority areas for biodiversity conservation, areas of high endemic species richness, urban areas and the territories of Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.

It also warns that not extracting oil/coal resources in these vulnerable places would not be enough to keep global warming below 1.5°C as indicated in the Paris Agreement.

New roadmap

In this context, the unburnable oil atlas provides a new roadmap to complement the demands of international climate policy—based primarily on demand for fossil fuels—and to enhance socio-environmental safeguards in the exploitation of energy resources.

“Our study reveals which oil resources should be kept underground and not commercially exploited, with special attention to those deposits that overlap with areas of high endemic richness or coincide with outstanding socio-environmental values in different regions of the planet,” lead researcher Martí Orta-Martínez said in a media statement. “The results show that the exploitation of the selected resources and reserves is totally incompatible with the achievement of the Paris Agreement commitments.”

Orta-Martínez pointed out that there is now a broad consensus among the scientific community to limit global warming to 1.5°C to avoid reaching the tipping points of the earth’s climate system, such as melting permafrost, loss of Arctic sea ice and the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, and forest fires in boreal forests.

“If these thresholds are exceeded, this could lead to an abrupt release of carbon into the atmosphere – climate feedback – and amplify the effects of climate change and trigger a cascade of effects that commit the world to large-scale, irreversible changes,” he said.

Carbon budget nearly exhausted

To limit average global warming to 1.5°C, the total amount of CO2 emissions that must not be exceeded is known as the remaining carbon budget. In January 2023, the remaining carbon budget for the 50% chance of keeping warming to 1.5°C was about 250 gigatonnes of CO2 (GtCO2).

“This budget is steadily decreasing at current rates of human-induced emissions—about 42 GtCO2 per year—and will be completely used up by 2028,” Lorenzo Pellegrini, first author of the article, said.

Pellegrini noted that the combustion of the world’s known fossil fuel resources would result in the emission of about 10,000 GtCO2, 40 times more than the carbon budget of 1.5°C.

“In addition, the combustion of developed fossil fuel reserves – that is, those reserves of oil and gas fields and coal mines currently in production or under construction – will emit 936 GtCO2, four times more than the remaining carbon budget for a global warming of 1.5°C,” co-author Gorka Muñoa said. “The goal of no more than 1.5°C global warming requires a complete halt to exploration for new fossil fuel deposits, a halt to the licensing of new fossil fuel extraction, and the premature closure of a very significant share (75%) of oil, gas and coal extraction projects currently in production or already developed.”

With this prospect, the authors call for urgent action by governments, corporations, citizens and large investors such as pension funds to immediately halt any investment in the fossil fuel industry and infrastructure if socio-environmental criteria are not applied.

”Massive investment in clean energy sources is needed to secure global energy demand, enact and support suspensions and bans on fossil fuel exploration and extraction, and adhere to the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty,” the team concluded.

The loss was mainly due to lower gold sales, corporate restructuring costs, higher environmental provisions as well as costs of job cuts, care and maintenance at Córrego do Sítio in Brazil, which was idled last August.

It compares with a restated headline profit of $489 million the year before. AngloGold Ashanti, which also has operations in Africa and the Americas, restated its financial statements for 2022, which the company said “contained an error related to the reported amount of the deferred tax asset with regard to the Obuasi mine” in Ghana.

The miner said while it anticipated gold production at its Tropicana mine to be impacted during the first half of 2024, “any decrease is expected to be largely recovered in the second half”.

“Consequently, the company does not believe that this event will have an impact on its gold production and cost guidance provided in February 2024, which guidance is therefore maintained,” AngloGold Ashanti said.

Tropicana, which is 70% owned by AngloGold Ashanti and contributed 310,000 ounces or 12% of the group’s total 2023 output, was impacted this month by heavy rains and flooding.

Mining operations have been restricted due to the flooding, while the processing plant is treating stockpiled ore at a reduced throughput rate, AngloGold Ashanti said in a statement.

(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thungela, which ships thermal coal burned in power stations, bought the Ensham mine as part of a strategy to shift its sources away from home, where companies are struggling to export the fuel due to insufficient rail capacity.

While it wants to extract maximum value from the new mine, Thungela, which was spun out of Anglo American in 2021, also wants to purchase more coal assets, CEO July Ndlovu said.

“We are looking for the right quality assets, assets that are fairly priced, that we can add value but we also have to be diligent in terms of what we look for,” Ndlovu told a media conference.

The Johannesburg-based miner said on Monday its net profit slumped 73% to 4.97 billion rand ($264.81 million) in the year ended December 2023 from about 18 billion rand the previous year due to lower coal prices and persistent rail constraints in South Africa.

It proposed a $27 million share buy back and declared a 10 rand per share final dividend. Thungela’s shares were up 5.11% at 1002 GMT, with the broader JSE All Share index down 0.18%.

The Ensham mine is forecast to ramp up output to about 4 million tons by 2026 from 2.9 million tons last year. This could help Thungela raise group output to about 15 million tons, even as some mines in South Africa gradually run out of commercially viable ore, Ndlovu said.

Thungela said output from South Africa is forecast to stay steady at around 11 million tons due to the expiry of some mines. The company shipped about 15 million tons of the fuel in 2021, but its South African output is not expected to rise again to those levels, Ndlovu said.

($1 = 18.7679 rand)

(By Nelson Banya and Felix Njini; Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Miral Fahmy)

The acquiring entity, GEAR M Illawarra Met Coal, has mandated Grant Samuel as an adviser in its fundraising talks for the deal to acquire Illawarra Metallurgical Coal from Australia-based South32 Ltd., said the people who asked not to be identified as the talks are private.

Golden Energy, controlled by Indonesia’s Widjaja family, owns a 70% stake in GEAR M Illawarra Met Coal, while M Resources Pty Ltd. holds the remaining 30%.

If the deal proceeds with private funding, it will be the latest example of direct lenders stepping in to fill the spots left vacant by banks that are more tightly scrutinizing environmentally questionable projects.

GEAR M Illawarra Met Coal has yet to formally circulate an official request for proposal to lenders, the people said.

The proposed deal includes an upfront cash payment of $1.05 billion at the time of its completion, deferred cash payment of $250 million payable in 2030, and a contingent price-linked cash component of up to $350 million, according to a filing by South32 last month when the sale was announced.

The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, it said.

Golden Energy didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. M Resources declined to comment. Grant Samuel declined to comment.

Golden Energy is no stranger to the private credit market. Stanmore Resources Ltd., an Australian metallurgical company that Golden Energy controls, last year sought a $1.1 billion loan, including a $750 million private credit portion, to back its bid for BHP Group Ltd.’s Daunia coal mine.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd. eventually emerged as the winner for Daunia and another mine. To finance the deal, Whitehaven received a $1.1 billion loan from a group of lenders — including 17 private credit providers but only one bank.

(By Megawati Wijaya and Sharon Klyne)

The preliminary technical and economic study on the viability of the project is based on a scenario that includes developing an open pit mine, constructing a beneficiation facility onsite and a refinery offsite.

The report, compiled by independent firm Stantec Consulting Services, highlights a three million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) operating scenario. 

Net present value (NPV) is pegged at $673.9 million at an 8% discount rate and $505.1 million at a 10% discount rate (pre-tax), yielding an internal rate of return of 22.5%.

The payback period is estimated at 2.9 years, with total initial capital expenditures (capex) of $456.1 million, including a $76 million contingency.

Based on a mineral resource estimate updated in February, Halleck Creek holds 2.34 billion tonnes of material grading 3,196 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO), including neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) oxides, for 7.48 million tonnes of contained TREO. This includes 1.42 billion tonnes in the measured and indicated category.

The new figures represent a 128% increase over the 2023 estimate, at a grade of 3,295 ppm TREO.

Rare earths, a group of 17 minerals critical to the energy transition for their use in electric car batteries and wind turbines, are also crucial to national security for use in aerospace and defence applications.

Wyoming has become an exploration hotbed for these materials in hopes it could become America’s answer to China’s lock on the market. The Halleck Creek project was named by Mining Intelligence last year as one the world’s top 10 rare earth projects, measured in total rare earth oxides (TREO).

On top of the scoping study for Halleck Creek released Monday, the company will also need to acquire the necessary licences to explore on Wyoming state mineral leases in order to collect rocks for bulk material testing and pilot-scale metallurgical test-work.

After that, American Rare Earths will prepare and implement a detailed baseline environmental plan and will also start working on a permit application to mine on state mineral leases.

The company said the volume of diamonds with a viable chance of economic extraction at Lulo increased to 228,000 carats as of December 31, up from 153,870 carats the previous year. The newly identified resources, it said, could add an extra eight years to the deposit’s production.

Lucapa noted the updated figures are the result of an independent asset evaluation conducted by South Africa’s Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants.

The study assessed the resources at $1,897 per carat, a 5% decrease from $2,000 in December 2022, which partly reflects the decline of diamond prices last year. Diamond grades also decreased, but slightly — to 4.55 carats per 10 cubic meters. 

Lucapa recovered 181,900 precious stones in 2023, a 45% increase from the previous year, with an average rough size of 1.26 carats per stone compared to 1.23 carats in 2022.

This increase represents the sixth consecutive year of resources growth at Lulo, the company said. Total production from Lulo to date has reached 200,000 carats, generating $426 million at an average price of $2,122 per carat.

The Lulo mine, in operations since 2015,  is considered the world’s highest dollar-per-carat alluvial diamonds operation.

Lucapa has a 40% interest and the rest is held by Angola’s national diamond company (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas, a private entity.

Angola is the world’s fifth diamond producer by value and sixth by volume. Its industry, which began a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully lessening government regulations and restrictions in favour of a greater participation by private entities.

Lucapa’s shares closed at A$0.12 on Monday in Sydney, leaving the diamond miner with a market capitalization of A$33.25 million (about $22 million).

The category three cyclone in the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria is forecast to cross the coast Monday, according to an update from the Bureau of Meteorology. After making landfall, it’s expected to weaken during Tuesday and move west across the Northern Territory as a tropical low, the bureau said.

The storm has already led to the closure of a manganese mine on Groote Eylandt island, the world’s largest producer of the metal, according to the Northern Territory government. The mine’s production value was A$1.53 billion ($1 billion) in 2022-23, it said. The storm may also impact Shell Plc’s Prelude liquefied natural gas plant off the coast of Western Australia.

The very destructive core of the storm is expected to impact the coast between the Northern Territory and Queensland border with winds of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) an hour, according to the bureau. About 800 people are likely to be evacuated from the Indigenous community of Borroloola to Darwin on Monday, federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said in a radio interview.

Another tropical low storm northwest of the Pilbara coast is expected to remain weak until Tuesday, the bureau said. From Wednesday, it is forecast to move steadily westward across the Indian Ocean and have an increasing chance of developing into a tropical cyclone. At this stage, there is no threat of any direct impacts to the Pilbara coast, it said.

(By Keira Wright)

Billionaire Chris Ellison who leads the diversified miner has been vocal about his plans to centrally process lithium ore mined in the region from third parties and from miners it has a stake in, in a “hub and spoke” model.

Australia ships out around half of the world’s supply of the battery raw material and the move is another step in the magnate’s plan to dominate the lithium sector where it already owns three hard rock mines.

“We intend to bring our expertise in spodumene production to Lake Johnston, which has the potential to service projects throughout the world’s most prospective region for lithium,” Ellison said in a statement.

MinRes will convert the existing nickel plant to be able process the lithium into spodumene concentrate. It has not disclosed the capital costs of the project.

Ellison has said that further processing in Australia such as the battery grade lithium hydroxide that Tianqi and Albemarle make was too expensive in current conditions.

It will pay A$1 million ($655,900) on execution of the acquisition agreement, A$6.5 million on completion of the deal and a further A$7.5 million, a year after the completion.

The move comes as the Australian government considers a tax credit for companies that build processing facilities to boost the value of green energy minerals and as nickel miners have put projects on ice due to low prices.

“He’ll either buy (spodumene) at the mine gate or toll it through the plant.. There will obviously be a number of different arrangements he can do with the juniors,” said analyst Glyn Lawcock of Barrenyjoey in Sydney.

Ellison will be able to “clip the ticket” several times, by charging for opportunities such as mining, crushing and transportation, Lawcock added.

Without a processing hub for third-party ores, much of the region’s material would not be viable to process, Ellison has said.

MinRes has stakes in developers in the region including Global Lithium and Delta Lithium. But it lost out in its bid to buy Azure Minerals, which has a flagship project in the Pilbara region, to fellow billionaire Gina Rinehart and Chile’s SQM late last year.

($1 = 1.5246 Australian dollars)

(By Melanie Burton and Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Chris Reese and Jamie Freed)

The workforce at the A$1.7 billion project has been cut from about 400 to 300 people, the AFR reported, without saying where it got the information. A company spokesman said the exit of some workers didn’t mean the entire project – acquired from OZ Minerals Ltd. last year – has been canceled, the AFR said.

In February, BHP took a $2.5 billion impairment on the value of its Australian nickel assets after a surge in supply of the battery metal dragged down prices. The miner also said it would shutter its Kambalda concentrator, which processes ore, and could mothball its other Australian nickel assets after a review.

The price of nickel — a metal traditionally used to strengthen steel that’s become key to the energy transition due to its use in electrification and batteries — has dropped 40% since the start of 2023 on the London Metal Exchange.

(By Georgina McKay)

According to CSIRO’s space program director Kimberley Clayfield, a major challenge in the development of spacecraft is low-mass, high-efficiency power systems.  

“CSIRO’s printed flexible solar cells could provide a reliable, lightweight energy solution for future space operations and exploration,” Clayfield said in a media statement. “If the space flight test reveals similar performance as we’ve shown in the lab, this technology offers significant advantages over traditional silicon-based solar.”

Eight mini-modules of printed flexible solar cells were attached to the surface of Space Machine Company’s Optimus-1 satellite.

“CSIRO researchers have been working for many years to improve our solar cell performance using perovskite – an advanced material that is highly efficient in converting sunlight into energy,” CSIRO renewable energy systems group leader, Anthony Chesman, said. “Our perovskite cells have been achieving incredible outcomes on earth and we’re excited that they’ll soon be showcasing their potential in space.”

Chesman noted that in situ testing would secure information on the performance of the perovskite cells as they orbit the planet. 

“We will get information on how the panels are holding up under the extreme conditions in space and data on the efficiency they achieve,” he said. “Based on our research, we expect our printed flexible solar cells will stand up to the effects of cosmic electron and gamma radiation which can compromise the performance and integrity of traditional solar cells.”

The researcher pointed out that the team is confident these cells will outperform traditional cells in cases where sunlight hits them at non-optimal angles.  

“The feedback we receive from the satellite will provide valuable insights into the practical application of our technology and inform future technology development,” Chesman said. “This is a great opportunity for Australian technology to contribute to global space exploration. We are eager to collaborate with potential partners to explore this further.”

The company said the project is on track to start production in mid-2024 and on budget at A$951 million ($624.1 million). In January, it flagged it may delay the planned ramp-up of the project’s underground expansion.

Lithium prices have fallen around 70% over the past year due to slower-than-expected demand from companies that make batteries for electric vehicles. Prices, having steadied in recent weeks, fell sharply in China overnight, leading to losses across the Australian lithium sector on Friday.

Liontown’s net loss after tax widened to A$31 million in the six-month period ended Dec. 31, from A$6.9 million a year earlier.

Last month, peer Pilbara Minerals also reported a plunge in its first-half profit and reduced capital expenditure forecast due to the downturn in prices.

Earlier this week, Liontown – the target of an aborted takeover bid in October by Albemarle – refinanced its debt facility for $363 million to support the Kathleen Valley project’s ramp-up.

Shares of Liontown ended 8.4% lower at A$1.250 on Friday.

“It’s a stock I am happy to just observe at this stage and not invest in,” Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking said.

($1 = A$1.5235)

(By Echha Jain, Megha Rani and Melanie Burton; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Savio Dsouza and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

According to the Oslo-based business intelligence company, exploration efforts are underway in Australia, the US, Spain, France, Albania, Colombia, South Korea and Canada.

In its report, Rystad points out that one of the most promising elements of natural hydrogen – also called white or gold hydrogen – is its cost advantage over other forms of hydrogen due to its natural occurrence. 

Grey hydrogen, produced from fossil fuels, costs less than $2 per kilogram of hydrogen on average, while green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, is currently more than three times pricier. The cost of renewable hydrogen is expected to come down as electrolyzer pricing falls in the coming years, and yet, white hydrogen is still expected to be cheaper.

At present, Canada-based producer Hydroma extracts white hydrogen at an estimated cost of $0.5 per kg. Depending on the deposit’s depth and purity, projects in Spain and Australia aim for a cost of about $1 per kg, solidifying white hydrogen’s price competitiveness.

In addition to the cost advantage, white hydrogen can also have a low carbon intensity. At a hydrogen content of 85% and minimal methane contamination, the carbon intensity is around 0.4 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per kg hydrogen gas (H2) – including embodied emissions and hydrogen emissions. At 75% hydrogen and 22% methane, the intensity rises to 1.5 kg CO2e per kg H2.

“Although still in its infancy with lots of uncertainty, white hydrogen has the potential to be a game-changer for the clean hydrogen sector as an affordable, clean natural resource, thereby shifting the role of hydrogen from an energy carrier to part of the primary energy supply. However, the actual size of the reserves is still unclear, and the transportation and distribution challenges of hydrogen remain”, Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad, said in a media statement.

Through the US Inflation Reduction Act, companies are eligible to receive production tax credits (PTC) when the lifecycle carbon intensity is below 4 kg CO2e per kg H2. The highest PTC tier grants $3 per kg if hydrogen production meets the carbon intensity threshold of 0.45 kg CO2e per kg H2. As such, low-carbon white hydrogen production in the US could be eligible for the highest PTC, making it appealing for producers.

Not a new thing

Le explained that despite being accidentally discovered in Mali approximately 37 years ago, the accumulation of hydrogen underground was previously thought to be unlikely due to hydrogen’s ability to seep through rock layers. However, new equipment, such as hydrogen-sensing gas probes, are now available to detect dissolved hydrogen in rock formations at depths of up to 1,500 metres. These probes use spectrometers to measure and analyze dissolved gases in deep boreholes. Researchers are currently developing probes that can reach deeper depths, up to 3,000 meters underground.

White hydrogen is mainly produced through natural reactions, such as serpentinization, where water reacts with iron-rich minerals at elevated temperatures. Enhanced serpentinization using catalysts such as magnetite, could help to accelerate natural hydrogen-producing reactions.

Radiolysis of water is another source of natural hydrogen. This process involves radioactive elements within the earth’s crust splitting water due to ionizing radiation.

The word is spreading

Rystad Energy’s report notes that the South Australian government added hydrogen to its list of regulated substances in 2021. This led to many companies applying for exploration permits in the region, with Gold Hydrogen securing a five-year license to develop its Ramsay project. The company found high hydrogen concentrations of up to 86% during drilling in late 2023. Gold Hydrogen plans to conduct further drilling in 2024 and launch a pilot feasibility study.

The dossier also highlights the fact that governments in countries like France and the US have promised financial support to expedite the exploration and extraction of naturally occurring hydrogen projects. Currently, there is only one operational white hydrogen project in Bourakebougou, Mali, producing around 5 tonnes of hydrogen annually. This small-scale project has been in operation for a decade, providing power to a village. Other projects in various parts of the world are still at an early exploration stage, with the first European natural hydrogen production expected to start in 2029.

Under the agreement, Pilbara will deliver 20,000 tonnes of the mineral from its Pilgangoora operation in Western Australia this year and 100,000 tonnes annually in 2025 and 2026, with an option to supply an extra 60,000 tonnes each year, according to the Perth-based company’s March 12 news release.

“This offtake builds on an established relationship between our companies, having previously completed a number of sales together,” Pilbara managing director and CEO Dale Henderson said in the release.

As Australia’s largest independent lithium miner, the new offtake comes on the heels of Pilbara in January increasing its sales contract with another Chinese company, Ganfeng Lithium, over the next three years and has the option to boost the spodumene concentrate tonnage sold to the major. In February, it amended a spodumene supply deal with chemicals producer Chengxin Lithium Group, raising agreed sales volumes and extending the contract’s duration.

Pilbara says the spodumene will be sold at market prices at the time of each delivery. Prices for lithium carbonate, a precursor to lithium hydroxide used in batteries, have fallen sharply in the past 12 months. Lithium carbonate fetched about $15,653 per tonne as of Wednesday, down from about $23,658 in September and 80% lower than in 2022, according to Trading Economics.

Yahua, known for its stature in the lithium market, serves major clients like Tesla and LG Chem, establishing itself as one of the leading lithium hydroxide producers.

The scale and quality of the operation have attracted a consortium of high-profile global partners, including POSCO, Ganfeng, General Lithium, Yibin Tianyi, Chengxin Lithium and Yahua.

Pilbara is focusing on enhancing the value of its hard rock spodumene ore to expand its business. The company is establishing a demonstration plant at Pilgangoora to process lithium. According to the company, if this technology utilizes renewable energy, it could reduce carbon emissions by over 80% during one of the most energy-intensive phases of lithium battery material production.

Additionally, the plant aims to support Pilbara in achieving a production target of 1 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate by next year.

Pilgangoora hosts proven and probable reserves of 214.2 million tonnes grading 1.19% lithium oxide for 2.5 million tonnes of lithium. The resource base across all categories totals 413.8 million tonnes grading 1.15% lithium oxide for 4.8 million tonnes of metal.

Pilbara shares closed Wednesday at A$4.18 apiece in Sydney, giving the company a market capitalization of A$12.6 billion ($8.3 billion).

The report was produced by the Centre for Transformative Work at Curtin University, whose researchers surveyed more than 2,500 workers and conducted in-depth interviews with 60 individuals to gain insights into their experiences with a focus on three critical areas – creating mentally healthy workplaces, building a culture of safety and respect, and preparing for workplace safety in future mining.

In detail, 41% of female mining workers reported they had experienced being put down or condescended to, while 34% reported receiving offensive sexist remarks such as suggesting that people of their sex are not suited for the kind of work they do.

Even though the study found that covert forms of sexual harassment such as sexism and misogyny are high, it also noted that sexual attention and sexual coercion are decreasing.

In addition to the prior, only four in 10 WA mining workers reported feeling satisfied with their jobs and nearly one in three said they were likely to try to find a new job with another employer in the next 12 months.

“Our research found one in three mining workers experiences emotional exhaustion regularly, indicating high levels of burnout. Disturbingly, covert forms of sexual harassment, including sexism and misogyny, persist,” MARS Program Landmark Study chief investigator, Sharon Parker, said in a media statement. “The negative impact of these experiences on mental health and well-being is evident, emphasizing the urgent need for change through improved work design, leadership and organizational culture.”

In Parker’s view, given that the mining sector constitutes 10% of the Western Australia workforce and plays a pivotal role in the state’s economy, this type of study is crucial.

Lead author Cheryl Yam said that while the findings acknowledge workplace culture was improving as companies pay more attention to reducing discrimination and harassment, a collective commitment is needed to achieve meaningful and lasting change in building a respectful workplace culture.

“The mining industry is a leader in physical safety. With the support and resources from the MARS Program, we are confident that the mining industry is well positioned to also be a leader in mental health and well-being,” Yam said. “Our research findings provide a roadmap for meaningful action to address and reduce covert forms of sexual harassment and create respectful workplaces to attract, retain and prevent harm to women and people in other minority groups.”

The study also highlighted that 30% of mine workers reported high or very high levels of psychological distress and 38% reported feeling burnt out at work.

Also, 16% of workers reported having experienced bullying (22% reported witnessing bullying) at least 2-3 times per month in the past six months.

On the positive side, most WA mine workers reported high levels of physical safety behaviours such as safety compliance and safety participation. Yet, underreporting of notifiable safety incidents and near misses continues to exist in the industry.

Finally, 60% of fly-in-fly-out mine workers reported being satisfied with their accommodation while 73% of male FIFO workers reported feeling physically very safe in their work-provided accommodation compared to 53% of female FIFO workers.

Arafura expects the funding, mostly in government loans, for the Nolans project north of Alice Springs in central Australia to be matched by investment from international and commercial financiers.

The investment comes as Australia and its allies diversify the global supply chain for rare earths after Covid-19-related snarls highlighted supply risk in China which produces more than 80% of the world’s rare earths.

“We will deliver critical jobs and economic development in the heart of the Territory and the north,” Albanese said in a statement.

Arafura, whose largest shareholder is mining magnate and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart, saw its shares open up as much as 59% at A$0.235 after the news on Thursday. They had been in a trading halt since Wednesday pending news of debt financing.

The project will be Australia’s third rare earths processing plant after Lynas Rare Earths’ Kalgoorlie operations and Iluka Resource’s Eneabba heavy rare earths plant which is under development – both in the country’s west.

Arafura already has supply agreements with Hyundai Motor, Kia Corp and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, and a provisional agreement with General Electric.

Its funding includes loans of $325 million under the government’s Critical Minerals Facility (CMF), A$200 million through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, up to $75 million from Export Finance Australia and a further A$30 million in grants under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

Backed by the funding, Arafura in an exchange filing said it plans a major equity raising to complete the funds needed for construction, commissioning and first production.

Price slump

Rare earths are used to make powerful magnets and are essential for renewable energy and defence technologies. Electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, robotics and mobile phones all rely on rare earths.

Prices of rare earths neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) have slumped as China has ramped up supply to levels well below those needed when it comes to seeking finance for a new project, said analyst Daniel Morgan at Barrenjoey.

“A lot of these projects face economic challenges… Getting private money is very difficult,” he said, adding there is a role for government to help companies enter production given the strategic nature of the industry.

In 2022, the government approved a A$1.25 billion loan for Iluka’s Eneabba plant through the CMF.

Iluka in December said the project was delayed and that costs were likely to have increased by around 20%.

Lynas is the world’s biggest producer of rare earths outside China, which it mines at Mount Weld in Western Australia. It has been allocated $258 million from the US government to build the first commercial heavy rare earths separation facility in the United States.

($1 = 1.5088 Australian dollars)

(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)

The company reported on Tuesday an A$167.6 million loss for 2023 as its share price has crumbled in the past year from A$1.20 to A$0.20 at the close on Wednesday.

“Despite the sharp drop in lithium prices, we’ve improved production and efficiencies, producing 49,530 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in the latter half of 2023,” outgoing CEO Gareth Manderson said.

Despite halting mining on Jan. 5 at its Finniss lithium operation in Australia’s Northern Territory, the company continues processing existing ore stockpiles to maintain spodumene concentrate production. The focus has shifted towards cash preservation and assessing the viability of its lithium projects, along with exploring the potential in its wholly owned gold, uranium, and base metal assets.

Manderson, a former Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) executive who joined Core in August 2022, has decided to step down as CEO. Under his leadership, the company saw the establishment of a proficient management team and the start of operations at Finniss despite facing such challenges as underperforming open-pit mines and incomplete infrastructure.

His tenure was marked by developing efficient operations and fostering a culture focused on safety, professionalism, and accountability, the company said in a Tuesday release.

Following Manderson’s departure, Doug Warden, the current CFO, will serve as the interim CEO, receiving an additional monthly allowance for his new duties. The company is actively seeking a permanent CEO replacement. In parallel, James Virgo steps in as the interim CFO, bringing extensive financial management experience from his time at Resolute Mining.

Andrea Hall, a non-executive director since April 2023, also resigned, aiming to facilitate a board restructuring that aligns with the company’s future strategy.

Core produced 49,530 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in H2 2023, improving production and efficiencies despite the drop in lithium prices.

Core continues to evaluate its strategic options amidst the challenging market conditions, focusing on sustainability, operational efficiency, and financial stability.

As of October 2023, Finniss held 10.5 million tonnes across three resource categories grading 1.53% lithium oxide for 160,000 tonnes of metal.

At A$0.20 per share on Wednesday, Core’s Sydney-listed equity is down 83% over the past 12 months, and it has a market capitalization of A$427.4 million.

Emergency crews were called to the Ballarat gold mine in Mount Clear, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Melbourne, on Wednesday evening after reports of a rockfall. The incident happened about 3 km from the underground mine’s entry, Victoria police said in a statement.

Paramedics were able to rescue one miner, who was treated for lower body injuries and airlifted to hospital in a serious condition. The miners who took refuge in a safety pod were winched to safety, police said.

A workers’ union said the death and serious injury of the workers could have been avoided because they were performing a task called “airleg mining” – a manual handheld type of drilling into rocks – on unsupported ground when it collapsed.

“The information that we’re getting back was that this was a quick, cheap and easy way to chase gold,” Ronnie Hayden, Australian Workers Union’s Victoria secretary, told reporters.

Hayden said the union members at the mine had been raising concerns “about this style of mining and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.”

Victory Minerals, which owns the Ballarat gold mine, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The site has been closed down for police and Victoria’s workplace safety regulator to conduct their investigations, authorities said.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King told ABC Radio that all safety processes at the mine will be checked thoroughly, adding it was “too early to really go into any speculation” about the accident.

In 2007, 27 miners were trapped underground at the same mine for several hours before being rescued, according to reports in Australian media.

(By Renju Jose; Editing by Jamie Freed)

In late 2023, Vista sold a 1% gross revenue royalty on the project to Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX: WPM, NYSE: WPM; LSE: WPM) for $20 million. The Mt Todd project is considered to be one of the country’s largest undeveloped gold ventures, capable of producing 479,000 oz. a year.

Compared to its previous study filed in February 2022, the new report shows an improved after-tax net present value (discounted at 5%) of $1.13 billion, up $131.5 million, and a similar internal rate of return at 20.4%.

The figures are calculated using a gold price of $1,800/oz. gold price and foreign exchange rate of 0.69, versus $1,600/oz. and 0.71 used two years ago.

At a higher gold price of $2,100 and a 0.66 foreign exchange rate, which the company believes are more reflective of current market conditions, the after-tax NPV of the project would rise to $1.88 billion, with an IRR of 29.6%.

The average all-in sustaining cost over an estimated 16-year mine life rose to $1,034/oz., compared to $928/oz. previously. Average cash costs also increased to $913/oz. from $817/oz.

Initial capital requirements of $1.03 billion are $138 million higher, which Vista says continues to reflect the use of a third-party owner/operator of the power plant at Mt Todd.

“Mt Todd is a robust project with strong leverage to the gold price. Project economics are approximately the same or slightly better than reported two years ago, inclusive of cost increases that have affected the entire gold mining sector,” Vista Gold CEO Frederick Earnest said in a news release.

He added that “these results do not change our strategy for Mt Todd,” and the company will continue to work with CIBC Capital Markets to identify and advance interest in the project.

Shares of Vista Gold jumped 6.4% to $0.50 by 3:15 p.m. ET in New York, for a market capitalization of $61 million.

Tribeca wrote to the Swiss commodity giant’s board this week with a list of proposals, including moving its listing to the Australian Securities Exchange to boost its share price, which it said had lagged behind its rivals, according to the report.

The Australian hedge fund also recommended increasing dividends by discontinuing share buybacks and divesting a minority stake in Glencore’s lucrative trading division via an initial public offering instead of spinning off its coal business, the FT said.

Glencore declined to comment on the report.

Last year, after a Glencore-led consortium agreed to buy Canadian miner Teck Resources’ steelmaking coal unit in one of biggest deals in the sector in years, it paved the way for an eventual spin-off of its own coal business.

Glencore CEO Gary Nagle said in February that when they announced the deal, their intention was to spin out the unit, but it was always subject to what shareholders wanted.

“We will consult with our shareholders, and it’s the decision of the shareholders ultimately to do that,” he had said then.

(By Aatrayee Chatterjee and Richard Rohan Francis; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shinjini Ganguli)

Forrest had told Australian media last month that the LME should classify its contracts into clean and dirty to give customers more choice. Wyloo is set in May to shutter two nickel mines in Australia that it bought last year for $504 million.

The LME said that low carbon nickel, which it classifies as producing 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide or less per tonne of nickel, could already be traded on its partner MetalsHub’s system.

“Wyloo has been contacted by several parties seeking to develop a green nickel premium, so there is clearly demand for greater transparency and differentiation between clean and dirty nickel,” Wyloo CEO Luca Giacovazzi told Reuters.

“As the world’s largest metals exchange, the LME should be leading in this area,” he said.

“If the LME is to continue to set the standard for ethical metal supply practices, it cannot afford to take no action, or the industry will look for an alternative marketplace.”

Calls for a nickel price that reflects strong environmental and governance standards have grown from high-cost producers such as Australia, where low prices have forced miners to shutter operations due to a flood of Indonesian supply, most of which is produced using coal.

(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Michael Perry)

The debt facility would ensure that the project is funded through first production and ramp up to 3 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) base case.

“The debt facility provides financial certainty and sufficient time for Liontown to complete the previously announced review of Kathleen Valley’s 4 Mtpa expansion,” the miner said.

The company said in January it was reviewing the project to lower near-term funding needs, which could include delaying its 4 Mtpa underground development, other mine plan adjustments, and further cost cuts.

($1 = 1.5142 Australian dollars)

(By Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

The planned listing, although the exact exchange wasn’t named, would start in this year’s third quarter to join more than 40% of the world’s public mining companies on the Canadian stock market, Southern Cross said on Tuesday. The company holds the Sunday Creek project and the Redcastle and Whroo joint ventures in Victoria and the Mt. Isa project in Queensland.

“A dual listing in both Australia and Canada will provide direct exposure to a diverse class of global investors,” managing director Michael Hudson said in a release. “It includes those North American investors who have over the last seven years directly benefited from the huge capital growth that has come from the Victorian goldfields.”

With about 70% of Southern Cross’ shareholders located outside of Australia, the company is betting the dual listing will more efficiently allow Australian and North American investors in on the company’s growth and high-grade gold story. The Sunday Creek project posted hole SDDSC107 which cut 0.7 metre at 3,511 grams gold per tonne from 684.3 metres depth. The hole’s first 30 cm graded 7,330 grams gold.

Southern Cross closed 20% higher on Tuesday in Sydney at A$2.05 apiece, valuing the company at A$184.1 million. Sweden-focused Mawson Gold (TSXV: MAW), which owns 51% of Southern Cross, gained 12% to close at C$0.65 in Toronto for a market capitalization of C$197.5 million.

Mawson Gold

Mawson Gold says it intends to distribute its shares in Southern Cross to Mawson shareholders this year. Mawson holds the Skellefteå North gold discovery and a portfolio of historical uranium resources in Sweden.

The Sunday Creek project, about 60 km north of Melbourne, lies within 194 sq. km of exploration tenements. It used four rigs to drill 19,000 metres on the Apollo, Rising Sun, Golden Dyke and Christina targets from September. Ten holes are being processed or in progress, the company said. The host rocks are intensely-altered in a steeply dipping zone where gold and antimony form in a relay of vein sets.

“When observed from above, the host resembles the side rails of a ladder where the sub-vertical mineralised vein sets are the rungs that extend from surface to depth,” the company said. “At Apollo and Rising Sun these individual ‘rungs’ have been defined over 600 metres depth extent from surface to 1,000 metres below surface, are 2 metres to 30 metres wide, and are 20 metres to 100 metres in strike.”

The company’s drill program has discovered 45 ‘rungs’ defined by high-grade intercepts to more than 7,000 grams gold. Step-out drilling is aiming to uncover the potential extent of this mineralized system.

The project is in the Melbourne structural zone in the Lachlan fold belt where the Sunday Creek mineralization is an interbedded turbidite sequence of siltstones and minor sandstones, the company said. They metamorphosed to sub-greenschist facies and folded into a set of open north-west trending folds.

Australia’s Core Lithium said on Tuesday CEO Gareth Manderson will step down after more than a year in the role, as part of a strategic review, and finance chief Doug Warden has been appointed as the interim chief.

The lithium miner also appointed James Virgo, who is the financial controller, as the interim CFO in place of Warden.

Core said it is restructuring its business in response to a rapid decrease in prices of spodumene, an important source of lithium.

Prices of lithium have come under pressure in recent times due to slower-than-expected sales of electric vehicles.

Earlier in January, Core suspended mining operations at the Finniss project in Northern Territory.

Manderson, who was focused on the development of the Finniss project, will leave the company on March 18.

The search for a new CEO is underway, Core said.

(By John Biju; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Shares of Alumina rose as much as 10.4% after Alcoa announced the deal on Monday, hitting their highest since August 2023. Alcoa shares gained 2.1% to $30.5 apiece.

Alcoa’s push for acquiring its joint venture partner can be seen as a gamble for metals which will be an important part of the transition to cleaner sources of energy.

Buying Alumina gives Alcoa full control of their joint venture, which is one of the world’s largest producers of the semi-processed form of aluminum. Aluminum is used to produce renewable infrastructure and electric vehicles.

The global mining sector has seen a recent slew of merger and acquisitions despite rising concerns around the economic outlook of one of the world’s largest metals buyer, China, and slowing EV sales in the United States.

“It could be a win-win for both companies,” Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at trading firm KCM Trade, said.

“The takeover offer could be viewed as a vote of confidence in the resources space despite a cloudy growth outlook for the sector.”

The buyout follows United States Steel’s $14.9 billion deal to buy Japan’s Nippon Steel and Newmont’s $15 billion acquisition of Aussie gold miner Newcrest.

Post the deal, Alumina shareholders will own about 31.6% of the merged entity, while Alcoa shareholders will hold 68.4%.

Alumina’s board, including managing director and CEO, recommended shareholders vote for the deal, in the absence of a superior proposal.

The deal comes months after Alcoa faced operational and permit-realted problems for its bauxite business in Australia. It also disclosed in January plans to halt production at the Kwinana alumina plant in Western Australia in a move to control costs.

($1 = 1.5126 Australian dollars)

(By Roushni Nair and Rishav Chatterjee; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Mrigank Dhaniwala)