The court ruled the state failed to comply with its duty to regulate and supervise La Oroya Metallurgical Complex, which was active for nearly a century before debts and environmental regulations forced it to close in 2009.

The court said it corroborated that exposure to lead, cadmium, arsenic and sulfur dioxide posed a significant risk to at least 80 local residents, who did not receive adequate medical attention from the government when they became ill.

The court decided they should receive at least $30,000 each in damages, with the most vulnerable receiving $50,000.

A further $65,000 each should be paid to the legal beneficiaries of two victims who died from diseases caused by the pollution.

Officials from Peru’s government and its mining ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

La Oroya partially resumed operations in 2023, managed by Metalurgica Business Peru SAC, a firm that counts former workers among its shareholders and promised to comply with environmental standards.

Peru is the world’s second largest copper producer and mining makes up 60% of its total exports.

The court ordered the government to assess the current state of contamination in La Oroya and provide cash and free medical aid to the victims.

(By Marco Aquino, Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Sarah Morland; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Tianqi holds about a 20% stake in SQM, which is ironing out the details of a joint venture with Codelco as part of a government mandate to boost state control over the lithium industry.

“It is indispensable that the agreement that is reached between SQM and Codelco is approved by the shareholders,” the company said in a statement.

Chile is the world’s second-largest producer of the metal that powers batteries for electric vehicles, and SQM is the country’s top producer.

SQM and Codelco this week extended the deadline for the deal by two months, to the end of May. SQM in a meeting with shareholders on Thursday attributed the delay to complexity in the negotiations, including ongoing audits.

It also reaffirmed the terms set out in a preliminary agreement in December, including the plan for Codelco to take a stake of 50% plus one share once the partnership goes into effect in 2025.

Tianqi said the meeting still left many aspects of the deal unclear.

“There is still a considerable amount of fundamental aspects of the agreement that are not defined or have not been clearly explained,” Tianqi said in a statement.

Tianqi called for shareholders, not only the board of directors, to also vote on the final deal to ensure transparency and full participation.

SQM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tianqi bought its share in SQM in 2018 for $4.1 billion, becoming the company’s second-largest shareholder, amid concerns from regulators, competitors and consumer groups that the deal could give Tianqi a near monopoly over the global lithium market.

A Chilean antitrust court eventually approved the transaction but set conditions that limited Tianqi’s access to SQM business secrets.

(By Daina Beth Solomon and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Anthony Esposito, Leslie Adler and Nick Macfie)

Congo produced about 2.84 million tons of copper last year, the country’s central bank reported. Peru’s output was 2.76 million tons, the Andean country’s mining and energy ministry said.

Congo has been reeling in Peru’s No. 2 copper spot over recent years, with flagging mining investment in Peru linked to red tape and recent political turmoil and protests. Chile remains the distant top producer of the red metal.

Peru, however, is hanging onto its lead over Congo on copper exports. Peru exported some 2.95 million tons of the metal last year, more than its annual production due to sales of stocks held over from previous years.

Rómulo Mucho, Peru’s minister of energy and mines, said in early March he expected copper production to increase to 3 million tons in 2024. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Peru’s Andes are home to major mining firms including Freeport-McMoRan, MMG, BHP, Glencore, Teck Resources, Japan’s Mitsubishi, and Southern Copper of Grupo México.

(By Marco Aquino and Felix Njini; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Richard Chang)

Owner SQM is lining up giant tanks and vats for a new processing line, with construction set to start in earnest next year, production manager Humberto Carvajal said. The $490 million project to churn out more lithium hydroxide — a compound resembling white sugar that helps power electric-vehicle batteries — is SQM’s latest bet on a highly volatile and still immature market.

SQM is plowing ahead with expansions at its brine extraction and processing operations, even as many peers cut spending and output to cope with a supply glut that sent lithium prices plunging last year.

SQM’s unwavering approach is a double-edged sword for an industry reeling from a painful price capitulation. By expanding when buyers are still running down inventories, the strategy may help prolong the glut. But the world’s No. 2 producer is backing up its bullish demand outlook, preferring to stockpile unsold material rather than scaling back.

“We always produce at maximum levels,” Carvajal said from the Salar del Carmen plant, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) from the salt flat where SQM pumps up lithium-laced brine.

The refinery’s transformation into an 840-acre (340-hectare) mega-complex mirrors the emergence of lithium as a critical material for weaning the world off fossil fuels. The plant — like the lithium market itself — has more than tripled in size in the past several years. Further expansions will take annual capacity from about 200,000 metric tons to as much as 300,000 tons, making it the world’s biggest refinery. That level of output represents the entire lithium market of just five years ago.

The refinery expansion also reflects the development of different EV segments — from high-performance Teslas to affordable city cars — and efforts by Western nations to loosen China’s grip on battery supply chains. Much of the recent investments have been directed at boosting output of hydroxide to give SQM more flexibility in fast-changing markets.

“Hydroxide is costlier,” Carvajal said. “But it’s much better in terms of quality.”

SQM’s current extraction contracts expire in 2030. Its ability to reach 300,000 tons of production in Chile depends on a proposed deal to hand over a majority stake in its brine assets to state-owned Codelco in exchange for extending operations for three more decades. SQM’s biggest shareholders are Julio Ponce, the former son-in-law of dictator Augusto Pinochet, and China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. The latter is seeking more information on the Codelco accord before supporting any binding deal.

Central in the talks with Codelco are efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of the brine and plant operations. About $2 billion has been earmarked to boost efficiencies — including introducing direct extraction technologies to work alongside the current evaporation method. Squeezing out more lithium from less brine also goes down well with local communities and a battery supply chain focused on environmental, social and governance issues.

Running at full tilt through a downturn is nothing new for SQM. Since cutting back in the wake of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, the company has been operating pretty much at capacity. One reason is to make the most of state-assigned production quotas. As a major producer, there’s also a responsibility to avoid supply scarcities that undermine buyer confidence and encourage further work into alternatives to lithium batteries.

Growing its share of the market is another reason. At current prices, some of SQM’s higher-cost rivals are losing money. In the last round of earnings calls, some industry executives stressed the need for supply discipline.

“In markets as dynamic as ours, growth companies must be able to pivot and pace with disciplined decision making and focused execution,” Kent Masters, chief executive officer of top producer Albemarle Corp., said in February. In practice, for Albemarle that means cutting costs, reducing its workforce and scaling back expansion plans.

SQM is taking a more optimistic approach, planning to pump out more lithium than it will sell this year in anticipation of a rebound in demand. Right now, its stockpiles stand at three to four months of supplies, according to Carvajal.

“Having an additional inventory is going to be very good news in order to face what is expected for the year 2025 onward,” SQM CEO Ricardo Ramos said on an earnings call last month. “We have a strategy of having stocks and being ready to sell if the market needs at any time.”

(By James Attwood and Mark Burton)

SQM and Codelco hammered out a preliminary agreement in December in line with a government mandate to boost state control over the lithium industry in Chile, the world’s second-largest producer of the metal that is essential for electric vehicle batteries.

The companies were set to announce final terms by March 31, but on Wednesday extended that deadline to the end of May.

On Thursday, SQM summarized what management discussed with shareholders in a meeting held that day at the request of China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp., a major shareholder.

“Both the Company and Codelco are conducting an audit or due diligence process of the assets, businesses and contracts that each will contribute to the joint venture,” SQM said in a statement, underscoring that plans were still under discussion and have not been finalized.

Among expected terms, which will allow SQM to continue to operate in the Atacama salt flat from 2031 to 2060, SQM reiterated it plans to transfer to Codelco its mining concessions in Maricunga, a salt flat that has yet to yield commercial lithium production.

It also flagged the purchase and sale of SQM’s mining properties in Maricunga as a condition for the partnership to take effect, along with consultation of local indigenous communities over certain aspects of lithium contracts.

As well, SQM plans to equally share the six board of director seats with Codelco through 2030, while maintaining the power to break ties on board votes. A seventh seat will go to Codelco in the second phase of the partnership set to start in 2031.

SQM also told shareholders it plans to make public all information related to the economic value of the partnership with Codelco prior to signing contracts.

(By Daina Beth Solomon and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and David Gregorio)

The mine is the first to operate with desalinated water in an area of the country that has suffered a 15-year drought, sucking water from reservoirs and sparking concern over the fresh water supply.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric praised the project, saying the situation in the Coquimbo region, where Los Pelambres is located, is concerning.

“Especially with the climate change crisis, we must be not only a mining country, but also a country at the cutting edge of responsible, sustainable mining,” he said at the inauguration for the plant, which is at coast in Los Vilos, a city within Coquimbo.

Antofagasta began construction in 2019 for the plant, and plans to pump 400 liters of water per second for use at Los Pelambres, located about 55 km inland.

The company plans to supply another 400 liters of water per second in a second phase slated for completion in 2027, which it says would relieve pressure on the nearby Choapa river.

Chile’s historic drought has impacted nearly ever aspect of life in the nation that is the world’s top copper producer. Mining companies outside Coquimbo are already using seawater, particularly in Antofagasta, a northern desert region home to most of Chile’s mining activity.

(By Natalia Ramos and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and David Evans)

Jindal officials are carrying out inspections at iron-ore plants of CVG Ferrominera Orinoco, according to two people familiar with the process, who asked not to be named as the information isn’t public. The company, which is controlled by state-owned conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, has five plants that produce iron-ore pellets and briquettes that serve as raw material for steelmaking.

Jindal aims to export 600,000 metric tons of the raw material per month by the end of the year, investing an initial $800,000 to upgrade existing equipment, according to one of the people. Terms of the deal aren’t clear since neither the Venezuelan government nor New Delhi-based Jindal have confirmed the arrangement.

Venezuela’s information ministry and Jindal didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.

Venezuela’s partnership with Jindal is a departure from the government’s longstanding reluctance to involve private firms into its tightly held, impoverished mining industry.

In the mid-2000s the late president Hugo Chavez reversed a privatization process started by previous governments for state-owned gold, steel and cement companies. The measure saw the exit of Luxembourg’s Ternium SA, Switzerland’s Holcim AG, Mexico’s Cemex SAB and Canada’s Crystallex International Corp. among others.

After 18 years, Maduro now seeks to reinstate foreign partnerships.

Ferrominera has an annual installed capacity of 25,000 tons of iron ore and proven reserves of 4.2 million tons. Its plants have been running below capacity after years of lack of investment and a power crisis that in 2009 forced the company to cut production to save energy.

The company’s output has fallen over the years, from 15.6 million metric tons in 2001 to 5.7 million tons in 2017, according to the latest figures by the Venezuela Iron and Steel Institute.

The country’s metallurgy sector has suffered setbacks due to expropriations and underinvestment to the point that it has “practically disappeared,” according to a 2023 report by the Venezuela mine engineering association. Since 2000, the number of private companies in the sector has fallen from 1,200 to 70.

(By Fabiola Zerpa)

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)

In a separate statement, SQM said board member Xu Tieying would step down on April 24. The announcements come on the eve of an extraordinary shareholders meeting requested by China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp, a major shareholder in SQM.

Tianqi, which recommended Tieying for the board, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The purpose of the meeting will be to hear about the status of negotiations between SQM and Codelco, as well as “the detail of the actions and contracts that are expected to be carried out and executed.”

Chile is the world’s top copper producer and second-largest lithium producer.

(By Kylie Madry, Daina Beth Solomon and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot)

The Yumpag silver project was approved to mine 1,000 metric tons per day, which will allow it to produce an estimated 6.5 to 7.2 million ounces of silver (184 to 204 tons) by 2024, the country’s energy and mines ministry said in a statement.

Buenaventura said it would start a first phase of explorations “in the short-term” funded with $84 million while at least $30 million would contribute to a second phase.

(By Marco Aquino; Editing by Steven Grattan)

The first production of eluate was completed in the past week, and it will begin to be shipped in batches to North America, the UK-based lithium developer said. Brine from the company’s Laguna Verde project, located approximately 250 km from the pilot plant, was processed through DLE columns.

“This pilot plant aims to produce significant quantities of battery-grade product for evaluation by potential strategic partners, making CTL one of the few companies in the sector to produce pilot-scale volumes of battery-grade product,” CleanTech CEO Aldo Boitano said in a news release.

“The pilot plant positions CTL as a leader in the sector and in Chile, with the first eluate production representing a significant milestone for the company,” he said.

Read More: CleanTech kicks off exploration at two new Chilean assets

The new figures come after a 17% drop in output from MMG’s Las Bambas mine and a 13.4% fall from Freeport-McMoRan’s Cerro Verde mine.

That was below December’s output of around 255,000 tons, according to ministry data.

Peru’s copper production should reach 3 million tons this year after hitting 2.76 million tons in 2023, Mining Minister Romulo Mucho said earlier this month.

(By Marco Aquino; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernández and Anthony Esposito)

In its request for arbitration, LG Energy alleges that Sigma Lithium is in breach of certain provisions in connection to a lithium supply agreement entered in 2021.

“The claims are completely without merit and intends to defend its interests vigorously,” Sigma said in a statement.

US-listed shares of Sigma were down 1.6% at $12.35 in extended trade.

In 2021, Sigma and LG Energy had entered into a six-year offtake agreement for battery grade sustainable lithium concentrate scales from 60,000 tons per year in 2023 to 100,000 tons per year from 2024 to 2027.

(By Kabir Dweit and Arunima Kumar; Editing by Alan Barona)

“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)

The Peruvian firm said in a statement, posted to the local regulator, that it would suspend its operations in the San Cristobal, Carahuacra and Ticlio mines in the center of the country for up to 30 days.

Peru is the world’s second largest producer of copper, silver and zinc, which are key to its economy. Sales of the metals are equivalent to 60% of all the country’s exports.

The mines are part of the Yauli mining unit, located in the department of Junin, 170 kilometers (105.63 miles) from capital Lima, which produces zinc, lead, silver and copper. The Rumichaca tailings dam is in the same area.

The company did not specify what impact the suspension of activities would have on production, but said that during the shutdown period “all the necessary care and maintenance work will be carried out to restart operations as soon as possible.”

(By Juana Casas; Editing by Deepa Babington)

Codelco said that Sanhueza’s departure concluded a leadership shakeup announced by CEO Ruben Alvarado in October that aimed to consolidate and streamline leadership and departments in the company.

Prior to his temporary appointment, Sanhueza was the vice president of foundry and refinery, a department that was since absorbed by the vice presidency of operations.

The company said the main goal of Sanhueza’s new position was to accompany the organizational transition mandated by Alvarado.

Codelco has faced a historic drop in production and is facing ballooning debt caused by projects aimed at boosting output. A Reuters investigation found that these projects have faced significant delays and problems that workers blame on poor management and planning.

(By Natalia Ramos and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Sarah Morland)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Refineries vetted by the LBMA still source gold from “questionable suppliers and mines” and are not tackling “serious human rights violations and environmental degradation,” a collection of eight organizations that analyze mining, led by Swissaid, said in a letter to the LBMA, seen by Reuters.

In an emailed statement in response to questions, the LBMA said it looked forward to discussing various proposals at an event in London later this week.

The LBMA, which governs access to the world’s largest bullion market, has, in common with other organizations, established initiatives to try to prevent problematic gold from passing through the LBMA’s refiners and into the vaults of banks.

One of these is the LBMA’s Good Delivery List (GDL), which catalogues refiners the body considers responsible sources of gold because of the due diligence systems they have in place.

Once accepted into a vault as Good Delivery, gold can be freely traded between players on the gold market.

The NGOs said that there had been “some slight improvements” in the LBMA’s systems since 2021, but that “many” refiners on list have, in recent years, sourced gold from suppliers linked to money laundering, land and water pollution, or human rights abuses.

This, in turn, allows problematic gold to enter the global market.

The letter cited cases that had been exposed by media or researchers across countries in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East but did not name any of the refiners.

“The LBMA has a key role to play in setting standards for the industry and holding its members accountable,” the groups said in their letter.

Refiners do not engage enough with the communities where the gold they process comes from, the groups said. The voluntary nature of the guidance on what information refiners publish leads to a lack of transparency over the origins of gold.

The letter cited the example of the United Arab Emirates being named in a 2023 report as the country of origin of nearly 150 metric tons of gold sold to GDL refiners in 2021. The UAE does not mine any gold but it has established itself as a hub for gold from all over the world.

“The origin of this gold is not the UAE, it was merely transited through this country,” the letter said, calling for refineries to report the origins of gold publicly.

The LBMA said it would address specific concerns brought up by the groups after a summit on the responsible sourcing of minerals this week.

(By Reade Levinson and David Lewis; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

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

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

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

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

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

The ruling, which comes amid community concerns over mining’s impact on waterways, requires the Catamarca government to abstain from handing out new licenses as it prepares a report into the industry’s environmental impact, a provincial official said. The province’s first step will be to deliver to the court existing environmental reports that have already been approved.

The court’s decision, which follows a suit filed by an Indigenous group, covers the Los Patos River-Salar del Hombre Muerto area, home to some of country’s biggest lithium deposits. While four projects awaiting licenses will be affected by the permitting freeze, existing operations and projects already under development can continue as normal, the official said.

Still, the case underscores heightened environmental and social scrutiny on an extraction method that involves pumping up huge volumes of lithium-laced brine from South American salt flats, with much of the water lost in an evaporation process. The industry’s ability to prove its green credentials is crucial as demand for the battery metal accelerates in the shift toward electric vehicles.

Arcadium, formed from the merger of Livent Corp. and Allkem Ltd., declined to comment as it prepares a statement on the court ruling.

(By James Attwood)

Read More: Lithium boom in Argentina hinges on politics, Zijin unit says

Economy Minister Nicolas Grau, who expects talks with the Biden administration to conclude this year, said a positive decision would allow locally-manufactured lithium cathode to be built into electric vehicles that receive US subsidies.

“We’re very optimistic that it will happen,” Grau said in an interview from his office in downtown Santiago. “The way the law is framed creates the opportunity.”

As a major producer of key electric vehicle ingredients such as lithium and copper, Chile is at the forefront of the global transition to clean energy. President Gabriel Boric’s leftist administration introduced last year a national lithium policy that, while giving the state a bigger role in the sector, aims to open up new areas to mining as well as encourage more investments in plants to turn semi-processed metal into battery components.

If extended to value-added Chilean lithium, the subsidies will make it more attractive for US companies to invest in the country, said Grau, who holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

While raw materials like lithium produced in US trading allies clearly qualify for the subsidies, there is less clarity on value-added products such as cathode used in rechargeable batteries.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Inflation Reduction Act is intended to encourage carmakers to produce more electric vehicles in North America and secure the key minerals from friendly nations with free-trade agreements, like Chile and Australia, while ensuring independence from economic rival China.

Tesla and LG

After visiting an Albemarle Corp. lithium processing facility during a trip to Chile this month, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US is likely to increase its imports of the metal from the country.

Companies that have held meetings with the Chilean government on lithium in recent months include Tesla Inc., which started local operations this year, and LG Energy Solution Ltd.

In 2023, roughly 65% of Chile’s lithium exports went to China, while 25% went to South Korea, according to government statistics. Producers have been hit by a slump in prices last year, though Grau said analyst forecasts indicate the medium-term outlook remains bright.

The new US-Chile tax treaty, which is designed to prevent companies from being taxed twice on the same income, will facilitate investment between both nations, Grau said.

(By Matthew Malinowski and James Attwood)

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.

The ruling involves the Los Patos River-Salar del Hombre Muerto area, where global lithium giant Arcadium Lithium Plc, formerly Livent, has a project. It comes after tensions over water use with local communities in the region.

Argentina, inside South America’s so-called “lithium triangle”, is one of the world’s top producers of the metal that is key for the batteries needed to power electric vehicles.

A local company spokesperson declined to comment.

The ruling, shared with Reuters on Thursday, comes after a case presented in 2021 by a chief of the Atacameños Native Community, which alleged the province authorized mining projects in the Salar del Hombre Muerto basin without informing the population or carrying out an environmental impact assessment.

The case said that local mining operations impacted water supply due to the use of “huge quantities of fresh and salt water”, which they alleged had caused a local river to dry up.

A source from Catamarca’s mining ministry, told Reuters that the province was evaluating the ruling to determine next steps.

The court ordered the local government to “refrain from granting new permits/authorizations” in relation to operations in the Los Patos River – Salar del Hombre Muerto area “until the new environmental impact study is complete”.

Four sources in the industry Reuters spoke to said the sector would have to work on the impact studies to define how they would be able to develop the projects, although in principle the decision would not impact current production.

(By Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan)

UBS Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have trimmed their 2024 supply estimates by 33% and 26%, respectively, while Morgan Stanley warned about the growing risk of lower inventories in China. The revisions come after lithium prices cratered last year as supply ran ahead of demand, with some producers cutting output.

Now, prices of the key material used to power electric vehicles are showing signs of a revival after the rout last year sent stocks spiraling and attracted short sellers. Bets against top producer Albemarle Corp. and Australian miner Pilbara Minerals Ltd. account for more than a fifth of their outstanding shares, or the equivalent to about $5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Double-digit capacity has already been taken out of the lithium market and that usually is a sign that the commodity price is bottoming,” said Jun Bei Liu, a hedge fund manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney, who holds a long position in Pilbara. Shorting the company “is very dangerous” given signals of support for the metal’s price.

Pilbara Minerals said Thursday it accepted an offer for a lithium spodumene concentrate cargo ahead of a scheduled digital auction. This fills the company’s offtake book until December, the company said in a statement to the exchange. The contract “is an early sign of price improvement after the commodity’s recent plunge,” wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mohsen Crofts in a note.

Some short sellers may already have been caught after the two producers each climbed around 20% in February. The Solactive Global Lithium Index, which tracks the performance of 40 of the largest and most liquid lithium-related companies, jumped 10% in the same period, swinging from an almost 20% decline in January.

Investor bets against Pilbara Minerals are hovering around record levels at about 22% of free float, equivalent to $1.8 billion, making it the most shorted stock on Australia’s benchmark equity index, S&P Global data shows. For Albemarle, short interest stands at a similar proportion and represents $3.2 billion in market value.

“We’re seeing improved sentiment so a lot of those short positions will need to be covered,” said Ron Mitchell, managing director of Australian miner Global Lithium Resources Ltd.

Read More: After massive bust, global lithium market shows signs of life

Not everyone is convinced about the rebound, however. The surge in lithium contracts “should not be interpreted as the end of the bear market,” Goldman Sachs said in a note. The surplus remains sizable, it warned.

Still, other analysts expect prices to stabilize after those of lithium carbonate in China slid more than 80% from record highs in 2022. Capital markets firm Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. said in a note earlier this month that “sustainable” levels would soon return, while UBS doubts there will be further declines.

The broker also said the market is re-balancing after some miners curtailed production. Core Lithium Ltd. halted operations at its flagship lithium mine in January and is turning to uranium after a sharp rally in prices for the nuclear fuel. Meanwhile, Arcadium Lithium Plc said it will reduce output of spodumene, a mineral from which lithium is extracted.

“I suspect we are at or close to the bottom in lithium prices,” said Matt Griffin, a fund manager at Maple-Brown Abbott Ltd. in Sydney. “The sign we are looking for to get bullish on the space is an increase in demand — either through EV demand surprising to the upside, or a restocking cycle in the battery supply chain.”

(By Georgina McKay, Richard Henderson and Paul-Alain Hunt)

The Penco module covers a 6 sq. km. area hosting an ionic clay deposit rich in heavy rare earths, with measured and indicated resources totalling 27.5 million tonnes grading 2,292 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), for 62,900 tonnes of contained TREO.

Under the investment agreement, CAP will make a strategic investment in REE Uno, Aclara’s Chilean subsidiary which owns the Penco module as well as all its mining concessions in the country, in exchange for a 20% equity participation in the REE unit.

This initial capital, according to Aclara’s calculations, gives REE Uno a pre-money valuation of $116.5 million. It will be paid in three tranches: $9.7 million upon closing, $12.5 million in January 2024 and the remaining $6.9 million in January 2026.

The initial capital injection from CAP will support the ongoing development of the Penco module throughout its permitting, community relations and feasibility study phases. It will also allow the company to reallocate its current cash reserves towards advancing its other project: the Carina module in Brazil.

Drawing upon CAP’s experience in environmental permitting from multiple mining projects in Chile, Aclara anticipates strengthened support for the forthcoming Penco environmental impact assessment (EIA) permit application.

CAP’s involvement includes a thorough review and constructive contributions to the application preparation, as well as accompanying Aclara throughout the review and approval process by Chilean environmental agencies, the TSX-listed miner said.

CAP also has an option to invest an additional $50 million in REE Uno for an additional 20% equity interest once the requisite environmental permit is secured for the Penco module. This second investment represents a pre-money valuation of REE Uno of $150 million.

The option for additional investment post-receipt of the environmental permit is intended to cover a significant part of the equity portion associated with the construction of the Penco module. This provision mitigates financing risks linked to the module’s construction, Aclara said.

The Chilean group can also invest up to 19.9% in Aclara itself by participating in any private placement or public offerings that Aclara may make over the next threes years. This includes a residual top-up right to maintain its pro rata voting right in the REE miner.

The companies will also form of a 50/50 joint venture to develop metals and alloys for the rare earths permanent magnet industry. CAP will invest $3 million in exchange for its 50% of the shares of the newly established joint venture company.

The establishment of a metals and alloys company represents the initial phase of Aclara’s strategic vision to vertically integrate its rare earths concentrate production towards the manufacturing of permanent magnets.

This move aims to offer a geopolitically independent alternative supply of permanent magnets to the market, Aclara said, adding that the new company will harness CAP’s expertise in metal refining and ferro-alloyed special steels, synergizing with its thorough understanding of the rare earths and permanent magnet industry.

The transaction reflects the valuation of Aclara at the time of the company’s initial public offering in late 2021 after it spun off from Hochschild Mining, and is indicative of the belief both parties have in establishing Aclara as a leading producer of clean rare earths.

The pre-money valuation of the initial investment plus the 50% interest in the new JV company represent a total value of $119.5 million, which reflects Aclara’s pre-money valuation at the IPO.

“We are thrilled to partner with CAP to develop our Penco module and strategy in Chile, as well as joining efforts to start developing Aclara’s capabilities in the vertical integration of the rare earths and permanent magnets industry,” Aclara chairman Eduardo Hochschild said in a news release.

“This alliance with Aclara represents a historic milestone for Grupo CAP, marking the first step in our strategy to become leaders in the production of essential materials for decarbonization and energy transition,” Juan Enrique Rassmuss, chairman of CAP, added.

Shares of Aclara Resources surged 30.1% to C$0.51 as of 11:30 a.m. ET, for a market capitalization of C$83.8 million ($62.2 million). The stock traded between C$0.36 and C$0.60 over the past 52 weeks.

Reunion Gold (TSXV: RGD) announced Tuesday that the Guyana government has accepted the terms of scope for the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) on the Oko West project, allowing the company to move ahead with permitting.

Rick Howes, CEO of Reunion Gold, said the approval is a significant milestone in the advancement of the project’s environmental permitting, and the company remains on track with its accelerated development timeline for Oko West, which includes the completion of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) by the end of Q2 2024.

In September 2023, Reunion applied for its environmental permit and subsequently collaborated with Guyana’s environmental agency to establish the terms of scope (ToS) for the ESIA. As part of this process, the gold explorer conducted meetings with both government agencies and local communities to determine the essential elements to be incorporated into the ToS.

An approval of the ToS is required for the company to move forward with work on the ESIA, which it anticipates submitting early in the fourth quarter this year.

Reunion said it has completed most of the environmental and social baseline studies that are required for the ESIA. This includes the fieldwork for the second phase of baseline studies, encompassing the physical baseline (groundwater and air quality), the biological baseline (plant, animal and aquatic ecosystems) and additional community meetings.

Following the expected completion of its PEA in Q2 2024, the company plans to advance work on both the feasibility study and the environmental permits throughout the remainder of 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025, with the expectation of being in a position to consider a construction decision in Q2 2025.

Oko West project

Oko West represents a brand new gold discovery under Reunion’s portfolio focused on South America’s Guiana Shield. It is located south of the historical “Oko” gold district, some 95 km west of Georgetown.

Initial drilling by the company confirmed the presence of gold mineralization that coincides with the northern portion of a 6-km-long gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly. Most of the drilling to date has taken place at the northern 2 km of that anomaly, referred to as the Kairuni zone.

A first resource estimate was completed in June 2023 following extensive drilling at Kairuni. Earlier this year, Reunion updated that resource to 64.6 million tonnes grading 2.05 g/t gold for 4.3 million oz. in the indicated category and 19.2 million tonnes grading 2.59 g/t gold for 1.6 million oz. in the inferred category.

The February 2024 resource showed both an increase in size and grades, both open pit and underground, and is expected to be included in the upcoming PEA study.

Last week, Vale, one of the world’s largest iron ore miners, extended the term of its CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo until the end of the year, amid media reports that the Brazilian government was seeking to influence the decision.

In the letter to Vale’s chair, former board member Jose Luciano Duarte Penido said the process of choosing a new CEO had “evident and nefarious political influence,” and that there had been frequent and biased leaks to the press made “in clear disregard for confidentiality.”

Vale had reported Duarte Penido’s resignation on Monday without detailing his reasons.

In a securities filing released by Vale on Tuesday, the board said its actions during the process of defining the next CEO complied with the firm’s bylaws, internal regulations and corporate policies.

(By Marta Nogueira and Peter Frontini; Editing by Steven Grattan and Nia Williams)

Diamond drill hole PIU-01 returned 0.5% copper, 0.7 gram gold per tonne and 3.1 grams silver for 1.1% copper equivalent over 304 metres from 198 metres depth, the company said on Monday.

The hole was designed to extend copper-gold mineralization to depth on the southwestern margin of the Piuquenes Central porphyry in San Juan province near the Chilean border, Pampa said in a release. Supergene copper enrichment was observed from 220-380 metres downhole, coincident and overlapping with primary mineralization from 350 metres.

“Excellent progress is being done on the second hole which has been designed to further test the depth and lateral extensions,” Pampa Metals president and CEO Joseph van den Elsen said. “Subsequent drill programs will also test the undrilled Piuquenes East porphyry target and other nearby targets.”

Shares in Pampa Metals rose more than 6% to C$0.24 apiece in Toronto on Monday, valuing the company at almost C$14 million.

Assays results from 502-867 metres, the end of the hole, are expected shortly, Pampa said. Strong primary mineralization associated with intense porphyry A type quartz stockwork veining is evident from 350-650 metres, it said. From 650 metres on, veining and mineralization becomes less intense.

In November, Pampa said it had entered into an option and joint venture agreement to acquire an 80% interest in the project. The following month the company reported 0.5% copper, 0.5 gram gold for 0.87% copper equivalent over 413.5 metres.

Piuquenes covers 18.8 sq. km in the San Juan Miocene porphyry belt, “the world’s hottest copper porphyry exploration belt,” the company says.

Other projects in the area include Los Azules held by McEwen Copper, a unit of McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX; TSX: MUX), Fortescue Minerals’ (ASX: FMG) Rincoes de Araya, Aldebaran Resources’ (TSXV: ALDE) El Altar and Glencore’s (LSE: GLEN) El Pachón.

The Andean nation is in discussions with Wall Street to sell debt earmarked for mining lithium — a key component in electric—vehicle batteries, Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said.

By tapping the market’s demand for clean-energy investments, the nation expects to drive borrowing costs to 10% or lower, Montenegro said, even as its existing debt trades at levels suggesting traders are bracing for a default.

“This is tied to something very important for Europe and elsewhere, which is the rapid move toward clean energy use,” Montenegro said in an interview in La Paz Friday. “If I just blundered into the market thoughtlessly, and did a normal sale with the banks that help us I’d have to pay 18% or 19%, if I even managed to sell any bonds at all.”

Bolivian officials have met with institutions in New York over the possible emission of between $500 million and $1 billion, he said. He declined to name them.

A giant salt flat in the Bolivian Andes contains the world’s largest lithium deposits. But while Bolivians have long anticipated a bonanza from the metal, they have yet to extract it in commercial quantities. Bolivian brine has high levels of magnesium, which make its lithium less pure and costlier to produce, while the nearest port is at least 500 kilometers away in Chile.

A history of political and social unrest and a state-led approach to natural resources have also deterred private investors, as has the recent plunge in prices.

Bolivia’s sovereign bonds have returned 19% this year, among the best performances in a Bloomberg index of emerging market dollar debt. Montenegro attributed the rally to a 10-point plan the government announced last month to address a dollar shortage and ease restrictions on exporters.

Even so, the notes trade at distressed levels and the extra yield investors demand to hold the bonds hovers around 1,786 basis points over US Treasuries, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data.

‘Manageable’ payments

Montenegro said that the nation’s outstanding bond schedule is “manageable,” adding that the government has demonstrated its willingness to honor obligations. Principal payments start in 2026 on a $1 billion note that matures in 2028, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A sovereign bond sale was already approved by congress last year. But in future, the government is likely to find it harder to borrow abroad after lawmakers in the ruling socialist party split between those loyal to President Luis Arce and allies of former President Evo Morales, effectively depriving the government of its majority.

“For multilateral lenders, Bolivia has a lot of space for important projects, but it’s in congress that they have put a lot of restrictions on the topic,” Montenegro said.

Bolivia narrowly prevented a financial crisis last year by passing a law to allow the central bank to sell about half of its gold reserves. The most recent foreign reserve figures published in December showed the bank has sold almost all the gold it was allowed to, and has also used up nearly all of its cash.

Although the 16-year-old currency peg of about 6.9 bolivianos per dollar still exists on paper, in practice neither importers nor ordinary citizens can easily access currency at that price. A few blocks from the finance ministry, black market currency traders last week were offering dollars for more than 8 bolivianos each.

Bolivia’s annual inflation was 2.5% in February, among the lowest levels in the Americas. But some economists are predicting a spike in consumer prices this year as the dollar shortage makes imported goods more costly.

Montenegro said that the government’s subsidies of fuel, electricity and food will help keep a lid on inflation. He forecasts consumer price rises of 3.6% this year, and 3.5% to 3.6% in 2025.

(By Matthew Bristow and Sergio Mendoza)

Earth-i, which specialises in observational data, tracks smelters representing up to 90% of global production for its SAVANT service and sells data to fund managers, traders and miners.

The company said that an average of 11.5% of copper smelter capacity monitored was inactive during January and February, compared with 8.6% in the same period last year.

Inactive capacity in China rose to 8.3% from 4.8% a year earlier, with the Baotou and Kunming smelters showing as not operating.

Processing fees for copper concentrate in China have plummeted to their lowest in more than a decade owing to short supply but could recover in the second quarter when maintenance season begins, industry experts said last week.

The statement from Earth-i said there were no major developments outside of China.

“We picked up minor outages in mid-February at Australia’s Olympic Dam and Chile’s Chuquicamata,” it added.

(By Eric Onstad; Editing by David Goodman)

The document was produced in the absence of an organic law to regulate the issue, which had become a point of concern for foreign investors, particularly in the mining sector. 

The manual, which is informed by constitutional standards and international treaties for the implementation of prior, free and informed consultation, was issued by Ministerial Agreement 002 on March 6, 2024.

The guide is considered to be of mandatory application before authorizing the prospecting, exploration, exploitation and commercialization of mineral resources. It also details the processing times for the approval of each of these activities when they are to take place in or around vulnerable communities and Indigenous lands that could be environmentally or culturally affected. 

The manual states that prior consultation dialogues may lead to the modification of certain mining projects. However, it also highlights that the results of the prior, free and informed consultation process are not binding, which means that the government could choose to greenlight projects even without the consent of the affected communities.

This last point set off the alarms of environmental groups and on March 8, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Cofeniae) issued a communiqué rejecting the manual and saying that it is aimed at ignoring the rights that are protected by what is known as “organic law reservation.” In their view, the manual is an attempt to impose an extractive agenda and bypass democratic controls.

The “organic law reservation” principle states that higher laws are infringed upon when a lower law is issued on a topic that is regulated by the Constitution, as is prior consultation in this case.

“Continuing with its extractivist and neoliberal agenda, President Noboa turns our rights into a mere administrative procedure to facilitate the interests of the mining industry and speed up the approval process of mining concessions,” the statement reads. 

The government, on the other hand, defends that the manual was created following previous statements of the Constitutional Court and Article 7 of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization, which states that no segment of a national population has the right to veto development policies that affect an entire country.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bartolomeo will also support the CEO transition process starting in 2025 and will remain as a company adviser until December of that year, the company confirmed in a statement late Friday. Bloomberg News reported the decision earlier.

The outcome follows weeks of drama over the selection of Vale’s next leader amid mounting pressure from the Brazilian government to intervene in the succession process. The wrangling has put a spotlight on the government’s influence in the mining sector, even though the metals producer was privatized in 1997.

The board decision was not unanimous, with two directors in opposition, two people familiar with the matter said.

Bartolomeo, who took the top job five years ago, publicly declared his wish in early December to remain CEO after his current term ends in May.

The 59-year-old CEO spent his tenure focused on recovering Vale’s reputation among investors concerned about environment, social and governance issues. He sought to reduce risks tied to storage of mining waste following two tailings dam disasters in 2015 and 2019. Bartolomeo also shed non-core businesses and turned the base metals operations into a separate business to unlock value from Vale’s nickel and copper assets.

The market has recognized Bartolomeo’s legacy on safety, including a plan to eliminate dozens of high-risk tailings dams and a $7.6 billion settlement over the Brumadinho dam collapse in southeastern Brazil. On the flip side, investors have been concerned about operational performance and costs control, along with the perception that Vale could better navigate relations with states and the federal government.

Vale could play a strategic role in efforts by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to reboot Brazil’s economy. For the metal producer, government support could help cut through bureaucracy on issue such as environmental permits and railroad concessions that have hobbled the company’s ambitions.

Vale’s succession policy says that an international consultancy firm with expertise in selecting global executives should be hired. The next CEO of the Rio de Janeiro-based company would be tapped from three shortlisted candidates selected by the consultancy.

(By Mariana Durao)

Activities were suspended at the area of the mine where the accident occurred, the company said in a statement.

The worker, a 30-year-old woman, was operating an extraction truck when the accident occurred, Codelco said.

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

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer.

As demand for the red metal grows globally, Codelco is struggling to address falling output, maintenance woes and safety issues.

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

(By Natalia Ramos and Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Valentine Hilaire and Anthony Esposito)

Insight: Inside a copper output plunge at No. 1 global producer Codelco