Barrick CEO wants to search for more copper in Zambia and Congo
Gold miner set to trade, marking Indonesiab s biggest IPO this year
UK needs to revive rich mining past to counter Chinab s minerals grip
Massive Norwegian phosphate deposit could meet battery and solar demand for 50 years
European firms look for footing in China-US spat, French execs say
Huayou commissions $300 million Zimbabwe lithium plant
Neo Performance starts construction of rare earth magnet plant in Estonia
Deep-sea mining tussle pits France and Germany against China
Barrick CEO wants to search for more copper in Zambia and Congo
The Lumwana copper mine in Zambiab s Copperbelt. (Image courtesy of Barrick Gold.)
Barrick Gold is keen to explore for more copper deposits in Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo as the miner seeks to expand its presence on the African copper belt, its CEO said on Friday.
The worldb s No. 2 gold miner wants to explore for deposits of the metal in southern parts of Congo, while expanding and extending the life of its Lumwana mine in Zambia, CEO Mark Bristow said.
b We are looking at exploration opportunities across the country just as we are looking for exploration opportunities in southern Congo,b Bristow said during a briefing at Lumwana mine.
Barrick is considering plans to develop Lumwana mine, which currently produces about 267,000 metric tons of copper into a tier one asset as well as to extend the life of the operation to 2060.
Zambia, where Barrick has its Lumwana mine, is Africab s second-largest copper producer, after its northern neighbour Congo.
Barrick plans to spend more to build Lumwana into a bigger operation, Bristow said, declining to provide figures.
The CEO declined to comment on market speculation that his company was interested in First Quantum Minerals but said Barrick would adopt a cautious approach to doing deals in the sector.
Gold miner set to trade, marking Indonesiab s biggest IPO this year
PT Amman Mineral International, the owner of the second-largest gold and copper mine in Indonesia, is set to debut in Jakarta this week following the countryb s largest initial public offering this year.
Shares are set to begin trading on Friday. They were sold at 1,695 rupiah each in an IPO that raised 10.7 trillion rupiah ($711 million). It was the largest new share sale in Asia this year outside mainland China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The offering marks an extension of whatb s been a busy year for debuts in Southeast Asiab s largest equity market. IPOs in Jakarta have raised $2.2 billion since the start of the year, already overtaking the tally for all of last year and surpassing activity in Hong Kong, traditionally Asiab s main hub for listings. Amman Mineral is the biggest newcomer to the countryb s exchange since e-commerce platform GoTo Group in April 2022.
Only seven companies listed in Indonesia after raising more than $500 million over the past five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They rose by an average 7% in their first trading day, the data show.
Amman Mineral owns the fifth-largest copper mine in the world as of the end of 2020, according to data by Wood Mackenzie in the offeringb s prospectus. The company posted net income of $1.09 billion in 2022, more than a threefold increase from the previous yearb s figure.
UK needs to revive rich mining past to counter Chinab s minerals grip
South Crofty, about 390km drive west of London on the Celtic Sea Coast, was the last tin mine in Europe when it closed in 1998. (Image courtesy of Cornish Metals.)
When work began at the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne, the first English settlement in America had only just been established, and the worldb s trade with the Far East was controlled by Portugal. It shut in 1998 after more than four centuries of continuous operation, a victim of sinking prices.
Now, South Crofty is part of a wave of mining activity across Englandb s southwestern tip aiming to resuscitate an industry that until recently looked all-but dead. Tin, copper, tungsten and lithium, along with associated geothermal energy, are the focus of companies trying to capitalize on the surge in demand for the raw materials that are key to the shift to clean energy.
For Cornwall, itb s the chance to use past strengths to secure its future in a new world where minerals are strategic, ideally responsibly sourced, and self-sufficiency is key. For the UK, itb s a test of the governmentb s ability to come up with the money and vision quickly enough to ensure the country doesnb t get left behind.
The evidence on b and under b the ground suggests things are moving, even if hurdles remain for the viability of some projects. b Most of the questions revolve around, why is it taking so long?b said Richard Williams, chief executive officer of Cornish Metals, the owner of South Crofty. b It now just seems to be taking off. Not just here, but around Cornwall.b
Tinb s comeback is thanks in part to a European Union regulation from 2006 that banned lead in solder, meaning it became ubiquitous in electronic circuits rather than the sardine cans of old. But itb s recent geopolitical tension between the US and China thatb s raised the stakes further, particularly for a Britain now outside the EU.
Massive Norwegian phosphate deposit could meet battery and solar demand for 50 years
Norge Mining said it has discovered up to 70 billion tonnes of phosphate rock in southwest Norway.
Phosphorous is on the European Unionb s list of minerals of importance to the economy and the new deposit could mean enough raw material to the meet demand for batteries and solar panels for the next 50 years, according to the company.
Before this discovery, the largest amount of phosphate rock was in the western Sahara region of Morocco, with around 50 billion tonnes.
According to the US Geological Survey, proven phosphate reserves equal 72 billion tonnes globally.
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023
b Now, when you find something of that magnitude in Europe, which is larger than all the other sources we know b it is significant,b said Michael Wurmser, founder of Norge Mining.
Around 90% of mined phosphate is used to produce fertilizer for agriculture, but demand for clean technology has rapidly increased.
The European Union is almost entirely dependent on imports of phosphate rock from other countries, according to a report from The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.
The European Commission welcomed confirmation of the massive Norwegian deposit, EURACTIV reported.
b The discovery is indeed great news, which would contribute to the objectives of the Commissionb s proposal on the Critical Raw Material Act,b said a spokesperson for the EU executive.
European firms look for footing in China-US spat, French execs say
European firms are concerned they could get caught in the cross-fire of rising economic rivalry between the United States and China, with some officials at a French business conference also frustrated at Europeb s slowness in crafting a response.
Rising trade tensions between the two superpowers are adding to the problems facing politicians and executives as they face a European economy operating at close to standstill, and guessing whether to prepare for a hard or soft landing.
b Web re keeping a particularly close eye on the current tensions between the US and China,b said Florent Menegaux, chief executive of French tyremaker Michelin.
b Geopolitics obviously has an influence on the way companies operate,b Menegaux said, adding Michelin was reviewing the sourcing of some components to avoid being too dependent on China.
The search for other sources of raw materials, or reworking supply chains to cut exposure to China b dubbed b de-riskingb in the West b was further fuelled by Chinab s recent restrictions on exports of two key raw materials, gallium and germanium, used in making semiconductors.
b Web re paying for the competition between the United States and China,b Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said, in reference to the Chinese curbs, as Europe grapples with what he called a b Chinese stormb looming over the electric vehicle industry.
Huayou commissions $300 million Zimbabwe lithium plant
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt on Wednesday commissioned a lithium concentrator in Zimbabwe as it seeks to consolidate its position as one of the worldb s top battery materials producers.
Huayou acquired the Arcadia hard rock deposit, 40 kilometres outside Harare, from Australia-listed Prospect Resources for $422 million in April 2022. The Chinese company invested a further $300 million to build a plant to produce 450,000 metric tons of lithium concentrates annually.
The Arcadia plant took nine months to construct and started exporting concentrates in April after the plant went into trial production, George Fang, Huayou vice president and chairman of the Zimbabwe unit, said in a speech to mark the commissioning.
b We have exported close to 30,000 metric tons. This equates to $40 million in revenue generation,b Fang said.
Zimbabweb s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who officiated at the commissioning, said the southern African country hopes its huge hard rock lithium resources will help revive its struggling economy.
b Lithium is a mineral of the present and the future. It is beneficial and will position our country in the global lithium value chain,b Mnangagwa said.
Zimbabweb s government wants lithium miners operating in the country to go beyond producing lithium concentrates and process battery-grade lithium.
Trevor Barnard, deputy general manager of Huayoub s Zimbabwe unit, said the company was undertaking feasibility studies on further processing.
b We are not at the battery stage yet, it will take a regional approach from quite a few mines coming together to do beneficiation (processing),b Barnard told Reuters.
Neo Performance starts construction of rare earth magnet plant in Estonia
Neo Performance Materials said on Friday it has started construction of a manufacturing facility in Europe to produce rare earth permanent magnets, which are key for both electric vehicles and wind turbines.
The company said the manufacturing facility in Narva will be near its existing rare earth separation plant in SillamC$e.
The development comes at a time when dependence on China for key materials and technologies has become a major issue for western countries, with some countries ramping up support to boost domestic production of critical minerals including rare earths.
Rare earth permanent magnets are used in a wide variety of technologies that increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
These magnets are especially integral to the drivetrains of the majority of electric vehicles manufactured, where they increase the power and efficiency of the motors.
Deep-sea mining tussle pits France and Germany against China
Crunch talks in Jamaica to determine future of drive to extract critical minerals from ocean depths
France and Germany are leading a fightback against plans to allow large-scale commercial mining in the deep seas, warning that a China-supported push to harvest battery metals from the seabed could do lasting harm.
Representatives of 168 member states of the International Seabed Authority will gather on Monday for a marathon, three-week negotiation on whether to lay down the first operating guidelines for the nascent industry.
The talks hosted by the obscure intergovernmental body, based in Jamaica, could open a rush to develop swaths of ocean floor until now given special protection as b the common heritage of mankindb . Countries including South Korea, Russia and Norway, along with China, favour pushing ahead.
The dilemmas over lifting restrictions, debated since the 1960s, have taken on added urgency because of fears that shortages of battery metals like copper and cobalt could scupper electrification plans around the world.
Toby Fisher, a barrister in the UK who has advised on the ISA, described the legal framework for the seabed in international waters as b extraordinaryb and comparable only to the laws that govern space exploration.
