Behre Dolbear will be attending 121 Mining Investment in Cape Town, 5-6 February 2024.
Behre Dolbear will be attending Mining Indaba in Cape Town, 5-8 February 2024.
HEADLINES
Global inventory of world’s mines needed – researchers
LME to suspend 10% of listed metals brands until they submit responsible sourcing audit
Saudi Arabia’s Mining Push is a Challenge for Everyone Else
Saudi-backed Ma’aden’s CEO on the gold mine beneath the kingdom
Can Saudi Arabia emerge as a mining powerhouse amid global race for minerals?
Northvolt looks at sourcing cobalt from Congo
Hindustan Zinc posts fifth straight quarterly profit fall
Global inventory of world’s mines needed – researchers
A lack of a comprehensive inventory of the world’s mines and the absence of robust data on various aspects of mining operations is hampering sustainability efforts, a recent commentary in the journal Nature states.
In the article, Victor Maus, a researcher in the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group of the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program, and Tim Werner from the University of Melbourne, point out that even though in recent decades there has been increased exploitation of lithium for batteries, cobalt for smartphones, or neodymium for wind turbines, scientists, policymakers and even industry leaders know very little about what’s going on in the mining sector on a global basis and the extent to which the activity is causing deforestation, biodiversity loss, air, water and soil pollution, human health hazards, community displacement and the loss of land and livelihoods.
“Independent research is essential to decipher the extent of risks posed by mining and its impacts on the environment and communities all over the globe, as well as to help identify major challenges and build public trust,” Maus said in a media statement.
The reasons for such data scarcity, which the researchers say has meant that about half of the world’s mining impacts remain undocumented, range from limited corporate reporting to disused, informal, or illegal sites.
LME to suspend 10% of listed metals brands until they submit responsible sourcing audit
The London Metal Exchange (LME) plans to suspend or delist 10% of its listed metals brands in coming months until their producers provide it with their responsible sourcing reports, the exchange said on Monday.
The move is a step in the campaign, which the world’s largest and oldest metals trading venue, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, launched in 2019 seeking to clean up global trade chains from metal tainted by child labour, corruption or conflict financing.
The LME “fully expects that a proportion of these brands will be able to re-list in due course, once they have completed the work to address the requirements of the policy,” it said in a statement.
The LME added that it was working through the information submitted by the remaining 90% of the brands. While a large majority of them are fully compliant, the review could still result in a small additional number of brands being suspended until the queries are resolved.
The LME’s 2019 responsible sourcing campaign is underpinned by guidelines set by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Saudi Arabia’s Mining Push is a Challenge for Everyone Else
The kingdom’s emergence will make it even harder for the US and Europe to secure access to commodities.
Saudi Arabia’s plunge into the world of mining has caught the industry’s attention as the nation prepares to deploy vast amounts of capital to diversify away from oil and gas.
The kingdom wants to secure access to critical minerals such as copper, nickel, lithium and iron ore, used in equipment from electric vehicle batteries to solar panels. Those will be processed by new refineries and smelters to feed a wider industrial network across the country.
While China has a lock on much of the clean-energy supply chain that currently exists, the emergence of Saudi Arabia will make it even harder for the US, Europe and Japan to secure the battery minerals they want.
Saudia Arabia crashed into the world mining scene in the middle of last year with a $2.6 billion deal to buy 10% of Vale SA’s base metal unit, beating off competition from Qatar and Japan in the process.
Saudi-backed Ma’aden’s CEO on the gold mine beneath the kingdom
DAVOS, Switzerland – Saudi Arabia is sitting on a gold mine. Also phosphate, bauxite, copper, zinc and nickel. Analysts have called the estimated value of its mineral resources – last put at $2.5 trillion – one of the most significant potential contributors to its economic transformation ambitions.
The Circuit caught up with Bob Wilt, who moved from California to Saudi Arabia two years ago to take up the helm of one of the world’s fastest growing mining operations, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
The Circuit: Saudi Arabia has a big presence in Davos this year. Why have you come to the World Economic Forum meeting, what are you looking to get out of this trip?
Bob Wilt: That’s right. We are just coming off the heels of the Future Minerals Forum, a third edition in Riyadh last week, where we brought at least 80 government delegations to Saudi Arabia to discuss the mineral potential of the kingdom. And we’re following up this week with meeting with partners and meeting with other mining companies, just to make sure the world knows that the third pillar of the Saudi economy is going to be metals and mining. We’re getting great responses. So, you know, there’s a lot of interest in the kingdom in general, in diversification of the economy, and part of that is obviously metals mining.
Can Saudi Arabia emerge as a mining powerhouse amid global race for minerals?
Saudi Arabia’s strategy to invest in exploration and mining of key mineral resources within the country and abroad could make the kingdom a key player in the global minerals supply chain, analysts say.
Al Amar gold mine, south-west of Riyadh. Saudi Arabia currently accounts for about 37.9 per cent of Mena's $16 billion metals and mining market.
As the world's leading economies race for a share of critical mineral resources with new investments in the mining sector, the kingdom is speeding up efforts to position itself as a major player in mineral mining in the region, according to an S&P Commodities Insights report this month.
“Saudi Arabia is taking a holistic approach to invest in the sector, inside and outside the country,” S&P says.
Earlier this month, the kingdom unveiled a$182 million mineral exploration incentive programme and 33 new mining licences.
Last year, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, and state mining company Ma'aden established Manara Minerals to acquire global mining assets.
In July, Manara announced its first high-profile acquisition, a 10 per cent stake in Brazil's Vale Base Metals.
Swedish battery maker Northvolt is looking to source cobalt, used to make chemicals for electric vehicle batteries, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the company said on Friday.
The company has trialled material, studied work processes and compared plans to improve both social and environmental sustainability with the aim to find long-term partners.
“I would feel comfortable signing something this year in terms of engagement in sourcing,” chief environmental officer Emma Nehrenheim said in a phone interview with Reuters. She did not give a definite timeframe.
Northvolt said it was approached by stakeholders asking for the company to engage directly with miners and other parties to improve working conditions in the impoverished African country.
“It’s strategically important for us to find really good material and to find that in a relationship that is reliable, and affordable,” Nehrenheim said. “We want DRC to be part of our supply chain.”
Northvolt currently sources cobalt from Australia and other countries.
Hindustan Zinc posts fifth straight quarterly profit fall
Indian miner Hindustan Zinc reported its fifth consecutive decline in quarterly profit on Friday, dragged by lower zinc prices and sales.
Still, the 6% profit drop is the smallest since it first reported a fall in profit in the third quarter of last year. Shares of the company rose as much as 3.7% after its results.
The company’s largest revenue-generating segment, zinc, remains under pressure mainly due to supply-demand imbalances, inflationary pressures and geopolitical issues in the global market.
Consolidated net profit fell to 20.28 billion rupees ($244 million) in the three months to Dec. 31 from 21.56 billion rupees a year ago.
Hindustan Zinc was hurt by the fall in prices of key base metals – zinc and lead – on the London Metal Exchange during the quarter. Although the prices improved sequentially, they were still lower than a year earlier.
Sales of Zinc, which constitutes roughly two-thirds of the company’s total sales, slumped 20% in the period
The decline in prices and sales led to a 7% fall in revenue, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.
As part of the deal, the partners will have a split claim on all brine produced at two of the Norma Edith and Viamonte blocks in Catamarca and Salta. This arrangement avoids a lengthy, costly, and uncertain legal undertaking, the companies said, as they both hold claims to the same ground but in different provinces.
Posco has been expanding its steelmaking portfolio into new businesses for diversification, giving preference to minerals and metals used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
The partnership between Lithium South and POSCO Argentina SAU, along with the increased resource estimate at the Hombre Muerto North project, marks a new phase in the asset development.
Argentina is part of the so-called “lithium triangle,” which also includes neighbours Chile and Bolivia, home to one of the world’s largest lithium reserves.
Twenty-two people have died following a landslide at an illegal mine in northern Tanzania, officials said.
The incident occurred at Ng'alita mine in Bariadi district, Simiyu region on Saturday, district commissioner Simon Simalenga said.
It occurred after a group of people started mining in an area where activity was restricted due to heavy rains, he told Reuters news agency.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her "great sadness" at the news.
"These fellow Tanzanians were small miners in the area, trying to earn a living for themselves, their families," she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mr Simalenga said he was initially told that there were 19 to 20 people trapped in the mines, but that 22 bodies ended up being retrieved.
Faustine Mtitu, acting commander for the region's fire and rescue forces, said in quotes cited by AFP news agency that the search had been ended as he was "convinced that there are no more bodies trapped in the rubble."
Mr Simalenga said the group of people began mining in the mineral-rich area about three weeks ago before the government brought in safety procedures.
The area was restricted because of ongoing heavy rains, which have caused flash floods.
