Asia Mining Club Event (Hong Kong); June 7 (12n): A Conversation with Warren Gilman, Chairman and CEO – Queen’s Road Capital Investment Ltd. (TSX-QRC);
Indian imports of Russian coking coal poised to double soon.
Govt to sell up to 3% in Coal India via OFS
Congo halts ERG’s copper project after waste leakage
Deep UK mine helps scientists figure out how humans would survive on Mars
Solar beats coal in Europe for first time – but there’s a glitch
Tsingshan says Argentina lithium plan with Eramet to total $1.7 billion
Saudi issues over 2,300 mining permits
Saudi, China energy officials discuss sector role in Vision 2030, Belt and Road plan
China landslide 14 killed 5 missing in Sichuan Province
Indian imports of Russian coking coal poised to double soon.
After reaching 54 million tonnes in FY23, India's coking coal imports are expected to account for one- fifth of that figure in the current year, significantly driven by imports from Russia. The country currently imports approximately 90% of its 60 million tonnes coking coal requirement, with Australia being the dominant contributor, supplying over 70%. However, India has been actively seeking to diversify its sources of steelmaking coal and has identified Russia as a preferred option due to favourable pricing and efficient delivery...
Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha emphasised the importance of diversifying import sources to mitigate supply disruptions caused by environmental disturbances and geopolitical events. While the decision to explore new import markets ultimately lies with individual companies based on quality and pricing assessments, India's steel and energy ministries signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia in October 2021 to develop coking coal sources, collaborate on mining and steel manufacturing technologies, and procure the raw material. JSW Steel, JSPL, and SAIL have already initiated imports of Russian coking coal, with plans to expand their procurement in FY24.
Mumbai: The government will sell up to 3% of its stake in Coal India to raise about ₹4,200 crore through a two-day offer-for-sale (OFS) from Thursday.
The government has proposed to sell up to 9.24 crore shares representing 1.50% of the total paid-up equity as a base offer with an option to additionally sell 9.24 shares or 1.5% of the company equity in the event of oversubscription.
The OFS will open for subscription for non-retail investors on Thursday, while retail investors can subscribe on Friday. The floor price for the offer has been fixed as ₹225, a 6.7% discount to Wednesday's closing price of ₹241.20. About 10% of the offer will be reserved for retail investors.
Non-institutional investors who place bids can flag their willingness to carry forward their un-allotted bids to Friday for allocation to them in case the retail category stays unsubscribed.
Congo halts ERG’s copper project after waste leakage
Eurasian Resources Group’s Boss Mining copper and cobalt project has been halted by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government, which cites environmental concerns after flooding in March sent mine waste into a river and nearby town.
The suspension is the latest sign of strained relations between copper miners and the Congolese government at a time when output is booming. While the Boss operation is relatively small, the suspension highlights a broader push by Congo to hold miners accountable for environmental damage, Mines Minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi said.
The project is set to produce an average of 21,600 tons of copper and 3,600 tons of cobalt hydroxide per year.
N’Samba Kalambayi suspended the project for at least three months and ordered an investigation into possible reparations for damages, according to remarks to a Senate commission Thursday sent by the ministry. The Boss project was restarted by ERG in November, after spending more than three years on care and maintenance.
“For some time now, there have been more and more incidents in mining areas relating to the overflow of effluents and the destruction of dikes causing significant damage to the environment,” she said. “Such was recently the case at the Boss Mining installations.”
The “enormous environmental damage” could have been avoided or reduced if the company had updated its environmental management plan when it reopened, N’Samba Kalambayi told Boss in a May 29 letter ordering the shutdown that was shared by her ministry.
The miner will need to revise its social and environmental impact studies to resume operations or face further suspension, N’Samba Kalambayi told the senate commission.
Deep UK mine helps scientists figure out how humans would survive on Mars
Researchers from the University of Birmingham are studying how humans might be able to live and operate on the moon or on Mars by conducting studies in a unique research facility located 1.1 kilometres below the surface, in one of the deepest mine sites in the UK.
Their so-called Bio-SPHERE project investigates how scientific and medical operations would take place in the challenging environments of earth’s satellite and the red planet.
The team is working in partnership with the Boulby Underground Laboratory, a 4,000-square-metre deep underground facility focused on particle physics, earth sciences and astrobiology research, run by the Science and Technology Facilities Council with the support of the Boulby potash mine operators, ICL-UK.
The Bio-SPHERE project is based in a 3,000-square-metre tunnel network adjacent to the Boulby Laboratory. The tunnels go through 250-million-year-old rock salt deposits, consisting of Permian evaporite layers left over from the Zechstein Sea.
This geological environment, together with the deep subsurface location, has enabled researchers to recreate the operational conditions humans would experience working in similar caverns on the moon and Mars. This includes remoteness, limited access to new materials and challenges in moving heavy equipment around.
At the same time, thanks to the ultra-low radiation environment provided by that depth, the location will enable scientists to investigate how effective underground habitats might be in protecting space crews from deep-space radiation, which is a significant risk in space exploration, as well as other hazards, such as falling debris from meteorites, which risks damaging the life-support infrastructure.
Solar beats coal in Europe for first time – but there’s a glitch
The European Union’s transition to clean energy marked a milestone in May, when solar panels generated more electricity than all of the bloc’s coal plants for the first time — and that’s before summer sun boosts production even further.
While the furious expansion of solar generation bodes well for efforts to replace fossil fuels, the breakthrough also exposed flaws in the energy system. Power prices turned negative during some of May’s sunniest days as grid operators struggled to handle the surge.
“This summer will be something we’ll have to look at like it’s a postcard from the future,” said Kesavarthiniy Savarimuthu, analyst at BloombergNEF. “The biggest message will be: we’re not ready.”
Although solar was a fast and easy solution to respond to last year’s energy crisis triggered by Russia’s moves to squeeze natural gas supplies, the downside is the technology is best in sunny months when demand is typically lower. Systems to store that energy in batteries or by creating green hydrogen aren’t advanced enough to allow summer sun to keep lights on at night or help heat homes in the winter.
Nowhere is the solar boom — and the adjustment risks — clearer than in the Netherlands. There are over 100 megawatts of solar panels for every 100,000 Dutch residents, double the deployment of sunny Spain and more than triple the rate in China — by far the global leader in total solar capacity.
Tsingshan says Argentina lithium plan with Eramet to total $1.7 billion
BEIJING/PARIS : Chinese steel giant Tsingshan and French mining group Eramet plan to invest more than $1.7 billion in two stages of a lithium production project in Argentina, Tsingshan said in a statement on Thursday.
The partners are due to start producing lithium in Argentina next year under a first phase that Eramet has estimated will represent around $550 million in capital expenditure.
Brine pools used to extract lithium are seen next to a lithium mining camp at the Salar del Rincon salt flat, in Salta, Argentina August 12, 2021. Picture taken August 12, 2021
As the take up of electric vehicles increases demand for lithium, the French firm has also said it is studying a second stage to triple output compared with the first phase, with a decision expected by the end of 2023.
John Li, president director of Tsingshan South America Lithium Resources Development Co Ltd, cited the investment figure for the first and second phases when Argentina's Minister of Economy Sergio T. Massa and Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja visited Tsingshan Industry on May 31, the statement said.
Eramet said it could not confirm an overall investment figure at this stage.
With Tsingshan, Eramet is working on a feasibility study for the possible second phase to increase capacity to about 75,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually compared with 24,000 tonnes planned in the initial phase, it said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has issued more than 2,300 permits for new mines since it began enforcing a landmark law intended to attract capital into its massive mining industry, according to official data.
In April alone, the world’s largest oil exporter granted 55 permits to local and foreign investors, including 34 licenses for metal exploration, the Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a report on Monday.
By the end of April, the Gulf Kingdom has issued a total of 2,336 mining permits since it introduced the mining investment law in June 2020.
These comprise 634 permits for minerals exploration as well as 180 for exploitation of small mines and 36 for surveying and exploitation.
The report showed 573 permits were issued in the capital Riyadh while 374 were issued in the Eastern region, 258 in Western Medina and 213 in the Southern Asir province.
Announcing the law, Saudi officials said it aims to tap the country’s metal resources, estimated at 5 trillion riyals ($1.33 trillion).
Saudi, China energy officials discuss sector role in Vision 2030, Belt and Road plan
Energy officials from Saudi Arabia and China discussed the sector’s role in achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plans and Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman met with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Jianhua and discussed efforts on both sides to diversify their economies, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
“The meeting discussed areas of cooperation between the two sides and stressed the importance of ensuring the security of energy supply,” the SPA report said.
“The two sides also discussed potential cooperation in crude-to-chemicals projects(C2C), innovative uses of hydrocarbons, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy; nuclear fuel; the national projects for uranium exploration and mining; projects for electricity, renewable energy, clean hydrogen; and energy efficiency,” it added.
The meeting reportedly noted the means of combating climate challenges by adopting the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) – a framework to address climate challenges and manage emissions, mainly using carbon removal technologies.
China landslide 14 killed 5 missing in Sichuan Province
Fourteen people were killed, and five went missing after landslide in China's South-Western province of Sichuan on Sunday, Global Times reported citing local authorities.
The disaster sent mud and debris hurtling towards a construction site operated by a local mining company, where it "struck and buried parts of the production and living facilities at the mineshaft platform", the CCTV reported.
Nineteen people were confirmed dead as of 8 pm, the broadcaster said, adding that "search and rescue work has currently ended, and the cause of the... collapse is under investigation".
Over 180 rescue personnel have been deployed to the area, armed with 14 specialised rescue devices, the Global Times said.
