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
Uranium price jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall
Deep-sea mining: Norway approves controversial practice
Saudi Arabia earmarks $182 mln for minerals exploration in mining push
Grupo Mexico mulls Spanish copper mine acquisition
Saudi Arabia ups mineral resource estimates to $2.5 trillion -minister
Posco, Lithium South to jointly develop Hombre Muerto project
Mine landslide kills 22 people in Tanzania
Uranium price jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall
Uranium prices jumped on Friday to an almost 15-year high after the world’s largest producer, Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom (LON: KAP), warned it’s likely to fall short of its output targets over the next two years.
The miner cited shortages of sulfuric acid and construction delays at newly developed deposits as the main factors behind ongoing production challenges, which it said could persist into 2025. A detailed assessment of the potential impacts on output will be released in a trading update by Feb. 1, it added.
“Despite the ongoing active search for alternative sources of sulfuric acid supply, current forecasts indicate that the company may find it difficult to achieve 90% production levels compared to subsoil use contract levels,” Kazatomprom said in the statement.
Sulfuric acid is a favourite among producers to extract uranium from the raw ore due to its low-cost and efficiency for different types of ores.
Kazatomprom noted its guidance for next year could also be affected if supply snags continue throughout 2024 and if it isn’t able to comply with scheduled construction works.
The spot price of the radioactive metal has more-than doubled in 2023 and it is currently trading at $97.45 a pound — still far from the triple-digit figures achieved in 2007 and the fallout after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Deep-sea mining: Norway approves controversial practice
Norway has become the first country in the world to move forward with the controversial practice of commercial-scale deep-sea mining.
The bill, passed on Tuesday, will accelerate the hunt for precious metals which are in high demand for green technologies.
Environmental scientists have warned it could be devastating for marine life.
Knowledge of creatures living in the deep sea, which could be impacted by mining, is limited
The plan concerns Norwegian waters, but agreement on mining in international waters could also be reached this year.
The Norwegian government said it was being cautious and would only begin issuing licences once further environmental studies were carried out.
The deep sea hosts potato-sized rocks called nodules and crusts which contain minerals such as lithium, scandium and cobalt, critical for clean technologies, including in batteries.
Norway's proposal will open up 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq miles) of its national waters for companies to apply to mine these sources - an area bigger than the size of the UK.
Although these minerals are available on land, they are concentrated in a few countries, increasing the risk to supply. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which holds some of the largest reserves of cobalt, faces conflict in parts of the country.
Saudi Arabia earmarks $182 mln for minerals exploration in mining push
RIYADH, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has established a $182 million mineral exploration incentive programme, a senior government official said on Wednesday, part of efforts to build an economy that does not rely mostly on oil.
The kingdom is pushing to expand its mining sector and tap vast reserves of phosphate, gold, copper and bauxite.
"This programme will de-risk investments in our exploration, securing to enable new commodities, green field projects and junior miners," Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said, speaking at the Future Minerals Forum.
Deals worth 75 billion riyals ($20 billion) are expected to be signed in Riyadh during this week's industry event, he added, announcing the fifth and sixth rounds of a licensing programme offering access to 33 exploration sites this year.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, is midway through an economic transformation plan known as Vision 2030 to diversify income sources away from hydrocarbons and develop sectors such as tourism, industry, and mining among others, to bolster non-oil GDP.
Grupo Mexico mulls Spanish copper mine acquisition
Grupo Mexico is reportedly among several contenders aiming to acquire the Las Cruces copper mine in Spain from First Quantum Minerals, as the Canadian company seeks to strengthen its financial position, according to a Bloomberg report.
The mine’s development plan includes a refinery capable of producing around 72,000 tonnes (t) of copper cathode each year
The move comes after First Quantum’s primary operation, the Cobre Panama mine, was mandated to cease operations.
This led to a financial crunch, prompting the sale of the Spanish asset, people privy to the development told the news agency.
First Quantum initiated the sale of its Las Cruces mine in December, following the unexpected shutdown of the Cobre Panama mine, which caused financial uncertainties for the company.
Valued at less than $1bn, Las Cruces is one of First Quantum’s smaller ventures but represents a strategic opportunity for Grupo Mexico to increase its presence in Europe.
The acquisition of Las Cruces would mark Grupo Mexico’s continued interest in European expansion, following an unsuccessful attempt to purchase Minas de Aguas Tenidas, also in Spain, in 2021. The asset was acquired by Sandfire Resources for approximately $1.9bn.
Saudi Arabia ups mineral resource estimates to $2.5 trillion -minister
RIYADH, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has revised upwards estimates for its untapped mineral resources including phosphate, gold and rare earths to $2.5 trillion, from a 2016 forecast of $1.3 trillion, its mining minister said.
Mining is a key part of Riyadh's efforts to build an economy that does not largely rely on oil, involving a shift towards tapping vast reserves of phosphate, gold, copper and bauxite.
Its Saudi Arabian Mining Company (1211.SE), known as Ma'aden and established in 1997, already produces some of these minerals.
"We believe today that our reserves' potential have now grown by 90%," Mining Minister Bandar Al-Khorayef told Reuters in an interview.
"This increase of $1.2 trillion is a combination of more of what we have, like phosphate, and new, like rare earths, and revaluation of (commodities) pricing," he added. A formal announcement will made on Wednesday during the Future Minerals Forum (FMF) mining gathering.
Posco, Lithium South to jointly develop Hombre Muerto project
South Korea’s Posco and Canada’s Lithium South Development (TSX-V: LIS) have signed an agreement for the joint development of the Hombre Muerto lithium project in the Argentine province of Salta.
Hombre Muerto North in Salta, Argentina.
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.
