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Asia Mining

Indonesia’s grand ambition to become an EV leader rests on nickel mining boom – by Yvonne Lau (Canada’s National Observer – April 19, 2024)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

The Kawasi people of Indonesia’s Obi Islands have long fished for tuna, red snapper and grouper, and grown coconut, cashew and clove trees. But some village residents say their land and water have been destroyed and the quality of life has plummeted in the years since Harita Nickel, the $5-billion arm of Indonesian conglomerate Harita Group, started mining, refining and processing nickel in their backyard.

“We lost our plantation land to grow crops for our survival and future generations. We lost the right to express our opinions. The water has become cloudy, with white foam coming out of the pipes. We see that the fish are dying. Residents are now being monitored for skin diseases, coughing and sore eyes,” according to 36-year-old Nurhayati Jumadi, a mother of two and lifelong resident of Kawasi village with about 4,500 people.

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Southeast Asia’s potential in critical minerals – by Han Phoumin (Australian Strategic Policy Institute – April 15, 2024)

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/

Global critical mineral demand is expected to increase dramatically in coming decades, from a 7.1 million tonnes in 2020 to 42.3 million tonnes in 2050. Global commitments to decarbonisation are the main drivers of this growth, because clean-energy technologies depend on large quantities of critical minerals. But all manner of sophisticated industries, including defence manufacturing, will also compete for these materials.

Secure and reliable critical mineral supply chains will be vital for energy transition. The supply chains are the secret to scaling up installation of wind turbines, advanced batteries, electrolysers and clean-energy grids.

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Japan, U.S., Philippines to strengthen nickel supply chains – by Takeru Tsuzuki and Hiroyuki Tanaka (Asia News Network – April 15, 2024)

 Asia News Network – Bringing Asia Closer

The three countries will accelerate the creation of a supply chain that is not overly dependent on China to bolster their economic security, with the Philippines being the world’s second-largest producer of nickel ore.

WASHINGTON – Japan, the United States and the Philippines agreed to forge ties to strengthen supply chains of nickel — a critical mineral essential for the batteries used in electric vehicles — at a trilateral summit at the White House on Thursday.

The Philippines is the world’s second-largest producer of nickel ore, and China is the second-largest producer of refined nickel. The three countries will accelerate the creation of a supply chain that is not overly dependent on China to bolster their economic security.

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Cheap coal, cheap workers, Chinese money: Indonesia’s nickel success comes at a price – by Per Elinder Liljas (The Guardian – April 11, 2024)

https://www.theguardian.com/

Standing chest-deep in the Molucca Sea, just outside the billowing smokestacks of the world’s largest nickel industry, Upin adjusts his mask and dives. Members of his people, the Bajau, have been known to stay underwater for more than 10 minutes but Upin resurfaces shortly. He hauls a rugged disc of metal over the side of his dugout canoe.

“Since the factories arrived, there has barely been any fish to catch,” he says and grimaces towards the opaque water. “The ocean has become warmer and more polluted. It itches on my skin but I have no choice. Collecting scrap metal is the only way for me to survive.”

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Vietnam to Step Up Actions to Tame Gold Market, Combat Smuggling – by Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (Bloomberg News – April 7, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Stabilizing the gold market has become a pressing issue for Vietnam with smugglers taking advantage of higher local prices to slip in the precious metal, leading to exchange rate distortions and weakness in the dong that’s hurting the economy.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and members of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council are among top authorities who have been urging for solutions in recent months.

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Why Taking Over Africa Is a Key Part of Beijing’s Silent War Against America (The Epoch Times – April 7, 2024)

https://www.theepochtimes.com/

China’s influence over the lives of Africa’s 1.5 billion people is now so broad it includes food production, resource mining, and military leadership schools.

JOHANNESBURG—China’s influence in and over the lives of Africa’s 1.5 billion people is now so broad that it extends into almost all aspects of African societies.

The communist regime’s footprint is stamped across the continent in almost all economic sectors, including agriculture, natural resources, and trade and logistics. Chinese companies are deeply invested in manufacturing, services, and real estate.

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Mining billionaire Forrest urges China to demand greener nickel – by Joe Leahy, Nic Fildes and A. Anantha Lakshmi (Financial Times – April 7, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Australian magnate points finger at ‘irresponsible’ standards for processing in Indonesia

Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has called on China to demand higher environmental standards from its global supply chain, particularly its companies conducting nickel processing in Indonesia, an industry he accused of “complete environmental irresponsibility”.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Forrest — the chair and largest shareholder of Fortescue Metals Group — said electric vehicle manufacturers should be wary of Indonesian nickel, which he said was being extracted at immense cost to the environment.

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Reckless mining oversight – by Editorial Board (Jakarta Post – April 8, 2024)

https://www.thejakartapost.com/

The government seems to care only about the revenue generated from the mineral sectors and ignores the environmental destruction and the plight of the people affected by the related industries.

A recent jaw-droppingly massive corruption case in the tin sector is yet another reminder that the government still lacks the capacity to manage the country’s vast natural resources.

The graft case occurred in the concession areas of state-owned miner PT Timah in Bangka Belitung, which holds the largest tin reserves in the country. The archipelagic province produces 90 percent of the country’s tin, which is mostly under the control of Timah.

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Gallium Has More Than Doubled in Price on China Export Curbs (Bloomberg News – April 3, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Prices for gallium are close to their highest since 2011 as China’s export restrictions crimp global supply and hurt buyers of the metal used in a swathe of high-tech applications.

Beijing last year placed gallium and germanium under stricter government oversight — largely seen as a tit-for-tat response to the US-China trade war on technology. Gallium exports ground to a halt in August and September of 2023 and, while flows have restarted since then, volumes are still significantly lower.

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Indonesia vows to speed up nickel output despite global glut – by A. Anantha Lakshmi (Australian Financial Review – Apr 1, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Jakarta | Indonesia will press on with plans to expand nickel output despite a supply glut that is forcing rivals to shut down mines, as the world’s top producer aims to keep prices low and protect long-term demand for the metal crucial to electric car batteries, a senior government official has said.

The country’s production capacity for battery-grade nickel was expected to quadruple to 1 million tonnes by 2030, said Septian Hario Seto, the deputy co-ordinating minister for investment and mining. Capacity for nickel pig iron, which is used to make stainless steel, was projected to expand by up to 15 per cent in three years from the current 1.9 million tonnes, he added.

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Federal watchdog finds Canadian firm ‘contributed to use of forced labour’ in China – by Steven Chase (Globe and Mail – March 27, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A watchdog created by the federal government to probe corporate wrongdoing abroad says Vancouver-based Dynasty Gold Corp DYG-X has contributed to the use of forced labour at a mine in Xinjiang, China, and is asking Ottawa to cut off future trade support for the company.

Its investigative findings were released Tuesday in the first final report issued by the Canada Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) since it opened its doors to receive complaints in March, 2021.

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Forced-labour watchdog cites B.C. mining company, which says claims are nonsensical – by Dylan Robertson (B.C. CTV News/Canadian Press – March 26, 2024)

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/

Ottawa’s corporate-ethics watchdog says a Vancouver-based mining company has allowed forced labour to occur at its gold mine in the Xinjiang region of China, even though the firm lost control of the project before the alleged slavery took place.

The company cited, Dynasty Gold Corp., says it’s being tarnished by baseless allegations on timelines that make no sense, but ombudsperson Sheri Meyerhoffer said companies are responsible for holdings they jointly control. The finding Tuesday is the first determination the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise has made since the office was created by the Liberals in 2018.

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Canadian miners desperately need domestic and allied capital – but so far, it’s China that’s filling the gap.- by Joseph Bouchard (MacDonald Laurier Institute – March 14, 2024)

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After more than a decade of aggressive efforts and development, China now stands tall as the largest mining producer and financier in the world, by some margin. It is the leading miner of 29 commodities including aluminum, coal, gold, magnesium, tin, phosphate, nitrogen, zinc, graphite, tungsten, rare earths, and other critical minerals.

Canada, which used to be a leading force despite its small demographic size and investment pool, is now at the bottom end of the global top 10 mineral producers. Still, China is looking to capitalize on the extent of Canada’s mining network nationally and around the world to advance its interests.

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Turks pile into the dollar, gold and stocks as 67% inflation savages ‘worthless lira’ – by Scott McLean, Anna Cooban and Ipek Yezdani (CNN Business – March 20, 2024)

https://edition.cnn.com/

Down a dimly lit alleyway tucked just inside Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, a few dozen men are packed together, shouting, waving, and frantically speaking on their phones, others nervously pacing. This “standing market” — a low-rent version of a chaotic stock exchange floor — is where Istanbul’s traders come to deal in precious metals and currencies. These days it’s dollars and gold they’re after. Turkish lira, not so much.

“Right now our money is almost worthless. Since people haven’t seen inflation fall, they don’t trust the Turkish lira anymore,” explained Adnan Kapukaya, a trader and market expert. Inflation in Turkey remains sky-high — official figures show prices rose 67% last month compared with February 2023, though unofficial estimates suggest the real number is more than 100%. And this despite the Turkish central bank hiking interest rates to an eye-watering 45% in January — up from a low of 8.5% a year ago.

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India in undersea race to mine world’s battery metal – by Navin Singh Khadka (BBC World Service – March 20, 2024)

https://www.bbc.com/

India is taking another step in its quest to find valuable minerals hidden in the depths of the ocean which could hold the key to a cleaner future. The country, which already has two deep-sea exploration licences in the Indian Ocean, has applied for two more amid increasing competition between major global powers to secure critical minerals.

Countries including China, Russia and India are vying to reach the huge deposits of mineral resources – cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese – that lie thousands of metres below the surface of oceans. These are used to produce renewable energy such as solar and wind power, electric vehicles and battery technology needed to battle against climate change.

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