Asia Mining – Page 21 – Republic of Mining

China’s Threat to Ban Critical Minerals Exports Is a Bluff – by Agathe Demarais (Foreign Policy – July 27, 2023)

July 27, 2023

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Embargoes have unintended consequences—and would hurt China more than the West.

Weaponizing commodities is in fashion. In September 2022, Russia cut off gas flows to Europe in a bid to weaken European economies after its invasion of Ukraine. Almost one year later, in July 2023, the Chinese government announced that exports of gallium and germanium, two niche metals used in technology manufacturing, would henceforth require licenses.

These metals share two features. First, they form part of a group of around 30 raw materials that are crucial for the green energy transition, digital hardware, and defense production. Second, as is the case for many critical raw materials, China holds a dominant position for the mining and processing of gallium and germanium, giving Beijing leverage over Western economies.

The Little Known Metals Giant that Rules a Global Market – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – July 25, 2023)

July 27, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — When China’s Vital Materials Co. bought up a $600 million stockpile of obscure critical minerals in early 2020, it barely raised an eyebrow outside the niche world of minor metals.

Spin forward a few years, and the influence of a company some people in the industry have still barely heard of is a timely illustration of the scale of the challenge to loosen China’s grip on what have become key raw materials.

Rich lode of EV metals could boost Taliban and its new Chinese partners – by Gerry Shih and Lorenzo Tugnoli (Washington Post – July 20, 2023)

July 24, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

The Pentagon dubbed Afghanistan ‘the Saudi Arabia of lithium.’ Now, it is American rivals that are angling to exploit those coveted reserves.

CHAPA DARA, Afghanistan — Sayed Wali Sajid spent years fighting American soldiers in the barren hills and fertile fields of the Pech River Valley, one of the deadliest theaters of the 20-year insurgency. But nothing confounded the Taliban commander, he said, like the new wave of foreigners who began showing up, one after another, in late 2021.

Once, Sajid spotted a foreigner hiking alone along a path where Islamic State extremists were known to kidnap outsiders. Another time, five men and women evaded Sajid’s soldiers in the dark to scour the mountain. The newcomers, Sajid recalled, were giddy, persistent, almost single-minded in their quest for something few locals believed held any value at all.

Nickel’s at a Crossroads as Supply Boom Hits LME, Macquarie Says – by Jack Farchy (Bloomberg News – July 21, 2023)

July 21, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The nickel market is at a “turning point” with a wave of supply of the battery metal about to hit the London Metal Exchange and push down prices, according to strategists at Macquarie Group Ltd.

The nickel market has become increasingly disconnected since the huge short squeeze that roiled the market last year, as surging production of the most widely used forms of nickel drives those prices lower, while the refined metal traded on the LME is in much tighter supply.

Why Heat Waves Are Deepening China’s Addiction to Coal – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – July 20, 2023)

July 21, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

While pledging to reduce carbon emissions, the country is greatly increasing its use of the fossil fuel to generate electricity.

China has an answer to the heat waves now affecting much of the Northern Hemisphere: burn more coal to maintain a stable electricity supply for air-conditioning.

Even before this year, China was emitting almost a third of all energy-related greenhouse gases — more than the United States, Europe and Japan combined. China burns more coal every year than the rest of the world combined. Last month, China generated 14 percent more electricity from coal, its dominant fuel source, than it did in June 2022.

Zimbabwe’s $1 Billion Lithium Plan Faces Setback as Chinese Partner Cuts Stake – by Antony Sguazzin (Bloomberg News – July 19, 2023)

July 20, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s Moti Group said a Chinese company with which it planned to develop a $1 billion lithium processing plant in Zimbabwe was halving its stake in the venture, dealing the project a potential blow.

Moti Group’s Pulserate Investments holds a 10,000 hectare (24,710-acre) lithium exploration concession in the northeast of the country, Africa’s biggest producer of the metal according to the US Geological Survey.

India sets sights on home-mined minerals to boost its clean energy plans – by Anupam Nath and Sibi Arasu (Associated Press – July 18, 2023)

July 20, 2023

https://apnews.com/

KALIAPANI, India (AP) — In the dusty mountains of eastern India, workers at the country’s largest chromium deposit have mined for the essential ore, rain or shine, for around 60 years.

The industry is fruitful in some ways — hundreds of trucks stacked with mineral-rich soil journey back and forth regularly between the mine and processing plants — but it is damaging in others. Farmers say their fields are stripped of fertile earth and livestock desperately comb through now-barren lands for feed.

Detroit of Asia targets battery makers to stay ahead in EV race – by Danny Lee and Patpicha Tanakasempipat (Bloomberg News – July 17, 2023)

July 17, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Thailand has long been an auto hub, attracting global giants like Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. and earning the moniker of the Detroit of Asia. Now, as the pivot to electric vehicles gathers pace, the country is determined to keep its grip on the economically crucial industry.

The nation has already attracted 75 billion baht ($2.2 billion) from the EV industry, led by a slew of Chinese investments from BYD Co., Great Wall Motor Co. and SAIC Motor Corp. Changan Auto Co. and GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co. are set to soon finalize their investment plans, and Chery Automobile Co. is also in talks.

India has lifted the ban on lithium mining. Why? – by Naini Thaker (Forbes Magazine India – July 13, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.forbesindia.com/

On Wednesday, the Centre announced that it has lifted the ban on lithium mining, along with five other minerals. The Cabinet approved the amendment in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) [MMDR] Act. As a result, now private companies can also mine these six minerals.

Around February, approximately 5.9 million tonnes of lithium resources were found in the Salal Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu & Kashmir, as per the Geological Survey of India. In May, media reports suggested that lithium resources were traced in Rajasthan’s Degana as well. The lithium found in Jammu & Kashmir is supposedly of high quality—a grade of 500 ppm, compared to the normal grade of 200 ppm, claims India’s mining secretary.

Hudbay, Japanese miner reach deal on Flin Flon exploration – by Eric Westhaver (The Reminder – July 12, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://www.thereminder.ca/

Hudbay has reached a deal with a Japanese mining company that could lead to multiple years of mineral exploration near Flin Flon’s existing mine processing facilities.

Hudbay has reached a deal with a Japanese mining company that could lead to multiple years of mineral exploration around the Flin Flon area.

Hudbay announced July 6 that company representatives had signed a memorandum of understanding with Marubeni Corporation for “a multi-year exploration partnership focused on the discovery of new deposits within trucking distance of Hudbay’s existing processing facilities in Flin Flon.”

‘Like hell’: India’s burning coalfields (France24.com -July 14, 2023)

July 14, 2023July 14, 2023

https://www.france24.com/en/

Dhanbad (India) (AFP) – Deadly fires have raged for a century in mines in India’s Jharkhand state, where Savitri Mahto is one of 100,000 people risking their lives shovelling coal to supply insatiable demand.

“The land is charred because of the fires,” said Mahto, 22, illegally scavenging amid the flames on the edge of a vast commercial opencast mine for the dirty fossil fuel. “We live in fear every day”. Underground fires, which scientists believe started in a mine accident in 1916, create sinkholes that swallow people and homes. Coal pickers and activists report hundreds of people have died over the decades.

“Accidents have happened before, and they keep on happening because the land is sinking,” Mahto told AFP, as she tended a stack of burning rocks to produce coking coal, a more stable fuel sold for cooking and firing brick kilns.

China launches Mineral War against USA by limiting exports of two products – by Girish Linganna (Northlines.com – July 12, 2023)

July 12, 2023

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China’s recent move to limit the export of two minerals crucial for semiconductors, solar panels, and missile systems serves as a significant reminder of its strong control over global mineral resources. This action also serves as a warning, indicating China’s readiness to utilize these resources as part of its growing competition and tensions with the United States.

China holds a significant position in the global supply chain for essential minerals used in electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy. Approximately two-thirds of the world’s lithium and cobalt, vital for EV batteries, undergo processing in China.

Watchdog probing claims that Nike Canada, gold company benefiting from forced Uyghur labour – by Catharine Tunney (CBC New Politics – July 11, 2023)

July 12, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/

Canada’s watchdog for corporate wrongdoing says she has enough to launch an investigation of allegations that Nike Canada and a gold mining company are benefiting from the forced labour of Uyghurs in China.

It’s the first time the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) has launched an investigation since the federal government appointed Sheri Meyerhoffer to the role in April 2019. “These are very serious issues that have been brought to our attention,” Meyerhoffer said Tuesday.

China just fought back in the semiconductor exports war. Here’s what you need to know. – by Zeyi Yang (MIT Technology Review – July 10, 2023)

July 10, 2023

https://www.technologyreview.com/

The country aims to restrict the supply of gallium and germanium, two materials used in computer chips and other products. But experts say it won’t have the desired impact.

China has been on the receiving end of semiconductor export restrictions for years. Now, it is striking back with the same tactic. On July 3, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that the export of gallium and germanium, two elements used in producing chips, solar panels, and fiber optics, will soon be subject to a license system for national security reasons.

That means exports of the materials will need to be approved by the government, and Western companies that rely on them could have a hard time securing a consistent supply from China.

The rush for nickel: ‘They are destroying our future’ – by Valdya Baraputri (BBC News Indonesia – July 9, 2023)

July 10, 2023

https://www.bbc.com/

Two men are carrying torches and homemade arrows as they slip into the ocean at night on an Indonesian island. They are from an indigenous community of Bajau people – renowned freedivers who find it better to hunt in the dark when fish, lobsters and sea cucumbers are less active.

But they fear time is running out for their traditional way of life. “Right now, the water is still clear,” says Tawing, one of the fishermen. “But it won’t stay that way… nickel waste enters our water during the rainy season and the current carries it here.”