Asia Mining – Page 32 – Republic of Mining

Ottawa orders Chinese divestment in three Canadian critical minerals companies – by Niall McGee and Steven Chase (Globe and Mail – November 3, 2022)

November 3, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ottawa is ordering Chinese state-owned companies to immediately divest their interests in three Canadian critical minerals companies, after the federal government faced an avalanche of criticism earlier in the year for allowing too much investment from the Asian superpower into the domestic mining sector.

The government’s order marks the second time in a week it has taken a more aggressive stand against China, after allowing it to acquire a Canadian critical minerals company earlier this year amid little scrutiny.

Indonesia considers Opec-style cartel for battery metals – by Harry Dempsey in London and Mercedes Ruehl in Singapore (Financial Times – October 20, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.ft.com/

World’s largest nickel producer exploring governance structure similar to that used by oil group

Indonesia is studying the establishment of an Opec-like cartel for nickel and other key battery metals, highlighting the geopolitical confidence of nations that are rich in resources needed to make electric cars.

Bahlil Lahadalia, the country’s investment minister, said Jakarta was looking at mechanisms similar to those used by Opec, the group of 13 oil-producing nations, that could be employed in the supply of metals that are central to the energy transition.

Minerals and China’s Military Assistance in the DR Congo – by Robert Bociaga (The Diplomat – October 31, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://thediplomat.com/

Beijing’s growing investments in strategic resources in the DRC go hand in hand with increased military assistance intended to secure those assets.

GOMA, DRC — China’s growing investments in the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) allow it to demand special treatment.

The Congolese army has been deployed several times to protect Chinese mining interests in the volatile east of the country. In line with this cooperation, China has also offered training to the Congolese military personnel, as well as security assistance to Chinese companies.

AVZ vs Zijin: the fight for the world’s biggest lithium deposit – by Jevans Nyabiage (South China Morning Post – October 30, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.scmp.com/

The discovery of a gigantic deposit of lithium had raised hopes for the sleepy town of Manono in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a tin boom went bust years earlier.

Australia-based AVZ Minerals announced in 2019 that the Manono lithium-tin project in the DRC probably had the world’s largest untapped lithium deposit, with estimates of 400 million tonnes of lithium ore. Lithium is essential in making rechargeable batteries for phones and electric vehicles, and is in high demand as countries around the world make the shift to green energy.

It’s Better to Mine the World’s Rainforests Than Farm Them – by David Fickling (Washington Post/Bloomberg – October 31, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

As if the world’s rainforests didn’t have enough problems to contend with, even the transition to zero-carbon power is threatening to level them. Industrial mining ate up 3,265 square kilometers (1,260 square miles) of tropical forest between 2002 and 2019, according to a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Some 80% of that total happened in just four countries: Indonesia, Brazil, Ghana and Suriname.

With the COP27 climate conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh next week expected to increase the focus on the climate needs of developing countries, that’s raised concerns that there isn’t enough land to manage a shift away from fossil fuels.

Ottawa cracks down on foreign state-owned investments into Canadian critical minerals industry after facing criticism it went too easy on China – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – October 29, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The federal government is tightening the rules to make it considerably harder for foreign state-owned firms to invest in Canadian critical-minerals companies, after it faced harsh criticism earlier this year for allowing too much Chinese investment into domestic resource firms.

Effective immediately, transactions involving investments by state-owned firms into Canadian critical-minerals companies will only be approved on an “exceptional basis,” the government of Canada said in a release.

Latin America Is Becoming China’s Backyard – by Juan Cortinas and Peter Schechter (Brink News – October 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.brinknews.com/

Growing economic needs, Chinese ambition, and hard cash are giving China a stronger and stronger foothold in Latin America. The underlying reasons for China’s success include China’s domestic demand for Latin American agriculture and mining and raw materials, and the U.S.’s inability to take a concerted interest in the region, along with the political turmoil in Washington.

The old idea, enshrined in the Monroe Doctrine, that Latin America is “America’s backyard,” over which it could dominate, has been relegated to the dustbin of history.

The Monroe Doctrine Has Been Replaced

It is hard not to be impressed by the extent of China’s growing economic footprint in the region.

Canadian resources coveted by Asian superpower – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – October 26, 2022)

October 27, 2022

https://biv.com/

As China’s “wolf warrior diplomacy” has strained Sino-Canadian relations in recent years, there is a growing sentiment in Canada that it’s time to rethink Canada’s relations with China and look for better trade partners.

“We should continue to trade, but we should avoid strategic vulnerabilities in our supply chains and our economies more broadly,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a recent speech at the Brookings Institute.

Rio makes last-ditch appeal to copper miner’s shareholders – by Simon Johanson (The Age – October 26, 2022)

October 26, 2022October 26, 2022

https://www.theage.com.au/

Mining giant Rio Tinto has made a last-ditch appeal to shareholders of Canadian miner Turquoise Hill Resources to back its takeover offer, while hitting out against proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) objection to the bid.

Rio moved in September to take full control of the copper miner, offering investors C$43 per share in a deal worth $4.85 billion. A successful takeover would give the miner firm grip over one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world.

China’s lithium appetite to fuel European production, miner says – by Annie Lee and Harry Brumpton (Bloomberg News – October 25, 2022)

October 26, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

An Australian company on track to become Europe’s first lithium producer said China’s appetite for the material, which is key to the renewable-energy transition, has created a clear runway for further expansion in the continent.

“A lot of supply is going into China, and China’s own needs are growing,” Critical Metals Corp. Executive Chairman Tony Sage said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Perth on Wednesday.

Dirty metals for clean cars: Indonesian nickel could be key to EV battery industry – by Erwida Maulia (Nikkei Asia – October 19, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://asia.nikkei.com/

Rich nickel reserves attract Chinese investment but environmental hurdles remain

JAKARTA/MOROWALI, Indonesia — A group of fishermen and their wives looked forlorn on the porch of their stilt houses, perched on the sandy coast of Indonesia’s remote Bahodopi district.

Their homes, along with the few dozen others that make up the fishing hamlet, stood against a backdrop of towering cranes and billowing white smoke from the chimneys of Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), a sprawling nickel processing complex in Central Sulawesi province that hosts an array of Chinese companies and their partners, led by stainless steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group.

U.S. says Chinese lithium-ion batteries are made with child labour as trade war spills into EVs – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – October 18, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Experts say it’s a subtle example of how the U.S. intends to offset Beijing’s influence over a once-in-a-lifetime technological change

The U.S. government’s decision to tie a generous electric-vehicle subsidy to inputs from friendly countries was an obvious attempt to shift the EV supply chains away from China.

But the power of the purse isn’t the only strategy available to Washington. The Biden administration in late September added lithium-ion batteries from China to the U.S. Labor Department’s list of products derived from child and forced labour, a more subtle example of how the United States intends to offset Beijing’s influence over a once-in-a-lifetime technological change, some industry insiders say.

Canadian firm Iamgold sells mining interests in Suriname (Jamaica-Gleaner – October 19, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/

IAMGOLD Corporation of Canada announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its 95 per cent stake in the Rosebel mines in Suriname to Zijin Mining Group Company Limited of China.

In a statement, IAMGOLD, which also operates mines in Burkina Faso and Canada, said sale is for a cash consideration of US$360 million and includes the release of IAMGOLD’s equipment lease liabilities in Rosebel Gold Mines NV amounting to approximately US$41 million.

Death toll rises to 41 in Turkey coal mine explosion – by MEHMET GUZEL and ZEYNEP BILGINSOY (ABC News/Associated Press – October 15, 2022)

October 19, 2022

https://abcnews.go.com/

AMASRA, Turkey — Funerals for miners killed in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey began Saturday as officials raised the death toll to at least 41 people.

Desperate relatives had waited all night in the cold outside the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise’s (TTK) mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, hoping for news. There were 110 miners working several hundred meters below ground at the time of the explosion on Friday evening.

Southeast Asia’s Biggest Economy Needs $37 Billion to Shut Coal-Fired Plants – by Eko Listiyorini (Bloomberg News – October 12, 2022)

October 14, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Indonesia may only need $37 billion to shut down its coal-fired power plants, even if the bill doesn’t include building renewable energy to take their place.

That $37 billion worth of financing would be enough to buy out future revenues of 118 existing coal plants and up to 10 years of contracted coal power generation, meaning Southeast Asia’s largest economy could wean off the fuel by 2040, climate analytics company TransitionZero said in a report. That’s a decade earlier than the official target.