Twitter

Asia Mining

China’s Africa interests driven by race for renewables – by Lauren Johnston (Asia Times – September 3, 2024)

Home

Africa could learn from others how to manage mineral relations with China – looking to what Indonesia did with nickel, for example

How is the race for green energy shaping relations between China and Africa? The global climate crisis has created a push for renewable energy technology – like solar or wind power – which would lessen reliance on polluting energy sources. China saw some years ago that it had a chance to lead in such a new industry.

Africa is home to a lot of the important minerals needed to create renewable technologies – like copper, cobalt and lithium, key ingredients in battery manufacture. The race for green energy is therefore leading to a rush for these minerals in Africa, led by China, the US and Europe.

Read more

China’s rare copper export boom signals more than weak demand – by Andy Home (Reuters – August 20, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – A rare burst of Chinese exports has deflated bull spirits in the copper market, with funds dumping long positions and prices down by 16% from the record highs seen in May. The world’s largest buyer of copper shipped out an unprecedented 158,000 metric tons of refined metal in June. First-half exports of 302,000 tons were already higher than any full calendar year since 2019.

This break of normal trade patterns has punctured a bull narrative of constrained supply and cyclical demand recovery. Weak Chinese purchasing managers indices show that activity in the country’s manufacturing sector sank to a five-month low in July, reinforcing Doctor Copper’s gloomy message.

Read more

World’s largest uranium producer slashes production target – by Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – August 23, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Move by Kazakh mining company Kazatomprom threatens to squeeze supplies of the radioactive fuel

Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, has slashed its production target for 2025 due to project delays and sulphuric acid shortages, threatening to squeeze supplies of the radioactive fuel vital for nuclear power.

The Kazakh company, which generates a fifth of global uranium supply, cut its target for next year by 17 per cent to a range of 25,000 to 26,500 tonnes of yellowcake. The move is likely to put upward pressure on uranium prices, which have softened from a 16-year high above $100 per lb this year but remain at historically elevated levels above $80 per lb, according to UxC, a pricing data provider.

Read more

China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts – by Ken Moritsugu (Associated Press – August 20, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

BEIJING (AP) — Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, according to an analysis released Tuesday, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.

A review of project documents by Greenpeace East Asia found that 14 new coal plants were approved from January to June with a total capacity of 10.3 gigawatts, down 80% from 50.4 gigawatts in the first half of last year.

Read more

Replacing China in copper supply chain is ‘unfeasible,’ warns WoodMac, as the West seeks shift – by Dylan Butts (CNBC.com – August 16 2024)

https://www.cnbc.com/

Western countries seeking to diversify away from China’s dominance in copper could delay the energy transition besides raising costs, while its complete replacement would be ‘unfeasible,’ according to Wood Mackenzie. China leads the world in key segments of the copper supply chain, with the critical metal serving as an important component in emerging technologies such as renewable energy, energy storage and electric vehicles.

As the U.S., Canada, Australia, and European countries seek to displace the country’s hold on copper through subsidies and investment, Wood Mackenzie warns that the dual aims of decarbonization and reduced dependence on Beijing are at odds with one another.

Read more

China will limit exports of antimony, a mineral used in products from batteries to weapons (Associated Press – August 15, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Commerce Ministry announced Thursday that it will restrict exports of a mineral used in a wide range of products from batteries to weapons. Export controls will be placed on antimony starting Sept. 15 to safeguard China’s security and interests and fulfill its international non-proliferation obligations, the ministry said.

Anyone wishing to export the mineral in various forms will have to apply for a license. It wasn’t immediately clear to what extent exports would be blocked, though the “non-proliferation” wording suggested it could include weapons-related uses.

Read more

Giant Metal Stockpile in Singapore Sparks Rare Warehouse Battle – by Alfred Cang (Bloomberg News – August 15, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Metal stockpiles are surging in Singapore, and slowing global demand is only part of the reason. Refined zinc and lead have been pouring into Singapore since the middle of last year, making one of the smallest countries in the world a critical vault for companies including Trafigura Group and Glencore Plc.

The combined inventories of the two base metals in the London Metal Exchange’s Singapore-registered warehouses have grown more than tenfold since May 2023 to a record of almost 430,000 tons in recent weeks, according to bourse data.

Read more

China’s Lithium Expansionist Interests Extend Beyond the Argentina-Bolivia-Chile Triangle – by Maria Zuppello (Dialogo Americas – August 12, 2024)

New Home Page

In a recent report, China in Peru: The Hidden Costs of an Unequal Relationship, the United States Institute of Peace denounces the harm of Chinese expansion in Peru, particularly in the mining sector.

“The combination of a permissive political and legal environment in Peru, the poor social responsibility of Chinese companies and banks, and the absence of real control — in China or in Peru — of Chinese actors’ activities have devastating consequences,” writes the report’s author, Juan Pablo Cardenal, a research associate at the Argentina-based Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL), whose writings focus on content about China.

Read more

China squeezes Western militaries with export ban on weapons metal – by Annie Lee and Mark Burton (Australian Financial Review – August 16, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Singapore | China is tightening its grip over global critical mineral supplies by placing export controls on antimony, a metal used widely in ammunition and other military applications that has surged in price this year.

The country will apply the restrictions to antimony and antimony-related materials from September 15 to safeguard national security, a statement from the Ministry of Commerce said. That adds to earlier controls on other critical minerals including gallium and germanium, which have set off alarm bells in Washington.

Read more

Chinalco Is Said to Eye Stake in Biggest Philippine Copper Mine – by Pei Li, Cliff Venzon and Elffie Chew (Bloomberg News – August 16, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Aluminum Corp. of China is considering investing in what is set to be the Philippines’ largest gold and copper mine as part of its efforts to boost its global footprint, according to people familiar with the matter.

The state-run Chinese company known as Chinalco may acquire a stake worth around $2 billion in Indophil Resources Phils. Inc., which owns Sagittarius Mines Inc., the people said, asking not to be identified because discussions are private.

Read more

Coal mining degraded 35% of native land cover in India’s central coal belt – by Simrin Sirur (India Mongabay.com – August 16, 2024)

https://india.mongabay.com/

A new study capturing how coal mining transforms land use over time demonstrates the challenges in restoring this land upon mine closure – an important aspect of a just transition as India plans to move away from coal.

Three functional coal mines in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh degraded 35% of the area’s native land cover, the study, conducted by researchers from various institutes, found. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Environmental Science in July.

Read more

Chinese mining firm subsidiary disputes Ottawa’s review of Peruvian gold mine deal – by (CP24.com/Canadian Press – August 11, 2024)

https://www.cp24.com/

A subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned mining firm says Canada is wrongly considering a national security review in its agreement to purchase a gold and copper mine in Peru.

In May, Vancouver-based Pan American Silver Corp. announced an agreement worth almost US$300 million to sell its stake in Peru’s La Arena gold mine to Jinteng (Singapore) Mining, a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining Group. Pan American said then that the agreement was “subject to customary conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.”

Read more

[Diamonds] Indian Consumers Not Into Synthetics, Seek Natural: Titan – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Magazine – August 6, 2024)

Home

Domestic customers at Titan Company are less interested in buying synthetic diamonds than their US and overseas counterparts, looking more for assurances that the stones they purchase are natural.

“We’ve been trying to track the inquiries on a continuous basis across all the stores, Tanishq, CaratLane, Mia and Zoya, and so far we have not seen material inquiries for [customers wanting lab-grown diamonds],” Titan managing director C.K. Venkataraman said in an analyst call last week. “What we do hear about, what our customers are more curious about, they want to be assured that what we are selling is natural, and [doesn’t have any lab-grown in it].”

Read more

Indonesia moves to reduce Chinese ownership of nickel projects – by A. Anantha Lakshmi (Financial Timess – July 25, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Jakarta wants to help its industry qualify for tax credits under Joe Biden’s initiative to build a US electric vehicle supply chain

Indonesia is trying to reduce Chinese investment in new nickel mining and processing projects to help its industry qualify for tax breaks in the US, as the Biden administration seeks to curb Beijing’s influence in the electric vehicle supply chain.

Generous tax breaks are available from 2025 under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, but they will not apply to EVs containing batteries and critical minerals such as nickel sourced from “foreign entities of concern”, including some companies with more than 25 per cent Chinese ownership.

Read more

In search of the elusive green nickel premium – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 24, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) – BHP Group’s ambition to create a green nickel hub in Western Australia is on hold after the world’s largest listed miner announced the entire division will go on care and maintenance later this year.

The company has invested $3 billion since 2020 to turn Nickel West into a major supplier of nickel sulphate for use in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. A supply deal with Tesla Inc. was signed in 2021 for what BHP pronounced was “one of the most sustainable and lowest carbon emission” brands of nickel in the world.

Read more