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Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

On Lithium’s Frontier, Miners Are Betting on a Greener Second Act – by Paul-Alain Hunt (Bloomberg News – April 25, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Against the arid, red dirt of the Australian Outback, the Mount Holland lithium mine emerges to approaching visitors as a colossal grey-tinged crater, with trucks the size of houses edging along its steep inclines.

An expanding site at the heart of the world’s top lithium-producing region, the A$2.6 billion ($1.7 billion) operation is emblematic of the plentiful additional supply of the battery material currently weighing on global prices, much of it from this neighborhood. Despite bullish long term forecasts, the metal has been languishing near two-year lows as demand fails to keep pace.

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The nickel price crash and the road to recovery in Australia – by Annabel Cossins-Smith (Mining Technology – April 23, 2024)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

Miners in Australia are feeling the brunt of the global nickel price crash, from mine closures to forecast reductions and government intervention. How did things get so bad and is recovery possible? Annabel Cossins-Smith investigates.

The global nickel market has been volatile for years now. The price rollercoaster of 2022 saw prices for the metal soar, plummet and then soar again in the space of eight months. This instability prompted the London Metal Exchange (LME) to suspend nickel trading altogether in March 2022, when global prices initially rallied more than 250% in one day, and later to begin “enhanced monitoring” of nickel to ensure trading activity was fair and to prevent market distortion.

More recently, the nickel market has experienced an unprecedented, drawn-out price slump that has put operations around the world – and particularly in Australia – in jeopardy. A significant oversupply of cheap, low-grade nickel pig iron (NPI) coming almost entirely from China and Indonesia, is the key cause of the price slump. Combined, the two countries produce around 70% of the world’s nickel. Indonesia alone accounted for roughly half of global production in 2023, which is expected to rise significantly by the end of the decade.

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Chinese Nickel Billionaire Boosts Australian Miner in Indonesia – by Eddie Spence and Alfred Cang (Bloomberg News – April 22, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A little-known Australian company is becoming the Western face of a Chinese nickel behemoth. In under a decade, Nickel Industries Ltd. has gone from a relatively small miner to the world’s sixth-biggest producer of a metal used in products from batteries to stainless steel.

Riding a Chinese-led boom in Indonesia’s nickel sector, it owns or has stakes in five plants in the country that churn out more of the commodity than household names like BHP Group Ltd.

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Gemfields sapphire miners relieved as Queensland government halts small-scale mining claim reforms – by Jasmine Hines (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – April 18, 2024)

https://www.abc.net.au/

When Amber Betteridge moved her family to Queensland’s Gemfields to hunt for sapphires, she never imagined she’d become locked in a “David versus Goliath” fight against the Queensland government.

Soon after she arrived, the state government put forward a proposal to limit small-scale mining claim tenures to 15 years to crack down on people living on claims without mining them. It was a nightmare for Ms Betteridge, who wanted certainty for her young family.

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Violent clashes in New Caledonia as nickel pact exacerbates tensions – by Patrick Decloitre (Radio New Zealand – April 10, 2024)

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/

Fresh clashes erupted on Tuesday in the suburbs of Nouméa between security forces and pro-independence protesters who opposed a nickel pact, offering French assistance to salvage the industry. The clashes, involving firearms, teargas and stone-throwing, went on for most of Tuesday, blocking access roads to the capital Nouméa, as well as the small towns of Saint-Louis and Mont-Dore.

For most of Tuesday, traffic on the Route Provinciale 1 (RP1) was alternatively opened and closed several times, including when a squadron of French gendarmes intervened to secure the area with long-range shot teargas.

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Australian Coal Miners Woo Private Capital as Banks Get Leery – by Sharon Klyne and Megawati Wijaya (Bloomberg News – March 20, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Australian coal producers are increasingly dabbling in high-interest private loans as lenders look to replace reluctant banks that are held back by ESG concerns.

Sydney-based coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd.’s deal last month to secure a $1.1 billion loan for buying two mines attracted 17 private credit lenders and only one bank. A consortium led by Golden Energy and Resources Pte Ltd. also is sounding out private credit funds, as well as banks, to secure financing for its $1.65 billion acquisition of a coal mine in Australia, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Green premium won’t save Australian nickel – by Elouise Fowler (Australian Financial Review – March 10, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

The boss of acquisitive copper producer Metals Acquisition says the nickel market has “fundamentally shifted” and it is unlikely the world’s largest buyer, China, will pay a “green premium” for the commodity.

Even if nickel miners could fetch a green premium, it may not be enough to make nickel mined outside Indonesia attractive, said Mick McMullen, who is scouring the globe for mines to add to his portfolio.Indonesian nickel has flooded the market, crashing the price of the metal required for steel-making and batteries.

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ROLLING IN THE DOUGH I work at world’s most luxurious mining camps with free pubs, rooftop bars & golf courses – and I earn £100,000 a year – by Georgie English (Irish Sun – March 10, 2024)

https://www.thesun.ie/

Chris and Ceci reveal how they blagged the high-paying roles – and why it was the best decision they’ve ever made

A COUPLE have revealed how their job comes with great wages, lots of time off – and free food, accommodation and entertainment. Italian chefs Chris and Ceci have spent the last two years working at mining camps across Australia – and one site stands out as the best office on the planet.

Sitting in Western Australia is the Mulla Mulla mining site – more like a mini city than a place of work. Within the endless outback, the camp site has a three-storey cafe, state-of-the-art gym, library, virtual golf course, entertainment stage, swimming pool and several sports courts from tennis, squash and basketball.

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French government throws more lifebuoys at New Caledonia’s beleaguered nickel industry – by Patrick Decloitre (Radio New Zealand – March 7, 2024)

https://www.rnz.co.nz/

The French government has agreed to dig in its coffers and throw more lifebuoys at New Caledonia’s beleaguered nickel industry. But the aid is tied to a stringent reform “pact”.

The latest financial assistance came early this week with an agreement between France and mining giant Eramet, whereby a sum of €320 million (which is the amount of previous loans granted by the French government) will be converted to “neutralise” an existing debt in Eramet’s New Caledonia subsidiary Société Le Nickel (SLN) so as the huge figure can be transferred from the liabilities section to “quasi-equities”.

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Western miners hope superior ESG credentials can revive their fortunes amid devastating nickel crash – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 4, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Nickel was one of the hottest commodities on the planet as recently as 2022. Analysts and mining executives then predicted blue-sky fundamentals for the critical mineral, based on the belief that demand for the electric car battery input would far outstrip global supply.

But after a short-lived trading frenzy drove nickel to a record high in March, 2022, the commodity went into a steep decline. In the last year alone, nickel has tumbled almost 30 per cent to around US$17,500 a tonne.

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Entire Aussie industry on the brink amid China move – by Jamie Seidel (News.com.au – February 29, 2024)

https://www.news.com.au/

The commodity is meant to be the answer to the green revolution but it’s on the brink of collapse and Australia is in the firing line. Analysts believe up to half of the world’s nickel mines are unprofitable at current prices. And those prices are unlikely to change anytime soon. That has profound implications for Australia’s multinational miner, BHP.

While nickel is only a minor component of its overall portfolio, the “Big Australian” had high hopes for the critical mineral’s future. It’s a key ingredient in advanced batteries and high-efficiency electric motors. And both are crucial in the race to limit the impact of CO2-induced climate change.

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New Caledonia’s nickel crisis prompts call for ‘economic, social state of emergency’ – by Patrick Decloitre (Radio New Zealand – February 29, 2024)

https://www.rnz.co.nz/

Analysis – New Caledonia’s current nickel industry crisis has prompted several pro-French parties to call for a “state of economic urgency”. The French Pacific archipelago’s nickel industry (including its three major plants) is in dire straits: in the North of the main island, Koniambo’s (KNS) main stakeholder, Anglo-Swiss giant Glencore, is now withdrawing from the venture.

The measure announced a few days ago that is putting the whole site in sleep (“care and maintenance”) mode has become very real. In the South of the main island, Société Le Nickel – SLN – plant, a subsidiary of French giant Eramet recently had to be bailed out by a French government loan to avoid an ominous bankruptcy.

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The ‘critical minerals’ bubble has seemingly burst. What does it mean for Australia’s geopolitical strategies? -by Lian Sinclair and Neil Coe (Australian Strategic Policy Institute – February 26, 2024)

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

Early 2024 has not been kind to investors in critical minerals. Media outlets across Australia have run with headlines talking of ‘crash’, ‘crisis’ and ‘collapse’, with many blaming China and Indonesia for the slump— especially in nickel prices. This is in stark contrast to the extreme bearishness in 2022 and 2023.

Alarmingly, some players are using this ‘crisis’ to call for government bailouts and softer regulation. Others, including Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia Madeleine King, are pushing for global green mining standards and a premium price for nickel produced with higher environmental standards.

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Why this miner predicts Europe will demand green nickel – by Hans van Leeuwen (Australian Financial Review – February 26, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

London | As the nickel market maelstrom engulfs project after project, Perth-based mining CEO Todd Ross is betting his company, ASX-listed Nordic Nickel, can withstand the tempest.

The $17.5 million minnow has two tenements in Finnish Lapland, and is still in the early stages of exploration. Ross expects the market shake-out will eventually carve world demand into two tracks – a “bifurcation” between Chinese and European demand that will ultimately benefit Nordic Nickel.

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Nickel faces existential moment with half of mines unprofitable – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – February 26, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Many of the world’s biggest nickel mines are facing an increasingly bleak future as they wake up to an existential threat: a near limitless supply of low-cost metal from Indonesia. With roughly half of all nickel operations unprofitable at recent prices, the bosses of the largest mining companies last week sounded a warning that there was little prospect of a recovery.

The potential collapse of nickel mining from Australia to New Caledonia comes at a time when western governments are scrambling to secure the supply chains needed to decarbonize the global economy. But in an ironic twist, Indonesia’s coal-fired nickel output is pricing out greener metal that’s so far failed to command a market premium.

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