Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining – Page 11

Opinion: Australia is on the frontline in battle for rare earths – by Jennifer Hewett (Australian Financial Review – August 15, 2023)

August 15, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Australia is in the race to develop alternative supplies to China’s dominance of the supply and processing of rare earths that are critical to the global economy and to national security. But the West is far behind. How quickly can this be done?

Rare earths aren’t actually that rare. Nor are the 17 rare earth elements in the periodic table worth much in isolation, with some of purely nominal value. Current estimates of the global market value for rare earths are somewhere between $US8 billion-$US10 billion ($12.4 billion-$15.5 billion).

Yet some of these rare earths are necessary for the production of everything from cell phones to advanced robots, electric vehicles to wind turbines, to a myriad of defence applications.

Carmakers are desperate for nickel and have nowhere to look. It’s spurring majors to invest big – by Josh Chiat (Stockhead – August 13, 2023)

August 14, 2023

https://stockhead.com.au/

The head of Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s mining vehicle Wyloo Metals says carmakers are struggling to find nickel to stick in electric vehicles in a sign the sector is ripe for investment. It comes as BHP (ASX:BHP), a customer of Wyloo’s recently acquired Mincor Resources business in WA’s historic Kambalda nickel district, launches into one of the biggest investment splurges its once near dead nickel division has seen in 50 years.

Wyloo Metals CEO Luca Giacovazzi, who has spearheaded a dramatic expansion of Fortescue founder and iron ore billionaire Forrest’s private mining enterprise in recent years, told the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie last week contracts signed to date showed how short carmakers would be of the key cathode material.

Opening of Cassini mine marks start of new era for Kambalda’s historic nickel mining industry – by Jarrod Lucas (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – March 29, 2021)

August 14, 2023

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

WA’s Mines Minister Bill Johnston will officially open a new nickel mine at Kambalda today, more than 50 years after the town was put on the map by the discovery of Australia’s first nickel mine. The Cassini underground mine is Kambalda’s first new nickel development in two decades — since the Miitel mine began production in the year 2000.

More than 200 jobs have been created since September’s decision by Perth-based miner Mincor Resources to green light its $98 million restart plan for Kambalda’s once-booming nickel industry. The investment decision was long-awaited after a decade-long run of low nickel prices saw Mincor shut its Miitel and Mariners mines in 2016.

Why China should tread carefully around French interests in Africa and the Pacific – by Emanuele Scimia (South China Morning Post – August 8, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://www.scmp.com/

At a China-France dialogue in Beijing last month, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng expressed hope that France “will stabilise the tone of friendly cooperation” with the European Union. This comes as French President Emmanuel Macron tries to promote Europe’s strategic autonomy amid the great power contest between the US and China.

Beijing’s promise of increased economic cooperation suggests it wants help from Paris to repair its deteriorating ties with the EU. But the manoeuvre could fail if China crosses the line in two geopolitical chessboards that France considers strategic and are currently in the spotlight – francophone Africa and the South Pacific.

Pilbara joins the big leagues with latest lithium update – by Simon Johanson (Sydney Morning Herald – August 7, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://www.smh.com.au/

Pilbara Minerals has catapulted itself into the position of holding one of the world’s largest lithium deposits after upgrading estimates for its West Australian mines. The upgrade comes as global demand for lithium – a key component of the batteries in electric cars – continued to rise.

The ASX-listed lithium player’s chief executive Dale Henderson said the miner’s estimate for Pilgangoora, near Port Hedland, had jumped 36 per cent to 413.8 million tonnes of measured, indicated and inferred resource, adding about 109 million tonnes from its previous outlook.

Report: French nickel sector in danger of collapse – by Annabel Cossins-Smith (Mining Technology – August 3, 2023)

August 8, 2023

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

The report analyses the long-term negative results of three of France’s major metals corporations operating in New Caledonia.

France’s nickel production sector is at risk of collapse and must be refinanced and restructured to meet EU critical raw materials independence goals, a new government report warns.

The report, published on Tuesday, analyses the long-term negative performance of three of France’s most significant metals corporations operating in New Caledonia, a French territory off the east coast of Australia that is home to approximately 10% of the world’s nickel supply. Société Le Nickel, majority state-owned Koniambo Nickel and Prony Resources Nouvelle-Calédonie are all at risk of falling further behind their Indonesian and Chinese competitors.

Swiss coal miner Glencore warns NSW against ‘revenue grab’ – by Elouise Fowler (Australian Financial Review – August 2, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Glencore, one of the largest coal miners in NSW, is urging the state not to hike coal mining levies in a “revenue grab”, as the Minns government mulls following Queensland’s lead on higher coal royalties. The NSW government signalled a shake-up of coal royalty payments last week amid a broader consultation with the market on how to dent electricity prices after the coal price cap expires mid-next year.

The Switzerland-based miner and commodity trader, which reported 2022 full-year profits of $US34 billion ($51 billion) driven by soaring coal prices, warned the NSW government against changes to the royalty scheme.

IGO’s battery chemical plant fizzes – by Elouise Fowler (Australian Financial Review – July 31, 2023)

July 31, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

West Australian nickel and lithium miner IGO confessed output at its troubled battery metal refining plant was “well below expectation”, casting doubts over Australia’s plans to dent mainland China’s dominance in battery chemical refining.

The Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery, south of Perth, produced a mere 142 tonnes in the June quarter, an 85 per cent drop on the March quarter and significantly lower than the plant’s annual nameplate capacity of 24,000 tonnes.

DFD Rhodes stakes claim on Gina Rinehart’s fortune as court hears Lang Hancock exaggerated personal role in iron ore discovery – by Nicolas Perpitch (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – July 31, 2023)

July 31, 2023

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

Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock exaggerated his personal role in the discovery of rich Pilbara iron ore reserves and downplayed the role of others, the West Australian Supreme Court has been told. That was the assessment of lawyer Jeremy Stoljar SC, who recounted to the court a business meeting in May 1972 between Mr Hancock and his associates at the time, including prominent businessman Don Rhodes.

Mr Stoljar is representing the Rhodes family company DFD Rhodes, which has joined the mammoth legal battle between Ms Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and Mr Hancock’s late former business partner Peter Wright’s family and their company Wright Prospecting.

Juukan Gorge owners PKKP and Fortescue negotiate land use deal – by David Prestipino (National Indigenous Times – July 13, 2023)

July 14, 2023

https://nit.com.au/

Fortescue Metals and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding they hope will lead to join management of current and future projects on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura lands. The PKKP holds native title over nearly 11,000sqm of sparsely populated land west of Karijini National Park, including FMG’s Eliwana mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The corporation was highly critical of Rio Tinto after the miner destroyed 46,000-year-old heritage-listed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in May 2020, against the wishes of the PKKP people, who were unaware of the company’s intentions until it was too late.

Rio hunts in the outback for lithium – by Elouise Fowler and Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – July 11, 2023)

July 12, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Rio Tinto will redouble efforts to find hard rock lithium in the Western Australian outback, after confirming it would extend an exploration partnership near the town of Sandstone for the third time in two years. Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has made no secret of the miner’s desire to increase exposure to the battery material.

Rio finalised the $US825 million ($1.2 billion) acquisition of the Rincon project – near Orocobre’s flagship Olaroz operations – in Argentina last year. The Ango-Australian mining major already produces lithium from waste rock at a Californian mine, and last year entered into partnership with Canadian spodumene producers in the Canadian province of Quebec.

What’s in a name? With Argyle diamonds, quite a lot – by Stuart Kells (The Mandarin – February 20, 2023)

July 12, 2023

The Mandarin

‘Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got. I’m still, I’m still Jenny from the block.’ As with J.Lo, in the history of Australian diamonds, labels are important. Today, ‘Argyle diamonds’ and ‘Argyle pinks’ are iconic brands. The story of those brands, along with related ones such as ‘champagne’ and ‘cognac’ diamonds, is a tale of coincidences, twists and incredible flukes.

The etymology of ‘diamond’ is Greek, and is all about hardness and adamance. ‘Argyle’, however, comes from the British Isles, and specifically from Argyll in western Scotland. The Old Gaelic phrase Airer Goídel means, more or less, ‘border region of the Gaels’.

Australia forecasts brutal lithium price correction as output surges – by Frik Els (Mining.com – July 4, 2023)

July 5, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

The lithium market has been in turmoil with dramatic price swings over the last five years as demand from electric cars take off and global supply growth struggles to keep up.

In its quarterly report released on Monday, the Australian government said it expects spodumene prices to decline slightly from an average of $4,368 a tonne in 2022 to average $4,357 a tonne in 2023 as the precipitous decline from record spot prices in the second half of last year take time to feed into long-term supply contracts.

Forrest makes a ‘whatever it takes’ bet on clean nickel – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – July 5, 2023)

July 5, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Billionaire Andrew Forrest is rewriting history in nickel-rich Western Australia, returning to the scene of his biggest career heartbreak as the owner of Mincor Resources. He is willing to invest “whatever it takes” to become a global force in nickel via his private investment vehicle, Wyloo Metals, in a sector where BHP leads the way in terms of Australian output.

Dr Forrest famously backed Anaconda Nickel in the late 1990s, building it up from nothing before things went badly wrong at the Murrin Murrin mine out in bush near Leonora. He lost some skin and reputation before exiting as chief executive in 2001.

‘Dare to say mining is ok’ and dig in for global change – by Marion Rae (Canberra Times – June 27, 2023)

June 28, 2023

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/

Companies and governments are vying for enough critical minerals to accelerate the world’s energy transformation but community trust is stuck in the slow lane. The industry is at a defining moment, Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable told an international forum in Brisbane.

Electric vehicles will need six times more minerals than conventional vehicles. Combined with surging demand for energy storage, solar panels and wind turbines, global mining investment to supply manufacturers will need to increase by $US100 billion per year.