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Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

On the rails: around Western Australia’s massive mining rail network – by JP Casey (Mining Technology – June 12, 2023)

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

The Pilbara produced over 800 billion tonnes of iron ore in 2020-21, a massive amount requiring an equally massive rail network. JP Casey investigates.

The Pilbara is Australia’s, and perhaps the world’s, mining heartland, dominating in both national and global production of a number of minerals. The region was the world’s second-largest producer of bauxite and third-largest of gold in the 2020-21 financial year, and these commodities delivered close to $15bn (A$23bn) in value for the Australian economy.

However, iron ore is the jewel in the region’s crown of commodities. Pilbara miners produced over 800 billion tonnes of iron ore in the 2020-21 financial year, with Western Australia accounting for 98% of the country’s total iron ore reserves. These products included over $100bn (A$150bn) worth of iron ore exports, and generated $103.3bn (A$154bn) in sales, up from $42.7bn (A$64bn) in 2016-17.

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Australia moves to find new critical minerals partners but risks China’s ire – by Jonathan Peralman (The Straits Times – June 8, 2023)

https://www.straitstimes.com/

SYDNEY – For decades, Australia has been a crucial supplier of the iron ore that has helped to quench China’s insatiable appetite for steel. This massive flow of iron ore – which invoked more than A$150 billion (S$135 billion) a year of sales – enabled China to build apartment blocks, shopping centres and infrastructure projects around the country as its economy expanded.

But, in recent years, China has also invested in other Australian resources for its transformation into a technology superpower. Today, China is a major extractor and processor of critical minerals such as rare earths that are used to produce electric car batteries, superconductors, mobile phones and other high-end technologies.

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Bougainville leaders call on mining giant Rio Tinto to assist communities – by APR editor (Asia Pacific Report – June 7, 2023)

News

Community leaders around Panguna mine in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville want mining giant Rio Tinto to help out following recent flooding. Rio Tinto was the owner/operator of the mine which has laid derelict for more than 30 years.

Fears of the threat from flooding in the river system near the mine have increased in recent years. Recent heavy rain has choked rivers with mine tailings waste, resulting in several communities being swamped.

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Top Ten Australian juniors exploring in Canada – by Sarah Hahn (Northern Miner – June 5, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

1 Winsome Resources – Market Cap: $257.6 million

Lithium explorer and developer Winsome Resources (ASX: WR1) is focused on advancing its flagship Cancet project, located in the James Bay region of Quebec, 155 km east of the town of Radisson.

To date, 5,216 metres have been drilled across 59 holes on the 200-sq.-km project. After conducting metallurgical test work, the company believes it can produce low-cost, low-impact concentrate at Cancet. Winsome plans to increase the project’s lithium tonnage by exploring additional targets identified to the east and west.

The company’s portfolio includes four other projects in Quebec: Adina and Sirmac-Clappier in the James Bay region, and Decelles and Mazarac near Val-d’Or.

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Every man and his dog is looking for lithium in Canada right now. Which ASX companies have joined the craze? – by Josh Chiat (Stockhead – June 4, 2023)

https://stockhead.com.au/

Back in ye olden days they told explorers, vagabonds and wayward youth to ‘Go West’ in search of a better life. Now the catchphrase for down on their luck ASX explorers is ‘Go North’, spreading like a virus across its moose populated plains in search of today’s go-to metal, lithium.

But is much of it moose pasture? Thanks to Twitter’s Viking Trader we have a running weekly commentary on the number of ASX explorers taking the plunge in Canada’s vast outback. According to Viking Trader, he counted 21 greenfields projects on the ASX just one week earlier. A craze to rival the Monster Mash.

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Whitehaven says coal is a ‘critical mineral’ for defence allies – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – June 1, 2023)

https://www.afr.com/

Whitehaven Coal managing director Paul Flynn has urged the Albanese government to consider coal’s role in powering defence allies like Japan and South Korea when reviewing its list of minerals that are “critical” to economic growth and national security.

Coal is not among the 26 minerals considered “critical” by the Australian government although coking coal for steelmaking is one of the 34 minerals considered “critical” by the European Commission.

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Australia Sees ‘Enormous Market’ for its Battery Metals in US – James Fernyhough and Eric Martin (Bloomberg News – May 28, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden’s signature climate policy is helping drive a “golden age of mineral exploration” in Australia, as the US rushes to catch up with China on clean energy technologies, the Australian trade minister said.

Deals between Australian miners and US carmakers had already spurred increased investment in exploration and refining of battery metals, and the Inflation Reduction Act is accelerating that, Trade Minister Don Farrell said in an interview while visiting Detroit over the weekend.

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Nickel’s price paralysis could see mines ‘gobbled up’ cheap – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – May 25, 2023)

https://www.afr.com/

Miners say pricing mechanisms for nickel have struggled to keep pace with the industry’s shift to supplying the specialised needs of battery and electric vehicle makers, creating an opportunity for acquisitions on the cheap.

Australian nickel was traditionally sold to stainless steel producers in briquettes or powders, but miners such as BHP now sell the bulk of their nickel to electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla, which want nickel for the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries.

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Australia Tries to Break Its Dependence on China for Lithium Mining – by Natasha Frost (New York Times – May 23, 2023)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Half of the world’s supply of the critical battery ingredient is mined in Australia, which ships virtually all of it to China. The government and business are betting they can change that.

Deep in rural Western Australia, Pilbara Minerals’ vast processing plant looms above the red dirt, quivering as tons of a lithium ore slurry move through its pipes.

The plant turns the ore from a nearby quarry into spodumene, a greenish crystalline powder that is about 6 percent lithium and sells for about $5,700 a ton. From there, the spodumene is shipped to China, where it is further refined so it can be used in the batteries that power goods like cellphones and electric cars.

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Top Stock Fund Wagers BHP, Rio Tinto Will Weather Iron-Ore Slump – by Georgina McKay (Bloomberg News – May 17, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A top equities fund manager is backing BHP Group Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd., betting they can withstand softer iron-ore prices and will benefit as China’s reopening boosts demand for the commodity.

Australian producers are attractive as they have relatively low operating costs and high exposure to the mainland, the world’s largest consumer of the steel-making ingredient, according to David Wilson, who oversees the equivalent of $5.3 billion at Australia-focused First Sentier Wholesale Geared Share Fund. The fund has returned 10% this year, beating more than 90% of its peers.

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Lithium prices to keep rising as demand outpaces supply – by Nicki Bourlioufas (Australian Financial Review – May 16, 2023)

https://www.afr.com/

Lithium prices are set to extend their recovery from a brutal sell-off of 70 per cent as demand outstrips weaker-than-expected lithium supply growth, underpinned by the growing take-up of electric vehicles to meet carbon emission targets.

The recent rise in lithium prices follows a horror five-month period during which tumbled more than 70 per cent after China curbed electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in January, a move that led to faltering demand and rising inventories.

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Newmont Seals $19 Billion Newcrest Takeover in Top Gold Deal – by Harry Brumpton and Dinesh Nair (Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg – May 15, 2023)

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

Newcrest Mining Ltd. has agreed to a takeover deal with Newmont Corp. worth about A$28.8 billion ($19.2 billion) to create the world’s biggest gold producer.

Newcrest shareholders will get 0.4 shares in Newmont for every Newcrest share they own, giving them 31% ownership of the combined group, the Melbourne-based company said Monday, confirming a Bloomberg News report Sunday. The deal gives Newcrest an implied enterprise value of A$28.8 billion, which includes net debt.

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Why magnetite matters more to Fortescue in the green iron era – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – May 7, 2023)

https://www.afr.com/

Andrew Forrest gave a big green tick to Fortescue producing a high-grade magnetite at Iron Bridge.

Andrew Forrest says there’s a graveyard somewhere full of failed magnetite projects, but his will be different. Fortescue Metals Group’s Iron Bridge magnetite mine reached a first production milestone last week after surviving its own near-death experience in early 2021. The Fortescue founder and chairman breathed a great sigh of relief on May 1 when Iron Bridge started churning out magnetite with an iron content greater than 68 per cent.

It has taken other projects years to achieve target grades and some have never got there. The breakthrough for Fortescue comes at a time when high-grade product from the iron ore industry is seen as the quickest path to greener iron and therefore greener steel. And in a green iron world, magnetite projects make more sense than they did in the past.

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Head of New Lithium Giant to Focus on Supply Chain for Americas – by James Fernyhough (Bloomberg News – May 10, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The soon-to-be chief executive of what will become the world’s third-biggest lithium producer says the new company will focus on building a supply chain in the Americas, as US automakers look for non-Chinese sources of the battery metal.

“America-centric is a big differentiator for us with customers, with investors,” Paul Graves said in an interview Thursday, a day after it was announced Livent Corp. will combine with Allkem Ltd. to create a $10.6 billion company. China, where US-based Livent has refineries, “will not be a focus of growth for us in the future,” he said.

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Mining the Northwest: Evolution Mining endures growing pains at Red Lake – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – May 5, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Australian miner seeks to fix operational and cultural issues at Red Lake complex before investing in mill expansion

Evolution Mining executives want to see a better performance out of its Red Lake gold operation before it’s willing to invest on a processing mill expansion. In a recent webcall, Evolution’s CEO Lawrie Conway said when Red Lake consistently mines at a 1.1-million-tonne per year run rate, the Australian company will consider further spending to boost capacity at its milling facilities.

“Red Lake’s gotta earn the right to get the upgrade,” said Conway in an April 20 webcall with analysts to discuss Evolution’s March 2023 quarterly results.

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