Twitter

Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

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

Read more

Manono Lithium-Tin Project (Mining Technology – March 9, 2021)

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

The Manono Lithium-Tin Project is an open-pit mining development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa. It is estimated to be one of the largest lithium-rich LCT (lithium, caesium, tantalum) pegmatite deposits in the world.

AVZ Minerals currently holds a 65% interest in the property while the remaining stake is held by Dathcom Mining, a joint venture between AVZ Minerals and La Congolaise D’Exploitation Miniere of the DRC Government. AVZ Minerals reached an agreement to acquire an additional 10% equity in the project for $15.5m in September 2020.

Read more

Why this lithium boss stopped taking calls from buyers in a boom – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review- October 25, 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

Pilbara Minerals boss Dale Henderson says his phone is switched to silent as a constant stream of car and battery makers try to secure supplies of lithium, and he doesn’t expect the calls to stop any time soon.

The $16 billion company’s operations in Western Australia continued to spew cash in the September quarter after an increase in production – albeit at a lower grade – and higher spodumene concentrate prices.

Read more

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

Read more

Australian miner bails on Quebec rare earth projects amid First Nation resistance – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – October 13, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Vital Metals bills itself as Canada’s first rare earth producer and decision to ditch projects could be significant

Australia’s Vital Metals Ltd. walked away from two Quebec-based projects earlier this week due to objections from the Kebaowek First Nation, the latest evidence that maximizing Canada’s potential to be a player in the energy transition will require a more sophisticated relationship with Indigenous communities.

The Sydney-based company had signed an $8-million agreement with Montreal-based Quebec Precious Metals Corp. (QPM) in August last year to acquire 68- and 100-per-cent interests in the Kipawa and Zeus rare earth projects situated in Quebec’s Témiscamingue region, about 90 kilometres northeast of North Bay, Ont.

Read more

GM to take equity stake in Australian mining company – by David Shepardson (Reuters – October 11, 2022)

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) said on Tuesday it will invest up to $69 million and take an equity stake in Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM.AX) to secure a new source of nickel and cobalt for battery cells for use in the U.S. automaker’s vehicles.

GM said the investment will help support electric-vehicle eligibility for consumer incentives under new, clean energy U.S. tax credits. GM said the nickel laterite ore is expected to be processed using a new, proprietary process that helps reduce waste.

Read more

Australia could grab 20% of the world’s lithium refining by 2027 – by James Fernyhough (Bloomberg News – October 3, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Australia is poised to grab a fifth of the world’s lithium hydroxide refining capacity within five years as demand grows for battery metals that bypass China, Canberra said in a report.

China produces more than 80% of the world’s lithium hydroxide, a processed form of the in-demand metal, according to the International Energy Agency. However, several companies are building refineries in Australia that would turn locally-mined lithium ore into battery-grade chemicals.

Read more

Australia ‘too far behind’ to make EV batteries: lithium giant – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – September 19, 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

Albemarle boss Kent Masters says it will be hard for Australia to make the leap from mining key ingredients to making batteries for electric vehicles.

That’s despite the company having just built one of the world’s biggest and most advanced lithium hydroxide plants – estimated to have cost more than $2 billion – at an industrial park south of Perth.

Read more

[Luca Giacovazzi] Meet the Forrest young gun who shot down BHP – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – September 16, 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

Luca Giacovazzi is a rising star in the Andrew Forrest business empire and boss of Wyloo Metals which stared down BHP in the bidding war for green minerals deposits in Canada.

Wyloo Metals wunderkind Luca Giacovazzi has made a lot of money for Andrew Forrest since making his first big pitch to the iron ore billionaire, and he might end up costing BHP plenty.

Giacovazzi, then just 27, called his first presentation slide pack Nickel: Get its mojo back in what was a risky move given Forrest’s painful memories from his Anaconda Nickel venture.

Read more

BHP Weighs Boosting A$8.4 Billion Bid for OZ Minerals – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Dinesh Nair and Vinicy Chan (Bloomberg News – September 16, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group Ltd. is considering raising its A$8.4 billion ($5.6 billion) offer for OZ Minerals Ltd., people familiar with the matter said, as the world’s top miner seeks to boost its exposure to metals needed for the green-energy transition.

Melbourne-based BHP may increase its A$25 per share bid for OZ Minerals as soon as this month, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. It wasn’t immediately clear by how much BHP would increase its offer, or whether OZ Minerals would agree to any renewed proposal from BHP.

Read more

Pacific Islands remain divided on deep-sea mining as trial begins to extract precious metals from ocean floor – by Marian Faa and Jordan Fennell (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – September 14, 2022)

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

Electric robots will soon be crawling along the sea floor and sucking up precious metals through a giant straw in a controversial trial to mine some of the ocean’s deepest, most pristine environments.

Deep-sea mining operator The Metals Company has been granted approval by the International Seabed Authority to begin testing its collection system in Pacific waters. It will be the first time since the 1970s that this has been allowed to occur.

Read more

Shares of Australian coal miner Whitehaven have jumped 150% since the Ukraine war – by Su-Lin Tan (CNBC.com – August 24, 2022)

https://www.cnbc.com/

Shares of Australian coal producer Whitehaven has risen 200% this year. The share price of the Australian-listed miner has risen about 150% since the Russia-Ukraine crisis started in late February, and hit a record high of 7.90 Australian dollars ($5.47) on Wednesday.

In other words, an investor who purchased Whitehaven shares late last year would have seen his or her investment increase more than three times. Chatter among stockwatchers on the popular online Australian stock market forum HotCopper has also increased.

Read more

BHP signals it is willing to walk away from bid for OZ Minerals – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 16, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company by market value, appears willing to walk away from its latest major takeover proposal. After the release of the miner’s quarterly earnings Tuesday, BHP chief executive Mike Henry said in a call with media that OZ Minerals Ltd. would be “nice to have” but is not a “must have.”

Earlier this month, Melbourne-based BHP proposed a US$5.8-billion takeover of its fellow Australian copper and nickel producer. While the offer was 30 per cent above OZ’s market price, it was well below its peak share price, reflecting the sharp sell-off across the mining sector over the past few months. OZ Minerals rejected the offer, calling it “highly opportunistic.”

Read more

About 50kg of nickel goes into each Tesla battery but the world isn’t producing enough to keep up with demand – by Rachel Pupazzoni (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 15, 2022)

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

Mining companies in Australia are racing to find the next big reserve of one of the world’s most in-demand metals. Nickel is a critical metal in batteries, and as the world keeps moving toward renewables, more batteries are needed to store energy.

In fact, there’s a strong case that much more of it is needed than lithium — a commodity many people know of, because it is in the name of lithium batteries. But there are a variety of batteries made with different metal compositions and, as Elon Musk puts it, batteries need a sprinkle of lithium compared to nickel.

Read more

Why Australian iron ore could save Taiwan as China ponders the economic ramifications of invasion – by Ian Verrender (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 14, 2022)

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

As the dark clouds of war gathered over north-east Asia in 1938, a curious battle took place at home which forever tainted the memory of Liberal Party founder Sir Robert Menzies and that could be a portend of what lies ahead.

Then-Attorney General in the Lyons government, Menzies became embroiled in a fight with waterfront unions in Port Kembla over the loading of a British steamer, the SS Dalfram, with BHP produced pig-iron bound for Japan.

Read more