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Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

The Peculiar Charm of Coober Pedy, Australia’s Opal Capital – by Brett Leigh Dicks (New York Times – March 14, 2022)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Scattered around town are do-it-yourself mining operations, abandoned film props and a cafe that serves both waffles and opals.

It could have been a Saturday night in any Australian town. Against the backdrop of a fiery sunset, a line of vehicles snaked its way into the local drive-in.

At this outdoor theater, though, in place of advertisements for local businesses or a refreshment stand, something else was projected onto the giant screen: a reminder for patrons not to bring explosives into the complex. Welcome to the South Australian town of Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world, where in days gone by, Saturday night at the drive-in would often end with a bang.

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Mining critical minerals for wind farms, solar panels and electric vehicles pose environmental challenges – by Damon Cronshaw (Northern Beach Review – March 14, 2022)

https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/

Mining for metals and rare earth elements will be a crucial part of a renewable energy future despite the environmental risks, University of Newcastle experts say. The need to eliminate the world’s dependence on fossil fuels means the benefits of mining for green technology outweigh the costs.

University of Newcastle Associate Professor Hao Tan said the mining of critical minerals would present environmental challenges. “But the scale of mining activities in relation to critical minerals is much smaller than those of other major resources in Australia, such as iron ore and coal,” Dr Tan said.

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Can a tech billionaire squash Australia’s coal industry by buying it? – by Alice Klein (New Scientist – February 22, 2022)

https://www.newscientist.com/

Mike Cannon-Brookes, the third-richest person in Australia, has launched an audacious bid to buy the country’s biggest electricity company – and shut its coal-fired power plants. It is a bold approach to decarbonisation, but can he pull it off?

Australia currently produces the highest carbon emissions per capita in the world from burning coal for power generation. The country’s government is highly attached to fossil fuels. Not long before becoming the current prime minister, Scott Morrison brought a lump of coal to parliament and announced: “This is coal. Don’t be afraid, don’t be scared, it won’t hurt you.”

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IGO and Wyloo join forces on nickel processing – by Esmarie Iannucci (Mining Weekly – February 17, 2022)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed IGO will partner with Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals to evaluate opportunities for downstream nickel processing in Australia, as Wyloo commits to support IGO’s bid for fellow-listed Western Areas.

The agreement will see IGO and Wyloo Metals conduct a study, funded 70:30 by IGO and Wyloo respectively, to evaluate the technical, commercial and economic feasibility of developing a downstream nickel processing facility based in Australia.

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Glencore’s Zinc Mine Expansion Threatened by Indigenous Backlash – by James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – February 15, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc’s plans to expand one of the world’s largest zinc and lead mines has been thrown into doubt after an Australian government judged it failed to adequately consult with Aboriginal custodians over the protection of a sacred site.

In a ruling that may remind resource investors of the backlash against Rio Tinto Group’s 2020 destruction of ancient rock shelters, the Northern Territory government found that Glencore didn’t consult all custodians of the Damangani sacred site on its McArthur River mine expansion plans.

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Forrest fuels another nickel bidding war – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – January 26, 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

Billionaire Andrew Forrest has raised his stake in takeover target Western Areas in a move that confirms suspicions he will try to complicate IGO Group’s friendly takeover of the nickel miner.

Dr Forrest’s private company Wyloo Metals spent $31.4 million buying Western Areas shares on Friday and Monday at an average price of just under $3.43 per share. That valuation is above the IGO offer price of $3.36 per share, which the Western Areas board supported shortly before Christmas.

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Australia’s Northern Territory: red earth paved with gold? – by Andrew Tunnicliffe (Mining Technology – January 24, 2022)

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

Covering more than 1.3 million km2, around 17% of the Australia’s entire land mass, the Northern Territory (NT) is home to some of Australia’s most alluring natural phenomena: Alice Springs, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and the spectacular Uluru or Ayres Rock.

Its uniquely red terrain – cast against the often sunny skies – is awash with historical Aboriginal culture too; much of the land is owned by the Aboriginal people comprising a wide assortment of tribes. However, those cultures have often clashed with state and federal governments , particularly when it comes to matters associated with land and its use.

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BHP to delist from London exchange as unification approved – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 20, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP), the world’s largest mining company, will stop trading on the London Stock Exchange next week after Australian and UK investors approved plans to simplify the group’s corporate structure and have its shares listed exclusively in Sydney.

More than 96% of BHP shareholders voted in favour of unification at special meetings on Thursday, the company said. The move is one of a series of key changes chief executive Mike Henry has kicked off since assuming the top post in early 2020.

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Stars aligning for Pretium, as shareholder vote on $3.5-billion acquisition by Australia’s Newcrest nears – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 19, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The $3.5-billion acquisition of Pretium Resources Inc. by Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd. appears likely to get the nod from investors later this week, with two proxy advisory firms approving the deal, despite earlier grumblings from the Canadian miner’s biggest shareholder.

In November, Pretium agreed to be acquired by Melbourne-based Newcrest in a cash-and-stock deal. Proponents of the transaction point to the sizable 22.5-per-cent premium that Newcrest has on the table, as well as its prowess in underground mining that may allow Pretium to tame what has been a difficult deposit to mine.

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Opinion: Kazakhstan unrest underlines Australia’s uranium advantage – by Duncan Craib (Australian Financial Review – January 10, 2022)

https://www.afr.com/

The world is decarbonising and Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capitalise on the inevitable surge in global uranium demand that will accompany it.

Global financial institutions are taking a new look at the Australian uranium sector, and with good reason. Civil unrest over the past week in Kazakhstan – the world’s largest exporter of uranium – and the consequent impact on uranium prices highlights the geopolitical sensitivity of the commodity.

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RACE TO THE FUTURE: Can a Tiny Territory in the South Pacific Power Tesla’s Ambitions? – by Hannah Beech (New York Times – December 30, 2021)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Nickel is vital to electric car batteries, but extracting it is dirty and destructive. A plant with a turbulent history in New Caledonia is about to become an experiment in sustainable mining.

GORO, New Caledonia — From the reef-fringed coast of New Caledonia, the Coral Sea stretches into the South Pacific. Slender native pines, listing like whimsical Christmas trees, punctuate the shoreline.

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New Caledonia rejects independence from France in third vote (Al Jazeera.com – December 2021)

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Residents of the Pacific territory of New Caledonia have voted overwhelmingly to remain part of France in a third referendum that was boycotted by pro-independence groups, local media reported.

Police reinforcements have been sent to the territory known as “the pebble”, which is of strategic importance to France and is part of a wider tussle for influence in the Pacific between Western countries and China.

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Pitt welcomes Chalice’s major find at Julimar – by Esmarie Iannucci (MiningWeekly.com – November 11, 2021)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt has applauded work done by Geoscience Australia in discovering the largest nickel sulphide discovery in Australia in over two decades.

ASX-listed Chalice Mining this week announced a maiden indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate of 10-million ounces palladium/platinum/gold, 530 000 t of nickel, 330 000 t of copper, and 53 000 t of cobalt at its Gonneville deposit, which makes up part of its larger Julimar project, in Western Australia.

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Forrest tops BHP bid in fight for Canadian nickel hopeful Noront – by James Thomson (Australian Financial Review – December 13, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

Andrew Forrest’s private resources company Wyloo Metals has launched a third bid for Canadian nickel hopeful Noront Resources, after talks between Wyloo and rival bidder BHP failed to reach a compromise.

Wyloo has lifted its bid to $C1.10 a share, 47 per cent above the C75¢ bid BHP made in October. alks between BHP and Wyloo, which has a 37.2 per cent stake in Noront, had been running for about a month. Head of Wyloo Metals, Luca Giacovazzi, described the discussions as constructive but ultimately unsuccessful.

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NEWS RELEASE: Wyloo Metals Strongly Improves Offer for Noront (December 12, 2021)

PERTH, Australia, Dec. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd (“Wyloo Metals”) has today provided the board of Noront Resources Ltd. (TSXV: NOT) (“Noront”) with a letter outlining a further improved offer to acquire up to 100% of the shares in Noront that it does not already own for Cdn$1.10 per share (the “Revised Wyloo Offer”). This is 47% above the Cdn$0.75 per share offered under the take-over bid for Noront proposed by BHP Western Mining Resources International Pty Ltd (“BHP”).

The Revised Wyloo Offer is the only proposal to Noront shareholders that provides the following distinguishing features:

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