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Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining

BHP to expand nickel operations to meet soaring demand – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 3, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) will make a final investment decision on a major expansion of the processing plant at its Mt. Keith nickel mine in Western Australia as it invests further in battery metals to meet expected soaring demand.

Nickel is a key component for EVs cathodes, and the world’s no. 1 miner sees nickel demand growing faster than anticipated due to a spike in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), as governments commit to decarbonizing their economies and set end dates for combustion engine sales.

“We believe that over 2020 to 2030, overall nickel demand will grow at 5% compound annual growth rate, and that nickel-in-battery demand will grow at a rate of 21% CAGR,” BHP Nickel West president Eddy Haegel told the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on Tuesday.

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Copper price: After China ban, Australia had no problem finding new concentrate buyers – by Frik Els (Mining.com – July 29, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Copper was an early victim of the increasingly fraught relations between Canberra and Beijing and Chinese imports of concentrate have fallen off a cliff since November last year under a ban that was never made official.

Australia is the fourth-largest producer of copper concentrates globally. The country produced 3.5 million tonnes last year, with just under half of that exported.

Unlike the iron ore market, where the countries’ steel mills and iron ore miners are joined at the hip, Australian concentrate only made up some 5% of Chinese imports. China was Australia’s no. 1 customer, however, and in the past sucked in more than half the country’s exports.

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China escalates plans to crush Australian iron ore industry – by David Llewellyn-Smith (News.com.au – July 28, 2021)

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

On Tuesday on the Australian Stock Exchange, large iron ore miners drove prices to record highs.

This feat came about because of two factors. Iron ore is trading just off record highs and the Australian dollar is much lower than it ever has been during such previous booms. This has led to record fat margins for miners.

But, even as this trade hits new highs, there are clear signs that good times are on notice. Indeed, China is determined to crush iron ore prices in both the short-term and the long, and there are good reasons to conclude that it will succeed sooner rather than later. There are three reasons why.

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New Australian technology tracks down gold thieves and blood diamonds – by Jessica Sier (Australian Financial Review – July 30, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

Geologist and chemical scientist John Watling can tell you exactly where your diamonds come from.

Not just what the Tiffany’s or Cartier packaging says, or the murky certification offered by the world’s largest diamond miners, De Beers and Alrosa, but right down to the exact patch of dirt in the exact mine.

Used for more than 20 years by West Australian police investigators to catch gold and diamond thieves, Watling’s provenance company Source Certain this week announced a deal with SCS Global to become the embedded technology in a new international standard to combat blood or conflict diamonds – gems mined illegally in war zones.

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BHP charges up Nickel West with clean energy – by Nickolas Zakharia (Australian Mining – July 30, 2021)

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BHP plans to install two solar farms and a battery storage system to power the Mt Keith and Leinster mines at its Nickel West operations in Western Australia.

The clean energy sources are expected to cut emissions from electricity at the two mines by 12 per cent based on its 2020 financial year levels.

The Northern Goldfields Solar Project will include a 27.4-megawatt solar farm at Mt Keith, and a 10.7-megawatt solar farm and 10.1-megawatt battery at Leinster to reduce diesel and gas power.

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Ancient Sites, Sacred Snake Raise Risks for Australian Resources – by James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – July 29, 2021)

https://ampvideo.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Sacred sites, endangered sawfish and mythical rainbow serpents are the latest challenges confronting commodities powerhouse Australia as the nation’s top mining companies meet for their biggest annual conference.

Since the destruction last year by Rio Tinto Group of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal rock shelter at Juukan Gorge, the industry has been scrambling to deal with a backlash over heritage protection and environmental issues.

A national enquiry into the incident and new laws being drafted by the Western Australia government could have an impact on some A$18 billion ($13 billion) in projects planned by mining giants operating in the Pilbara, the nation’s iron-ore heartland, as well as other resources projects.

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BHP and Forrest may be better together on nickel play (Australian Financial Review – July 28, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

BHP might have trumped Andrew Forrest’s bid for a Canadian nickel miner, but there’s no reason the pair can’t form a partnership on this project.

The prospect of iron ore titans Andrew Forrest and BHP duking it out over a Canadian nickel junior is obviously delicious. But the rational move is for the old foes to get into bed together on what both clearly see as a great opportunity amid a broader rush for battery minerals.

BHP announced on Tuesday night a $C325 million ($351 million) bid for Noront, which has a highly rated nickel project called Eagle’s Nest in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region (how Game of Thrones is that?) some 1200 kilometres north of Toronto.

The Big Australian’s bid, which has the support of the Noront executive team (which owns 9.9 per cent of the company), is pitched at a 75 per cent premium to the takeover bid by Forrest’s Wyloo Metals in May.

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BHP beats Forrest in takeover battle for prized nickel project – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – July 27, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

BHP has made a sensational bid to snatch a high-grade nickel project in Canada from the clutches of Andrew Forrest in another sign of how determined it is to secure a future in battery metals.

The BHP bid for Noront Resources unveiled on Tuesday night trumps a takeover offer lobbed by Dr Forrest’s privately-owned Wyloo Metals in May.

How Dr Forrest will react to the BHP raising the takeover stakes by a substantial premium remains unclear, with Wyloo controlling about 37 per cent of Noront stock.

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BHP pulls out in front as Rio Tinto flounders – by Rachael Knowles (National Indigenous Times – July 22, 2021)

https://nit.com.au/

BHP is leading the pack in iron ore mining as its competitor Rio Tinto continues to reel from fractured relationships with Traditional Owners in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Rio Tinto has seen a steep decline in their iron ore shipments from the Pilbara, with the mining giant reportedly having shipped 76.3 million tonnes in the June quarter, 12 per cent less than the same period in 2020.

The miner also reported total production was down 5 per cent for the first half of this year. With Rio Tinto behind the eight ball, BHP reported their sellings at $US158.15 a tonne in the first half of the year, ahead of Rio Tinto’s $US154.90 a tonne.

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BHP to supply greener Australian nickel to Tesla (Reuters – July 22, 2021)

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE July 22 (Reuters) – Global miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) said on Thursday it signed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and will work with the electric carmaker on lowering carbon emissions in the battery supply chain.

Tesla said in June it expects to spend more than $1 billion a year on battery raw materials from Australia given the country’s reliable mining industry and responsible production practices. read more

Western automakers are also seeking to diversify supply chains to lessen their dependence on China, in line with a U.S. policy to rely on allies to supply metals for electric vehicles.

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China targets Australia’s rare earths as tensions escalate – by Alex Turner-Cohen (News.com.au – July 21, 2021)

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

China could stop every technological and electrical industry in the world and plunge the planet into the dark ages with just one move.

China has the power to stop every technological and electrical industry in the world and plunge the planet into the dark ages any time it wants, an expert has warned.

Even more worryingly, escalating tensions between China and the West makes it look very likely that this will happen sooner rather than later.

Dr Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Centre, said that China owns around 80 per cent of the world’s supply of critical minerals – which is a “powerful weapon”.

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Evolution continues with billion-dollar gold growth plan – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – July 16, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

Evolution Mining will invest a billion dollars over the next two years in a bid to halt a four-year decline in output and grow gold production by at least 30 per cent.

The growth strategy will include the $380 million expansion of the Cowal mine in NSW, where an underground mine will be built beneath the existing open pit so long as final government approvals can be obtained.

The new strategy was announced on the day Evolution revealed it produced 680,788 ounces of gold in fiscal 2021; about 20 per cent less than the company produced in fiscal 2017 and the fourth consecutive year of lower gold production.

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Australia must weigh climate change in mine approvals — court – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 8, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Australia’s government has been ordered to consider risks carbon dioxide emissions pose to young people when approving new coal mines or expansions to existing ones, the federal court said on Thursday.

The case, brought by eight students and an octogenarian nun, centred on Whitehaven Coal’s planned expansion of an operation in New South Wales. The project aims at producing as much as 10 million tonnes a year of mostly metallurgical coal, used in steel-making.

While judge Mordy Bromberg had dismissed the original claim seeking to stop expansion of coal mine operations, Thursday’s judgement could set a precedent for all fossil fuel projects in Australia, the world’s second-largest coal exporter by volume.

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Fortescue produces first-ever green iron ore – by Nickolas Zakharia (Australian Mining – July 7, 2021)

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Fortescue Metals Group has produced high-purity green iron ore and trialled ammonia-powered freight as part of its Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) renewable energy and industry initiative.

The initiative aimed to test if there was 100 per cent green energy to manufacture green iron and steel, fertiliser and cement.

According to FFI chief executive officer Julie Shuttleworth, trialling hydrogen, ammonia and battery technology was successful in powering the company’s trains, ship engines, haul trucks and drill rigs.

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China’s new front in the trade war with Australia — Africa – by Ian Verrender (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – July 4, 2021)

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

The end came as a bitter finale to a decades-long tale of intrigue and tragedy. High up in the mountains straddling the border between Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, Perth-based mining minnow Sundance Resources saw its future extinguished amidst accusations of deceit and corruption.

After more than six months of wrangling and threats of legal action with the Congo government, Sundance boss Giulio Casello discovered to his horror that his former partner, an Australian-domiciled company with Chinese government links, had snared his company’s major asset.

Working in tandem with another Beijing-linked group, it had snared the rights to develop one of west Africa’s most promising iron ore deposits, the Mbalam-Nabeba project which has been Sundance’s main focus for more than 15 years.

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