Archive | Nickel

Top 10 Deepest Mines In The World: Most Of Them Are Gold Mines – by Vikas Shukla (Value Walk.com – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019 in Africa Mining, Canada Mining, Copper, Gold and Silver, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Sudbury Basin, Timmins, Zinc, Lead and Tin

https://www.valuewalk.com/

South Africa is home to eight of the world’s top 10 deepest mines. The country has been one of the world’s largest gold producers for decades, even though gold production there has been declining in recent years. A mine is an artificially made pit from where minerals and other resources are extracted. The depth of a mine represents the elevation from the entrance to the deepest excavation point.

The ranking below includes only operational mines, not the ones that are no longer in operation. For instance, the Empire Mine in California has a depth of 2.08 miles, but it’s no longer in operation. Similarly, the Kolar Gold Fields in India, which was 2 miles deep, was shut down in 2001 due to low levels of output after producing gold for centuries.

When they run out of minerals at existing levels, mining companies prefer to go deeper in existing mines to extract more minerals instead of digging a new mine. Continue Reading →

NEWS RELEASE: Nornickel invests $2.3 billion in cutting sulphur dioxide emissions (Tass.com – April 10, 2019)

April 10, 2019 in Europe Mining, Mining Environmental, Water Shortage and Land Reclamation/Revegetation Issues, Nickel

http://tass.com/

ST. PETERSBURG, April 10. /TASS/. The Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Company (Nornickel) plans to invest more than 150 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) in processing sulphur dioxide at its Polar Division’s facilities, the company’s Vice President Dmitry Pristanskov told the international Arctic forum on Tuesday.

“The Northern Project is absolutely non-commercial, it is a part of the national Ecology project,” the company’s representative said. “The company plans to attract more than 150 billion rubles in Russian technologies to cut sulphur dioxide emissions by 75%.”

TASS wrote earlier that under the Clear Air federal project, which is a part of the Ecology national project, Nornickel would invest in cutting emissions in Norilsk about 123 billion rubles ($1.9 billion). Continue Reading →

Europe aims to take its place on the global EV battery production stage – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – March 28, 2019)

March 29, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Europe Mining, Graphite Mining, Lithium, Nickel

http://www.mining.com/

The European Commission is eyeing opportunities within the EU’s minerals and mining sector, and has put forward, in its Strategic Action Plan (SAP) on batteries, a comprehensive set of targeted measures to make Europe a global leader in sustainable battery production and use.

The SAP focuses on including raw materials research and innovation, financing and investment, standardization, regulation, and trade and skills development to secure a sustainable supply of battery raw materials.

In his opinion piece in the EU Observer, Raw Materials: ‘holy grail’ of 21st century industrial policy, Maros Sefcovic, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of the Energy Union, said that Europe has world-leading technologies as well as high environmental and social standards, and that the EU aims to ensure that mining is no longer the polluting industry of the past. Continue Reading →

Huge demand for copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel in the offing as EV uptake increases – by Tracy Hancock (MiningWeekly.com – March 15, 2019)

March 15, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Lithium, Metals and Manufacturing, Nickel

http://m.miningweekly.com/

Metals of the Future

Investors focused on the mining sector may not fully appreciate how quickly the electric vehicle (EV) is being adopted globally, in light of the world pursuing a low-carbon emissions future, says battery metals investment vehicle Cobalt 27 Capital chairperson and CEO Anthony Milewski, who warns of a potential deficit in the supply of the metals critical to achieving this future.

Global management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company says 2017 marked the first time EV sales passed the one- million mark, noting in May 2018 that, by 2020, EV producers could be moving 4.5- million units, about 5% of the overall global light-vehicle market.

Even with South Africa’s electricity supply woes, automotive company Jaguar Land Rover South Africa forecast in January that South Africa could have 145 000 EVs on its roads, expecting yearly sales of new EVs to reach 43 000 units in the next six years. Continue Reading →

Column: Nickel rally fades, electric vehicle buzz doesn’t – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – February 12, 2019)

February 12, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining, Nickel, Nickel Laterites, Vale

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Was it another false dawn for the nickel market? Last week’s rally to a five-month high of $13,350 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange has gone into sharp reverse. Nickel was trading back at $12,385 on Tuesday.

The trigger for the price surge was concern that Brazilian producer Vale’s nickel operations would suffer some sort of knock-on effect from the devastating tailings collapse at the company’s Brumadinho iron ore mine.

Such fears have proved unfounded. So far. There may still be ramifications for Vale’s Onca Puma ferronickel operations in the state of Para. But nickel’s ability to rally at all in the current gloomy macroeconomic environment is testament to continued investor interest in the metal’s potential demand boost from the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. Continue Reading →

Blast may have triggered quake in Sudbury: Vale – by Donald Macdonald (Sudbury Star – February 8, 2019)

February 8, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

No serious damage to Garson Mine or nearby Nickel Rim Mine, companies say.

Work is proceeding at Garson Mine after an earthquake Wednesday that originated at the Vale site but was felt by people residing more than 10 kilometres away.

Vale spokesperson Angie Robson said the company experienced a 2.9 magnitude seismic event at the 5,200 level of the mine shortly after 5 p.m. Fortunately, “no employees were injured as a result of this event,” she noted, and “work is continuing as normal, except in restricted areas of the mine.”

Robson said there was no damage to mobile equipment, “although there is some displaced rock that needs to be addressed, as well as some repair work to infrastructure in the affected area of the mine.” Continue Reading →

Nornickel promises halt in death clouds – by Atle Staalesen (The Barents Observer – February 7, 2019)

February 7, 2019 in Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

Poisonous air on 25th January rolled over the border and into the Norwegian settlement of Svanvik where local authorities quickly recommended people to stay indoor. It was another day with heavy emissions from the melters in Nikel, the nearby company town of mining and metallurgy giant Norilsk Nickel.

The company that same evening decided to temporary reduce production in a bid to curb emissions.

«After we got the information about the unfavourable weather conditions we introduced limitations in the technological regime of the melter in Nikel, even down to a halt in the feeding of raw materials to the furnaces,» says Yevgeny Bozenko, general director of Kola MMC, the regional subsidiary of Nornickel. Continue Reading →

U.S. Loosing Global Battery Arms Race that is Critically Dependent on Nickel, Cobalt and Lithium – by Simon Moores (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence – February 5, 2019)

February 6, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Graphite Mining, Lithium, Nickel, Nickel Laterites
  • Written Testimony of Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • For: US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  • Hearing: Tuesday, February 5 2019, at 10:00a.m. Room 366, Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
  • Subject: Outlook for energy and minerals markets in the 116th Congress.

We are in the midst of a global battery arms race in which the US is presently a bystander.

Since my last testimony only 14 months ago, we have reached a new gear in this energy storage revolution which is now having a profound impact on supply chains and the raw materials that fuel it.

The advent of electric vehicles (EVs) and the emergence of battery energy storage has sparked a wave of lithium ion battery megafactories being built. Continue Reading →

Ford engages the mining sector on the road to more EVs – by Kim Cloete (MiningWeekly.com – February 5, 2019)

February 5, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Metals and Manufacturing, Nickel

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/

Ford is quickening its pace towards the mass production of electric vehicles (EVs) and is researching how the mining industry can help it achieve its goals.

“There are tremendous investments taking place at every level to achieve this radical revolution in the automotive industry,” Ford energy storage, strategy and research senior manager Ted Miller told delegates at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town.

He added that Ford and its competitors had made significant investments and expected suppliers to do the same. Continue Reading →

Eye on Mining: Exclusive interview with PolyMet CEO and President – by Staff (CBS 3 Duluth – January 29, 2019)

January 30, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

CBS 3 Duluth.com

HOYT LAKES, MN — After nearly 15 years and thousands of public comments PolyMet is making preparations to start construction on Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine.

“During this upcoming construction season we’ll be in a position to be ready to begin the project,” said Jon Cherry, President and CEO of PolyMet. “2019 should be when we break ground and get going.”

Cherry has been at the forefront of this project for the last six and a half years and he said it hasn’t been without obstacles. “The challenge has been the length of time that it’s taken to get to this point.” PolyMet began the initial environmental review back in 2004. Continue Reading →

Nickel prices must rise to meet battery demand: AABC (Argus Media.com – January 28, 2019)

January 30, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Nickel Laterites

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/

Higher nickel prices are required to incentivise supply of nickel sulphate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, particularly given lower cobalt prices, delegates heard today at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) in Strasbourg, France.

Supply of nickel increased by 7pc last year to about 2.19mn t, but demand increased by 8pc to 2.33mn t, increasing the deficit to 147,000t, from 131,000t in 2017, said Denis Sharypin, head of market research at Russian producer Norilsk Nickel.

The battery sector accounted for 124,000t of consumption last year, and while overall nickel demand is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5pc to 2025, demand from the battery sector is estimated to climb at a CAGR of 18pc over the same period. Continue Reading →

Rickford promises progress in the Ring of Fire – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Indigenous communities to reap the rewards, benefits of natural resource development

Provincial cabinet minister Greg Rickford offered a stay-tuned response to the government’s plans to advance the construction of an access corridor to the Ring of Fire.

The minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Indigenous Affairs was in Sudbury to reaffirm the Ford government’s commitment to opening up the mineral deposits in the remote James Bay region.

In his Jan. 23 remarks at the Procurement, Employment, Partnerships Conference in Sudbury, Rickford referred to the James Bay mineral belt as a “region of prosperity” that’s been “complicated and overburdened with bureaucracy.” Continue Reading →

Access to Ring of Fire top priority for Noront; work continues on assessing Sault and Timmins – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star/Sudbury Star – January 24, 2019)

January 24, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Without a road, Noront Resources cannot access the minerals found in the Ring of Fire. And that means moving forward too quickly on a processing facility is also not necessary.

So, the silence surrounding any decision by Noront Resources as to whether Sault Ste. Marie or Timmins will be the eventual host of a ferrochrome processing facility is nothing to panic about.

Mayor Christian Provenzano says he, along with Tom Vair, the city’s deputy CEO of community development and enterprise and EDC’s Dan Hollingsworth, met with Noront Resources officials in Toronto last Friday to get an update and offer any assistance. Continue Reading →

Ford clears the way for mine development, minister tells Sudbury audience – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 24, 2019)

January 24, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Mining projects in the region will now go forward with fewer hurdles and costs, a provincial cabinet minister assured participants of a resource development conference Wednesday.

“I want the industries in Ontario to know that they have an ally and a partner in this government,” said Greg Rickford, MPP for Kenora-Rainy River and minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, as well as minister of Indigenous Affairs. “That we’re committed to supporting and protecting and launching mining projects across Ontario.”

That includes expediting development in the Ring of Fire, which Rickford said is long-overdue. “In southern Ontario there are folks who still think there are active mine sites up there,” he said. “But despite the decade of talk and more than $20 million invested in this region, there are still disappointingly no shovels in the ground.” Continue Reading →

Miners waiting for higher nickel, metals prices – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – January 18, 2019)

January 18, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Europe Mining, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Stan Sudol Columns/Media References and Appearances

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The prices of nickel and other metals prices will recover, especially when more electric vehicles are built, mining analysts say. When they do, work at Levack Mine’s Morrison deposit will resume. Until then, KGHM Sudbury will keep the deposit in a care and maintenance mode, company officials say.

“It was very difficult,” Steve Dunlop, KGHM Sudbury general manager, said about meetings with employees held Wednesday to break the news. “Our concern is certainly with our employees. We are a fairly tight family. All of our workers have 10-plus years and the staff (members) have also been with us for quite a long time. It was very difficult.”

Slumping world nickel prices have prompted KGHM Sudbury to halt production at its Morrison deposit, putting an estimated 120 employees out of work as of late March when the mine goes into care and maintenance mode. A total of 87 of the affected 120 employees are members of United Steelworkers Local 2020. Continue Reading →