Archive | Nickel

Elon Musk: Revolutionising Space Transportation with Stainless Steel – by Benjamin Spilker (Matmatch.com – July 12, 2019)

July 20, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Nickel Laterites, Space Mining

https://matmatch.com

SpaceX has come a long way. After being shocked by the absence of NASA’s concrete plans for a manned mission to Mars in the early 2000s, Elon Musk, the well-known entrepreneur and engineer, founded SpaceX in order to establish affordable access to space.

After spending a couple of years on designing, building and testing the first privately developed orbital rockets, the fourth launch of the Falcon 1 rocket into orbit was successful, marking the dawn of private space transportation.

With its proven capabilities, SpaceX was awarded a substantial contract from NASA for supply missions to the International Space Station, providing the funding for a rapid development of new launch vehicles. Continue Reading →

Metals in Space: How Superalloys Changed the Rocket Landscape – by Benjamin Spilker (Matmatch.com – March 26, 2019)

July 20, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Nickel Laterites, Space Mining

https://matmatch.com/

There is a high chance that a large variety of metals is in your proximity at this very moment. Metals are found and used virtually everywhere, from the iron in your red blood cells to the rare earth metals in the screen you are reading these lines from.

Many of the greatest advances in technology can be traced back to the exceptional characteristics that can be achieved by manufacturing parts from metal or alloying different metals to obtain even more superior materials.

Apart from the materials themselves, the manufacturing techniques evolved from hammering copper in approximately the 6th millennium BC [1] to, more recently, 3D printing of titanium. Continue Reading →

Twin Metals changes its plan to deal with mine waste — to a strategy lauded by some environmentalists – by Walker Orenstein (Minn Post – July 18, 2019)

July 19, 2019 in Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

https://www.minnpost.com/

The safety of storing mining waste in a tailings basin has been a critical part of the debate over copper-nickel mining in northern Minnesota, with some environmental advocates warning that failures and spills could unleash toxic slurry into nearby waters.

Now, in a major shift, one of two companies hoping to build a copper-nickel mine says it plans to store much of its waste using a “dry stack” method, an emerging technology that many of the same environmental nonprofits — and some mining experts — argue will better prevent water pollution.

Twin Metals Minnesota, which plans to mine just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, said Thursday it would abandon its plan to use a tailings basin, which entails waste rock being covered in a pond held back by a dam. Continue Reading →

Clean water or mining pollution for the nation’s favorite wilderness? – by Mike Dombeck (The Hill – July 8, 2019)

July 9, 2019 in Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Conflict and Opposition, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

https://thehill.com/

When you picture wilderness, the first thing that comes to mind may be the shoreline of a clean, unpolluted lake. Which is reasonable given the protections we provide to national wilderness areas.

But that is likely to change if the Trump administration and Twin Metals Minnesota have their way. Twin Metals is a mining firm owned by Chilean conglomerate Antofagasta.

The aggressive push by the Trump administration to force approval of a sulfide-ore copper and nickel mine in northern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest will almost certainly pollute the waters of the nation’s third largest National Forest and vast Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The administration recently announced renewal of two mining leases for Twin Metals. Continue Reading →

Editorial: A year after smelter/refinery closure, Thompson worse for wear but not down for the count (Thompson Citizen – July 3, 2019)

July 3, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Manitoba Mining, Nickel, Thompson, Vale

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

About a year ago at this time, Thompson was awaiting the last round of layoffs from Vale’s Manitoba Operations and approaching the end of an era as nickel mining operations in Thompson, for the first time in their history, prepared to move from a fully integrated model that took nickel from the ground and refined it into its final product, to a mining-and-milling model, in which ore would be extracted and milled and then shipped off to Sudbury, Ont. for smelting and refining.

At the time, many people were – justifiably – concerned about what this change might mean for Thompson.

Looking back, the transition has been hard, especially for those who lost their jobs, but Thompson is not on the ropes economically, at least not yet, though the local economy has absorbed some pretty heavy body blows as a result of Vale shrinking its Thompson operations. Continue Reading →

OUR VIEWS: GLENCORE TRAGEDY SHOWS WHY MINING SHOULD BE DONE HERE (Mesabi Daily News – June 29, 2019)

July 2, 2019 in Africa Mining, Copper, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Accidents, Deaths, Cave-Ins and Industrial Disease, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

https://www.virginiamn.com/

As news filtered out Thursday that Glencore had established itself as the majority shareholder of PolyMet, which is looking to build Minnesota’s first-ever copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes, devastating headlines about the Swiss-based company were also breaking.

At least 43 “illegal miners” died at a Kamoto Copper Company mine, operated by Glencore’s subsidiary Katanga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Glencore later said the incidents were not linked to the official “operations and activities” of the mine.

While clandestine miners, who access sites without approval or permits, are a common occurrence in Congo and across Africa according to Reuters, the incident raises several questions in light of Glencore’s new role on the Iron Range. Continue Reading →

Protesters oppose Minnesota mine at PolyMet AGM in Toronto (CBC News – June 26, 2019)

June 27, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Copper, Mining Conflict and Opposition, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

https://www.cbc.ca/

Groups say Canadian-owned copper-nickel mine is threat to water flowing into Lake Superior watershed

Human rights and environmental groups protested at the PolyMet annual general meeting Wednesday over a proposed copper-nickel mine recently approved in Minnesota, about 50 kilometres from the Canadian border.

Ottawa-based PolyMet has recently obtained final state permits to move ahead with construction of the NorthMet mining complex, which would have three new open pits, waste rock heaps, and a permanent tailings waste dump on a site in the St. Louis River watershed which drains into Lake Superior.

The activists are concerned over the risk of tailings spills which could harm a sensitive watershed, kill fish and affect Indigenous wild rice beds. Representatives from Amnesty International Canada are framing it as a rights issue, pointing to the Mount Polley mine disaster in B.C. when a dam failure sent toxic tailings into a watershed used by Indigenous people. Continue Reading →

About 7,000 families move out from Norilsk Industrial District since 2011 (Tass Russian News Agency – June 27, 2019)

June 27, 2019 in Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Norilsk Nickel

https://tass.com/

KRASNOYARSK, June 27. /TASS/. About 7,000 families have been moved since 2011 from the Norilsk Industrial District (the Krasnoyarsk Region’s north) to regions with better climate conditions, Nornickel’s Vice President Dmitry Pristanskov said on Wednesday at presentation of the company’s report on sustainable development.

In 2011, Russia’s Ministry of Regional Development, the Krasnoyarsk Region, the city of Norilsk and the Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) signed an agreement to support families, who wanted to move out from Norilsk and Dudinka (the Taimyr Municipal District’s center).

People, who have worked in the Extreme North for more than 15 years could participate in the program. The most preferred destinations have been the Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Leningrad and Krasnodar Regions. Continue Reading →

PolyMet Mining closer than ever to getting Iron Range mine operational – by Mike Hughlett (Minneapolis Star Tribune – June 25, 2019)

June 25, 2019 in Copper, Glencore, International Media Resource Articles, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

http://www.startribune.com/

Despite fears over mine’s environmental effect, company is confident

HOYT LAKES, Minn. – After years of planning and contention, the derelict taconite complex in Hoyt Lakes is closer than ever to hosting Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mining operation.

Backed by global-mining giant Glencore, PolyMet Mining Corp.’s executives are courting bankers for nearly $1 billion to finance the project, hoping to start construction next year. New concerns have blown up recently over one of PolyMet’s environmental permits, though the company said it doesn’t expect the mine’s progress to be impeded.

“It’s going to happen,” said Jon Cherry, PolyMet’s CEO. “It is so rare to get a fully permitted mine at this time in the United States.” Continue Reading →

[Falconbridge] ‘I thought the smelter had blown up’ – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – June 21, 2019)

June 21, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Mining Accidents, Deaths, Cave-Ins and Industrial Disease, Mining Labour Issues and History – Sudbury and Global, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Sudbury History

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Electrician Gary Hrytsak was taking a brief nap during a coffee break at the Falconbridge smelter complex about 10:05 a.m. June 20, 1984, when he got thrown off the bench he was on.

“It was an eerie feeling,” recalled the now-retired Hrytsak during his speech at the 35th Workers’ Memorial Day ceremonies at the Caruso Club on Thursday. “You could feel things shaking under your feet … I thought the smelter had blown up.”

Hrytsak, who went on to do compensation, health and welfare work for his union (Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Local 598), said he put on his respirator, went to the electrical shop and telephoned his foreman, only to be told to stay where he was. Continue Reading →

Sudbury: Vale opens the books on Sudbury tailings dams following collapse in Brazil (CBC News Sudbury – June 19, 2019)

June 19, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Mining giant releases report detailing its dozens of tailings dams in the Sudbury basin

Vale says it is currently doing work to stabilize some of its tailings dams in Sudbury, but stresses that there is no risk to the public.

The company this month released a report on the state of its dams around the world that it says was asked for by a large group of investors represented by the Church of England, following the collapse of a Vale dam in Brazil in January that killed 270 people.

The report includes dozens of dams that Vale manages in the Sudbury basin to hold mining waste, some dating back to 1929. Continue Reading →

‘The future is nickel’: Cobalt 27 sells off its namesake metal after tough year – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – June 18, 2019)

June 19, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Junior Exploration Sector, Nickel

https://business.financialpost.com/

Toronto-based Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. is selling out at a low point for its namesake metal, a crucial component in the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and other devices.

The company, which stockpiles and streams cobalt, on Tuesday announced a $510-million deal that splits the company along cobalt and nickel asset lines.

Its largest shareholder, Swiss private-equity firm Pala Investment Ltd., which owns more than 19 per cent, will pay $3.57 cash per share for the company’s cobalt assets. The rest of the shareholders will also receive equity in a new company that retains the company’s nickel assets plus $5 million in cash. Continue Reading →

Sudbury: Terry MacGibbon, former FNX Mining executive, shares secrets to his billion-dollar success (CBC News Sudbury – June 16, 2019)

June 18, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Junior Exploration Sector, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

MacGibbon has been at the helm of 4 mining companies

Terry MacGibbon has been a major player in Sudbury’s mining industry. He pulled the trigger on some million-dollar deals, including selling his company FNX Mining, and being the guiding force behind several other junior mining companies.

But during a recent Laurentian University graduation ceremony, where he was given an honorary doctorate, MacGibbon told CBC’s Morning North that he issued new graduates a challenge.

“Looking forward to the next 50 years, they have to solve the climate, like climate change and it’s not just a single thing that a government or a company can do,” MacGibbon said. “We all have to do it.” “We all have to make our choices of how we live.” Continue Reading →

Russia’s Murmansk region among country’s 10 most polluted, says government agency – by Anna Kireeva (Bellona.org – June 13, 2019)

June 14, 2019 in Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, Nickel, Norilsk Nickel

https://bellona.org/

Officials have said that Murmansk Region ranks among those with the most polluted air in the country, according to a new report published by Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s federal consumer rights agency.

The report, entitled “On the state of sanitary and epidemiological wellbeing of the population of the Russian Federation in 2018,” paints a stark picture of drier, hotter weather conditions conspiring with industrial pollution all while higher levels of toxins are being measured in area soil.

Specifically, the report says that heavy metal quantities in soil found in residential zones of the Murmansk Region exceed legal measures by three times. Chemical substances found in playgrounds and other areas geared toward children exceeded hygienic standards by the same amount. Continue Reading →

LITHIUM CONF: High-content nickel batteries to remain predominant – by Renato Rostás (Metal Bulletin – June 11, 2019)

June 13, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining, Nickel, Nickel Laterites

https://www.metalbulletin.com/

The growing need for class 1 nickel, which is suited for batteries,
is becoming an issue to the industry, McKinsey’s co-head of EV
battery materials research group, Ken Hoffman, commented.

Santiago: Lithium-ion batteries with higher nickel content will be predominant in the coming years as the industry searches for improved electric capacity, market participants said during Fastmarkets’ 11th Lithium Supply and Markets Conference on Monday June 10.

However, NCM811 batteries – which have 80% nickel, 10% cobalt and 10% manganese – have a long way to go to become more cost efficient as its use demands lengthier treatment to ensure safety and durability, they added.

The NCM622 – 60% Ni, 20% Co, 20% Mn battery – category will lead market share at least until 2025, Chinese electrochemical cathode materials producer Pulead Technology Industry forecast. Continue Reading →