Tirupati Graphite has begun production at its Vatomina mine in Madagascar. (Earlier post.) Steady state 24/7 production has been ongoing since 6 August 2024, with production of 165 tons in seven (7) consecutive working days. With the 330 days per annum operational design, this run rate equates to 7,778 tons... Read more →
Century Lithium reported the successful addition of a lithium carbonate stage at its Lithium Extraction Facility (Pilot Plant) in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, which is part of the company’s 100%-owned Angel Island Mine. Prior to this addition, concentrated lithium solutions from the Pilot Plant were treated by Saltworks Inc. at its... Read more →
BHP and Lundin Mining Corporation agreed to acquire jointly 100% of Filo Corp. which owns 100% of the Filo del Sol (FDS) copper project. BHP and Lundin Mining have also agreed to form a 50/50 joint venture to hold the FDS and Josemaria projects (Joint Venture) located in the Vicuña... Read more →
Wabtec Corporation announced an order for Evolution Series ES43ACmi locomotives from SimFer, a joint venture among the Government of the Republic of Guinea, Rio Tinto, and Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH). The order, valued at $277 million, will provide a locomotive fleet to service the rail operations for the Simandou... Read more →
A team at Arizona State University (ASU) has estimated the future amount of copper needed for clean energy transition (CET)-related technologies, focusing on the US market and the leading role of Arizona (AZ) in copper mining. Particularly, they evaluated hydrogen’s potential to displace diesel in haulage; for use in high-grade... Read more →
The EU and the Republic of Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) launching a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles. The partnership builds on the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) entered into force on 1 September 2013 and is in line with EU’s... Read more →
Rio Tinto marked the shipment of 4 billion tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara in Western Australia to China. The shipment was loaded at Dampier Port on 19 July, bound for China Baowu Steel Group, the world’s top steel producer. This milestone comes 51 years after the first shipment... Read more →
Canada recently added an additional three minerals—high-purity iron, phosphorous and silicon metal—to its Critical Minerals List, bringing the total to 34. Canada released its first Critical Minerals List in March 2021 with a commitment to review the minerals identified as critical every three years. The list guides federal policy and... Read more →
USGS scientists have developed a new scientific mechanism for assessing the potential risk to worldwide mineral commodity supplies from seismic activity. The methodology was developed through studying copper and rhenium but provides a framework for future studies assessing many other mineral commodities around the globe. Earthquakes have the potential to... Read more →
BASF has signed an agreement with Solenis, a global producer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, to sell BASF’s flocculants business for mining applications. Mining flocculants help to aggregate fine particles in water and enhance the settling of solids. Flocculants can work by charge neutralization or by physically binding... Read more →
Eramet recently inaugurated the Centenario Phase 1 lithium carbonate production plant in Argentina. This flagship is operated by Eramine, a joint venture owned by Eramet (50.1%) and its partner Tsingshan (49.9%). The plant is designed to extract lithium from the salar brine and process it into battery-grade lithium carbonate. The... Read more →
Aclara Resources signed a Memorandum of Understanding with VACUUMSCHMELZE GmbH & Co. KG (VAC), which establishes a non-binding, non-exclusive, preliminary agreement, to approach potential clients jointly as a “mine-to-magnets” solution for ESG-compliant permanent magnets. Aclara is a development-stage company that is focused on heavy rare earth mineral resources hosted in... Read more →
Pilbara Minerals recently released the outcomes of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) which determined that production capacity at the company’s 100% owned Pilgangoora Operation could be expanded to more than 2.0 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). The Pilgangoora ore body is one of the largest hard-rock lithium deposits in the world... Read more →
Marine polymetallic nodules, also known as manganese (Mn) nodules, have attracted the interest of mining companies for decades due to their enrichment of metals such as cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and rare earth elements (REEs). These nodules, which accumulate minerals layer by layer over millions of years, are... Read more →
Africa is set to become a major new rare earths ore exporter to Chinese and Western processors, with eight pipeline projects due to go into production across the continent by 2029, according to Benchmark’s analysis. Rare earth’s biggest end use are rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) for wind turbines and... Read more →
Chilean Cobalt recently received a non-binding Letter of Interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) for a potential debt funding package of up to $317,400,000 with loan tenor of up to 15 years to fund development efforts within C3’s mining concessions that comprise the La... Read more →
BASF will not further evaluate a potential investment in a nickel-cobalt refining complex in Weda Bay, Indonesia. In 2020, BASF and Eramet, a global mining and metallurgical group, signed an agreement jointly to assess the potential of such a project. After a thorough evaluation, we have concluded that we will... Read more →
The global market for platinum group metals (PGMs)—which include platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium—will record a 4.47% increase between now and 2029, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. In part, market growth will come from growing demand for PGMs in green technologies, including hydrogen energy technologies, in... Read more →
Chinese market sentiment in early May overestimated consumer demand for rare earths oxides, resulting in the first price increases for rare earths dysprosium (Dy) and praseodymium neodymium (PrNd) oxide this year, according to the latest assessment by Benchmark. This was the first time rare earths prices had recovered after a... Read more →
TMC has successfully produced the world’s first cobalt sulfate derived exclusively from seafloor polymetallic nodules. The cobalt sulfate was generated during bench-scale testing of TMC’s hydrometallurgical flowsheet design with SGS Canada Inc. (“SGS”). The test work was carried out at SGS’ Metallurgical Centre of Excellence testing facility in Lakefield, Ontario.... Read more →
Critical Metals, a mining development company focused on critical metals and minerals, has signed a binding heads of agreement to acquire a controlling interest (92.5%) in the Tanbreez Greenland Rare Earth Mine from Rimbal Pty Ltd., a company controlled by geologist Gregory Barnes, in a deal valued at $211 million.... Read more →
Rio Tinto and BHP will collaborate on the testing of large battery-electric haul truck technology in the Pilbara, Western Australia, to accelerate the potential for its future deployment. The two companies will work with manufacturers Caterpillar and Komatsu to conduct independent trials of their battery-electric haul trucks, including testing of... Read more →
Fortescue’s hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype, dubbed “Europa”, has reached the significant milestone of having operated off hydrogen for the first time. This development marks a major step in Fortescue’s mission to decarbonize heavy industry as well as the company’s partnership with Liebherr Mining. Delivered in collaboration with Liebherr, Europa is... Read more →
Targets for 100% electric vehicle adoption by 2035 cannot be achieved without an unprecedented acceleration in copper mining, according to the Secretary General of the International Energy Forum Joseph McMonigle. Copper is the most essential mineral for societal development, but growing electrification needs globally cannot be met if limited supplies... Read more →
Albemarle Corporation announced an agreement with Martin Marietta Materials, a leading supplier of building materials—including aggregate, cement, ready mixed concrete and asphalt—to make beneficial use of extracted limestone material from Albemarle’s proposed Kings Mountain Mine lithium project. This agreement is part of Albemarle’s plan to resume lithium mining operations at... Read more →
Element3, a Texas-based company focused on extracting lithium from wastewater produced by oil and gas production, has licensed a collection of seven technologies for lithium recovery developed by scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Lithium is the third element on the periodic table.) The technologies were... Read more →
TMC the metals company Inc. announced that it has successfully produced the world’s first nickel sulfate derived exclusively from seafloor polymetallic nodules. The sulfate was generated during bench-scale testing of its hydrometallurgical flowsheet design in partnership with SGS Canada Inc., at its Lakefield, Ontario facility. Undertaken on samples of nickel-cobalt-copper... Read more →
Ohmium International, a company that designs, manufactures, and deploys advanced Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, is collaborating with Chilean company H2 Green Mining to develop green hydrogen projects to help decarbonize mining operations in the country. H2 Green Mining is a joint venture between Susterra, a subsidiary of the engineering... Read more →
Benchmark expects lithium demand to increase by 32% this year, compared to 2023. However, increases in production by industry majors as well as new supply means the market is set to be in a small surplus of around 8,000 tonnes this year, Benchmark forecasts. Arcadium Lithium said it would increase... Read more →
Vulcan Energy Resources announced the Start of Production (SOP) of the first lithium chloride (LiCl) product at Vulcan’s Lithium Extraction Optimization Plant (LEOP) in Landau, Germany (earlier post), marking the first lithium chemicals domestically produced from a local source in Europe, for Europe. LEOP is showing strong early results with... Read more →
A recent study led by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the non-profit conservation organization Re:wild shows that the threat of mining to the great ape population in Africa has been greatly underestimated. Am open-access paper on the work... Read more →
Electra Battery Materials Corporation and Eurasian Resources Group S.A.R.L. (ERG), a diversified natural resources group headquartered in Luxembourg, signed a binding letter of intent for long-term supply of ERG’s cobalt hydroxide to North America’s first battery-grade cobalt sulfate refinery. The agreement, effective 1 April 2024, supports efforts to onshore the... Read more →
The European Council adopted the regulation to establish a framework to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials, better known as the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). This is the last step in the decision-making procedure. Following the Council’s approval the European Parliament’s position, the legislative act... Read more →
Australian Strategic Materials announced that it received a non-binding and conditional Letter of Interest (LoI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) to provide a debt funding package of up to US$600 million for the construction and execution phase of the rare earths and critical minerals Dubbo... Read more →
Cummins Inc. has commissioned a diesel-hybrid mining truck in partnership with one of China’s leading rigid mining truck manufacturers, North Hauler Joint Stock Co., Ltd. (NHL). The hybrid NHL NTH260, a 220 metric ton payload mining truck, rolled off the production line in January and is headed to Baiyun Iron... Read more →
Fortescue’s recently deployed electric excavator has reached the milestone of one million tonnes moved since it became operational. Over the past three months, the excavator had been running at partial capacity while the site team familiarized itself with the new piece of equipment. Now operating at full-speed, its performance continues... Read more →
Discovery Lithium, a Canadian exploration company, signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire a 100% interest in Midex Resources, another Canadian lithium exploration company. Discovery Lithium would acquire a 43,000-hectare land position in known lithium-bearing pegmatite fields with resources within northwestern Ontario, including the Crescent Lake Project. The Crescent... Read more →
Australia-based Arafura Rare Earths Limited secured conditional Commonwealth Government approval for a debt financing package of US$533 million to progress the Nolans Project in the Northern Territory. Arafura’s Nolans Project is a rare earth ore to oxide mine and processing facility. The Nolans Project will encompass a mine, process plant... Read more →
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced a conditional commitment to Lithium Americas Corp’s subsidiary, Lithium Nevada Corp., for a $2.26 billion loan to help finance the construction of a lithium carbonate processing plant at Thacker Pass in Humboldt County, Nevada. (Earlier post.) The project is... Read more →
Demand for energy transition minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper is escalating. For example, the demand for copper in clean energy systems is forecast to increase from 23% of total demand across all applications to more than 42% by 2050, according to UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade... Read more →
Zelandez, a provider of technology to the lithium brine industry, announced the availability of its new Borehole Formation Tester (BFT) to lithium developers worldwide. The BFT is the slimmest pump-through formation tester and is designed to specifically address lithium miners’ needs by measuring aquifer pressure, analyzing fluids downhole in real-time,... Read more →
A technology developed by researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) that can effectively capture heavy metals from acid mine drainage and municipal water supplies and extract beneficial critical minerals such as aluminum, nickel and rare earth elements (REE) from water, has been granted a US patent. The patent... Read more →
Syrah Resources Limited signed a binding offtake agreement with to Posco Future M Co., Ltd for natural graphite fines from Syrah’s Balama Graphite Operations in Mozambique. (Earlier post.) The offtake agreement is an important development in the company’s sales strategy to transition Balama natural graphite sales to a more geographically... Read more →
The US Geological Survey (USGS) is now soliciting proposals for fiscal year 2024 cooperative agreements to collect data on mine waste. Mine waste represents a potentially valuable source of critical minerals and rare earth elements that were not targeted in prior mining operations and that can be developed without impacting... Read more →
Mitsubishi Corporation entered into a binding agreement with Frontier Lithium, a Canadian lithium mining company, to form a new joint venture company dedicated to developing the PAK Lithium Project located in Ontario, Canada. MC will acquire a 7.5% equity interest in the JV in exchange for cash considerations of C$25... Read more →
Canada Rare Earth Corp. has established rare earth supply operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) marking a significant milestone in its expansion strategy. The proprietary operations in the DRC will be conducted through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Simba Essential Minerals S.A.S., incorporated in December 2023. By establishing our proprietary... Read more →
Veracio, an orebody knowledge technology company that formerly operated as Boart Longyear’s Geological Data Services division, is introducing new and refreshed orebody knowledge (OBK) tools—TruScan 2, TruProbe and Strata—to improve, automate, and digitally transform orebody sciences in exploration, resource definition and production globally. TruScan 2, featuring HyperXRF, a mineralogical solution... Read more →
On the back of offtake agreements with Panasonic Energy and General Motors Holdings (earlier post), Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) has closed Mitsui & Co. and Pallinghurst Bond Limited for an aggregate combined investment of US$87.5 million to advance NMG’s development toward commercial operations. Map of NMG’s integrated extraction and advanced... Read more →
Australia-based South32 Limited announced final investment approval for the Taylor deposit, the first development at its Hermosa zinc project in Arizona. Hermosa was the first mining project added to the US Government’s FAST-41 process and is currently the only advanced project in the United States which could supply two federally... Read more →
DuPont announced that FilmTec LiNE-XD nanofiltration membrane elements, the company’s first offering dedicated to lithium brine purification, was named a finalist in the 2024 Edison Awards in the Resource Recovery & Environmental Conservation category. Lithium brine purification is critical to producing batteries needed for electrification. FilmTec LiNE-XD elements can help... Read more →