Mining

Savannah to speed up Portugal lithium project, dismisses doubts over price and demand

Dec 19, 2024 - 11:06 AM

Vulcan Energy secures near $922m debt commitment for Lionheart project financing

Australia’s Vulcan Energy said on Wednesday it has secured a 879 million euros ($921.90 million) conditional debt commitment from Export Finance Australia and commercial banks to fund its Phase One Lionheart project in Germany.($1 = 0.9535 euros)(By Roshan Thomas; Editing by Alan Barona)

Dec 18, 2024 - 1:57 PM

Alrosa 2024 diamond output falls by 4.6%

Moscow – Russian diamond producer Alrosa’s output fell by 4.6% to 33 million carats this year, according to a statement by the government of the Yakutia region in Russia’s Far East, where most of Alrosa’s production is based.Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume, announced plans last month to suspend some production in 2025 and cut staff as it grapples with low global prices. Last year it cut production by 2.8% to 34.6 million carats.

Dec 18, 2024 - 1:54 PM

Abaxx to launch nickel sulphate contract on January 10

London – Abaxx Technologies Inc, which owns a Singapore-based commodities exchange, will launch nickel sulphate futures on Jan. 10 next year, the first of its battery metal products, the company said in a release.Nickel sulphate is used in the cathode component of the lithium-ion batteries used for electric vehicles, a key plank of the energy transition, which also includes renewable energy.

Dec 18, 2024 - 1:51 PM

Trump advisers urge ending environmental reviews for mines receiving US funds

Advisers to incoming US President Donald Trump are recommending he waive environmental reviews for federally funded critical minerals projects to boost domestic production of materials used in electric vehicles, electronics and weapons, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Dec 18, 2024 - 1:48 PM

BHP resumes South Flank iron ore operations after short pause

BHP paused operations at two iron ore mines in Western Australia on Saturday after heavy rains in the country’s Pilbara region, a spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday, adding operations have since resumed.“We evacuated personnel from our MAC and South Flank mines to our accommodation villages on Saturday after heavy rains and flash flooding in the Pilbara,” the spokesperson said. “Operations were temporarily paused until it was safe to return to site.”

Dec 17, 2024 - 3:23 PM

Canada to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports in new year

Canada plans to impose tariffs on a slew of Chinese products from as early as next year, the government’s fiscal update showed, as part of its wider investigation into imports from the country.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has already slapped a 100% tariff on all Chinese electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum products, with the finance ministry previously saying it was also exploring options to widen the duties.

Dec 17, 2024 - 2:56 PM

Russia sells stakes in some Kazakh uranium deposits to China

Kazakhstan’s nuclear resources company Kazatomprom said on Tuesday that Russia’s Rosatom was selling its stakes in some uranium deposits which the two groups had been developing together to Chinese-owned companies.Kazatomprom, listed in London and Kazakhstan, is the world’s largest producer of uranium and has the largest reserve base. It accounted for 20% of global primary uranium production in 2023, but lacks its own uranium processing capacity.

Dec 17, 2024 - 2:31 PM

Saudi Arabia has extracted lithium from oilfield runoffs, vice minister says

Saudi Arabia has successfully extracted lithium from brine samples from national giant Aramco’s oilfields and plans to launch a commercial pilot program for direct extraction soon, the Saudi vice minister of mining affairs said on Tuesday.Lithium Infinity, also known as Lihytech, a start-up launched out of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, will lead the extraction project with cooperation from Saudi mining company Ma’aden and Aramco, Khalid al-Mudaifer told Reuters.

Dec 17, 2024 - 1:58 PM

Congo files criminal complaints against Apple in Europe over conflict minerals

The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain, lawyers for the Congolese government told Reuters.Congo is a major source of tin, tantalum and tungsten, so-called 3T minerals used in computers and mobile phones. But some artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting and other crimes, according to UN experts and human rights groups.

Dec 17, 2024 - 1:56 PM

Copper output in Peru down 1.4% in October

Peru’s copper production in October fell 1.4% compared to the same month last year due to less output from two of the country’s largest mines, official data showed on Friday.October copper production totaled 236,797 metric tons.The Andean country is the world’s No. 3 supplier of the key industrial metal.The data, from the Energy and Mining Ministry, showed that copper production from the Cerro Verde mine controlled by Freeport-McMoRan, and the Antamina mine run jointly by Glencore and BHP, fell in the month by 6.6% and 22.2%, respectively.

Dec 16, 2024 - 1:53 PM

US foreign investment panel split on Nippon-US Steel deal

The US Treasury has informed Japan’s Nippon Steel that the panel reviewing its proposed $14.9 billion purchase of US Steel has not yet come to an agreement on how to address security concerns, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.Treasury, which leads the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), wrote to both companies on Saturday saying the nine agencies on the panel were struggling to reach a consensus ahead of the deadline to submit a recommendation to President Joe Biden, the report added, citing several sources familiar with the talks.

Dec 16, 2024 - 1:51 PM

Trump transition team to roll back Biden EV, emissions policies

Incoming US President Donald Trump’s transition team is recommending sweeping changes to cut off support for electric vehicles and charging stations and to strengthen measures blocking cars, components and battery materials from China, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Dec 16, 2024 - 1:16 PM

Iron ore price rebounds as China stimulus hopes outweigh weak fundamentals

Prices of iron ore futures rebounded on Monday, as a revival of hopes for monetary easing in top consumer China outweighed faltering near-term demand and bleak property data that had sent prices to the lowest levels in one week earlier.The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.5% higher at 802.5 yuan ($110.23) a metric ton.It slid to the lowest level since Dec. 6 at 788 yuan a ton earlier in the session.

Dec 16, 2024 - 1:11 PM

Rio Tinto’s $2.5 billion lithium plan is a win for Milei

Rio Tinto Group plans to invest $2.5 billion in a new lithium mine in Argentina in a win for President Javier Milei’s efforts to deregulate the country’s economy and lure foreign investment.The UK company plans to build a processing plant at the Rincon mine with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate, it said Thursday in a statement. Work on the facility, subject to permitting, will start in the middle of next year.

Dec 13, 2024 - 1:01 PM

Mining

US graphite miners ask Washington to impose 920% tariff on Chinese rivals

Canada clears Paladin’s $789 million Fission Uranium takeover

Australian graphite firms petition US on alleged China dumping

Codelco to deploy lower carbon explosives in copper mine

Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada

Savannah to speed up Portugal lithium project, dismisses doubts over price and demand

Vulcan Energy secures near $922m debt commitment for Lionheart project financing

Alrosa 2024 diamond output falls by 4.6%

Abaxx to launch nickel sulphate contract on January 10

Trump advisers urge ending environmental reviews for mines receiving US funds

BHP resumes South Flank iron ore operations after short pause

Canada to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports in new year

Russia sells stakes in some Kazakh uranium deposits to China

Saudi Arabia has extracted lithium from oilfield runoffs, vice minister says

Congo files criminal complaints against Apple in Europe over conflict minerals

Copper output in Peru down 1.4% in October

US foreign investment panel split on Nippon-US Steel deal

Trump transition team to roll back Biden EV, emissions policies

Iron ore price rebounds as China stimulus hopes outweigh weak fundamentals

Rio Tinto’s $2.5 billion lithium plan is a win for Milei