Новости за 06.03.2020

A metal best known for galvanising steel is making the jump into a developing $30-billion energy-storage market for electrical grids that’s increasingly seen as key to unleashing solar and wind power upon the world. Less than four months after Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed to produce 100% of New York’s electricity from clean sources by 2040, the state power authority launched an innovation challenge involving 60 companies in a quest to reach that goal. The winner: A Canada-based startup whose pitch can be wrapped up in two words: Think zinc. Читать дальше...

Diversified natural resource company Glencore has become a member of the Global Battery Alliance (GBA), an initiative of the World Economic Forum. The GBA and its members aim to establish, and collaborate on, a sustainable global battery value chain by 2030.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining and marketing company Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has been dealt a major output blow at a time of sky-high palladium and rhodium prices and high PGM basket prices. The JSE-listed company, which last month reported spectacularly high financial results that provided a significant fillip to the Anglo American group as a whole, has suffered a double processing setback.

China's Industry Ministry said on Friday metals firms should not seek to ramp up production at all costs and should "avoid vicious competition" with one another as they return to work in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Industrial production in China, the world's biggest metals consumer, took a big hit from the epidemic, with movement of people and commodities restricted in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus, meaning companies did not have enough staff or in some cases raw materials to operate as normal. Читать дальше...

LSE-listed Gem Diamonds has highlighted the recovery of a number of top-quality white, as well as one pink, diamond from its Letšeng mine, in Lesotho, between February 28 and March 3. Five white gem diamonds, weighing between 33 ct and 114 ct, were recovered, along with a 13 ct pink gem diamond. Earlier in February, Gem had recovered an exceptional 183 ct white Type IIa diamond from the Letšeng mine, the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world. It has also recovered two other significant high-quality diamonds... Читать дальше...

With the first case of coronavirus, or Covid-19, confirmed in South Africa, the Minerals Council South Africa has emphasised the importance of mitigating measures that need to be implemented in the mining industry. In early February, the council provided its members with material, available in English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Sesotho, on these mitigation measures.

Research agency Fitch Solutions expects global nickel production to decrease significantly over the course of this year, as major producer Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban comes into effect. The ban in Indonesia was announced in September 2019, bringing it forward to go into effect from January this year instead of January 2022.

Diversified miner Exxaro Resources has appointed Tamara Qwatekana as the company’s first ever female mining manager. She will be based at Exxaro’s digital connected mine in Belfast, Mpumalanga.

Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) will team up with Finnish energy company Fortum and German chemical group BASF to establish a battery recycling cluster to service the electric vehicle market. The cluster, to be located in Harjavalta, Finland, will enable a “closed loop” cycle to re-use the critical metals present in used batteries. “This setup is ideal for sustainable processing of two of the main metals used in lithium-ion batteries,” commented Nornickel MD Joni Hautojärvi.

The Queensland Land Court this week ruled in favour of diversified junior Moreton Resources and its subsidiary MRV Metals, finding that the company was not liable for previous pre-existing environmental harm at the Texas silver project. Moreton and the Department of Environment and Science will now take the next two weeks to nominate independent experts to each carry out a review and report opinions on the adjusted financial assurance required, excluding amounts relating to prior pre-existing environmental harm.

Uranium exploration and development company Denison Mines’ confidence in the application of in-situ recovery (ISR) at the Wheeler River project’s Phoenix deposit, in the Athabasca basin, is growing. The results of test work completed in 2019 have “meaningfully” boosted the TSX-listed company’s confidence in the use ISR mining at Phoenix, CEO David Cates said on Thursday. “Today, the prospect of successfully bringing ISR mining to the Athabasca basin is higher than it has ever been,” he said in... Читать дальше...

US coal use plunged more than 13% in 2019, the most in 65 years, as power plants shut down across the country. That’s poised to happen again this year. Total consumption slumped to 596-million tons in 2019 from 688-million tons in the prior year, according to the US Energy Information Administration. This year, the figure is expected to slip again, to 517-million tons. The decline reflects the rapidly changing US energy mix, as coal is increasingly struggling to compete on price with natural gas, wind and solar. Читать дальше...

Canadian junior Star Diamond on Thursday started legal proceedings against Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC) to protect its interest in the Star-Orion South project, in Saskatchewan. Star Diamond last month flagged possible legal action over RTEC’s purported exercise in November 2019 of its four options under the option and joint venture agreement of June 2017, claiming that it did not comply with the terms of the agreement. Exercising the four options would give RTEC a 60% interest in the Star-Orion project.

A Brazilian state environmental authority on Thursday defended granting a licence to miner Anglo American to expand an iron-ore facility, including a mining waste dam, following a lawsuit by public prosecutors seeking to block the project. Minas Gerais, a major mining state, passed a law instituting new safety measures for miners last year following the collapse of a tailings dam at a Vale mine that killed more than 270 people.

Industrial valves supplier Brimis Engineering is planning a new facility in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, which will include a new head office, and will be strategically positioned to service the surrounding industries, including steel, energy petrochemicals and mining. Brimis Engineering will complete its relocation to the new facility, which will include improved repair and refurbishment capacity, by 2023, Brimis Engineering technical director Moeketsi Mpotu tells Mining Weekly.

The valves sector in South Africa has shrunk every quarter since 2017, with about 9 000 jobs lost since the start of 2020. South African Valve and Actuator Manufacturers Association (Savama) chairperson Pam du Plessis tells Mining Weekly that the outlook for 2020 is bleak.

Transmission products distributor Bearings International (BI), in conjunction with sister hydraulic and pneumatic engineering company Ernest Lowe, have become authorised distributors for the Saunders valve range. The distribution arrangement came into effect in 2019.

The South African Valve and Actuator Manufacturers Association’s (Savama’s) valves training courses are poised for increased enrolments this year through a renewed effort to raise awareness. Savama has three online correspondence courses available, all of which initially were accredited by the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Merseta), with National Qualification Framework levels of four and five.

Valves supplier Invincible Valves has bought another property to expand its operations, along with accompanying plant equipment and machinery. The new property, in Germiston, is on the same street as the current facilities.

Rare earth miner Namibia Critical Metals (NCM) announced details of the Term 1 planned work programme for the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project in northern Namibia last month. While heavy mineral sands projects tend to be associated with titanium and zirconium minerals such as rutile, ilmenite and zircon, they also usually contain a variety of possible byproducts, such as rare earth elements, including monazite and xenotime.

Two African mines are achieving increased production time and plant availability after converting to engineering solutions provider Weir Minerals’ Linatex and Linard rubber lining solutions. A mineral sands operation in Mozambique approached Weir Minerals just over two years ago, after experiencing high wear on its pipe and launders. This was leading to frequent maintenance, leaks and downtime.

Mining and quarrying equipment specialist Pilot Crushtec launched a new range from mining equipment manufacturer Metso’s mobile and compact crushing and screening equipment last month that is well suited to local economic conditions. Pilot Crushtec CEO Sandro Scherf says that contracts have been getting smaller in the industry over the past few years owing to the business environment. However, conversely, once agreements are concluded there is greater need for haste and expectations of high service levels.

In its recently released report, Vale’s Performance in 2019, Brazilian mining major Vale stated that it had to take an impairment charge of $1.691-billion last year on its Moatize coal operation in Mozambique. Moatize, majority-owned by Vale, and located in the western province of Tete, is the group’s only coal operation. Moatize produces both metallurgical and thermal coal. “In the coal business, the revaluation of the expectations related to the yield of metallurgical and thermal coal in the operations in Mozambique... Читать дальше...