Новости за 26.02.2024

Australian researchers have made a step forward in addressing perhaps the biggest single obstacle to the large-scale roll-out of the hoped-for hydrogen economy: hydrogen embrittlement. This is the process whereby hydrogen causes high-strength materials, not least steel, to become brittle and crack. This means that hydrogen cannot be effectively stored and transported under high pressures. “The future of a large-scale hydrogen economy largely comes down to this issue,” highlighted University of Sydney researcher Dr Yi-Sheng Chen. Читать дальше...

The underwhelming results from two of the largest global multinational mining and commodity companies Anglo American and Glencore, which both released their 2023 financial and preliminary results last week, underscore the formidable challenges facing the commodity mining industry, trading company Tickmill South Africa MD Roger Eskinazi has said. “Anglo American's staggering 94% year-on-year decline in annual profit underscores the volatility inherent in commodity markets. [However], such drastic... Читать дальше...

The copper operations in Zambia of South Africa’s Jubilee Metals showed strong growth in the six months to December 31, with further sharp increases expected going forward. The Johannesburg- and London-listed Jubilee, led by CEO Leon Coetzer and chaired by former Mpumalanga Premier Mathews Phosa, recovers copper in Zambia and chrome and platinum group metals (PGMs) in South Africa, from historical waste rock, run-of-mine materials and tailings.

Brazilian miner Vale does not see signs of environmental or social breach at two of its mines whose operating licenses were suspended this week, Vale Base Metals chair Mark Cutifani said on Friday. Speaking at a conference call about the miner's fourth-quarter results, the executive said an administrative issue could have led to the suspensions at the mines in Para state in northern Brazil, and that Vale would work with authorities to resolve the matter.

Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals has had a strong end to 2023, with higher copper production, record gold production and record financial performance in the final quarter. This strong performance resulted in the miner achieving its yearly guidance metrics, with president and CEO Peter Kukielski describing 2023 as the year of “execution and delivery”.

Trade ministers from nearly every country in the world gathered in Abu Dhabi on Monday for a World Trade Organization meeting that aims to set new global commerce rules, but even its ambitious chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sought to curb expectations. The almost 30-year-old global watchdog, whose rules underpin 75% of global commerce, tries to strike deals by consensus, but such efforts are becoming more difficult amid signs that the global economy is fragmenting into separate blocs.

US aluminium producer Alcoa on Monday made a non-binding, conditional buyout proposal for its Australian joint venture partner Alumina, valuing the company at $2.2-billion in an all-stock offer. The deal raises exposure for the major aluminium maker in the upstream business of aluminium and simplifies governance for both parties. Alumina shareholders will also get exposure to the finished product aluminium in a bigger company.