MiningWeekly.com Audio Articles

The intensifying competition among China, the US and other major powers to secure future copper supplies is creating an opportunity for African producer countries to capture greater value from the metal’s supply chain, says political scientist and economist Gaylor Montmasson-Clai

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

A sale of De Beers, Anglo American's diamond unit, has never been closer, its CEO said on Tuesday, adding that a deal could come within weeks.

Anglo put De Beers - one of the world's leading diamond companies with operations and exploration spanning Botswana, Namibia, Angola, South Africa and Canada - up for sale in May 2024 as part of a broader restructuring amid falling diamond prices and the global rise of synthetic diamonds.

"I'm hopeful that it'll happen in weeks rather than months going forward," De Beers CEO Al Cook said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Europe conference in London. "It's been a two-year period. There's been a lot of negotiations. They're now maturing. We've never been closer than we are to a sale."

The unit has attracted interest from the governments of Botswana, which already holds a 15% stake, Namibia and Angola. They are members of consortia with companies interested in buying Anglo's 85% stake, according to sources.

"I think what's good for us is we've had countries that really understand diamonds," Cook said.

"We've had consortia and companies that know a lot about diamonds wanting to take stakes. So we've got. all the ingredients for a really powerful public-private partnership. But as with all deals, we need to get it over the line."

Sources previously told Reuters there are two consortia still vying to take stakes in De Beers, down from six in 2025. The two remaining consortia include governments of diamond-producing countries, former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, now chairperson of asset manager Ninety One, a Qatari investment fund and Israeli businessman Nir Livnat.

'DIAMONDS BECOMING RARER'

Demand for diamonds globally had fallen for three years in a row before a recent pick-up, Cook said, pointing to the plunging marriage rate in China and its knock-on effect on purchases of engagement rings.

Nonetheless, Cook said wider mine closures in South Africa, Lesotho and Canada by the end of 2027 will lead to a contraction of global supply.

"The whole industry has only made one commercial diamond discovery in the 21st century. So overall, we expect to see demand contract over time and diamonds will become rarer," Cook said.

Cook added that De Beers has been steadily cutting its own supply of stones to the market, adding that he saw a "K-shaped" economic recovery, where higher-quality diamonds are increasingly sought after, with lower quality stones remaining at depressed prices.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Brazilian miner Vale plans to invest up to 13-billion reais ($2.56-billion) in decarbonization initiatives to meet its voluntary emissions reduction targets and mitigate climate-related risks, a sustainability report showed on Monday.

The company did not specify the timeframe for the investment. The amount includes up to four-billion reais for decarbonizing operations, with 24% invested in the medium term and 76% in the long term.

Another eight-billion reais is linked to building industrial complexes focused on low-carbon technologies, which includes steelmaking transition technologies and iron ore briquette development.

The remaining one-billion reais would go for research and development, the firm said.

Vale invested nine-billion reais in decarbonization initiatives from 2020 to 2025.

Through these initiatives, Vale sees potential for financial and environmental returns for its business, sustainability executive VP Grazielle Parenti said in an interview with Reuters.

"Within Vale's governance framework, all projects and decisions of this caliber are evaluated using an environmental, social, and governance matrix that identifies potential risks and opportunities for each one," she said.

The company also warned on Monday it could face carbon costs of up to 22-billion reais at present value from carbon pricing mechanisms, with substantial impacts expected from 2030 onwards.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Trade union the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has expressed concern about the alleged deaths of two employees at Northam Zondereinde mine in Northam, in Limpopo.

According to preliminary information, AMCU notes that, on June 13, a development crew was conducting an early entry examination at 1 Shaft when a strain burst occurred at the development face. The union says the rock drill operator attempted to take evasive action but was struck by the rock.

AMCU says crew members immediately assisted the injured worker, moved him to a safe area, and administered first aid. The control room was informed, and paramedics were dispatched underground.

It notes that the occupational medical practitioner (OMP) and life support team attended to the injured employee and prepared him for airlift transfer to Milpark Hospital. He allegedly succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at the mine medical centre.

AMCU adds that a second fatal incident occurred at the same mine later that day in the processing plant's smelter converter aisle where a contractor employee supposedly died after falling from a crane during maintenance work.

The trade union notes that the control room was immediately notified and that paramedics were dispatched to the smelter. It adds that the OMP and life support team attended to the injured contractor employee.

Unfortunately, despite emergency response efforts in both cases, AMCU says they succumbed to their injuries.

"We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families, friends, and colleagues of the two workers who lost their lives while on duty. These tragic deaths represent not only the loss of workers but also the loss of breadwinners whose families will bear the consequences of these incidents for years to come," says AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa.

Mining Weekly has reached out to Northam for comment.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

ASX-listed lithium explorer PMET Resources has confirmed in a concept study that the Shaakichiuwaanaan project, in Québec's Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, can viably produce a value-added lithium chemical at site.

This offers reduced logistics intensity over time and aligns with Canada's objectives for domestic processing of critical minerals.

PMET set out to evaluate future potential to process spodumene concentrate into a value-added lithium product directly at the Shaakichiuwaanaan site.

The company completed a structured review of seven processing flowsheet options in this regard, opting ultimately for ASX-listed NRW Holdings' subsidiary Primero's ALi atmospheric leach process as the preferred value-added pathway for further study.

PMET says Primero's ALi proprietary process offers the best economic potential, strong logistics efficiency benefits and a low technical risk profile. The technology also minimises the project's environmental footprint.

Primero undertook bench-scale testwork on spodumene concentrate samples from Shaakichiuwaanaan using its ALi process, which produced a 99.8% battery-grade lithium carbonate.

If combined with the use of electric calcination through Québec's low-cost renewable energy, on-site value-added processing has future potential to reduce carbon intensity and improve efficiencies within the battery materials supply chain, PMET confirms.

The company adds that the on-site refining strategy is a staged, longer-term growth opportunity and is not required for the current proposed development of the base spodumene concentrate project outlined in the Shaakichiuwaanaan 2025 prefeasibility study.

Next, PMET aims to determine more economic benefits of value-added products on site including potential introduction of electrical calcination technology to leverage the full potential of Québec's renewable and low-cost hydroelectric power.

PMET COO Frederic Mercier-Langevin comments Shaakichiuwaanaan is already a Tier-1 asset and this concept study potentially identifies a credible pathway to capture additional value on top of it.

"Converting spodumene concentrate to a 'value-added' and potentially battery-grade lithium chemical on-site could deliver a lower-cost, lower-carbon flowsheet powered by Québec hydroelectricity. Primero's bench scale results on our concentrates indicate battery-grade purity possibility and the logistics savings could be material."

PMET CEO, MD and president Ken Brinsden highlights that the lithium industry has been mining hard-rock lithium in one place and refining it in another for decades. The refining has often taken place overseas, which is hardly the most efficient supply chain solution.

"The work we are reporting points to the potential for a redefinition of the supply chain. It could be a credible alternate pathway, demonstrated at bench scale with our spodumene concentrates, to refine battery-grade lithium at the mine gate in a stable, Western and low-carbon supply chain.

"This is the king of industry step-change, coupled with Shaakichiuwaanaan's premier geology, that drew me to this project," Brinsden concludes.