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Rio Tinto said on Friday it will invest $1.9-billion to develop the Kangwinan bauxite project in Queensland, Australia, replacing output from its ageing Andoom mine and lifting annual production capacity at its Weipa bauxite operations.

The miner said the investment would add 20-million tonnes of annual bauxite production in Weipa, with first output targeted in 2029 and full production expected by 2032.

Located in Queensland, Weipa is one of the world's largest bauxite mining complexes. It supplies the ore to make alumina and aluminium for applications ranging from construction and transportation to packaging and renewable energy infrastructure.

Kangwinan will replace production from the Andoom mine near Weipa as it reaches the end of its life this decade, while increasing Weipa's annual production capacity to about 44-million tonnes from around 38-million tonnes currently.

The development will also help offset the planned 2029 closure of Rio's Gove bauxite mine in the Northern Territory.

The announcement follows Rio's agreement last month to acquire the adjacent Aurukun bauxite project from Glencore and Mitsubishi, subject to regulatory approvals, as it seeks to extend long-term growth in the region.

Rio said the combined Amrun, Kangwinan and Aurukun operations are expected to support its Weipa bauxite business well beyond the middle of the century.

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Minor platinum group metals (PGMs), particularly iridium and ruthenium, are continuing to outperform, supported by robust demand from emerging technology applications, Valterra Platinum reported on Friday, October 23.

The price Valterra realised for iridium in the three months ended September 30 was $7 720/oz, compared with $4 287/oz in the corresponding period of last year. The price realised for ruthenium in the quarter was $1 583/oz, compared with $799/oz in the third quarter of last year.

The price of iridium is rising because of supply constraints combined with growing industrial demand from green hydrogen, AI, and electronics and the ruthenium from data centre and cloud computing demand.

The six PGM products of integrated producer Valterra are platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and osmium, along with associated metals such as gold and base metals such as nickel and copper.

The average realised basket price was R38 815/PGM ounce, or $2 383/PGM ounce, representing year-on-year increases of 15% in rand terms and 24% in dollar terms.

Although major PGM prices moderated quarter-on-quarter amid weaker automotive sales and broader macroeconomic concerns, they remained well above prior-year levels, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company stated in its third-quarter production report on the stock exchange news service (SENS).

Total PGM production, expressed as metal-in-concentrate containing five element (5E) PGMs and gold, decreased by 6% to 804 300 oz, driven by lower own-mined volumes and by weaker purchase of concentrate volumes.

Own-mined PGM production decreased by 5% to 511 900 oz, primarily driven by the impact of safety stoppages at the Amandelbult underground operation, where Olwethu Kutta lost her life in a fall-of-ground at Tumela in July, which Valterra CEO Craig Miller has described as being unacceptable. "Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and colleagues and we remain unwavering in our commitment to preventing a recurrence."

A call to action has been launched to strengthen safety leadership and controls across the business, supported by an independent review from industry-leading safety specialists.

"The findings and recommendations from these processes are being implemented across our operations as we continue to strengthen our safety culture and pursue our goal of zero harm," Miller reported.

Purchases of PGM concentrate decreased by 7% to 292 400 oz, reflecting reduced volumes from various third-party producers.

While refined third-quarter PGM production, excluding tolling, decreased by 41% to 576 900 oz, refined production for the nine months ended September was broadly in line with the prior year.

Owing to the lower refined production, PGM sales volumes decreased by 27% but, once again, sales volumes for the nine months ended September remained in line with the same period in 2025.

Guidance for 2026 remains unchanged, with metal-in-concentrate and refined production expected to be between three-million ounces and 3.4-million ounces.

Cash operating unit costs are expected to be at or around the upper end of the guided range of R19 000/PGM ounce to R20 000/PGM ounce owing to inflationary pressures on fuel, drill steel, chemicals and certain explosives. These inflationary pressures are associated with the ongoing Middle East conflict, coupled with the impact of the safety-related stoppages on production volumes.

Mitigation initiatives remain in place through operational efficiencies, disciplined cost management and procurement interventions. The targeted all-in sustaining cost remains at about $1 050/3E ounce.

"Looking ahead, production remains on track to be delivered within our 2026 guidance range, and we remain focused on operating safely, executing with di...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Rainbow Rare Earths recent lab success; the sale of South Africa’s aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa Corporation; and Andrada Mining's quadrupled-plus gross profit.

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Gold Fields' South Deep mine has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, Mienara, Phahama School of Specialisation and Westcol Technical and Vocational Education and Training College (WTVETC) to support a collaborative initiative aimed at addressing the growing gap between skills development and employment opportunities.

The collaborative Siyakha Sonke initiative is South Deep mine's contribution to the Gold Fields group legacy programmes portfolio, a collection of long-term social investments designed to create sustainable opportunities and lasting benefits for host communities beyond the life of mining. Its programmes aim to strengthen community resilience, support sustainable development and promote long-term socioeconomic stability in host communities.

The initial MoUs bring together mining companies, educational institutions and growth sectors such as renewable energy and manufacturing to help prepare people for employment opportunities in a rapidly changing economy.

Additional partnerships are currently being explored and developed. In the West Rand, where mining remains a significant employer, unemployment, particularly among young people, continues to be a critical challenge. Siyakha Sonke, which means "we are building together", is a multi-stakeholder initiative catalysed by Gold Fields' South Deep mine and piloted in the West Rand.

The programme seeks to align and strengthen existing efforts across industry, education and other stakeholders to develop a scalable model that improves pathways to employment and supports more resilient local economies over the long term.

As technology, innovation and automation reshape industries, the programme aims to help ensure that skills development keeps pace with changing workforce requirements and that communities are better prepared for future opportunities.

"The resources we mine are not infinite, and technology is advancing rapidly. We need to close the gap between the skills required today and those needed tomorrow by developing capabilities that are future-ready and transferable across mining and other growth industries," Gold Fields South Africa senior VP Benford Mokoatle explained.

No single organisation can solve South Africa's skills and employment challenge. To support greater collaboration, Siyakha Sonke held its first working group meeting in June, bringing together stakeholders to map regional assets, identify collaboration opportunities and develop practical pilot initiatives to strengthen links between education, training and employment.

The programme is currently laying the foundation for four key workstreams aimed at aligning skills development with industry demand, identifying transferable skills that support mobility across sectors, strengthening pathways to employment, and fostering collaboration between industry, education institutions, government and other stakeholders.

Sibanye-Stillwater executive VP: stakeholder relations Thabisile Phumo pointed out that as the mining industry evolved, the skills required would change. "This partnership gives us an opportunity to identify potential replacement skills and create pathways for employees and communities to transition into successor economies. This is an important element of preparing for the future and strengthening the resilience of communities beyond the life of the mine."

The release to Mining Weekly stated that Siyakha Sonke's aim was to strengthen the link between skills development and employment opportunities.

The initiative, the release stated, brought together partners from the mining, education, training, government and private sector to help prepare communities for a changing economy and create pathways to future employme...

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.

To meet 2050 lithium demand, the equivalent of 134 new lithium mines will be needed, says supply chain researcher Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

This equates to a new mine every two months for the next 24 years, explains Benchmark Mineral Intelligence lithium product director Dr Cameron Perks.

He adds that demand growth between 2040 and 2050 alone will require 44 new lithium mines each producing about 36 000 t/y of lithium carbonate-equivalent (LCE).

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts that global lithium demand will reach about seven-million tonnes of LCE in 2050, with 76% of this driven by electric vehicles (EVs).

This is an increase of 4.8-million tonnes from demand of 2.11-million tonnes of LCE in 2026.

"Meeting 2050 demand will require more than $100-billion of investment before any contribution from recycling, rising to more than 180 mines in our upside scenario," says Perks.

"The biggest challenge is sustaining that investment through price cycles, while competing for capital with AI, defence and the wider energy transition."

DEMAND DRIVERS

Between 2026 and 2050, lithium demand is forecast to more than triple, with the vast majority of this growth driven by the battery market.

Batteries account for 92% of lithium demand in 2026, up from around 70% in 2020.

EVs currently account for 55% of lithium demand, and this is forecast to grow to 76% by 2050 as the rapid recent growth in stationary storage moderates.

"Lithium demand from stationary storage has grown more than 60% a year for the past two years, but we expect that pace to slow significantly, to around 5% a year to the end of the decade," Perks points out.

SOURCES

Australia is expected to be the largest producer of mined lithium in 2026, accounting for 29% of mined supply. However, Australia's share of forecast mine supply is set to fall to 20% by 2050, even with large-scale brownfield expansions such as PLS's P2000 factored in for a start around 2030.

"Many of Australia's mines will be depleting by 2050. Price volatility has made financiers hesitant, and the regulatory burden is growing. It's not too late, but if Australia doesn't back growth, other regions will take that share," Perks emphasises.

In contrast, China's share is set to remain relatively stable at around 25%, supported by continued investment in domestic resources and an emphasis on battery supply chain dominance.

North American supply is set to increase from 1.7% of mined supply in 2026 to 13% by 2050, as the region works to meet its own domestic requirements and reduce reliance on China. North America currently accounts for 6% of lithium demand from cell production, which is forecast to increase to 12% by 2050.

Europe is similarly targeting domestic and allied supply chain development. The region currently accounts for less than 1% of mined supply, despite accounting for 7% of lithium demand from cell production.

By 2050, 5.5% of mined lithium is forecast to come from Europe, which will take 8% of demand.

"Europe and North America face their own unique challenges. Many of the largest and most promising projects require novel technology or face environmental and community concerns. These aren't insurmountable, but they create significant delays, and they mean mines built in these regions simply cost more," Perks states.

HIGHER CASE

This analysis assumes Benchmark's base case. The number of mines could be significantly higher if Benchmark Mineral Intelligence's upside scenario of almost nine-million tonnes LCE of demand is realised, which would be largely driven by EV and energy storage policies worldwide.

Perks explains that in the firm's upside case, the equivalent number of mines rises to around 180, which would require well over $150-billion of new investment...