The company reported that tin output in the first quarter of 2025 dropped 18% to 4,270 tonnes, compared to 5,237 tonnes in Q4 2024.

The decline follows a temporary halt in operations in March after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced into the nearby town of Walikale.

Shares of Alphamin Resources fell 1.2% by midday Thursday, for a market capitalization of C$1.05 billion ($760 million).

Bisie, which contributes roughly 6% of the world’s tin supply, resumed processing stockpiled ore this week after rebels withdrew from the area. Alphamin noted that underground mining operations are expected to restart later this month.

Last year, the mine produced approximately 17,300 tonnes of tin. The temporary suspension has impacted Q1 output and led to the revised annual guidance.

The conflict in eastern Congo has intensified in recent months, with M23 rebels capturing several key areas, including the regional capital Goma, a critical logistics hub for mining operations.

Following the announcement, Lithium Americas’ US-listed shares surged 5.6% in morning trading in New York, reaching $2.99 per share and giving the company a market capitalization of $656 million.

Thacker Pass, home to the largest known measured and indicated lithium resource in North America, was approved by the Trump administration in January 2021, just days before President Joe Biden took office.

The project is slated to begin production later this decade and is set to become a critical supplier to General Motors (NYSE: GM), which invested $625 million last year to acquire a 38% stake.

To develop the site, Lithium Americas and GM established a joint venture, Lithium Nevada Ventures, which is expected to generate nearly 2,000 direct jobs.

Once operational, Phase 1 of Thacker Pass is projected to produce 40,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate annually, enough to power up to 800,000 electric vehicles. Completion of Phase 1 is targeted for late 2027.

Orion’s financial commitment

Orion’s investment includes $195 million in senior unsecured convertible notes, a $25 million Production Payment Agreement, under which Orion will receive payments based on minerals processed and gross revenue generated by Thacker Pass and an additional $30 million in convertible notes, which Orion has committed to purchasing within two years.

Orion has tentatively agreed to evaluate financing of up to $500 million for the construction and development of Phase 2 of Thacker Pass.

The investment is expected to close the week of March 10, 2025.

The company also reported a 154% increase in the total amount of contained palladium equivalent (PdEq) ounces, compared to the previous estimate in 2023.

Bravo’s shares were trading at C$2.54 on Tuesday morning, up 10.43% in Toronto. The company has a market capitalization of C$277 million ($195 million).

Strategic location

Luanga is located approximately 40 km east-northeast of Parauapebas, the mining capital of Pará and home to the Carajás complex — the main iron ore production hub of Vale SA.

According to Bravo, the inferred resources at the deposit have increased to 78 million tonnes with a grade of 2.01 grams per tonne (g/t) of palladium equivalent, resulting in a total of 5 million oz. of palladium equivalent.

The company also reported that measured and indicated categories now account for 67% of the total resource, an increase from 38% in the 2023 estimate.

Bravo’s new pit-constrained mineral resource estimate includes 158 million tonnes with a grade of 2.04 g/t palladium equivalent, amounting to a total of 10.4 million oz. of palladium equivalent.

“The 2025 MRE firmly establishes our Luanga project as one of the few large-scale, multi-million-ounce, open-pit PGM deposits available globally, in mining-friendly, geopolitically favorable locations,” said Luis Azevedo, Bravo’s chairman and CEO.

The company reported nearly 100 metres of copper and nickel mineralization from its first drill hole at the Boulderdash target in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with a grade of 1.6% copper equivalent, starting at a depth of 9.1 metres. It now plans to add more drill holes for further evaluation.

“The distribution and abundance of magmatic sulphides intersected in the initial drilling at Boulderdash bear a striking resemblance to the early drill results from the Eagle deposit,” Dean Rossell, Talon’s chief exploration geologist said in a news release.

Rossell is credited with discovering the Eagle deposit.

“In 2001, one of the first drill holes intersected a long interval of disseminated sulphides with minor net-textured sulphides, which inspired us to drill the discovery hole in 2002, where we intersected 84.2 metres of high-grade massive sulphide mineralization,” Rossell said.

“US leaders are laser-focused on US dependency on critical minerals produced by foreign entities of concern. The discovery of a potential new domestic resource of copper and nickel is very timely,” CEO Henri van Rooyen added.

Talon’s mineral exploration activities in Michigan and Minnesota are funded by the US Department of Defense, which announced in 2023 that it would provide $20.6 million for accelerated exploration in both states.

Cantor Fitzgerald mining analyst Matthew O’Keefe said in a note to clients that the hole was “impressive” and could be indicative of a larger system, similar to Eagle.

In 2022, Talon entered into an option and earn-in agreement with UPX Minerals to acquire up to 80% ownership in mineral rights over a 1,620-sq.-km land package in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The first hole drilled at Boulderdash is part of this land package.

By 11 a.m. EDT in Toronto, Talon Metals’ shares were up 11%. The Canadian miner has a market capitalization of C$93.5 million ($67.5m).

Eramet announced the lowered forecasts late on Tuesday, citing a downturn in the manganese market and a smaller-than-expected permit allowance in Indonesia.

The Moanda mine in Gabon and the Weda Bay mine in Indonesia have driven Eramet’s growth, as its historic nickel operation in New Caledonia has been drained by losses and social unrest.

Analysts at ODDO BHF called the news “another setback” for Eramet, following its July reduction of 2024 targets for ore output in Gabon and Indonesia, while also trimming short-term targets for a new lithium mine in Argentina.

Eramet attributed the deterioration in the manganese market to falling Chinese output of carbon steel — which requires manganese in its production — and an influx of low-grade ore after a price surge earlier this year.

The company’s full-year sales volumes of high-grade manganese ore are estimated to be between 6.0 and 6.5 million tonnes in 2024, of which approximately 700,000 tonnes are internal sales.

As a result, Eramet has decided to suspend ore production at the Moanda mine for a minimum of three weeks. According to the company, sales and shipments will continue during this period.

The 2024 volume target for produced and transported manganese ore was revised to between 6.5 and 7.0 million tonnes, down from the previous 7.0 to 7.5 million tonnes.

In Indonesia, the mines ministry this week issued PT Weda Bay Nickel, Eramet’s joint venture with Chinese group Tsingshan, a revised allowance of 32 million wet tonnes annually for 2024-2026, including 3 million for internal sales, according to Eramet.

As a result, the operation’s 2024 volume target for external marketable nickel ore has been revised to 29 million wet tonnes, down from the previous 40 to 42 million tonnes. Eramet noted that the impact on the operation’s 2024 financial performance is expected to be largely offset by higher ore premiums due to domestic supply restrictions.

(With files from Reuters)

The metal fell by more than 1% on the London Metal Exchange as sentiment across China’s financial markets turned sour again.

Copper for December delivery declined 1.54% from Monday’s settlement, reaching $4.33/lb. ($9,526/t) in early morning trade on the Comex in New York.

[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]

Authorities in China have sharply ramped up policy stimulus since late September to revive the economy and ensure growth will reach the government’s target of around 5% this year.

However, a Reuters poll showed that China’s economy is likely to expand 4.8% in 2024, undershooting the government’s target. Growth could cool further to 4.5% in 2025, maintaining pressure on policymakers as they consider more stimulus measures.

“The main pressure is from the consumption side, which is linked to deflationary pressures,” said Xing Zhaopeng, ANZ’s senior China strategist.

Last week, China’s finance minister pledged to “significantly increase” debt to revive growth, leaving investors guessing about the overall size of the stimulus package.

The government will release third-quarter GDP data and September retail sales, industrial production and investment data on Oct. 18.

(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)

Salinas is located approximately 60 miles north of the company’s flagship Neves project, where it plans to begin first lithium concentrate production soon.

The Salinas property spans 388 hectares (approximately 959 acres), and is situated just 5 miles east of Latin Resources’ Colina project, a significant lithium deposit.

Atlas Lithium’s technical team has also completed soil geochemistry and LIDAR geological mapping with favorable results. It is now pursuing further geological and geophysical studies before launching a drilling campaign.

At its flagship Neves project, the company expects to begin production in Q4 2024. Annual lithium production is projected to reach 300,000 tonnes following an expansion in late 2025, which is enough to power about 1 million electric vehicles.

In March, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. announced a $30 million investment to acquire a 12% stake in Atlas Lithium, seeking to venture into Brazilian lithium mines and meet the growing demand for EV battery materials.

Shares of Atlas Lithium rose 5% on the NASDAQ by 12:30 p.m. EDT. The Florida-based company has a market capitalization of $106 million.

Shengchao Yan, a doctoral student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead researcher on the study, explained that when magmatic mixtures are subjected to volcanic conditions, they separate into two distinct components: an iron phosphate (FeP) melt and a silicate melt. This process results in REEs becoming concentrated in the IOA deposits.

The global demand for REEs, which are essential for green energy technologies, has surged in recent years.

Despite being relatively abundant, these elements are often difficult to mine due to their tendency to occur in small concentrations or in complex mixtures with other minerals. Unexpected discoveries of REE-enriched rocks have been made in iron mines in places like Sweden and Chile, located on extinct iron-rich volcanoes with large IOA deposits.

Michael Anenburg, an experimental petrologist at Australian National University and coauthor of the study, noted that the presence of rare earth elements is often overlooked in such mines.

“In many cases, we find REEs or other metals by accident,” he said. While these mines primarily extract iron oxide, further investigation may reveal untapped REE reserves.

Currently, China dominates the global market for rare earths, accounting for 70% of mine output and 89% of refining.

The mining industry will require $2.1 trillion in new investments by 2050 to meet the raw material demands of a net-zero emissions world, according to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) annual Transition Metals Outlook.

Despite a decade of growth in metals supply, BNEF reports that current raw material availability remains insufficient to meet the rising demand.

The report highlights that critical energy transition metals, including aluminum, copper and lithium, could face supply deficits this decade — some as early as this year.

According to BNEF’s Economic Transition Scenario (ETS), which assumes no new policy support and is driven by the cost competitiveness of technologies, the world may need 3 billion tonnes of metals between 2024 and 2050 to support low-carbon solutions such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and electrolyzers. That figure could rise to 6 billion tonnes to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Recycling could help alleviate some of the pressure, with BNEF predicting that output from secondary sources will become an integral part of the energy transition metals supply chain.

“Good government policies are crucial to the industry’s success. For batteries and stationary storage, governments need to establish collection networks, set recovery rate requirements, develop frameworks to trace individual cells, and provide guidelines for second-life battery management,” BNEF metals and mining associate Allan Ray Restauro said.

The pace of demand growth will vary across regions.

In China, for instance, consumption outpaced the global average between 2020 and 2023, but the country’s demand for energy transition metals is expected to peak in 2030. Southeast Asia is projected to become the fastest-growing market for these metals during the 2030s, according to BNEF’s ETS.

Read More: Lack of capital rises to top risk in EY mining survey

His compensation package includes a fixed salary, bonuses, stock options, and benefits, according to regulatory filings from the mining company and as reported by Inteligencia Financeira.

At least 30% of Vale executives’ short-term compensation depends on meeting targets related to safety, risk management and sustainability. For long-term compensation, since 2022, at least 25% of performance goals have been tied to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.

Vale has set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2030.

Overall, about 80% of the new CEO’s compensation is tied to meeting specific targets.

Formerly Vale’s CFO, Pimenta took on the CEO role this Tuesday, beginning a three-year term.

He began his career in 2004 as an auditor at KPMG, where he worked for nearly three years. He then joined Citi as an executive in New York, staying for almost six years, including during the 2008 financial crisis.

In the following year, the executive joined AES Brazil, serving as vice president of services and later as vice president of finance and investor relations.

He went on to hold the same position in AES’s international operations. Pimenta also served on the boards of companies such as AES Gener in Chile and AES Clean Energy in the United States. He eventually moved to Vale as CFO, a position he held for almost three years before becoming the company’s CEO.

In an interview with CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe,” Forrest urged business leaders and politicians reluctant to take decisive action on the climate crisis to make way for those prepared to lead the push toward decarbonization.

“We know the world can reach real zero by 2040. I’m reaching out to business people and politicians across the globe to say it’s time to abandon the proven fantasy of net zero 2050 and adopt real zero 2040,” Forrest said.

“We can, we must, and we should do it now.”

Fortescue has already set plans to eliminate fossil fuels from its Australian iron ore operations by 2030.

Last week, the company, in collaboration with German-Swiss manufacturer Liebherr, secured orders for 100 battery-powered autonomous mining trucks for other mining and transport companies. These trucks were developed as part of Forrest’s broader strategy to cut both direct and indirect emissions.

“Real zero means using the technology we have now—technology that’s rapidly improving—to stop burning fossil fuels by 2040,” Forrest said.

“Achieving this by 2030 gives us a 50:50 chance of avoiding the worst impacts of global warming,” he added.

Fortescue has been exploring various strategies to produce green iron metal, which, according to Forrest, could see strong demand from steel plants in China, Japan, South Korea and Europe.

In a report released on Monday, the mining giant noted that global copper demand has historically grown at a compound annual rate of 3.1% over the last 75 years. However, the growth rate slowed to 1.9% in the 15 years leading up to 2021.

“Looking ahead to 2035, we anticipate this growth rate to rise again to 2.6% annually,” the report reads.

In 2023, total copper demand reached 31 million tonnes, comprising 25 million tonnes of copper cathode and 6 million tonnes of copper scrap.

“As we look towards 2050, we foresee global copper demand increasing by 70% to reach 50 million tonnes annually. This will be driven by copper’s role in both current and emerging technologies, as well as the world’s decarbonization goals,” notes BHP’s chief commercial officer Rag Udd.

Energy transition driving copper demand

The company expects that by 2050, the energy transition sector will represent 23% of copper demand, up from the current 7%. The digital sector, which includes data centers, 5G, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and blockchain, is projected to account for 6% of copper demand, up from 1% today.

“As the energy transition unfolds, we anticipate the roll-out of EVs to lift the transport sector’s share of total copper demand from around 11% in 2021, to over 20% by 2040,” BHP notes, adding that it expects global electricity consumption for data centers to rise from around 2% of total demand today, to 9% by 2050, with copper demand in data centers increasing six-fold by then.

While China’s copper demand is expected to continue growing, it will do so at a slower pace, as the country’s copper consumption per capita remains about half that of developed nations. India is also expected to see increasing demand.

“India’s electricity consumption per capita currently stands at around one-seventh of Japan’s and one-fifth of China’s, and we expect its copper demand to grow five-fold over its pre-covid volumes in the coming decades as electricity is made more accessible,” BHP estimates.

On the supply side, copper mining faces challenges due to rising costs and declining ore grades.

“We estimate that the average copper mine grade has decreased by approximately 40% since 1991. We expect between one-third and one-half of global copper supply to face grade decline and aging challenges in the next decade,” BHP says.

The company estimates that $250 billion in investment will be required over the next decade to address the widening gap between copper supply and demand.

Read more: Codelco’s copper output has begun to recover, chairman says

Volt Lithium (TSXV: VLT) has achieved first lithium production on its US field operations in the Permian Basin, Texas. The company began operating its direct lithium extraction (DLE) system last week and is currently optimizing its field unit.

According to the company, the next step will be the production of lithium chloride concentrate, which will be converted to battery-grade lithium carbonate at Volt’s field simulation centre in Calgary, Alberta. As the company scales up to full operations, downstream refining is expected to shift onsite.

“Achieving first lithium production establishes Volt as a leader in direct lithium extraction from North American oilfield brines and marks the company’s strategic shift from development to production,” Volt Lithium CEO Alex Wylie said in a news release.

Volt aims to ramp up commercial production to 100,000 barrels per day of brine during the second half of 2025.

Volt’s DLE approach involves a two-stage process. The first focuses on removing contaminants from the brine before extraction. In the second stage, the breakthrough in their technology came with the development of specialized ion exchange beads, the company said.

“Unlike traditional beads, their innovative creation boasted a size of five microns and an impressive 800 times the surface area of other industry standard beads, enhancing their extraction efficiency,” Wylie told The Northern Miner in 2023.

This advancement, he said, allowed the team to consistently extract lithium from brines during various testing stages, including successful pilot projects.

Volt’s shares were up 28% in Toronto on Thursday morning, bringing the company’s market capitalization to approximately C$68 million (about $50 million).

Copper for December delivery increased by 3.4% from Wednesday’s settlement, reaching $4.64 per pound ($10,208 per tonne) in early morning trade on the Comex in New York.

[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that China’s Politburo aims to stabilize the real estate market, calling for “forceful” rate cuts to stop its decline. Bloomberg previously reported that China is considering a $142 billion capital injection into its largest state banks.

This move by the Politburo follows the central bank’s introduction of its largest stimulus package since the pandemic, intended to lift the economy out of its deflationary phase and push it toward the government’s growth target.

Further boosting sentiment, data showed that the US economy has rebounded from the pandemic in stronger shape than previously estimated.

“Policy risks from the US have clouded the outlook for base metals, as well as the timing of the recovery in global growth,” Citigroup said in a note.

The bank highlighted concerns about a potential softening in the US labor market, uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US presidential election, and weakness in manufacturing.

Earlier this month, analysts at Bank of America (BofA) projected copper price would rise above $10,000 per tonne by 2025. BofA said the copper price remains strong due to high demand, constrained supply and increased investment in energy transition projects.

“Manufacturing activity should stabilize as the Fed cuts rates, so we maintain our constructive copper view into 2025,” the bank’s analysts said.

Mining stocks also surged. Glencore rose as much as 5.8% in London, while BHP gained 4.8%, and Freeport-McMoRan increased by 7.5% in New York.

(With files from Bloomberg)

In a statement, US Steel said it has satisfied each of the conditions of the successorship clause of its Basic Labor Agreement (BLA) with the USW and that no further action is required to proceed to closing the pending transaction.

On January, USW leadership filed a series of grievances alleging that the successorship clause in the BLA had not been satisfied.

According to US Steel, the board of arbitration recognized the commitments Nippon Steel made to fulfill the requirements of the successorship clause—including its commitment to invest no less than $1.4 billion in USW-represented facilities, not to conduct layoffs or plant closings during the term of the BLA, and to protect the best interests of US Steel.

“With the arbitration process now behind us, we look forward to moving ahead with our pending transaction with Nippon Steel,” US Steel CEO David Burritt said in a statement.

Nippon Steel clinched the deal to buy US Steel last December, outbidding rivals such as Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal and Nucor, and paying a hefty premium.

The deal, however, has faced political opposition from both powerful Democrats and Republicans.

US Steel is headquartered in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state hotly contested by both candidates in the November presidential election.

(With files from Reuters)

Environmental reclamation and site restoration costs for 24 major mining companies reached $72 billion in 2023, up from $40 billion in 2013.

According to Moody’s, this figure represents about 42% of the mining industry’s outstanding long-term debt at the fiscal year-end of 2023.

The 24 companies studied spent between $1.4 billion and $1.8 billion annually on AROs during the 2013-2018 period. However, since 2018, their ARO payments have more than doubled to approximately $3.7 billion in FY2023 — a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.2%.

This increase comes as governments have tightened regulations on mining in recent years to promote more sustainable practices.

As of the end of 2023, Rio Tinto had the largest ARO provision, followed by BHP, Newmont, Glencore and Vale.

To put this into perspective, Rio Tinto’s 2023 AROs represent 32% of its revenue. For BHP and Vale, the figure stands at 18%.

The funding is intended to support the construction of the central processing facility for Phase 1 of the South West Arkansas project, located in Lafayette and Columbia counties in Arkansas.

The funding is one of the largest awards ever granted to a US critical minerals project. It is part of the second wave of funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, intended to award $3 billion to 25 projects for battery manufacturing sector.

The project aims to produce 22,500 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually in its initial phase, using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.

Ownership of the South West Arkansas project is divided between Standard Lithium, holding 55%, and Norway’s state-owned Equinor, holding the other 45%.

Standard Lithium plans to achieve a total annual output of 45,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate at South West Arkansas, to be developed in two phases of 22,500 tonnes each.

Standard Lithium noted that a definitive feasibility study (DFS) and front-end engineering design (FEED) are currently underway to support this expansion.

Shares of Standard Lithium rose 7% by 11:30 p.m. EDT. The miner has a market capitalization of C$336 million ($248 million).

K.Hill is a near-surface manganese oxide deposit located about 60 km southwest of Gaborone, Botswana’s capital.

The miner will process manganese oxide material on-site to produce high-purity manganese sulphate, making it one of the few battery-grade manganese projects outside China, which controls 90% of global high-purity manganese supply.

The K.Hill mine is set to produce 80,000 tonnes of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate annually, with a projected lifespan of 57 years. Over this period, the mine is expected to supply more than 3.5 million tonnes of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate to the electric vehicle industry.

“The next step is production of battery-grade manganese from our demonstration plant, which is under construction in Johannesburg, South Africa, and due to be commissioned during Q4 of this year,” the company said in a statement.

Botswana, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, is looking to diversify within the mining sector with minerals such as copper, nickel, coal and iron ore.

Shares of Giyani Metals rose 6.7% by 12:10 p.m. EDT in Toronto. The miner has a market capitalization of C$22 million ($16 million).

Guitry is an advanced exploration project located in a highly prospective greenstone belt. Some of the drill results include 12 metres grading 10.4 g/t gold, 16 metres grading 7.90 g/t gold, 24 metres grading 2.02 g/t gold and 16 metres grading 2.25 g/t gold.

Thor said it plans to conduct further exploration work and drilling, targeting a first resource estimate of between 500,000 and 1 million oz. before the end of next year.

In addition to acquiring Guitry, Thor has entered into an option agreement with Goldridge Resources SARL to earn up to an 80% interest in Boundiali, an early-stage exploration permit.

Boundiali is located in northwest Côte d’Ivoire and contains several continuous soil geochemical anomalies that Thor has identified for drilling.

“Côte d’Ivoire hosts over 30% of West Africa’s greenstone belts and is proving to be an emerging region for world-class gold discoveries,” Thor Exploration CEO Segun Lawson said in a news release.

Thor currently holds a 100% interest in the Segilola gold project in Osun, Nigeria, and a 70% economic interest in the Douta gold project in southeastern Senegal.

Shares of Thor Explorations rose 1.4% by 12:32 p.m. EDT. The miner has a market capitalization of C$226 million ($166 million).

The miner also raised its production forecast for 2024 to between 550,000 ounces and 590,000 ounces, a 13% increase from its January guidance.

The company said the increase is driven by the incorporation of the Magino mine, as well as higher output from the Mulatos district in Mexico.

With the closing of the Argonaut Gold acquisition on July 12, 2024, less than half a year of production from Magino is being incorporated into 2024 estimates. Magino is expected to produce 40,000 to 50,000 ounces in the second half of 2024.

The acquisition gave Alamos a fourth long-life producing asset in addition to its two mines in Ontario – Young-Davidson and Island – and Mulatos in Mexico. It also has the Lynn Lake development project in Manitoba, which received federal environmental approval last year, as well as others in Turkey and Oregon.

“The addition of Magino has enhanced our already strong growth profile, and its integration with Island Gold is expected to drive significant synergies and open up longer-term opportunities,” Alamos CEO John McCluskey said in a news release.

“Longer-term we have the capacity to grow company-wide production to approximately 900,000 ounces per year, with further upside potential through future expansions of the Island Gold District,” he said.

Shares of Alamos Gold rose 3% by 12:30 p.m. EDT in Toronto. The miner has a market capitalization of C$11.79 billion ($8.67 billion).

The increase is primarily owing to a three-month delay in the expected start of gold production, now pushed to the second quarter of 2025, B2Gold said.

The acceleration of certain capital expenses, which were initially scheduled for after the start of production, has also contributed to the revised estimate, it added.

According to the company, construction and development continues to progress on track for first gold pour at Goose in the second quarter of 2025 followed by a ramp-up to commercial production in the third quarter.

B2Gold anticipates that once in commercial production, the Goose mine will produce approximately 310,000 ounces of gold per year over the first full five years.

Deal for Fekola mine

Earlier this week, B2Gold announced that it has reached terms with the government of Mali to resolve all issues surrounding the Fekola mine complex and related projects in light of the application of a new mining code.

The Malian government, under a new regime, currently holds a 20% interest in Fekola.

In a press release dated Sept. 11, the Canadian gold miner confirmed that the Fekola mine complex, including the Fekola and Cardinal open pits and the proposed underground project, will continue to be governed by the 2012 mining code.

This, said B2Gold, would offer the company continued stability of ownership, income tax and customs regimes, and its dispute resolution rights under the Fekola Mining Convention, which would run through 2040.

B2Gold estimates Fekola regional projects could generate approximately 80,000 to 100,000 ounces of additional gold production per year starting in early 2025. Initial gold production from the Fekola underground project is expected to begin shortly after.

Shares of B2Gold rose 4% by 12:10 p.m. EDT in Toronto. The miner has a market capitalization of C$5.72 billion ($4.21 billion).

During August, Coeur placed 2.7 million tonnes of ore on the new Stage IV leach pad at Rochester, a substantial 39% increase over July’s ore stacking figures.

The company stated it remains on track to place 7 to 8 million tonnes per quarter during the second half of 2024 and to achieve its full-year production guidance of 4.8 to 6.6 million oz. of silver and 37,000 to 50,000 oz. of gold.

Shares of Coeur Mining were up 15.47% by 12:14 a.m. EDT. The miner has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion.

“Today’s update shows the company is well on track to achieve H2 targets,” BMO wrote in a note.

“We continue to expect that the Rochester expansion will facilitate a shift to positive free cash flow for Coeur in H2.”

Crusher optimizations progressing

With the crusher running at full capacity, Coeur’s focus has shifted to optimizing recoveries by reducing the crush size of the Rochester ore.

Coeur’s year-end target is to reduce the crush size to 80% passing 5/8″, and the company has indicated it is currently exceeding expectations, with recent improvements yielding a crush size of 3/4″.

Located in Pershing county, Nevada, the Rochester mine first began operations in 1986. After a brief pause between 2007 and 2010, operations resumed in 2011.

Once operating at full capacity, throughput levels are expected to be approximately 2.5 times higher than historical levels, making Rochester one of the world’s largest open-pit heap-leach operations.

Rochester is also expected to be the largest source of US-produced and refined silver.

The Brazilian miner expressed confidence in meeting the upper end of its guidance set earlier this year. Shares of Vale rose 3% in New York after the production update.

Adding to this positive outlook, Vale has begun commissioning the Vargem Grande 1 project with wet processing at the Vargem Grande complex in Minas Gerais. This move, it said, will allow iron ore production to resume at around 15 million metric tons per year.

Since 2019, the Vargem Grande 1 plant has operated with natural moisture due to the unavailability of water capture and disposal at the Vargem Grande dam, which is currently undergoing de-characterization.

With the shift to wet processing, Vale expects to improve the average ore quality by approximately 2% in iron content.

“The project represents an important step towards achieving the iron ore production guidance of 340-360 million metric tons by 2026, resulting in an improved product portfolio, greater production capacity, and increased operational flexibility,” the Brazilian miner highlighted.

Following a tumultuous succession process, Vale’s incoming CEO, Gustavo Pimenta, has been tasked with maximizing iron ore output to boost efficiencies at the Brazilian mining giant, despite China’s declining demand for the steelmaking ingredient.

Iron ore traded near its lowest level in almost two years last week as China’s steel slowdown weighed on the global market.

Vale slightly lowered its forecast for nickel output in 2024 to between 153,000 and 168,000 metric tons, down from the previous estimate of 160,000 to 175,000 tons. The company attributed this adjustment to a partial divestment from Vale Indonesia, completed in July.

Innovation investments to exceed $400 million

Additionally, Vale’s executive vice president of technical affairs, Rafael Bittar, told Reuters that the company expects to maintain annual investments of more than $400 million in research, development, and innovation (RD&I) over the coming years. In 2023, the company invested $447.8 million in RD&I.

According to Bittar, Vale’s RD&I efforts are focused on the future of mining, emphasizing the comprehensive use of autonomous equipment, control centers, minimally invasive techniques and a level of subsoil knowledge sufficient to extract only what is needed — aiming for zero waste, rejects and carbon emissions.

Currently, Vale has around 800 people dedicated to innovation efforts in Brazil.

(With files from Bloomberg and Reuters)

According to Yussupov, sanctions caused by the war in Ukraine have created obstacles to supplying Western utilities.

“It is much easier for us to sell most, if not all, of our production to our Asian partners — I wouldn’t call [out] the specific country . . . They can eat up almost all of our production or our partners to the north,” he told the FT.

“It’s much easier to sell to them, but we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket.”

The world’s largest uranium producer wants to keep selling to US and European utilities, even though shipping material on the traditional, cheaper route via St Petersburg is no longer an option because of the risk of sanctions.

The Kazakh state miner has sought to establish a more expensive alternative route to ship material through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Black Sea.

Kazakhstan produces 43% of the world’s uranium. Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear monopoly, holds a stake in five of Kazatomprom’s 14 deposits and receives 20% of the country’s output, according to Yussupov.

In 2023, Kazatomprom sent 49% of its uranium production to Asia, 32% to Europe and 19% to America.

On Tuesday, the company announced that it had obtained a six-year subsoil use licence for uranium exploration at block 5 of Budenovskoye deposit, located in the Suzak district of the Turkestan region. The licence is exclusive to Kazatomprom.

“The new block, Budenovskoye 5, holds promise for further development and is an important step of Kazatomprom’s strategy on replenishment of uranium resources,” said Yussupov.

The uranium resources at the site are estimated to be more than 18,000 tonnes, according to the miner.

Shares of Kazatomprom were trading up 0.14% in London at 15:30 BST, with the company having a market cap of $7.62 billion.

According to the news outlet, representatives of the Canadian miner met with Argentine officials and announced that they will begin construction of the project, located 230 km west of the city of Salta.

The announcement was made during Argentina Mining 2024, an international mining sector event held in the province of Salta.

Taca Taca is a copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry deposit with significant potential and is at an advanced exploration stage.

As of 2013, the project’s measured and indicated resources were reported at 9.6 million tonnes of contained copper, plus inferred resources of 3.4 million tonnes. First Quantum acquired 100% of Taca Taca from Lumina Copper Corporation in 2014 through its subsidiary, Corriente Argentina SA (CASA).

The project is expected to create a large number of direct and indirect jobs, boosting the socio-economic growth of the province.

Speaking to Rumbo Minero, general manager John Dean said construction is scheduled to begin in 2025.

According to the report, the Salta government signed an agreement stipulating that the Argentine Geological and Mining Service will provide scientific and technical assistance in evaluating the environmental and social impact study of the project, as well as participate in subsequent activities such as oversight and monitoring.

Shares of First Quantum Minerals rose 0.4% by 12:10 p.m. EDT. The miner has a market capitalization of C$11.7 billion ($8.6 billion).

The company has not responded to a request for comment.

On August 31, the Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators produced a combined daily production record of 2,096 tonnes of copper. This included 1,760 tonnes from the Phase 1 and 2 concentrators, which also marked a new daily production record for these units.

The ramp-up of the Phase 3 concentrator to steady-state production is progressing well, with approximately 350,000 tonnes of ore milled in August, the company said in a press release. This equates to an annualized throughput of 4.2 million tonnes per year.

By the end of the month, the average daily milling rate was approaching the nameplate annualized processing rate of 5 million tonnes, with the potential to exceed this capacity, Ivanhoe said.

Year-to-date, the combined production from the Kamoa-Kakula operation is approximately 263,000 tonnes of copper, with 14,000 tonnes produced by the Phase 3 concentrator.

The company also said it is on track to achieve its 2024 production guidance for Kamoa-Kakula of between 440,000 and 490,000 tonnes of copper.

Shares of Ivanhoe Mines rose 1% by 12:10 p.m. EDT. The miner has a market capitalization of C$22.2 billion ($16.4 billion).

In Singapore, futures declined by 1.7% to $92 a ton at 4:30 p.m. local time, marking a fourth consecutive day of losses.

Meanwhile, the most actively traded January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange in China dropped 3.09% to 689.5 yuan ($96.95) per metric ton, its weakest level since August 22, 2023.

“Iron ore supply will most likely continue to rise no matter what,” said Chen Guanyin, an analyst at Mysteel Global.

“So, whether iron ore drops further will largely depend on whether demand for steel products sees a substantial rebound from the seasonal lull.”

This latest downturn comes after a brief rebound above $100 a ton last week. The decline is partly driven by a slowdown in China’s services sector activity in August, even during the peak summer travel season, according to a private-sector survey released Wednesday.

“Last week’s blindly optimistic and irrational sentiment rally is now being rationally unwound, as the market once again comes to terms with the realization of terrible downstream steel demand-side fundamentals in China”, said Atilla Widnell, managing director at Navigate Commodities.

“Despite numerous policies aimed at stemming the downturn in house prices and corresponding losses in wealth, it looks like the market has made its peace that these measures will not directly or immediately contribute to healthier construction activity and associated steel consumption,” Widnell added.

The data comes on the back of slowing growth in China’s new home prices, as its crisis-hit property sector struggles to find its bottom.

Immediate challenges facing China’s steel sector also include the domestic business environment, a rise in protectionism globally and local policies, said ANZ analysts in a note.

The ongoing crisis in the steel industry has led China’s largest mills to warn that the sector must adapt to a new reality of declining demand.

“Demand for steel in China, the world’s biggest producer, appears set to slip,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Richard Bourke and Grant Sporre wrote in a note.

(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)

“US Steel is an historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies,” Harris said during a Labor Day event with unions in Pittsburgh, home to both US Steel and the United Steelworkers union (USW), which has opposed the sale.

US Steel’s stock fell 3.25% in Tuesday morning’s trading in New York after Harris made her pitch in Pennsylvania.

Nippon Steel has previously pledged to honor the agreements between US Steel and USW, as well as to move its own US headquarters to Pittsburgh, where US Steel is based.

Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump has also called for the transaction to be blocked.

Harris’ comments on Monday “make it clear that she understands the crucial role of the steel industry, not only when it comes to safeguarding our national security, but also to ensuring a brighter future for the workers and communities that depend on good, union jobs,” USW leaders said in a statement.

Nippon Steel announced last week an additional $1.3 billion in investments in US Steel’s unionized mills to try and win over the union, which had voiced concerns about longer-term prospects for its workers once the current labor agreement expires in 2026.

Japan’s biggest steelmaker has also recently hired former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to help with its effort to acquire US Steel.

(With files from Bloomberg)

The Vancouver-based miner has already initiated construction activities on site and plans to complete construction and commissioning in the summer of 2025.

The loan provides the company with a 16-year repayment period at a interest rate of 7.45% per year (below the current Brazilian sovereign interest rate of 10.5%).

With the second plant, Sigma expects to approximately double the production capacity of its Grota do Cirilo hard rock lithium mine from the current 270,000 tonnes per year to a total of 520,000 tonnes per year.

“Having BNDES as a creditor represents the support of the government of Brazil for Sigma Lithium’s industrial expansion plans at Vale do Jequitinhonha,” Sigma CEO Ana Cabral said in a news release.

Located in the mining-rich state of Minas Gerais, Grota do Cirilo contains 77 million tonnes at 1.40% lithium oxide.

Sigma shares were down 1.8% to $10.82 apiece at 11 am in New York on Friday, capitalizing the company at $1.2 billion.

Enami announced on Thursday the companies have met the requirements and will be able to participate in the negotiation process, in which a partner will be chosen with whom the state company will form a public-private partnership for the operation in the Atacama region.

The list also includes CNGR Advanced Material Co. Ltd (China) and POSCO Holdings Inc. (South Korea).

The salt flats in the northern region of Atacama are one of the areas where the Chilean government aims to boost lithium production in partnership with the state by initiating new projects.

The government’s goal is to increase local production of the battery metal by 70% within a decade, with three or four new projects under development by 2026.

Enami launched its search in May, seeking a partner to offer either financial backing or operational support in Altoandinos, for an ownership stake that has yet to be determined.

Twelve companies initially expressed interest. Enami aims to formalize a public-private partnership by March 2025.

“We are moving forward with concrete actions for the National Lithium Strategy, with this announcement of the companies that meet the high selection standards,” Enami chief executive Ivan Mlynarz said in a statement.

Salares Altoandinos

The Salares Altoandinos project spans about 100 square miles in the Atacama region. Comprised of three undeveloped salt flats, the project is projected to produce 20,000 metric tons by 2032 and triple that by 2037, according to government estimates.

In June, Enami released the first results from a $10.5 million drilling campaign, with brine samples at the Aguilar flat showing an average concentration of 740 milligrams of lithium per liter.

(With files from Reuters)

The licences were the final permitting milestone needed for commercial operations, which are expected in the second half of 2024. These include approvals for the mining operations, processing plant, tailings facilities and the new airstrip.

Since the start of hot commissioning on June 11, approximately 77,000 tonnes of ore have been processed through the plant at Tocantinzinho. The company also reported that approximately 2 million tonnes of ore have been stockpiled at the site.

Construction of Tocantinzinho was launched in September of 2022 following the completion of a definitive feasibility study in February of that year.

The property has direct access via 103 km of all-weather roads starting from the national highway, the BR-163, which links the industries in southern Brazil to the city of Belem in the north.

Over a mine life of 10.5 years, Tocantinzinho is expected to produce 1.83 million oz. of gold, averaging 175,000 oz. per year. Over the first five years, annual gold production is expected to reach 196,000 oz.

Earlier this month, G Mining sold its first gold doré produced at Tocantinzinho.

The unit will be capable of processing over 200,000 liters (1,250 barrels) of oilfield brine per day, representing a twofold increase from Volt’s previous processing capacity of 96,000 liters (600 barrels), the company said.

The field unit is expected to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

“The introduction of this initial field unit marks the achievement of another critical milestone in our strategy to become one of North America’s first commercial producers of lithium from oilfield brine,” Volt CEO Alex Wylie said in a news release.

“Volt has reached a critical inflection point with this achievement and is well-positioned to commence direct lithium extraction (DLE) operations in the field during Q3 2024, which aligns with our previous guidance.”

Volt’s DLE approach involves a two-stage process. The first focuses on removing contaminants from the brine before extraction.

In the second stage, the breakthrough in their technology came with the development of specialized ion exchange beads, the company said.

“Unlike traditional beads, their innovative creation boasted a size of five microns and an impressive 800 times the surface area of other industry standard beads, enhancing their extraction efficiency,” Wylie told The Northern Miner in 2023.

This advancement, he said, allowed the team to consistently extract lithium from brines during various testing stages, including successful pilot projects.

Volt shares rose 5.7% in Toronto on Monday morning. The company’s market capitalization is C$63.1 million ($46.8 million).

“When we model the entire production chain, we’re talking about more than a trillion,” said the Vale executive during the Fronteiras da Mineração conference, organized by Brazil Journal.

“If you add up the market value of all the steelmakers in the world, it doesn’t reach a trillion.”

According to Pimenta, the good news is that today there are no technological challenges in generating zero-carbon energy.

“Natural gas, whether for a partial reduction in a transitional process, and hydrogen are available. The issue is scaling up and reducing costs. Hydrogen today probably costs twice what it should for us to start considering hydrogen in the steelmaking production process,” he said.

In Pimenta’s view, the adoption of zero-carbon technologies is likely to be asymmetrical and quite gradual.

“Some countries that are capable of transitioning will do so more quickly. For example, the United States, with all its support and subsidies, will move faster. China, on the other hand, will probably take a bit longer; they still have a relatively new industrial fleet and infrastructure.”

Pimenta also highlighted the role of intermediate solutions, such as carbon capture.

In addition, the way countries tax carbon will also be essential.

“Carbon tax is very important because, in a way, it will direct capital allocation and provide incentives for producers.”

“There will come a time when you’ll have to pay, for example, to sell a carbon-intensive pellet to Europe, and this will force companies to consider solutions like briquettes, which have a smaller carbon footprint.”

A cargo of copper cathodes is headed to Baltimore after arriving by train at the port of Lobito in Angola on August 19, global commodities trader Trafigura Group, which is part of a consortium with a concession for the line, said in a statement.

The shipment follows several previous shipments of copper to ports in Europe and the Far East since the Lobito Atlantic Railway took over the concession in January of this year.

LAR, a joint venture backed by Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil and railway operator Vecturis, was granted a 30-year concession in 2022 to operate the 1,300-kilometer rail network.

The six-day rail journey demonstrated “the time-efficient western route to market that is now available for minerals and metals produced in the Congolese Copperbelt,” Trafigura said.

The Lobito corridor is seen as a key export route from mines in Congo and Zambia for minerals critical to the energy transition, including copper and cobalt.

The US and EU, under the Group of Seven’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, are supporting the project as part of efforts to counter China’s dominance in the Central African Copperbelt.

The company has filed a preliminary prospectus for the offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, Banco Bradesco BBI, Freedom Capital Markets, Roth Capital Partners, and Clarksons Securities have been appointed to coordinate the IPO.

Details such as the number of shares to be offered, the amount to be raised, and the timing of the public offering have not been disclosed.

“The company’s choice to do an IPO on the US stock exchange is because this will give the company greater visibility to attract global investors to its operations, much more than if it opted to list its shares on the Brazilian stock market,” mining consultant Pedro Galdi told BNamericas.

“Furthermore, the scenarios for equity markets in the US and Brazil are pointing in opposite directions. In the US, there is an expectation of a reduction in interest rates in the coming months, which favors investment in shares, while in Brazil, where interest rates remain high, there is an expectation of new increases in interest rates in the coming months, in light of future inflationary pressures,” he said.

The Autazes project

The funds will cover additional engineering and essential tests on critical items like shaft sinking and power transmission lines, as well as necessary permits and applications for the company’s Autazes project.

Brazil Potash began construction in May on the Silvinita mine in Autazes after it received six more licences from the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute, the agency responsible for environmental licensing in the state.

The project is pegged to be the largest fertilizer mine in Latin America within the Amazon rainforest.

Production is expected to start in 2026 with an initial output sufficient to cover about 20% of Brazil’s potash needs. The project capacity will be 2.2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year, the company estimates.

The project, which could reduce Brazilian agriculture’s 90% dependence on imported potash, has been held up for years due to opposition from indigenous Mura people, who say they have not been consulted about the use of their ancestral lands.

The project aims to annually produce 98,600 tonnes of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) at 32.3% manganese and 14,890 tonnes of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal at 99.9%. HPMSM was selling in Shanghai for around $700 a tonne in March, according to S&P Global Markets.

No specific tonnage amounts nor dollar figures were given in the news release on Monday about the offtake term sheet with Wildcat. It would run for an initial seven years with an opportunity for renewal, Euro Manganese said.

“This long-term offtake term sheet represents a significant percentage of the planned production of the Chvaletice manganese project over time,” Euro Manganese CEO Matthew James said in a news release.

Shares of Euro Manganese surged 14% by early afternoon in Toronto on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16 million.

San Diego-based Wildcat plans to build a plant in the US in 2026-2027 to produce cobalt/nickel-free cathode materials for electric vehicle battery cells and other markets including stationary storage.

High purity

The Chvaletice project envisions selling 2.5 million tonnes of HPMSM and 372,300 tonnes of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal over its life.

The project entails re-processing manganese deposits contained in tailings from a decommissioned mine that operated between 1951 and 1975.

Euro Manganese plans to convert the carbonate to high-purity manganese metal and sulphate and send them to its planned processing facility in Quebec, where they will be converted into a liquid sulphate.

The site is adjacent to two proposed cathode plants, allowing the liquid sulphate to be piped directly into the cathode production processes.