enCore Energy becomes newest US uranium producer after Rosita restart
Mining News Pro - enCore Energy has officially become a uranium producer, with the restart of the South Texas Rosita in-situ uranium central processing plant.
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Anglo consults South Africa on potential platinum, iron job cuts
Mining News Pro - The company has held talks with the government over the potential reduction in its workforce, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter hasn’t been made public. Senior government officials asked the company to consider delaying the cuts until after elections likely to take place around May, three of the people said.
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The Congress of South African Trade Unions said that Anglo has also spoken to one of its members, the National Union of Mineworkers, about the matter.
The job cuts would be another blow to the electoral prospects of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ruling African National Congress. Anglo is already in the midst of plans to slash corporate and head office jobs globally, with many of those positions in South Africa. The company joined other mining behemoths in posting a steep drop in first-half profit as China’s economic slowdown damped earnings.
Anglo American Platinum Ltd. — about 79% owned by London-based Anglo — is contending with a 14% fall in the price of platinum this year and a 41% plunge in palladium, a valuable byproduct. Rival Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. said in October that it may fire more than 4,000 platinum workers.
Kumba Iron Ore Ltd., owner of South Africa’s biggest iron ore mine and a 70% subsidiary of Anglo, said third-quarter iron ore sales fell 12% from the year earlier, largely because of the poor performance of state ports and freight rail company, Transnet SOC Ltd. The company is almost out of storage space for the ore it has mined and can’t rail it, one of the people said.
“It is no secret that the current operating environment is very tough for both macro and South Africa-specific reasons and we are playing a major role in working across business and with government to help resolve some of those South Africa constraints,” Anglo said in a response to queries. “Beyond that, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the details of our discussions.”
While a final decision on whether to fire workers and how many positions may be affected has not been taken, the job cuts may impact Anglo American Platinum first, the people familiar said. Those at Kumba may be deferred until later, they added.
The minerals department didn’t respond to a request for comment, while Gwede Mantashe, minerals and energy minister and chairman of the ANC, didn’t answer a call to his phone or respond to a text message.
PGM prices are falling because of global economic conditions, especially the weaker-than-expected recovery in China.
Kumba’s woes are directly related to the sub-standard performance of Transnet, whose inability to rail commodities to ports has also led to coal companies Seriti Resources Holdings Ltd. and Glencore Plc to start talks over job cuts. The plunge in rail performance has seen the amount of iron ore transported to ports fall to the lowest in a decade, while coal shipments by rail are at a 30-year low, according to a report prepared for Ramaphosa’s office.
In an Oct. 24 production report, Kumba said “ongoing rail and port challenges have increased our focus on cost optimization and initiatives to match production and optimize logistics capacity.” It said it had 9 million tons of iron ore in stock at the end of September, almost double the amount it had on site a year earlier.
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Visit: 47
Green hydrogen, CO2 used to produce e-fuel for hard-to-electrify vehicles
Mining News Pro - An electro-fuel aimed at vehicles that are difficult to electrify has been produced from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
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Visit: 41
China-linked fund seeks ouster of Australia rare earths miner’s chairman
Mining News Pro - A China-linked fund that is a major shareholder in Australia’s Northern Minerals has filed a motion to oust the rare earth developer’s chairman after the fund’s move for a higher stake was rejected on national interest grounds early this year.
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Visit: 30
Western miners seek premium pricing for rare earth metals to break China grip
Mining News Pro - A handful of Canadian, German and Australian critical mineral explorers plan to command premium prices for key metals used in electric vehicles, promising quality and consistency in exchange for shifting reliance away from China, the dominant producer and price-setter.
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New critical minerals facility for Queensland
Mining News Pro - Townsville is set to become home to Australia’s first critical minerals processing centre, the Queensland Resources Common User Facility (QRCUF).
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Visit: 33
China promotes development of strategic rare earths sector
Mining News Pro - China, the world’s largest supplier of rare earths, said it would coordinate the exploration, development, utilization and standardized management in the industry, the state broadcaster said on Friday, highlighting the importance Beijing attaches to the strategic mineral resource.
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Visit: 69
Hedge funds pile into uranium stocks set for ‘dramatic’ rise
Mining News Pro - Several hedge fund managers have started ratcheting up their exposure to uranium stocks, as they bet on significant price gains.
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Visit: 121
Shenghe Resources throws Vital Metals a lifeline
Mining News Pro - Chinese rare earth miner Shenghe Resources is acquiring new shares in Vital Metals (ASX: VML) for an initial A$5.9 million ($3.8m), allowing the Australian miner move forward with development at its Nechalacho project in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
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Namibia’s battery metal ambitions rest on infrastructure, miners say
Mining News Pro - Namibia’s ambitions to become a manufacturing hub for battery metals key to the global transition to clean energy will require huge investments in infrastructure to support processing facilities, mining executives said on Wednesday.
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Visit: 55
Malaysia allows Lynas to import radioactive raw material until 2026
Mining News Pro - Malaysia on Tuesday amended Lynas Rare Earths’ operating license to allow the Australian firm to import raw materials containing natural radioactive material and process rare earths until March 2026.
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China to tighten exports of key battery material graphite
Mining News Pro - China said on Friday it will require export permits for some graphite products to protect national security, springing a surprise with another bid to control critical mineral supply in response to challenges over its global manufacturing dominance.
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Graphite buyers to boost imports ahead of China’s curbs – analysts
Mining News Pro - Some graphite consumers will aim to accelerate imports of the EV battery ingredient from China in November before the country’s export curbs for some products come into force, but it may be difficult due to complex specifications, analysts said.
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Ionic wins licence to mine rare earths in Uganda
Mining News Pro - Australia’s Ionic Rare Earths secured on Friday a large-scale mining licence for its the Makuutu heavy rare earths project in Uganda.
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BHP CEO says ‘ship has sailed’ on potential acquisition of Canada’s Nutrien
Mining News Pro - BHP Group Ltd. (ASX: BHP) CEO Mike Henry is talking down the chances of acquiring Canadian fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. (TSX: NTR), as the world’s biggest mining company concentrates on building its own potash business instead.
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Fertilizer stocks jump with Israel conflict stoking supply concerns
Mining News Pro - Fertilizer makers jumped after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel raised concerns over how the conflict could impact global supplies of nutrients used to grow crucial food crops.
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UK risks losing out to Europe in hydrogen energy race
Mining News Pro - In 2021, the UK set out a bold ambition to become a ‘global leader in hydrogen’ by 2030. Two years later, delivery is falling short and it’s dropped behind European rivals jostling for a piece of the market.
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Amplats sees no immediate rebound in low platinum metals price
Mining News Pro - Anglo American Platinum’s CEO said he expected the low metal prices companies in South Africa are currently grappling with to persist, and he was aligning the business for the possibility that they would not rise for some time.
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Visit: 89
Cordoba lands bridge financing for Alacran project from Ivanhoe Electric
Mining News Pro - Vancouver-based Cordoba Minerals has arranged $8 million in bridge financing to advance its Alacran copper project in Colombia.
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Sibanye CEO warns of platinum mining job losses as price plummets
Mining News Pro - Sibanye Stillwater, South Africa’s biggest mining sector employer, may be forced to close some loss-making shafts, its CEO told Reuters, adding job cuts in platinum mining had become inevitable as prices of the precious metals fall.
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Brazil’s Mura people back Amazon potash mine
Mining News Pro - Canada’s Brazil Potash has scored a key win in its battle to build its $2.5bn Autazes project in the state of Amazonas as the local indigenous Mura people have voted in favour of the development, said the company’s CEO Matt Simpson.
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Inside Vietnam’s plans to dent China’s rare earths dominance
Mining News Pro - Vietnam plans to restart its biggest rare-earths mine next year with a Western-backed project that could rival the world’s largest, according to two companies involved, as part of a broader push to dent China’s dominance in a sector that helps power advanced technologies.
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Stellantis to invest $500 million in Rio de Janeiro plant
Mining News Pro - Stellantis will invest up to 2.5 billion reais ($508 million) in its plant in Rio de Janeiro state, its CEO for South America, Antonio Filosa, said on Friday.
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High tin stocks reflect weak consumer electronics sector
Mining News Pro - London Metal Exchange (LME) stocks of tin have grown steadily over the summer months and have reached levels last seen in April 2020.
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Visit: 103
China exported no germanium, gallium in Aug after export curbs
Mining News Pro - China’s exports of germanium and gallium products in August plunged, customs data showed on Wednesday, after Beijing implemented new export controls on the two chipmaking metals.
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