Podcasts about mining weekly

Andrada Mining het aangekondig dat hy in 'n vennootskap getree het met die Chileense eksplorasie- en mynmaatskappy SQM, om die litiumkant van sy bedrywighede uit te brei. SQM is een van die grootste litium-myners ter wêreld. Andrada se uitvoerende hoof, Anthony Viljoen, sê hulle gaan 'n intensiewe veldtog op Litiumrif begin en hopelik hulle tweede projek by die rif in produksie bring. Viljoen het met Mining Weekly gepraat oor hul planne by die Uis-tinmyn asook tantalum-uitvoere.

The News and Current Affairs Show, hosted by award-winning presenter Sakina Kamwendo, presents another weekly feature with Martin Creamer, the publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

This Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo once again spoke to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

This Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo once again spoke to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

This Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo once again spoke to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

This Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo once again spoke to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly, delving deeper into the world of mining and engineering.

This Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo once again spoke to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

Suid-Afrika se klein diamantprodusente ondervind ernstige probleme weens die wêreldwye diamantkrisis. Volgens die Suid-Afrikaanse Diamantprodusente-organisasie beleef die bedryf groot prysdalings en toenemende mededinging van diamante wat in laboratoriums vervaardig word. Die voorsitter, Gert van Niekerk, het aan Mining Weekly gesê hulle het regeringshulp gevra, insluitend laer tantieme en BTW op diamante, om plaaslike produsente deur die krisis te help.

Terence Creamer, Editor of Engineering News and Deputy Editor for Mining Weekly, joins Amy Maciver on the Afternoon Drive show to discuss Operation Vulindlela's new developments and  potential impact on the nation's economic future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ransomware disrupts London hospitals. Researchers discover serious vulnerabilities in Progress' Telerik Report Server and Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Server. Over three million people are affected by a breach at a debt collection agency. A report finds Rural hospitals vulnerable to ransomware. An Australian mining firm finds some of its data on the Dark Web. Google patches 37 Android vulnerabilities. Russian threat actors target the Summer Olympics in Paris. On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Sandy Bird, CTO at Sonrai. Sandy discusses the risks of unused identity infrastructure. The Amazon rainforest goes online. Our 2024 N2K CyberWire Audience Survey is underway, make your voice heard and get in the running for a $100 Amazon gift card. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Sandy Bird, CTO at Sonrai. Sandy discusses the risks of unused identity infrastructure. You can learn more about Sonrai's work in this area by reviewing their Quantifying Cloud Access Risk: Overprivileged Identities and Zombie Identities report. Selected Reading Critical incident declared as ransomware attack disrupts multiple London hospitals (The Record) CVE-2024-4358, CVE-2024-1800: Exploit Code Available for Critical Exploit Chain in Progress Telerik Report Server (Tenable) Atlassian's Confluence hit with critical remote code execution bugs (CSO Online) Debt collection agency FBCS leaks information of 3 million US citizens (Malwarebytes) Rural hospitals are particularly vulnerable to ransomware, report finds (CyberScoop) Australian rare earths miner hit by cybersecurity breach (Mining Weekly) 37 Vulnerabilities Patched in Android (SecurityWeek) Russia used fake AI Tom Cruise in Olympic disinformation campaign (Computer Weekly) The Internet's Final Frontier: Remote Amazon Tribes (New York Times) Listen to our newest podcast, “Only Malware in the Building.” N2K and Proofpoint have teamed up to launch “Only Malware in the Building,” the newest podcast on the N2K CyberWire network. Each month our hosts Selena Larson, Proofpoint's staff threat researcher, and N2K's Rick Howard and Dave Bittner, explore the mysteries around today's most intriguing cyber threats. Listen to the first episode and subscribe now. Share your feedback. We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show.  Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Green hydrogen, which is generated with the benefit of the catalysis that platinum group metals (PGMs) provide, is being increasingly highlighted as a pillar of the global decarbonisation transition that is poised to save the world from ruinous climate change. News just out is that steps are being taken to locate a green hydrogen production facility in a location where the 2030 Winter Olympics are to be held in the French Alps. The green hydrogen facility will not only decarbonise stainless steel production at a site in Savoie, France, but it will also provide green hydrogen to decarbonise mobility in the French Alps region where the 2030 Winter Olympics are to be held. In the process, green hydrogen will be highlighted as the sustainable model of winter tourism. The electrolysers that produce green hydrogen most efficiently are catalysed by PGMs that South Africa hosts in abundance. Moreover, the hydrogen fuel cells that provide decarbonised land, air and sea mobility as well as green offgrid and minigrid electricity are also PGMs dependent. By deciding to use green hydrogen at its Ugitech plant in Ugine, in the French Alps, Swiss Steel Group has evoked this comment from Lhyfe vice-CEO Philippe Desorme: "Green hydrogen can and must be deployed as quickly as possible." Euronext-listed Lhyfe is designing the green hydrogen production unit to have a capacity up to 12 t a day as part of the plan to develop a local hydrogen ecosystem in the French Alps. "The energy transition is going to become increasingly necessary to ensure the long-term survival of our industries, and green hydrogen is emerging as one of the pillars of this transition," Desorme added in a release to Mining Weekly. Ugitech development director Frédéric Perret highlighted in the same release that the next step is to roll out this new green hydrogen solution to all systems for which direct electrification is not a compatible option. The project planned is expected to eliminate the emission of 16 000 t of carbon dioxide a year. France aims to install 6.5 GW of low-carbon electrolytic hydrogen production capacity by 2030, rising to 10 GW in 2035, according to a draft update of France's national hydrogen strategy. Meanwhile, TignesNet.com reports that the Col du Palet, near Tignes, in the French Alps, is utilising a hydrogen fuel cell to supply clean renewable electricity for hikers staying at the mountain hut, the first in Europe to benefit from hydrogen technology. At the Beijing Winter Olympics in China in 2022, more than 1 000 green hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were operated. In the stationary power sector, fuel cells can convert hydrogen into electricity without producing any harmful emissions. EUROPEAN HYDROGEN BANK AUCTION The European Union has awarded €720-million to green hydrogen projects in the first European Hydrogen Bank auction, Hydrogen Insight reported on April 30. Three of the auction winners are located in Spain, two in Portugal, one in Finland and one in Norway. Together will have the capacity to produce 1.58-million tonnes of green hydrogen over ten years for use to produce green steel, green fertiliser, green chemicals as well as to supply green hydrogen derivatives to the maritime sector. Meanwhile, the Georgia and Tennessee green hydrogen production facilities hydrogen solutions company Plug Power of the US have achieved full nameplate capacity, the World Platinum Investment Council has reported. Using the country's largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser, Plug Power's Georgia plant now produces 15 t of liquid hydrogen a day, and its Tennessee plant contributes an additional 10 t a day. PEM electrolyser efficiency is elevated through the use of PGMs. Before the end of this year, Plug Power expects to bring an additional 15 t a day of liquid green hydrogen production online from a joint venture plant with Olin, in Louisiana. Green hydrogen is seen by...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Diversified mining major BHP, which has made a rejected proposal to combine with Anglo American by way of a scheme of arrangement, confirmed on Thursday that it intended maintaining its multi-decade listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). BHPalso emphasised that, under its Anglo proposal, South Africa would continue to benefit from Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore operating as independently listed South African companies investing in local operations, communities, and jobs. The structure of its proposal, including the proposed distribution of Anglo's shares in Anglo Platinum and Kumba to its shareholders, reflected the priorities for BHP's portfolio as well as opportunity for synergies, BHP stated in its release to Mining Weekly. Shares for the South African platinum and iron-ore businesses would, under the proposed structure, continue to be JSE listed and run by established South African-based management teams. Moreover, the Australia-headquartered BHP said that the proposed structure did not reflect a view of South Africa as an investment destination and was based on portfolio and commodity considerations. The great importance it attaches to creating social value for society and communities was also emphasised. "We believe this structure unlocks immediate value, delivering shareholders and stakeholders access to future growth opportunities and investment currently not available under the existing ownership structure," BHP added.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Discovery and development are the only true drivers of value creation in the mining industry, Barrick president and CEO Dr Mark Bristow highlighted on Wednesday, when this standout gold and copper mining company once again declared a dividend in reporting its first quarter results that position the company well to meet its full year targets. The year-on-year net earnings per share of the New York- and Toronto-listed company headed by South African-born Bristow increased by 143% for the quarter, while adjusted first-quarter net earnings per share grew by 36%. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Barrick's investment thesis is that its embedded ability to grow copper and gold production will amplify its profitability in a rising commodity market. "Exploration is to a mining company what research and development Is to the pharmaceutical industry," Bristow reiterated amid gold production by Barrick ramping up steadily and a globally significant organic copper growth project on the way in Africa. Foreseeing the emergence of the copper's critical importance to the greening of the global grid, Barrick made the expansion of its copper portfolio a strategic priority at the time of its merging five years ago with Bristow's highly successful Africa-linked Randgold Resources. While global pursuit of renewable energy is boosting copper price, with the red metal rising by 15% in the first quarter of this year, unprecedented conflicts, plus economic uncertainty have driven the gold price up 15% last year, and by the same percentage so far this year, taking the precious metal to record highs and confirming once again its status as the ultimate safe haven asset. Disappointing for Barrick and its peers, however, is that their share prices are lagging the gold price, pointing to more belief in investment in gold than in gold producers, even with change accelerating across the world, uncertainty becoming more permanent, and chaotic events a lot more common, Bristow noted in his first-quarter presentation covered by Mining Weekly. Meanwhile, Barrick is continuing its search for tier one opportunities across the world's gold and copper regions, with the company's highly successful brownfields and greenfields exploration driving Barrick's unparalleled ability to replace its mined reserves and greenfields programnes are expanding opportunities around the globe. Even in mature gold districts, Barrick is managing to advance pipelines of exciting greenfields targets. Continued work on its orebody models continually spotlights significant, untested potential, demonstrating how the updating of geological models can be a very fruitful stimulator of reserve growth. Ahead of consensus for the quarter, Barrick's attributable earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation margin rose by 5% to 41% and the operating cash flows remained strong at $760-million. The quarter dividend was maintained at 10 c a share and a strong balance sheet is underpinning the company's organic growth projects, enabling a significant rising production profile to be projected for the next five years and beyond. AFRICAN COPPER MINING REVIVAL While the copper industry as a whole has traditionally suffered from under-investment, the search for new resources to boost production has now accelerated. But the long lead times needed to turn discoveries into developed mines mean that supply is unable to meet the growing global demand, driven by the worldwide energy transition to stave off devastating climate change. A thorough review of its global assets has turned Lumwana in the central African state of Zambia, for example, into a large copper project that, once again, has a lower cost organic rather than riskier acquisition foundation. In a manner positive for all stakeholders, the Barrick team restructured and re-engineered the struggling Lumwana operation back to health and then embarked on a supe...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Platinum group metals (PGM) mining and marketing company Implats on Tuesday reported higher production in a period characterised by robust demand but lacklustre PGM prices. "Despite continued macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, demand from our contractual customers remains robust, with elevated additional volumes requested via spot sales during the third quarter. "PGM pricing remains lacklustre however, with notable volatility in both platinum and palladium reflecting the continued influence of investor activity," Implats CEO Nico Muller stated in a production report for the period ended March 31. In the nine months ended March 31, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company recorded a 16% increase in total six-element (6E) group production volumes to 2.73-million ounces, with a 25% gain in managed volumes to 2.17-million ounces, a 4% increase in joint venture (JV) production to 410 000 oz, and a 31% decrease in third-party receipts to 149 000 oz. Gross 6E refined and saleable production increased by 15% to 2.47-million ounces in the nine months and 6E sales volumes increased by 11% to 2.52-million ounces. "Margins remain compressed and we are pursuing a set of actions to ensure that each of our operations is set up to more robustly deliver sustainable free cash flow through the PGM cycle. "It's imperative that each of our assets operates within the appropriate volume, cost and capital parameters relative to the current pricing environment and the broader operating context," Muller stated in a release to Mining Weekly. In late April, Implats embarked on a Section 189 (3) consultation process at its South African operations, which could affect 3 900 positions, equating to a 9% reduction in labour across the group's Impala Rustenburg, Impala Bafokeng and Marula operations, as well as at the corporate office, which is targeting a 30% reduction in head office costs. "We delivered a commendable operational performance while navigating several challenges in the period under review. Investigations into the 27 November tragedy at 11 Shaft progressed and the production ramp-up at the operation remains on track. "The rebuild of Impala Rustenburg's Number 5 furnace was completed and first matte has now been tapped. Notable operational performances were delivered by Zimplats and Mimosa, and at Impala Canada, where mining and milling was rebased," Muller added. Implats remains on track to deliver within the guided group parameters for the full 2024 financial year. MARCH QUARTER In the three months to March 31, gross group 6E production increased by 13% to 827 000 oz. Tonnes milled at managed operations increased by 16% to 6.48-million tonnes during the quarter. The maiden inclusion of Impala Bafokeng and higher milled volumes at Zimplats offset lower throughput at Impala Rustenburg, Marula and Impala Canada. The 6E milled grade of 3.64 g/t was stable and 6E production at managed operations increased by 17% to 657 000 oz. The 6E production from the JVs at Mimosa and Two Rivers increased by 7% to 134 000 oz. At Impala Refining Services, third-party 6E receipts of 37 000 oz were 23% lower than the prior comparable quarter as two contracts concluded in financial year 2023. There were negligible production losses owing to load curtailment in South Africa in the quarter, although regional electricity generation and distribution challenges did pose headwinds to operating momentum in Zimbabwe. Refined 6E production, which includes saleable ounces from Impala Canada and Impala Bafokeng, increased by 8% to 717 000 oz. Implats finished the period with 410 000 6E ounces of excess inventory and 6E sales volumes of 824 000 oz, including saleable production from Impala Canada and Impala Bafokeng, increased by 10%, and were 3% lower on a like-for-like basis from those in the prior comparable quarter, with some destocking of refined inventory to offset the impact...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. South Africa's 30 years of democracy has changed the character of this country's mining industry profoundly, Minerals Council South Africa emphasised in a report that highlights the industry's significant advance since the dawning of democracy in 1994. Importantly, South Africa's highly regarded mine employees earn among the most competitive wages in the major job sectors, with tens of thousands of employees now direct partners in mining companies through employee share ownership programmes and profit-sharing schemes. Mining is providing employees with profound opportunities to improve their lives and livelihoods as well as those of their families. Steadfastly, the South African mining sector has increased workforce diversity, improved health and safety, crucially, and provided far-reaching training and education to develop skilled employees in tandem with innovation and technology developments. Prior to 1994, black mineworkers were prevented from securing managerial positions, women were barred by law from operational activities, and mineworker pay was kept low. Thirty years on, South African mining has an unrelenting focus on transformation and inclusion as it strives to address its legacy. "We have made enormous progress in the past three decades since 1994," Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane highlighted in a release to Mining Weekly. While significant strides in the transformation of management, the inclusion of women in all aspects of mining, and improved health and safety are acknowledged, the need for ongoing effort is recognised. "We have more to do and we're intent on establishing a modern, inclusive, and transformed industry, which will expand, adding more meaningful jobs, both within the sector and downstream value chains and increasing our significant contribution to South Africa's society and economy," Mthenjane stated. OVERWHELMINGLY HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED Against the backdrop of 83% of employees in the mining industry being historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSA), the Mining Charter 2018 - which was negotiated between government, unions and the industry - set a target of HDSAs holding 60% of middle and senior management roles, which the industry has come close to reaching, with 57% of middle management and 58.4% of senior management now made up of HDSAs, However, to reflect economically active population demographics, the industry has more work to do on its transformation journey to be more inclusive and reflective of the country's demographics. While in 2003, shortly before the Mining Charter came into effect, women accounted for only 3% of the workforce, women made up 19% of mining employees in 2023, up from 17% in recent years. Also in 2023, the mining industry was one of the few economic sectors to grow employment, adding 7 600 jobs, providing work to more than 477 000 people and accounting for 4.7% of formal employment. Salaries grew by R12-billion to R186.5-billion and over the past 15 years, increases in wages across the mining sector have been above the consumer price index (CPI), reflecting both the real wage gains in the sector by employees and a consistent narrowing of the earnings gap between lower and higher income employees. Communities are also beneficiaries of the community benefit schemes that invest in infrastructure and community needs, above and beyond the compliance requirements of the Social and Labour Plans. Some R7-billion a year is spent on human resource development, which includes mandatory, operational and safety training as well as education and skills development. SAFETY ADVANCE Since 1994, the number of mining fatalities has fallen by 88% to 55 in 2023, with major breakthroughs in fall-of-ground-related fatalities. Safety is the foremost concern of the Minerals Council and its members, with CEOs meeting frequently through a CEO Zero Harm Forum to share learnings and inte...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Emerging copper producer Copper 360 has shipped copper concentrate from South Africa's Northern Cape province for the first time in 21 years. South Africa's only listed pure copper producer, which delivered record concentrate grades during plant commissioning, is performing way ahead of expectation as a producer of copper concentrate, as well as being the Northern Cape's only producer of copper cathode. "We salute the tenacity and spirit of the people of Namaqualand who support us tremendously and the drive and passion of our team," said Copper 360 CEO Jan Nelson, who spoke to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) The company is building up from a very low base to one that will be generating over R100-million in monthly revenue. Nama Copper, the first concentrate plant of this Johannesburg Stock Exchange's AltX-listed company, has generated a profit within six weeks. The second concentrate plant, the MPF 1 plant, is on track to come on line in two months. Two months ago, Copper 360's solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW ) broke even. Meanwhile, achieving 30%-plus grade during commissioning is regarded as remarkable during the five weeks of commissioning, when 70 t of concentrate was the outcome - 76% more than the targeted 40 t. Based on this performance, the plant is forecast to produce more than 1 000 t of concentrate a month within three months, two months ahead of planned production. The target capacity of the second concentrate plant, which is due to start production at the end of July, is 1 400 concentrate tonnes a month. In addition, the copper-cathode producing SX/EW, which delivered a record performance in March by producing 60 t of pure copper metal, is on track to ramp up to 100 t of copper a month within the next quarter. Mining Weekly: Could this be the far-reaching start of a crucial new copper era for South Africa's Northern Cape, which is so prospective for base metals so crucial to a world that is electrifying at a fast pace? Nelson: Absolutely. This was one of the biggest copper districts during the 1940s to the 1980s. You had Newmont and Gold Fields mining here. There were shafts sunk 2 000 m deep and a lot of these mines are still open with large orebodies. I certainly think that with this production initiating, this area will definitely be the revival of South Africa as a major copper player. Is Copper 360's 30%-plus concentrate grade delivery likely to be sustained? Absolutely. Our test work showed initially that the copper concentrate grades were between 40% and 50%, which is extremely high. On average, companies produce at about 24%. For us to achieve 30% concentrate grades during commissioning is phenomenal because you have quite a lot of problems during commissioning. You don't have consistent feed, your plant is still building up. To have that from the get-go is just fantastic and shows us that 40% to 50% in the future will be easily achievable. How did Copper 360 manage to exceed its planned copper concentrate production target by a whopping 76%. Buying a plant that was ready to go obviously played a big role, but it's also due to the fantastic team that we have on the ground. Our people have really put in a considerable effort. We've appointed a new plant manager, as announced, and we have a new operation manager in place, but it's just exceptional teamwork that pulled out all the stops. What are the new expectations, now, for your recently acquired Nama Copper plant, in view of the way it has been able to streak ahead of targeted performance? Over the next three months, it will build up to about 1 000 concentrate tonnes. It's going to produce close to 350 t of copper metal, and we'll generate something close to about R50-million to R60-million in revenue. Not only will that plant pay itself back in four months, but the production ramp up is not a problem because we've...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Diversified mining company Anglo American is taking steps to help to restore an Amazon rainforest equivalent of which less than 10% remains intact. The Mata Atlántica carbon forest is located near Anglo's Minas-Rio iron-ore mine, in Brazil. Anglo intends playing a role in the recovery of the rich biome by reforestation amounting to more than 2 000 ha a year and the removal of 600 000 t of carbon-dioxide equivalent a year. This news emerged during the London- and Johannesburg-listed mining major's sustainability performance update, opened by CE Duncan Wanblad. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) This included how its integrated approach to sustainability is unlocking value and securing its ability to deliver responsible long-term growth in future-enabling metals and minerals. "While mining footprints are comparatively small, we believe we can play a positive role," Anglo nature and land head Ian Hudson stated during the webinar covered by Mining Weekly. "We already have over 20 000 ha of this important biome under our management. Across our operations in Brazil, we undertake compensation and restoration works to increase that local biodiversity surrounding our operations," Hudson added. Wanblad described sustainability as a pre-requisite for value creation in mining, through the delivery of operational excellence, portfolio improvement, and growth. "Our sustainability and technology capabilities, and our approach to customer-centric marketing of our metal and mineral products, position us strongly as a partner of choice and thereby to create enduring value for all our stakeholders. "Together, these are central to what we see as a competitive advantage in how we develop projects such as Quellaveco, Woodsmith and Sakatti, designed as the next generation of our FutureSmart Mines, with enhanced sustainability outcomes," said Wanblad. Anglo sustainability director Helena Nonka emphasised the embedding of sustainability by the group into its strategy and value creation model, "from portfolio choices to our everyday operational decisions". "One such example of our integrated approach is our work on nature, for which there are numerous compelling business cases, such as significant reductions in closure and rehabilitation costs, but also helping build greater trust in mining as societal expectations of our industry continue to increase in parallel with the need for essential metals and minerals. "The health of our business is dependent on a healthy environment and we recognise the value of being able to share how our business measures and manages its key interfaces with nature so that our stakeholders can be confident in our approach to achieving a net positive impact on biodiversity," Nonka added. INTEGRATED APPROACH TO NATURE Nature rightly continues to gain momentum on the global agenda, with increased recognition of the threats to nature, its societal importance and the value of nature-based solutions to tackle climate change impacts, Anglo stated in a media release. Its pathway to achieving net biodiversity gains in the areas it operates began with the implementation of its biodiversity standard at the end of 2018. This standard defines how Anglo measures, assesses and manages biodiversity across its value chain and mining lifecycle - through to closure and regeneration. Detailed baseline assessments across all managed operations have been completed. These define and assess significant biodiversity features, including habitats, species and ecosystems to protect and further restore. In addition, a biodiversity management programme has been developed for each of its sites. The plans are also used to feed into regional and national biodiversity programmes, adding value beyond its own site work. "We're exploring partnerships, biomonitoring programmes and pioneering measurement metrics to support net positive impacts. This includes the group's pr...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Copper production increasing by 11% as Quellaveco achieved its highest plant throughput rate in Peru, while Collahuasi and El Soldado in Chile benefitting from higher copper grades were among the first-quarter performance aspects that pleased diversified mining company Anglo American in the three months ending March 31. "We're driving operational excellence across our assets, focusing on stability and effective cost management as levers to deliver significant value through the cycle," Anglo CE Duncan Wanblad highlighted in a release to Mining Weekly on Tuesday. "We're progressing through our asset review to optimise value by simplifying and improving the overall quality of the portfolio," he added. With copper now representing 30% of total production, the business is being set up to deliver and grow into the major demand themes against the backdrop of several organic medium-term copper growth options. Steelmaking coal production also increased by 7%, owing to the performance at the Aquila longwall and Capcoal opencast operations in Australia, the London- and Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company stated in the First Quarter Anglo American Production Report. Anglo diamond mining and marketing company De Beers, the report noted, implemented changes to lower its diamond production for the year by about three-million carats. This, combined with 7% lower production of 834 000 oz from Anglo's platinum group metals (PGMs) operations resulted in flat production for the group overall when compared with the first three months of 2023. The lower PGMs production reflected expected lower volumes from the Kroondal PGMs mine, which is reported as third-party purchase of concentrate from November 2023, and lower production at the underground Amandelbult PGMs mine in Limpopo. Iron-ore production was flattened by the planned logistics-linked decrease to 15.1-milion tonnes at South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore offsetting the 4% production rise at Minas-Rio in Brazil. Full-year diamond production guidance has also been lowered to 26-million carats to 29-million carats, with unit costs revised up to $90/carat. Realised prices were all down except for diamonds. The biggest realised price fall was 61% for rhodium. Other big realised price falls were for palladium, which was 38% down, nickel, which was 37% down, Minas-Rio iron-ore, which was 38% down, the PGMs basket price, which was 30% down. PGM METAL IN CONCENTRATE Anglo's own mined production decreased by 14% to 504 300 oz on the disposal of Kroondal. Excluding Kroondal, production decreased by 6% owing to lower production from Amandelbult and Mototolo. Mogalakwena produced 219 500 oz, which was flat year-on-year. Production at Amandelbult decreased by 16% to 127 100 oz on lower recoveries and plant equipment breakdowns. Production at Mototolo fell 10% to 61 900 oz, caused by mining equipment breakdowns and challenging ground conditions as a section of the mine reaches its end of life. The Unki PGMs mine in Zimbabwe produced 62 800 oz, in line with the same period of last year. The purchase of concentrate increased by 5% to 329 800 oz, reflecting the transition of Kroondal to a 100% third-party purchase of concentrate arrangement. Normalising the comparative period to include 100% of Kroondal, results in a 10% decrease reflecting lower third-party receipts. Refined PGM production was flat at 628 000 oz. In the first quarter of every year, refined production is typically at its lowest, due to the annual stock count and planned maintenance at processing assets. KUMBA IRON ORE Kumba's quarterly production declined to 9.3-million tonnes, driven by a 12% decrease at Kolomela to 2.7-million tonnes. The operationally stable Sishen iron-ore mine lifted production by 4% to 6.6-million tonnes. Kumba's iron-ore sales fell 12% to 8.4-million tonnes, primarily as a result of equipment reliability challenges at the Saldanha Bay ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The richness of South Africa's copper assets were emphasised on Monday when Northern Cape mine developer and explorer Orion Minerals published a standout intercept that sent its shares rocketing up 58% on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Orion, headed by CEO Errol Smart, is primarily listed on the ASX, where it has 1 300 shareholders, and secondarily listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where it has 28 000 shareholders. Prieska is its flagship development, where trial mining is already under way, and Okiep will be the district of its Flat Mines mining development, while two exploration projects are also under way. "Prieska is the big chocolate cake. There are not very many cherries in Prieska, it's just a massive chocolate. "Okiep is a chocolate cake with a whole lot of cherries mixed in and you keep finding these, and that's what we've seen today," said Smart. Nothing like the high-grade copper intercept in the Flat Mines area of Okiep copper project, of 4.89% copper at 49 m and including 12.47% copper at 10.23 m, has been seen in South Africa in the last 40 years. "Yes, it's in a zone where there were known intersections but at least now we've proved that it isn't a fluke, it isn't a one-off. There's a large zone of very high-grade mineralisation at this site," Smart during a webinar in Australia, covered by Mining Weekly. "I had a federal trader in Sydney last week that was saying to me if you guys have got anything above 11%, we'll take it as direct shipping ore, they'll collect the broken rock at the mine portal and drive it away. That puts us into the context of what it is and it puts Okiep in the context of what this district is. "The original Okiep mined over 900 000 t of hand-sorted ore at 21% copper. That's just unheard of. There aren't deposits like that in the world. "But on our properties, the Okiep mine is also on one of our prospecting rights. There are deposits like this and we've got large known mineralised bodies that haven't been drilled out, and we see huge opportunity here," Boksburg-born Smart added. Orion has a large undrawn facility from South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and from Triple Flag, a precious metals streaming and royalty company, for its Prieska project, and has just done an IDC drawdown for Okiep as well. Okiep has two development projects and two exploration projects that are well advanced and can add value relatively quickly in the Northern Cape, which has 30% of South Africa's land mass and only 3% of its population. Historically, the Prieska and Okiep districts, which currently hardly produce at all, have collectively produced about 2.5-million tons of copper. In consolidating over the last seven years, Orion has done more than 17 acquisitions involving mineral rights and data in an area that was strongly explored by mining majors such as Newmont, AngloVaal, Anglo American and Gold Fields in the 80s and 90s, which opens a door to advanced-stage projects for development. Orion's flagship is the Prieska mine, which produced 46-million tons from a single, consolidated orebody. Orion, with 31-million tons of resource there currently, expects this to rise to 50-million tons of resource. AngloVaal, which developed the mine, in 1971 took it down to 1 200 m, with stoping stopped at 970 m. The mine's deepest ore is predeveloped with shafts and decline roadways to the bottom of the orebody. Orion believes that it can produce 22 000 t/y of copper and about 79 000 t of zinc for 12 years at Prieska. The feasibility study that determined this was done at a time when the copper price was $6 600/t and the zinc price $2 300/t, compared with today's zinc prices of $2 850/t and the copper price was touching on $10 000/t on Friday. A team of 200, including 20 professionals, run Prieska, which is in a trial mining phase of up to 40 000 t a month. The cornerstone of the financing is in pla...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The emerging use of electrofuel (eFuel) as an interchangeable substitute for petrol, diesel and aviation fuel has the potential to create important new demand for Southern Africa's platinum group metals (PGMs). This is because eFuel is a combination of green hydrogen and waste carbon dioxide (CO2) and demand for PGMs will arise when proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers are used to generate the green hydrogen. PGMs and PEMs go hand-in-glove. Infinium founder and CEO Robert Schuetzle made mention of this in a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly and reported that one of the two electrolysers chosen for his company's recently launched eFuels facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, is a PGM-using PEM system. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Two electrolysis platforms were chosen by Infinium to gain procurement, commissioning, construction and now operational experience of the two platforms and their integration with eFuels. "We'll need massive amounts of electrolysis for our eFuels facilities, so that could be a driver for PGMs in the PEM category," said Schuetzle. Infinium is a technology owner and a project developer. It has a patent portfolio approaching 200 patents globally and manufactures its own proprietary catalysts in-house. It has about a dozen projects at various stages of development globally, including the Roadrunner project in West Texas, and the Reuze project in Dunkirk, France, which is being developed with Engie and ArcelorMittal. "We now have eFuels mandates in the EU as well as the UK. We know other geographies are looking at import benefits and a number of incentives around eFuels. While it's a new topic today, in the coming years, you'll see that accelerate and you'll see adoption of eFuels in customers' decarbonisation goals accelerate. "It's close to a net zero carbon fuel solution and it doesn't require infrastructure changes because it's not a new specification. This is a drop-in transportation fuel, which, again, makes it easier for our customers to help achieve their decarbonisation goals," Schuetzle emhasised. SOUTH AFRICA LINK Interestingly, the PGM-promoting and South Africa-linked venture capital company, AP Ventures, is not only an investor in Infinium but a contributor that Schuetzle ranks as a strategic partner: "We work with them regularly on partnership opportunities, on project opportunities, on strategy." "What I appreciate most about the AP Ventures team is their thought leadership in this industry, and the connections they're able to make," said Schuetzle. With its proprietary technology, Infinium eFuels include sustainable eSAF aviation fuel, which can be used in today's aircraft fleet. An e-diesel that can be used in long-haul transport, shipping or maritime applications anywhere that diesel is used is also produced, along with a naphtha product that is lighter than the diesel and the eSAF, but is used in petrochemical applications for the production of plastics. "Because we use waste CO2 that would otherwise be emitted to atmosphere, these fuels, when produced, are very close to net zero carbon fuels that our customers such as Amazon and American Airlines, can use directly in their vehicle fleets to help achieve their decarbonisation goals," Schuetzle emphasised. What is Infinium's background? Infinium has a long history through our predecessor company that was focused on small-scale gas-to-liquids, very similar to the eFuels technology. But going back 15 years, our technology platform was focused on converting natural gas or waste gases like flare gas into fuels and chemicals. It's an area called gas-to-liquids. There are some major players that do it at very large scale, such as Shell and Sasol, but our platform operates at a very small scale due to our proprietary technology. Then, from that gas-to-liquids environment, a number of years ago we shifted to really focus on eFuels, very similar te...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Minerals Council South Africa is focused on increasing the domestic demand for green hydrogen, which it sees as contributing to the kickstarting of the hydrogen economy in South Africa. "The applications that we're looking at are stationary as well as mobility applications of using hydrogen within the mining industry," Minerals Council modernisation and safety senior executive Sietse van der Woude outlined during last week's Hydrogen Economy Discussion covered by Mining Weekly. "The stationary applications may not make economic sense today but if you look at the future trends in terms of reliability and electricity price trends, then stationary applications can very well be a feasible option in the future," Van der Woude pointed out during a panel discussion facilitated by Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) industry development planner Mahandra Rooplall, and in which Science and Innovation Department chief science and technology representative Dr Rebecca Maserumule as well as Bambili Energy CEO Zanele Mavuso Mbatha participated. Rooplall reported that the IDC had been driving the development of the hydrogen industry for several years in facilitating the discussion on regional and global developments, technology, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) advances and implications for the mining industry. Van der Woude pointed out that when it came to mobility application, heavy mine trucks could not be powered enough by electric means. "So, we need to look at alternative ways and the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are an opportunity in that regard," he added. In spelling out the hydrogen opportunity, Maserumule identified the six African countries that had hydrogen strategies as Algeria, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia and South Africa amid more than 50 countries worldwide having hydrogen strategies. The projected global numbers for hydrogen production show seven-million tons of green hydrogen or its derivative being produced a year by 2030, 32-million tons by 2040 and 72-million tons by 2050. Maserumule drew attention to this being based on expected exports into Europe and Asia, which did not have sufficient renewables or which did not have the comparative advantage. Africa securing 15% of that market would amount to one-million tons of green hydrogen by 2030, seven-million tons by 2040 and just under 19-million tons by 2050, a part of which would be domestic consumption. "What's most exciting is that those numbers point to a cumulative investment by 2050 of $400-billion on the African continent for hydrogen production," Maserumule highlighted. This does not include OEMs and other portions of the supply chain. The export value for the African continent would be a $15-billion-a-year increase in African export value in 2050. "The most exciting socioeconomic benefit is the 30-million job years that will be created by 2050 on the African continent if the continent is able to capture 15% of the global hydrogen economy. In identifying the barriers to that, Maserumule spoke of Africa having a globally top comparative advantage for renewable energy production, with only China, Australia and Chile beating most of the African countries. But unlike grey hydrogen, which South Africa produces in large quantities, one of the challenges of green hydrogen production is the intensive capital expenditure (capex) that is required. While the cost of coal or natural gas has a considerable impact on grey hydrogen, the capex required for renewables and electrolysers has a major impact when it comes to the cost of green hydrogen. There is a considerable gap between the cost of investment in developed countries compared with the cost of development in undeveloped countries. South Africa's average internal rate of return, or IRR, is well positioned at between 11% and 14%. Being chased is the levelised cost of hydrogen, with grey hydrogen at $2/kg and ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The market development aspect of the platinum group metals (PGM) industry is fundamentally key, it was repeatedly stated at last week's 2024 Resources for Africa Platinum Day. There is strong consensus that PGMs are amazing metals that are incredibly useful as future green metals across a broad range of applications. The PGM elements platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium possess far-reaching physical and chemical characteristics that make them sought after by modern technology developers. "If I could turn back the clock, I would've probably recommended to the board a far stronger investment in market development. Every dollar we invest will have a fundamental return long-term," Implats CEO Nico Muller commented in conversation with chairperson Bernard Swanepoel at the event covered by Mining Weekly. "I'm encouraged that people are now starting to talk a lot about market development," Anglo American Platinum CEO Craig Miller commented in his conversation with Swanepoel. "We need to do market development on the full basket and not just platinum and palladium and ensure that it's PGMs that underpin clean hydrogen in the lowest cost-plus way," Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman stated in the opening address. "These are really important metals. They're really special in terms of what they do. In many applications across the world, they are essential for human existence," Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne highlighted. "It's important that we give huge focus to the PGMs industry, which 2023 numbers show is the largest employer that spends the most on community development and contributes 10% of total exports to South Africa," Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane pointed out. Meanwhile, as was reiterated at the event, platinum demand is returning to help solve the PGM basket problem, and a supply decline is effectively already happening. It is not anticipated that prices will necessarily go back to where the industry had previously experienced them owing to drivetrain electrification and additional supply potentially coming to the market through recycling. The widespread outlook is that because the industry is going through a structural change it should not rely too heavily on traditional price recovery and there is consensus that market development catch-up, particularly in the hydrogen space, must take place. Mentioned frequently as one of the pivotal market developers is PGM-promoting and South Africa-linked venture capital company AP Ventures, created together with the Public Investment Corporation of South Africa. AP Ventures has been recognised as the most active investor in hydrogen beginners globally by the Mind the Gap: Venture Funding of Hydrogen Start-ups report by H2UB and after visiting a Texas company in which AP Ventures is associated, Microsoft luminary Bill Gates had this to say: "The energy transition is happening faster than many people (including me!) dared hope." In March, AP Ventures announced its investment in the pre-seed investment round of UK-based direct air capture company Airhive, co-leading the round alongside Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. Airhive is developing a low-cost, energy-efficient and rapidly scalable technology to capture carbon from the atmosphere. This pre-seed round will support its technology development and the delivery of its second commercial pilot, which will be deployed later this year. Anglo American Platinum expects prolonged deficits in platinum, a surplus in palladium and a rhodium market to move back into balance in 2024. The original equipment manufacturer stocking, which took place during Covid, the microchip shortage and then the invasion of Ukraine, has been considerably destocked. "It's clear that the market has bottomed out in the last six months," said Muller. Fundamental deficits are being predicted along with a tightening market. "I'm not expecting price...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Green hydrogen has a massive potential future and South Africa is very well positioned to produce it, attendees of the Hydrogen Economy Discussion heard on Thursday. Most of the 90-million tonnes of hydrogen produced currently through the likes of South Africa's Sasol and others is grey. Not only must all of that become green, but it also needs to grow seven times bigger to allow green hydrogen to become a necessary 7% of the energy mix. "From a South Africa perspective, we're very well positioned through our energy resources in terms of both solar radiation and onshore wind, our lengthy coastline and ability to desalinate water for hydrogen production, our proximity to both the European and Asian markets, and having places like the Northern Cape, which are significant land masses," South Africa's Ministerial advisor and Presidency green hydrogen lead Masopha Moshoeshoe highlighted at the event covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) The Northern Cape is roughly the size of Germany, but with a considerably less 1.3-million people, and no competition for land use with other uses, like agriculture. "These are all important when we start to talk about the massive amount of energy that is required. And it's not necessarily for global demand. "We know that Europe will not be able to meet its own green hydrogen or energy demand, and we know places like Japan, South Korea, and others won't be. "But there many parts of the world that are competing to be this new producer, this new source of green hydrogen demand. "From a South Africa perspective, we're competing with Chile, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Coast. "The African case is slightly different, because we have different entry points into this market, such as North Africa, which can pipe green hydrogen into Europe because of their proximity, where we need to be able to produce hydrogen carriers and be able to produce value added products. "East Africa has thermal energy, which we don't have, which gives them a different ability, and a potential to produce green fertilisers. "There's a nuance in terms of this picture but it's fundamentally around what we do in the next two or three years. Because the case for green hydrogen very much looks like a hockey stick beyond 2030," added Moshoeshoe. Emphasised at the event was that hydrogen holds the transformative power to combat climate change, reshape the world's energy future and light the way towards a decarbonised planet. Attendees also heard that achieving net zero by 2050, which the world is obliged to do to combat climate change, is impossible without green hydrogen, which is described as the leading vector in the sectors that are more difficult to decarbonise, which include the steel, cement, maritime and ammonia sectors, to name a few. But the cost to decarbonise such industries is more than those that can be decarbonised through renewable energy, and direct electrification. CABINET-APPROVED COMMERCIALISATION South Africa is among the overwhelming number of countries that have committed to a net zero target and aligned with the climate-crucial 1.5 degrees of warming as the base case. Moreover, the Cabinet approved South Africa's green hydrogen commercialisation strategy last year as a culmination of what green hydrogen represents. "Our focus from a country perspective is very much on how we use this transition to a green energy vector to revitalise the economy, to reindustrialise elements that have deindustrialised," Moshoeshoe highlighted at the event chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel, amid green hydrogen and South Africa's platinum group metals going hand-in-glove. Green hydrogen carries a price premium with it in the short to medium term and its export to developed economies is envisaged owing to developed economies being best placed to absorb that price premium. Business cases exist for green hy...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Representatives of the producers of 90% of the world's climate-vital platinum group metals (PGMs) heard during Wednesday's full-house PGM Industry Day that collective market development on the full PGM basket and not just platinum and palladium is absolutely crucial at this point of the global implementation of a cleaner and greener decarbonised planet. In advocating this, PGMs producer Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman also highlighted the role of PGMs a far-reaching underpin of the the strongly advancing hydrogen economy. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) "Very important is that we start focusing on industrial underpins to reduce the dependence or the exposure to risk on autos," Froneman told the Resources4Africa event covered by Mining Weekly. "We need to do market development on the full basket and not just platinum and palladium. "I'm reminded of a rule I was taught many years ago, and it's called Noah's Rule - don't try and predict the weather, just go out there and build the ark so that it's ready when the rain comes down," said Froneman in suggesting that the PGMs industry collectively develops the market and reaps the benefit of the resulting demand. "The underpin for demand for the right PGMs is still solid… and a lot of PGMs have substantial non-automotive underpinning, and one of my conclusions is that we've got to become less dependent as an industry on autos," he told the even, chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel. While overall palladium demand is decreasing, the future roles of some minor PGMs are increasing. Moreover, there is no doubt about hydrogen becoming an increasingly important driver of demand for some PGMs, amid a positive regulation-linked PGM loadings increase, and a positive 42% compound annual growth rate for PGM-linked fuel cell electric vehicles. "Demand has been stable, which is very important to note, but it's not appropriate for end users or asset suppliers to develop a supply response that is out of kilter with the demand response in terms of the make-up of these metals. "The proportions of the various PGMs must be examined across the entire global PGM supply base and we've got to create demand that fits that, otherwise we're going to either create demand destruction, or we're going to create huge volatility. "Instead of driving platinum demand alone, we've got to drive market development across all PGMs to create a demand base that represents what we mine," Froneman said. A strategic approach to market development is seen as the correct approach. As a PGMs must be acknowledged as industrial metals, while PGM demand aligned with what is produced and market development is spread across the basket. "We've got to invest in sticky industrial demand. We need to focus on global decarbonisation as an area where the unique properties of PGMS can play a role. "You can't look at platinum and palladium in isolation anymore. Supply is decreasing, there's been a lack of capital investment and, in the short term, there's going to supply downside in supply as loss-making mine shafts are closed. In our view, they are substantial deficits in this business out to 2030. "To me, that makes for a good PGM business and I don't buy into the current negativity and don't buy into a two-year recovery timeframe. A recognition by the market that sentiment is changing is already being seen and share prices are go up. "We're in a destocking phase, which was caused by disruptions in the supply chain, Covid and the Ukraine invasion. "This is being recognised. Two element PGM demand out to 2030 is solid and stable. "It's clear that hydrogen is going to be produced and we should make sure that PGMs underpin clean hydrogen in the lowest cost way. "It's very important that we start focus on industrial underpins to reduce the dependence or the exposure to risk on autos. "We need to do market development on the full basket and...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. London- and Botswana-listed diamond company Botswana Diamonds is going to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to its Botswana database, the company said on Tuesday, April 9. Involved are 380 gigabytes of data and 260 000 files in what is described as the country's second largest diamond exploration information set. "This is an excellent foundation to incorporate AI to assist in a comprehensive search for new diamond deposits and potentially other minerals," the company, headed by chairperson John Teeling, stated in a release to Mining Weekly. Botswana Diamonds' database has 95 000 km2 of information, including 375 000 km airborne geophysical input, 606 ground geophysical surveys, 228 000 soil sample results, and 32 000 drill hole logs. Botswana Diamonds' geologist MD James Campbell, a Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa, who has 38-years-plus diamond sector experience, has given his nod to the release. Being deployed is Planetary AI Ltd Xplore mineral prospectivity technology, developed in collaboration with International Geoscience Service. Xplore is described as a system that uses semantic technology with machine learning that allows computers to grasp the meaning and context of geological data in much the same way a geologist. While the system acts much like a geologist, it can work through vast data-sets quicker in an exercise that is expected to yield new insights that will offer drillable targets previously unseen. Teeling's viewpoint is that the database is too big for timely analysis by humans. "Think of it, over 375 000 km of geophysical data, and 32 000 drill holes logs," he said, pointing out that large databases are suited to analysis by computer-based large AI techniques that can analyse substantial amounts of data in a short time. "We feed in the data and create the models from our existing knowledge both theoretical and factual. The techniques then produce results. "Where it finds inconsistencies or gaps it adapts. It is early stages in both our work and the use of the technique in mineral exploration, but the future potential is huge," said Teeling. An added bonus is that the technique will analyse a number of different minerals. Botswana Diamonds has always believed that there are more diamond deposits to be found under the sand and now there is the possibility of other deposits being identified. GRAVITY SURVEY Last year's advances by Botswana Diamonds included a gravity survey pointing out a high-grade anomaly similar in size or larger than the KX36 high-grade kimberlite pipe in the Kalahari, which is likely to become Botswana's third main diamond-producing area. The gravity survey on a licence adjacent to the company's KX36 diamond discovery found the anomaly, on which further work needs to be done. An environmental-impact study is under way and follow-up drilling is likely. With kimberlites occurring in clusters, new anomalies generally point to the potential for more to be discovered in the surrounding area. In South Africa, there was positive progress in the awarding of mining permits at Thorny River. In Eswatini, a prospecting licence has been granted over diamond properties after a long application period, and the company is also of the view that Zimbabwe remains highly prospective and thus continues to engage with various partners to gain a reasonable entry into Zimbabwe.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. South Africa's many underground mines can be used as batteries that store the clean electricity that the water descending for cooling can provide. At the same time, the local community could end up with a utility that supplies them clean water along with a store of cheap and reliable green energy. While the chemical battery systems for the storage of electricity last for ten to 15 years, pumped hydro longevity from repurposed mines is in the 50-year to 100-year category. Moreover, the bulk of the capital required for the building of a pumped hydropower facility in a mine will likely go into local pockets. The local community will also likely supply the labour to keep the mine operating as a hydro facility and also probably provide the human resource for the construction of the upper and lower reservoirs and the penstock. Repurposing mines could also help South Africa to advance along the road to energy independence and possibly also eventual energy exportation, while simultaneously ensuring optimum scarce water use. South Africa, which already has hydropower installed in many of its deep-level mines, is probably better positioned than most countries to take advantage of pumped hydropower technology, which provides a cost-competitive energy storage solution. Moreover, it fits hand-in-glove with South Africa's superior sun and prime wind power to pump the closed-loop water back to surface for renewed release. Already, there are 50 mine sites that make use of the kinetic energy gravity gives to the falling water, which allows it to spin wheels from which electricity is generated with the help of Pelton technology installed in the 70s and 80s. Included among these mine sites are some of the world's deepest operating turbines, with heads of up to 1 890 m, putting South Africa in pole position to take full advantage of the global renewable energy plus storage trend in next to no time. Hugely advantageous is that most of the deep-level mines in all the provinces where steps are being taken to install chemical battery storage, including in South Africa's Gauteng, Free State, and North West provinces. South Africa already knows a great deal about pumped hydro thanks to Eskom's Drakensberg, Palmiet, Ingula, Steenbras and other pumped storage schemes that serve as massive water batteries. Now it has the added opportunity of turning even discard mines to further account. The water will be pumped up when operations have excess renewable power and allowed to gravitate back down the mine when electricity is needed. This reduces storage capacity when compared with lithium batteries and even hydrogen storage. It is a smart solution based on the physical assets that are under-utilised and provides a cost-effective solution for the whole South African package. These are among the very many insights provided by Karst Hydro MD Guy Richards and Karst operations director Jessica Giger, who spoke to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Karst is a project development company that specialises in underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage project and essentially what that means is that the company repurposes mines for energy storage. Project definition services for mine owners wanting an independent source of power are there for the taking. While battery energy storage systems are being procured by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, mine owners can double as long-life water utilities by reutilising their assets that already have access to power transmission networks, environmental management models, and water use licences. What level of electricity contribution are Pelton wheels making in mines? They started to constructing the Pelton wheels working in South African mines in1978 and they are very reliable. They are used primarily for energy recovery. The other feature of on-site storage is that it gives the mine ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. South Africa's mining industry is investing R46-million in an action plan to eliminate fall-of-ground (FoG) fatalities. The FoG action plan is being implemented through Minerals Council South Africa with the assistance of its Rock Engineering Technical Committee, and supported by the South African National Institute of Rock Engineering, the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, and the South Africa Colliery Managers' Association. "We know it is possible to restrict fall-of-ground deaths to six and so certainly, from where we are today, the next breakthrough must be zero fatalities. We cannot aspire for anything less than that," Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane emphasised during Friday's day of learning at Emperors Palace Convention Centre, east of Johannesburg, which was covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Highlighted during the well-attended event was the need to establish improved underground workplace visibility, permanent workface aerial mesh protection, and, likely, hydropowered drills and drill guides. The plan's six pillars are adoption of leading practices, research and development, human resource development, policy considerations, which are ultimately in the hands of government, operational discipline, and the close monitoring of the expenditure of R46-million. "It's a very good vision and we constantly review it," Mineral Council safety and sustainability deputy head Lerato Tsele told the audience, who were invited to pose questions. Set in motion has been research into hazard warning systems, loose rock scanners, and wearable exoskeleton devices to be worn when removing that loose rock. Exoskeletons reportedly bolster human performance in physically demanding tasks by supporting various body parts, including the hands, lower and upper back, legs, shoulders and arms, which is said to reduce the amount of energy required when lifting and carrying heavy objects and holding heavy tools. Crucially, the FoG action plan also comes with a promising skills development boost plus an updating of learning material. The event began with a moment's silence in remembrance of FoG fatalities and injuries, 60% of which occur in the stope face. This is why considerable innovation and technology is being directed towards improving the safety of these areas, as part of the plan being led by a CEO Zero Harm Forum. In 2022, the lowest FoG fatalities of six were reported, which was 73% down on the previous year and a record that still stands. For the past 20 years, the number of FoG fatalities has been reducing, with the first fall below 100 in 2004, when 96 deaths occurred. Six years later in 2010 FoG fatalities fell below 50 and the next breakthrough was in 2015 when FoG fatalities were fewer than 25. But it appears to be getting tougher, reflected in the ten latest deaths. "There are ups and downs, but it's not a time to give up," said Mthenjane. "There's a need for those who will look ahead in terms of what is upcoming that will be useful, whilst we implement current technologies that are proven … and what is going to become much more important moving forward is behaviour," he added. "Perhaps not too much of a focus on when we're going to get there. It's not a race. It's something that is urgent, and it's something that we do need to achieve sooner rather than later because it means that more people will be going back home to their families. "Part of the solution lies in how we leverage innovation and technology," he said. The Isidingo drill has proven its capability. It is much lighter than the pneumatic drill, more energy efficient, considerably quieter, and easier to handle. What these new technologies are showing is that mining is no longer about physicality and lighter equipment technologies are enabling more gender-diverse participation. Hydropower is lending precision drilling in the form...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. A far-reaching new drive is under way to ease iridium scarcity still further and, especially in the short term, demand for platinum group metals (PGMs) from electrochemical processes is on the way. That is the news from clean chemistry company Mattiq, which aims to decarbonise chemicals production. The Chicago-based Mattiq is intent on providing low-iridium materials for PGMs-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers that generate green hydrogen, the globally recognised enabler of the climate-vital transition to sustainable energy and net zero emission. "When I say low iridium, we're typically talking about say one-third or less iridium by mass," Mattiq product management head Dr Mike Ashley outlined to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) With the aim of making low-iridium materials commercially available in 2025, Mattiq intends to clinch a partnership with a catalyst manufacturing concern in the second or third quarter of this year. "Especially in the short term, we're going to see a pretty significant increase in demand for PGMs from electrochemical processes," said Ashley. Mattiq is developing electrochemical processes that run on clean electricity to decarbonise chemicals production. "For the same reasons that iridium is quite durable over long periods of time in PEM electrolyser applications, other PGMs such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, exhibit similar characteristics where they're active and efficient catalysts, and they're very durable over long periods of time. Fortunately, all those materials are less expensive and not as scarce as iridium," said Ashley. Regarding the softening of PGMs demand from catalytic converters for internal combustion engine vehicles, he said: "We see electrochemistry as a potentially very important substitute demand source for PGMs moving forward." In addition to green hydrogen, Mattiq foresees making many more chemical products in a low-carbon way using electrocatalytic processes. Examples of those chemical products the company sees as being attractive include acetic acid for food and beverage production, adipic acid for nylon production in particular, as well as ethylene glycol, a chemical used in coolant and antifreeze. "These are a few examples of chemicals that are fairly carbon intensive today, that we can help to decarbonise by running through electrochemical processes that are run on clean power," Ashley explained. Mattiq finds that even having small quantities of PGMs in the system can improve durability considerably. "The addition of small quantities of PGMs will always improve the durability of your system in a meaningful way. "We think that the chemical sector is going to be the hardest-to-abate sector of the economy, due to its inherent ties to fossil fuels, leveraging both fossil fuel feedstocks and fossil fuels to run chemical processes, and we think that electrochemistry is a very key part of the decarbonisation strategy of chemical companies across the globe. "We think that electrochemical systems are a very important piece of the puzzle to decarbonisation targets for the major chemical companies across the globe. "We think electrochemistry uniquely allows you to bypass some of the heaviest emitting parts of chemical processing. "Think things like high temperature process heat, compressors to produce high pressure reaction systems, we can completely circumvent these parts of the process by using electrochemical processes. "Simply by running these systems on electricity rather than fossil fuel burners will allow chemical companies to achieve their decarbonisation targets in the coming decades," Ashley emphasised. BIG IRIDIUM FOCUS Highly corrosion-resistant, iridium is the only known material that can last for long periods of operation under harsh acidic and oxidative conditions, which is why it is a key PEM catalyst material. Because it is ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The brand-new platinum-catalysed hydrogen fuel cell system that has just been released for passenger cars reveals that fuel cells can be as cheap to manufacture as internal combustion engines, UK company Intelligent Energy has highlighted in a release to Mining Weekly. The company's patented system has been designed to give passenger car manufacturers direct access to the smaller, more powerful, turnkey and commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell solution that is needed to make zero carbon emission mobility a reality in the passenger car market across the entire planet. The hydrogen fuel cell developer and manufacturer has also confirmed that its innovative IE-DRIVE is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. PEM and platinum go hand-in-glove. The single stack platform burst into the open during a launch event at Intelligent Energy's Loughborough headquarters, where it powered a sports utility vehicle provided by Changan UK. The specification of the trade-marked platform is said by Intelligent Energy to bring "significant benefits" when compared with other fuel cells that have been developed by large automotive groups and their third party fuel cell suppliers. MORE POWER, SMALLER, SIMPLER In its current configuration, the fuel cell stack is capable of 157 kW gross electrical power, which is said to be higher than any other single stack application that is currently available for the passenger car sector. The patented direct water injection technology means that the system's heat exchanger is up to 30% smaller than its competitors at equal net power output. The single pass heat exchanger in the system's test sports utility vehicle measures only 0.34 m but enables cruising at 130 km/h in peak temperatures and a speed of 90 km/h to be achieved when travelling up a long, steep hill. Having a small heat exchanger makes vehicle packaging much easier and benefits fuel cell vehicle design, particularly in relation to bonnet height and improved driver visibility, Intelligent Energy stated. Designing its novel direct water injection system has allowed Intelligent Energy to reduce its component count and bill of materials. An example of this is shown by the fact the system's fuel cell does not require a humidifier and related parts. TURNKEY, COMMERCIALLY VIABLE The fuel cell system, which has a traditional engine shape, meets the low bonnet requirements of passenger cars while including the fuel cell stack, electronic control unit, heat exchanger and balance of plant. "It represents a genuine turnkey solution for car manufacturers," Intelligent Energy stated. Under full-scale, volume manufacturing conditions, the company predicts that its fuel cell system will cost around 100 GBP per kW by the end of the decade, making it less expensive than battery electric vehicle solutions and comparable with internal combustion engines. The quest to develop a new breed of patented hydrogen fuel cell technology is the result of a four-year project that got underway in November 2019, supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre. The £22-million initiative was a collaborative effort involving Intelligent Energy, Changan Research & Development Centre, Lyra Electronics and Alexander Dennis. Changan provided essential support during the project, including the provision of three sports utility vehicles to enable fuel cell testing. Throughout the entire project, Intelligent Energy has revolutionised its manufacturing processes, streamlined assembly, and worked to secure new cost efficiencies without sacrificing quality. Intelligent Energy is now ready to roll its technology out to the passenger car market, in partnership with suitable car manufacturers. "With 25% of all passenger cars expected to have hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, this clean technology represents the future," said Intelligent Energy CE David Woolhouse. "Our product has the potential to shake up the hydroge...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Platinum group metals (PGM) prices, where they are now, do not reflect the medium to long-term supply demand fundamentals. Instead, they are driven by short-term distortions, which imply that a correction from current levels could be seen. However, going back into a strong bull market any time soon is not being indicated. For that to happen, there would have to be sustained global vehicle sales growth as well as curtailment of PGM production, Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking markets research head Arnold van Graan outlined in a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) In the same way as short-term anomalies drove up the exceptionally high pricing of 2021/2022 at the top end of the cycle, short-term anomalies have helped to drive down prices at the bottom end of the cycle. These include the destocking of rhodium by the fiberglass manufacturing industry in China, the movement of Russian palladium to China, arguably at a discount, as well as the less-discussed but very pertinent lower-than-expected vehicle sales of the last few years. "Essentially, we just haven't sold as many internal combustion engine vehicles as we anticipated and I think that is part of the larger, more challenging situation facing the market and that has contributed to the drop in prices, in our view," Van Graan pointed out. "The other big catalyst, in our view, is we need to see PGM production being curtailed. Some of the mining companies have already started to trim some production on the edges, but the numbers are fairly small at this stage. "To have a meaningful impact on PGM prices, we need to see more production being curtailed, and it's our expectation that over the next year or so, we would see more announcements to that effect. "It's not an easy decision. It's not easy to restructure mines. It's very hard to close mines and put them into care and maintenance. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered before you get to that point. "But for us, a reduction in supply would be a key catalyst and if we see that in conjunction with strong internal combustion engine vehicle sales, we should see a sustained recovery in PGM prices," said Van Graan. Mining Weekly: How does the uncertain market for battery electric vehicles - EVs - affect the investment case for platinum group metals, particularly in the traditional use of PGMs in catalytic converters? Van Graan: There are two elements for me when it comes to EVs. The one is that they are a threat, but a very timeline dependent threat. In five to ten years, there's a real risk that we will see a significant portion of internal combustion engine demand being eroded by EVs. However, I think a lot of the EV forecasts currently in the market are overly optimistic, and that brings me to the second element. Because we have EV penetration rate forecasts that are sometimes almost disconnected from reality, they are an overhang on the PGM investment case. Essentially, people look at investing in PGMs, look at some of these high EV forecasts and say, well, it's very hard to make a longer term bullish case for investing in PGMs. What it comes down to is that EVs seem to be a perpetual overhang on the PGM investment case. I think that risk is real, but more so in the longer term. In the short term, it's almost as if it's clogging the headlines and every time you think about PGMs, you see these headlines about EV penetration rates and EV growth, and it just raises questions about the investability of the PGM sector. That is having a negative short-term impact on PGM prices, and it has for some time now. It continues to weigh on the PGM investment case and then ultimately also PGM prices. In the energy transition context, what role do PGMs play in fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, and why is significant demand from this market not expected for several years? Although fuel cells and t...

The Coal-Face with Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly. 1. Namibia's $10-billion green hydrogen project is being boosted by gaining special German government status.  2. Southern African scientists are going abroad to gain greater insight into green hydrogen development in our region. 3. The introduction of mechanical cutting in mining is bringing about a quicker return on investment.  

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Northern Cape copper company Copper 360 announced on Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DRDGOLD's Far West Gold Recoveries tailings retreatment company to conduct a due diligence on its copper tailings dams to assess their economic copper recovery viability. During the due diligence period, Far West Gold Recoveries will, through an independent expert, determine the total tonnage of tailings material by Lidar survey applying a density of 1.4 tonnes per cubic metre. Copper 360 estimates that there are about 50-million to 60-million tonnes of dump material with grades varying between 0.18% and 1.5% copper in the dumps, with the potential to contain 450 000 t of copper metal in situ. "This potential partnership, if viable, would help us bring more copper to account in such a way that it doesn't distract us from our mining focus," Copper 360 CEO Jan Nelson told Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview following the March 27 news service announcement of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) During the due diligence, Far West Gold Recoveries will independently assess the economic viability of the copper dumps and if the results are to their satisfaction, the parties will enter into a joint venture agreement. Far West Gold Recoveries will be allowed to acquire 50% interest in the tailings dams at a price to be independently agreed and will become the operator of the dumps, while Copper 360 continues to focus on its many current mining activities, which include commissioning two processing plants at the Rietberg mine and evaluating five new mines. "Our expertise and focus are not tailings treatment although we recognise the potential of the copper dumps. It is therefore logical that we have approached the world leaders in dump retreatment to see if a potential partnership could be negotiated to potentially bring these assets to account if the due diligence is viable," it stated in its JSE news service report. Up to now, the tailings dams have been lower on Copper 360's list of priorities because of the huge capital that is required to turn them to account and Copper 360's greater focus on the hard rock potential of its mining licence. But the advance of the copper price and discussions with DRDGOLD have elevated tailings dam retreatment higher up the priority list, especially since the entry of Far West Gold Recoveries allows Copper 360 to keep its eye firmly where it is meant to be. If the due diligence is negative, Copper 360 will simply continue along its aggressive growth path and if it is positive, a significant copper stream will quickly be added to Copper 360's production line. "The timing is right and opportunity is right," said Nelson. HISTORICAL TAILINGS BUILD-UP The O'Kiep, Carolusberg, Lower NamaCopper and Upper NamaCopper tailings dams were brought into the Copper 360 fold by the reverse listing that Shirley Hayes' SHiP Copper did with Nelson's Big Tree Copper ahead of Copper 360's listing on the JSE's AltX in April last year. The tailings emerged from the O'Kiep copper company of 1937 and were deposited by the Nababeep, O'Kiep, Carolusberg mines from about 1940 all the way up to the 1990s. They now provide potential to bring more revenue to the table without Copper 360 having to bear the total capital burden as well as its potential to add more cash flow to the company and a bigger dividend flow to shareholders. The first thing the strategic partnership would bring is technical capability, gleaned over many decades by DRDGOLD in the field of extracting value from dumped mine material. "If viable, the partner will then, jointly with us, help to carry the capital cost of a plant like this, which could easily be R500-million to R700-million. "We would then not have to carry that alone, and we could maintain our focus on the mining licence, the hard rock, that we're bring...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Mechanical cutting, in which huge progress is being made, is going to be key for the mining industry going forward, Master Drilling CEO Danie Pretorius emphasised on Tuesday, when his Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed presented a dividend-yielding set of 2023 full-year results that included the best ever safety performance and the biggest ever order book. "The industry can benefit big time from what we've already achieved in the field of mechanical cutting," Pretorius highlighted in a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly while reporting record-high revenue of $242.8-million and an order book that topped the $288-million mark. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) This rock-boring and exploration drilling company based in Fochville, on Gauteng's West Rand, serves Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Zambia, Mali, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and has a presence in the US, Canada, Australia, India, Turkey, China, Russia and France. Providing more insight into mechanical cutting and why it is going to be so meaningful, Pretorius said: "In short, the emphasis is going to be on mechanical cutting helping miners to get down to depth in a much shorter space of time." On whether mining companies see it in the same light, he added: "Speaking to the miners, we all agree that if you look globally today, all the easy reserves are long gone, and so we need to focus on how we can successfully mine the deeper reserves . Also, grade is not getting better and the logistics in the areas to be mined is not that easy." Against that background, Master Drilling is advanced in developing mechanical cutting systems to get to those deeper levels quickly. The emphasis is on speed. Long gone are the days when an investor will wait ten to 15 years for some dividends or some cash flows from a project. "We need to squeeze down on the timing," Pretorius accentuated. Hence the reason why Master Drilling has invested so much time and money in its mechanical shaft boring system (SBS) prototype being commissioned; its MTB mobile tunnel borer, which has already been tried at Mogalakwena platinum mine in Limpopo; its blade project, which is being sponsored by De Beers and Anglo; and its reef cutting system, which is being commissioned at its headquarters in Fochville, on Gauteng's West Rand. Mining Weekly: Do you envisage that mechanical cutting going beyond mine development and also be used by mineworkers for mining without blasting? Pretorius: Ideally, in a perfect world, yes. Maybe not in my lifetime, but maybe in 10 to 20 years from today. You can mechanically bore a shaft to one to two kilometres down, do the horizontal development with some sort of mechanical cutting means, and then go into the stopes with the reef cutting system, which we are developing. At that point, you'll probably have most of the tools in a box to mechanically mine a mine in future. What will then become of the traditional explosives route? I think that blasting is going to be phased out for a number of reasons, which include safety, re-entry time, and damage done to the rock environment, the geology. Will it be the next 10 years? Probably not, but there are many companies developing systems and ways to mechanically cut rock, and to move away from the use of explosives. During results presentations, mining company Northam Platinum has commented on the work Master Drilling is undertaking for it, which involves the raise boring of a large shaft. This is reportedly being done far more quickly than conventionally and also at considerably lower capital cost. Could there be benefit in this for other mining companies? The comparison for Northam at the time was to sink a 10 m to 12 m wide shaft to a depth of 1.5 km in far quicker time than the probable conventional eight to ten years. The conventional route was also far more capital-intensive than for the three or four ra...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The European benchmark ferrochrome price for the second quarter of this year has been settled at $1.52/lb, 5.6% up on the first three months of 2024, Merafe Resources informed shareholders on Monday, March 25. Ferrochrome is a prime ingredient of stainless steel and most of the ferrochrome produced in South Africa is consumed by China, which is the world's biggest producer of stainless steel Basically, the latest European benchmark ferrochrome price is back to the $1.53/lb it was for the fourth quarter of 2023. South Africa holds about 70% of the world's total reserves of chrome, the key element of ferrochrome, a corrosion-resistant chrome and iron alloy. Ferrochrome is energy intensive and poor electricity supply from South Africa's State power utility Eskom has curtailed the local ferrochrome business and boosted the exportation of raw chrome to particularly China, which has gained major ferrochrome market share as a result. Already at an advanced stage of consideration are alternative technologies for producing electricity from off-gas generated as part of the ferrochrome production process, as well as a combination of solar and wind projects that include on-site behind-the-meter projects as well as off-site wheeling projects. Negotiations for some of these are heading for financial close in the first half of this year. Decarbonisation commitments are in place that will result in greener ferrochrome being produced in the future. With adequate clean energy, Mining Weekly postulates that South Africa could potentially regain a far stronger position in ferrochrome manufacturing. Already its closed furnaces reduce carbon emissions and elevate efficiency amid a history of 80% of value creation, including jobs, in the chrome value chain being created by ferrochrome producers. Many jobs could be regained by competitively producing and exporting more ferrochrome produced from South Africa's chrome. Market share was lost despite the private sector's significant investment in expanding local beneficiation capacity. This was the result mainly of the public sector failing to provide the required volume of electricity at a competitive price. A competitive environment needs to be created to maximise the use of existing ferrochrome capacity. In the 12 months to December 31, Merafe reported lower ferrochrome production. The main focus of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Merafe is the 20.5% participation by wholly owned subsidiary, Merafe Ferrochrome and Mining, in the earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortisation of the Glencore-Merafe venture, in which Glencore has a 79.5% participation.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Mining explosives and chemicals company AECI, which turned 100 this week, will be unveiling a digital strategy for the mining market during the course of this year. It is also looking to become greener as it keeps innovation closest to its rapidly internationalising heart. "We have a legacy of innovation. Even peers refer to us as the 'university of the industry'," AECI CEO Holger Riemensperger told Mining Weekly in an interview at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where the company reiterated its intention to divest from selected non-core assets, keep AECI Mining as its cornerstone, accelerate internationalisation and optimise organic growth. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video). Deep thought is being given to innovating along environmentally friendlier paths. "I would say we're all eyeing the move to the next explosives, away from ammonium nitrate. That's a big move. There's still a lot of work to be done," Riemensperger disclosed. As a next-generation explosive technology replacement building block, he said:" At the moment, many would say that hydrogen peroxide will be next", as demand grows for the development of explosives with fewer NOx and CO2 consequences. "Also, the way that we apply our explosives can contribute to an optimisation in the downstream of mining, which will also reduce the CO2 footprint of the mine," Riemensperger pointed out. The use of hydrogen peroxide emulsion to reduce emissions associated with blasting has been coming under the spotlight owing to several mining companies committing to net zero well ahead of the 2050 deadline. In this regard, the need to use green ammonia is also being highlighted. "Green ammonia definitely has a future, but at the moment it is only a few markets that would be willing to pay a premium." Those are the European and North American market and probably Australia to some degree. "In the other markets, there is no ask for green ammonia and nobody is willing to pay the premium at the moment, but I think, in the long run, we will move there," Riemensperger forecast. AECI currently has a 22-country presence on six continents, served by a workforce of more than 7 500 people Mining Weekly: Going forward, how do you plan to accelerate the further internationalisation? Riemensperger: We have built a very nice growth momentum outside of South Africa, but also outside of Africa, specifically in Australia, and in Indonesia. Practically every year, we have doubled the revenues. We see this momentum continuing, but we're also targeting other geographies, so it's all about internationalisation in specific geographies. What growth opportunities do critical minerals and metals present and where? They do present a very nice opportunity for us and we are eyeing specific markets where you find critical minerals, which is Australia and also Peru, Chile, Brazil, US and Canada. Geographically, those are our target markets, but we're not looking only for specific commodities. In general, we believe we can add value to the mining of all commodities. Can you expand on the use of hydrogen peroxide? There are still a lot of questions that need answering. It's highly explosive unstable chemical, so the difficulty of using hydrogen peroxide is in transport. So, how can we stabilise the product from production to application? What would you estimate is the timeframe on the introduction of hydrogen peroxide? Personally, I believe it is about ten years out. Doubling earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of core mining and chemicals units by 2026 is ambitious. How do you intend realising that aspiration? It is indeed ambitious, but we like ambitions. There are two ways to it. There are basically two goals we are seeking here. Doubling for us means roughly about R3.2-billion on Ebitda, of which about R2-billion is in revenue from organic growth. The track record of Ebitda growth that...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The private-sector's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBTC) and the State's Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has shown that the private sector and State-owned entities can work together very well, Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu has highlighted in a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Menar is a private investment company with a portfolio of diversified minerals that includes anthracite, coal and manganese in South Africa, gold in Kyrgyz Republic and nickel in Türkiye, In alignment with the company's ferrous strategy, Menar last month signed a memorandum of with the government of Gabon to explore for iron-ore and manganese in Gabon. Also being heightened in Bayoglu's view is the prospect of more exploration investment taking place in South Africa following the appointment by South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) of a new service provider for its cadastral system. "If you are a serious investor, and you are waiting for your mining right, the DMRE is very helpful. They are always on the side of the investor to unlock value because they know that they have a duty to support the economy so that jobs are created, and procurement opportunities are given to community businesses. "A more consistent and reliable DMRE licensing processes will attract investors to the country. South Africa has great potential for exploration. This will help existing companies in South Africa, and companies coming from other parts of the world, to feel more comfortable when applying for prospecting or mining rights," Bayoglu noted. COAL LINE SECURITY Pointing out that the partnership between RBCT and TFR began with security services, Bayoglu credited RBCT with having played an important role in helping TFR to minimise security incidents, especially cable theft, which is critical because when cables are stolen, the system comes to a halt. RBTC's work with TFR to supply batteries and compressors for locomotives is helping with improving locomotive availability, which is Bayoglu identifies as TFR's biggest problem. "If locomotives need spare parts, and the spare parts are not there, the locomotives remain idled. This issue will be resolved by providing spare parts to TFR. It will assist with locomotives' availability and improve capacity on the coal line," Bayoglu commented. Collaboration has resulted in TFR moving about one million tons of coal a week, compared with only 700 000 t to 800 000 t a week earlier. "Another good example of a collaboration between the private sector and TFR is the partnership with Kalagadi Manganese, which opened the rapid loader facility for junior manganese miners. "We will hopefully start to move the first manganese to Port Elizabeth soon. It is a good initiative and we appreciate what Kalagadi is doing by helping junior manganese miners and unlocking capacity," Bayoglu acclaimed. Mining Weekly: What is the latest on the advancement of the Gugulethu Colliery project in Mpumalanga and what is the latest on upcoming projects such as Bekezela in Gauteng and Thuso also in Mpumalanga? Bayoglu: We have been developing Gugulethu for the past two years, and things are going according to plan. We opened the pit, have seven teams working, and have an operational processing plant. We also did the cold commissioning and hot commissioning of the plant. We are targeting steady-state production within the next three months. The target is to mine 200 000 t monthly and process it to between 110 000 t and 120 000 t of saleable product a month. We employ people from the community; we have already employed 41 young people and trained them as machine operators. When we reach steady state production, we will employ 410 people in total. We are hoping that the first coal that will be exported will be ready in the next two to three weeks. Bekezela and Thuso are now fully licenced. We are hoping to start developing both ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. The Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture is exploring renewable energy projects to mitigate power shortages and power costs, Merafe Resources CEO Zanele Matlala said on Monday, when the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company elevated its dividend declarations for 2023 to a total of R1 050-million, well up on the R625-million of 2022. In addition, Merafe FD Ditabe Chocho reported a 114% year-on-year upward leap in chrome ore revenue to R2 222-million as well as a 1% year-on-year ferrochrome revenue increase to R6 885-million. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Through its wholly-owned Merafe Ferrochrome subsidiary, Merafe has a 20.5% participation in the earnings of the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture in which Glencore Operations South Africa has a 79.5% participation. Regarding 2024 venture-level opportunities, Matlala cited the development of green energy solutions as one of them, along with the implementation of the negotiated pricing agreement (NPA) with State power utility Eskom and national energy regulator Nersa. However, already at an advanced stage of consideration are alternative technologies for producing electricity from off-gas generated as part of ferrochrome production process, as well as a combination of solar and wind projects that include on-site behind-the-meter projects as well as off-site wheeling projects. Being finalised are commercial structures and associated risk allocation on the renewable energy project negotiations with the first 100 MW off-site solar projects heading for financial close in the first half of this year. "We've got co-generation at some of our operations but there are new, more efficient technologies and we're pursuing the use of gas as a continuous process enhancement in terms of generating electricity," Glencore Alloys CEO Japie Fullard highlighted in response to Mining Weekly. "We've already pulled the execution rigger at one of our operations in terms of behind-the-meter, so we've got a very good model already in place," said Fullard. At the same time, the venture is also are mulling independent power producer (IPP) and power purchase agreement (PPA) options. "The third initiative is our IPP versus PPA and in that regard, we're very close to signing our first bankable PPA solution. But in the meantime we're also continuously looking at other and more potential solutions out there. "By doing that, it allows us then to wheel. A PPA is where there's, let say, a plant being built in the Northern Cape and then you wheel it, so it's a virtual wheeling agreement and all those agreements with the authorities are already in place." While no price differentiation for green ferrochrome and green chrome is currently in sight, the carbon abatement cross-border C-band mechanism is, Fullard said, being pushed quite hard through Europe. It is through that mechanism that price differentiation is expected and until cross-border tariffs are enforced, price differentiation is seen as unlikely. Questions are coming through, however, about how the ferrochrome is being produced, and the clear decarbonisation pathway, with set targets, in place is providing the answer. Using 2019 levels as a base, a 15% reduction of total scope 1,2 and 3 emissions is targeted for 2026, a 25% reduction of total emissions for 2030, a 50% reduction by 2035, and net zero by 2050. On potential reversion to green hydrogen to process the ferrochrome accompanied by the use of the PGMs now being produced in-house, Fuller said a commercialised green hydrogen example would need to be in place for others to seriously consider such a solution. "Also, the PGMs area in which we are playing is small compared with the bigger PGM players. We have various offtake agreements, we don't convert our PGM concentrate into metal and we don't see that currently as a focus area. Our clear focus is on solutions that are already workable, which are solar and wind...

The Coal-Face with Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly. 1. One of South Africa's time-honoured gold mines is going to be listed on a stock exchange in the United States. 2. A Toyota-linked company is on a mission to bring more hydrogen-based power to South Africa. 3. South Africa's mining industry must be given a new ticket to ride to enable it to perform better.  

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Group wind power generation last year increased by 8% and the Lephalale solar power project is on its way to being operational in the first quarter of next year, Exxaro CE Dr Nombasa Tsengwa highlighted during the company's presentation of double-dividend 2023 results. The increased wind performance resulted in 727 GWh of high-margin of green electricity being generated into the market at a high earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin - and, were it not for a fault that occurred on the distribution network of State-owned power utility Eskom, there would have been 15 GWh more. The 2023 Ebitda margin or the energy business was 80% for the second consecutive year, emphasising the stability of the renewable energy business. Additional good news on the climate change mitigation front is that the 68 MW Lephalale solar power project under construction is poised to provide Exxaro's Grootegeluk coal mine with 176 GWh/y of green energy in the first quarter of 2025 - earlier than the operational date reported by Mining Weekly in a previous report. Regarding wind energy, Exxaro FD Riaan Koppeschaar pointed out that the project financing of R4.3-billion for the Cennergi wind farms - which will be fully settled in 2031 and which have no recourse to the Exxaro balance sheet - are hedged through interest rate swops at an effective interest rate of 12.8%. Koppeschaar also noted that hedge accounting is also applied to the Lephalale solar project, which ensures limited volatility on the profit-and-loss account. The empowered coal, energy, and ferrous-linked company declared a final dividend of R10.10 a share, which is roughly R3.4-billion, and drew loud applause when it announced a special dividend of R5.72 a share, which is about R2-billion as well. Exxaro's shareholder distribution has totalled more than R45-billion over five years. Exxaro reported its second highest Ebitda performance of R13.4-billion for the financial year ended December 31, despite lower coal export prices and reduced domestic and export sales volumes of coal. Coal revenue decreased 18% to R37-million and coal Ebitda decreased by 36%. "We remain committed to our sustainable growth and impact strategy as we transition towards becoming a more diversified business," Tsengwa said. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) One of Exxaro's strategic priorities is to grow its energy business and become carbon neutral by 2050, while integrating environmental social governance (ESG). "We continue to benchmark above our peers on global ESG best practice," Tsengwa revealed. The R1.6-billion Lephalale solar photovoltaic power plant will provide Exxaro with a 27% reduction in Scope 2 emissions, carbon intensity has been reduced by 20% and a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Council of Geosciences to explore carbon capture usage and storage to mitigate difficult-to-abate carbon emissions. 'WONDERFUL MARKET' During the media briefing, Exxaro Energy MD Leon Groenewald provided additional insight into the renewables business in response to Mining Weekly's questions. Regarding the Lephalale solar power, he said: "Our aim is to be operational in the first quarter of next year and it will help us, firstly for us as a business, to make some decent money, but also saving some 27% of Scope 2 emissions, and then making a healthy dent in the Eskom monthly account. "We think the renewables market is quite healthy currently, both for organic and inorganic opportunities, and we are pursuing both," he said, amid the current request for information (RFI) environment. "We're building a pipeline to participate in the RFIs that are being issued and we are in the market and awaiting feedback on some of these processes, so we're quite bullish. "On the merger and acquisition front, we're active in most of data rooms, and the moment you're in a data room, the confidentiali...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Since the new leadership at State rail enterprise Transnet has began engaging with South Africa's mining industry, the level of transparency has been "much, much improved", according to African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) Ferrous CE André Joubert. Joubert, who was speaking during an analyst question session covered by Mining Weekly, described the industry as being "very active" in engaging with Transnet on rail transportation of iron-ore and manganese ores. Noting the stance taken by Kumba Iron Ore to adjust its production to lower available rail capacity, Integral Asset Management CIO Bruce Williamson asked ARM about the stance that Assmang would be taking. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Including the railing of manganese in his answer, Joubert described the new Transnet leadership as almost opening its soul to the industry and recounted how the State rail enterprise had allowed producers to collectively do an independent technical assessment of the rail infrastructure. The independent technical assessment, he said, had revealed that the state of the rail network had deteriorated to a point where it was going to take a lot of effort and money to get it back to nameplate capacity This had resulted in the industry collectively working very closely with Transnet with various programmes being implemented. "Based on that, you are looking at about 87% to 88% of nameplate capacity and we did adjust our rail volume to that. "We definitely see for the next three to five years that we will be working at that system. Of course, we pray that it will be quicker than that but we can't base our strategy on hope. "There is going to be more time out so that we can have long-term sustainable improvements on the iron-ore line. "On the manganese side, we invested quite a lot of capital in our Black Rock mine to produce 4.5-million tons per annum. "When this year started, we planned for close to four-million tons and we said that the portion that Transnet was not going to do would be transported by road. "We started off doing that but with the prices dropping, it because very evident that road transport is not profitable and we took the decision to stop the road transport. "Road haul does not make sense for us so therefore every ton previously road-hauled might as be left underground and expenditure be delayed until such time as Transnet get their act together, and again, this decision was taken collectively. "There are a lot of projects happening. If you look again, we took a realistic view that the next to year's we'll rail 3.4-million tons of manganese and then we'll push that up to 3.7-million tons and then to four-million tons. "Our mine is set up for that, we can do that, but for now we have to look at repurposing our mine and setting out to manage the grade. "That's our strategy and we are marrying that strategy exactly with the information that we have from Transnet. So, for us, road hauling is done only if there is a serious emergency and we need to fill a ship," Joubert explained.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Dr Patrice Motsepe, the founder and chairperson of diversified mining company African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), has expressed confidence in the direction being taken by South Africa's State transport enterprise Transnet. The executive head of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed ARM is also confident in the direction he believes that State electricity utility Eskom will take. "I'm confident that the right things are being done with Transnet and I'm confident that the right things will be done with Eskom," Motsepe emphasised during question time at the ARM's latest presentation of dividend-yielding half-year financial results, covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) "We're pleased with Transnet's progress, and Eskom is crucial for our business as well, and we are hoping for an Eskom that, in the not too distant future, succeeds in providing the cheapest electricity, which will be good for industry. "But one other important point is that Eskom is crucial for South Africa's poor people and it's critically important that all of us work together to protect Eskom, and to make sure that Eskom is a world-class electricity company. But, in my view, the most important thing is that it serves the poor, who need electricity that is as cheap and as reliable as possible," said Motsepe. Regarding the emergence of independent power producers (IPPs) and their generation of mainly renewable electricity, he added: "The issue of the IPPs is in relation to the technology that has been developing which will have an impact on the competitiveness of utilities such as Eskom. "But the bottom line is that we all have to work together and make sure than Eskom is a competitive provider of electricity and the single most important issue for me in relation to Eskom is the poor. We should hope that Eskom should provide cheaper electricity for the benefit of the poor. "South Africans are compassionate people and you cannot have a successful mining industry without an improvement in the living conditions of poor people. "We've got to clearly understand that if electricity is expensive, it has an impact on our capacity to create jobs, it has an impact on the competitiveness of the mining industry. "Our focus, as a country, has to be that we will only succeed if poor, unemployed South Africans also have a future. You cannot have rich people and rich companies living side-by-side with poor people who are unemployed. "All of us only succeed when poor people and unemployed people have a future. We have a long-term duty and we are not judged by what we say but on how the unemployed, the poor, are impacted by what we do. "Many of the mining companies are retrenching because their businesses are under stress and I've got no doubt that every single one of those mining companies is looking at what they have to do in the context of their long-term commitment to their employees and to the country. "We sometimes do the most incomprehensible and inexplicable things and again, in the context of Eskom and Transnet, we have been doing the wrong things. "We now have to do the right things and I'm confident that the right things are being done with Transnet and I'm confident that the right things will also be done with Eskom," Motsepe emphasised. ARM's wide-ranging contribution to the development and upliftment of poor rural and urban communities in South Africa includes educating students from these communities. ARM also sponsors an endowment that will be invested in perpetuity to support research in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand. It has also partnered with Stellenbosch University to establish a geometallurgy research chair. RENEWABLE ENERGY AND DECARBONISATION ARM is committed to confronting climate change accompanied by what it calls a just and a fair transition. On the renewable energy front, a 132 MWp ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Full ownership and execution of factors that are within management's control are being elevated to the highest possible level by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) CEO Phillip Tobias. ARM has sharpened its pencil in as far as things that are within its control are concerned and success is being achieved tackling costs, increasing volumes, and managing grades. "Your cost curve will really determine how far you are going to run so we want to be in the first quartile and it will come through hard work and we really want to commend our workforce, and our leadership as well, for heeding the call. "When the clarion call was made, they really heeded it, and we've seen some improvement. It's not over. It's a continuous improvement. It's like sweeping water uphill, so it's a daily thing. "We need to continue to look for those opportunities and any slight improvement in cost, volume and grade can be seen on the bottom line," Tobias emphasised in an interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video While ARM Ferrous reported 12% higher headline earnings, ARM Platinum reported a loss owing to the sharp fall of platinum group metals (PGMs), and ARM Coal was 85% down compared with the corresponding period of last year. It was the iron-ore division that made the big contribution earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda). But major effort is being made to improve what is under management control at the PGM operations. "I'm pleased to say that there has been a 4% increase on the Modikwa mining grade and we've also seen some marginal improvement on the Two Rivers mining grade although we are still mining the split reef. "We have, to a certain extent, been able to optimise our cut and we are quite pleased with that because it's an ongoing thing because that is basically the nature of the beast. "We are now on the split reef area. The two operations Modikwa and Two Rivers have respectively shown an improvement of 2% and 3% year-on-year, which is quite pleasing," said Tobias. Making sure that an enabling environment is created for ARM employees and is simplifying things for employees to perform to the best of their ability is also an ongoing priority. "Global competitiveness is what is going to differentiate us, especially when there's a price squeeze. Mining Weekly: In circumstances like the present, how beneficial is ARM's diversified portfolio of mining assets? Tobias: If you look at our results, you'd see that even from the Ebitda segment that iron-ore delivered about 80% of that. Previously, it was almost an equal distribution between iron-ore and the PGMs business but with PGMs falling to about 8%, the outcome was that iron-ore took a big chunk of that split and we are quite grateful that it was not only price related but there was an improvement in terms of volume of sales and production. We saw a 1% improvement on that and the cost as well. If you look at the unit cost on the iron-ore side with Khumani, it was just a 3% increase compared with the corresponding period. That's quite helpful considering that we've seen a shortfall of approximately 40% in the PGMs basket price. You do need the cushion that diversification provides because mining is cyclical. To what extent is ARM rationalising capital expenditure? As we announced in our previous results, we've concluded capital expenditure on Black Rock, so now the focus is more on the PGMs business. What is very important is that in as much as the Two Rivers Platinum Merensky capital project of 200 000 t has been approved, we need to continue to make sure that we really focus on differentiating between the needs and the wants. The wants are what we can park and the business will still basically continue, and then, at the right time, when the price is right, you can bring in the wants. That is the rationalisation that is taking place. Also, regarding Bokoni, the bo...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. South African gold producer Aurous, which owns and operates the Blyvoor gold mine and the Gauta tailings retreatment project on Gauteng's West Rand, has announced plans to go public through a business combination with US-based Rigel Resource Acquisition Corp. The transaction, which puts Aurous at a pre-money equity value of some R6.76-billion ($362-million), is expected to enable Blyvoor to expand its underground infrastructure, enhance surface infrastructure, and optimise operations through economies of scale. "This transaction and associated influx of foreign investment into South Africa has the potential to enable further meaningful job creation, continued revitalisation of the local community and recapitalisation of Africa's precious metals industry, all of which we expect will be well-received by the relevant South African authorities," Aurous CEO Richard Floyd stated in a release to Mining Weekly. Aurous is described by Rigel CEO Jon Lamb as a cash-positive, debt-light target that already has impressive operational milestones under its belt. Making up Aurous are Blyvoor Gold Resources and Blyvoor Gold Operations and New York-listed Rigel is a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by a fund managed by Orion Resource Partners. The two companies have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in Aurous becoming publicly traded. On completion of the proposed business combination, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the resulting company is expected to be named Aurous Resources and is to ultimately list on NASDAQ. Floyd and Aurous executive chairperson Alan Smith will continue to lead the business, the principal asset of which, the Blyvoor mine, is a long-life underground gold mine in the Witwatersrand region, west of Johannesburg. Since the restart of Blyvoor production in 2022, Aurous has been able to re-employ some 1 500 workers who had been unemployed following closure of the mine in 2013. "We've worked diligently over a few years to find a quality business to combine with and are pleased to have arrived at this merger agreement which is expected to deliver a value-accretive transaction to all stakeholders," Rigel president Nate Abebe noted. Rand Merchant Bank is acting as financial adviser to Aurous and Milbank LLP and ENS as legal counsel to Aurous.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) executive chairperson Dr Patrice Motsepe said during Friday's presentation of dividend-yielding results that his diversified mining company is committed to confronting climate change. "Our policies are part of what we call a just and a fair transition," said Motsepe of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company, which is engaged in iron-ore, manganese, platinum group metals and coal mining. On being in Miami two weeks ago at the meeting of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) with the CEOs of the largest mining companies in the world, Motsepe expressed great pride in the work that the ICMM is doing and the commitment to partnering with community stakeholders. "Our commitment to ESG and climate change is to a large extent expressing the principles of the top mining companies of the world that are part of the ICMM - BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Vale and many others. "The clear commitment of the transition to zero emissions, which is the ultimate objective over time, also entails the training, educating and the transition of those currently dependent on the coal industry who will be needing new training, new jobs, new opportunities and a good future," said Motsepe. Regarding local coal logistics requiring much improvement, ARM is encouraged by the appointment of the new CEO of Transnet, Michelle Phillips, which the company sees as emphasising what it has often reiterated. "You have to employ the smartest and the brightest and the best. Meritocracy is non-negotiable and making sure that some of the top positions are occupied by the smartest women in this country and we've got equally smart black, white, Indian and Coloured South Africans. "If you grow up in a business, you have a solid understanding of what the challenges are and we have to focus on those, particularly during this time that we have now to make sure that those who have got the experience, those who have got the track record, get the jobs, and I think we are moving in the right direction," said Motsepe. He described Transnet and Eskom as being crucial to the entire mining industry and the ability of ARM to create value for its shareholders. "An efficient Eskom that sells the cheapest possible electricity is very important for industry as well as South Africa's poor people and it is critically important that all of us work together to protect Eskom and to make sure that it is world-class. "Of course, Eskom is very important for business but in my view, Eskom is crucial for the poor, who need electricity that is as cheap and as reliable as possible. The issue about the private sector and the independent power producers in particular is in relation to the technology that has been developing and that will have an impact on utilities such as Eskom and others. "But the bottom line is, we all have to work together and to make sure that Eskom is a competitive provider of electricity and, as I said, the single most important issue for me in relation to Eskom is the poor,' Motsepe emphasised during the presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. When Engineering News & Mining Weekly covered last month's local launch of BMW's first hydrogen car fleet on South Africa's roads, we discovered that BMW's hydrogen refilling station in Midrand is powered by Elemental Energy's off-grid hydrogen power system, which has a crucial Toyota fuel cell underpin. Interestingly, we now learn that Elemental Energy is on a major mission to build hydrogen power systems in developing countries in particular. "We are just at the beginning of seeing the many applications of green hydrogen play out globally, and we think stationary power is one of the most important to get right," Elemental Energy's Dereck Armstrong told Mining Weekly in a note ahead of our Zoom interview on March 7. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Already operating in South Africa on grid, solar, battery and hydrogen is Elemental Energy's 100 kW system at Jaci's Lodges in the Madikwe Game Reserve in North West province, a demonstrator that is already attracting considerable attention from the mining and agriculture sectors. The hydrogen for that site was produced on a nearby commercial farm and delivered in trailer units by Elemental Energy, which sees itself as an integrator of hydrogen technology that has Toyota's automotive fuel cells in its power units. "Toyota have been a great partner and deliver a truly high-performing and tested piece of kit," said Armstrong, who views hydrogen supply for stationary power as the leading use case for developing green hydrogen supply in many regions. This coincides with a comment made this week by the World Platinum Investment Council, which forecasts that stationary hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen electrolysers will increase demand for platinum by more than 120% this year. Toyota uses platinum-catalysed fuel cells and Elemental Energy is mulling the potential use of platinum-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) for some sites. "Green hydrogen can already be produced at prices that compete with diesel on a dollar per kilowatt hour basis and it is only going to become more competitive over the next few years," said Armstrong. "We see hydrogen supply for stationary power being the leading use case for developing green hydrogen supply in many regions. With green hydrogen supply and demand coming online at the same time to replace diesel, the added benefit of a local supply is provided that can also be used to add vehicles or other hydrogen use cases as offtakers from the same infrastructure. "We're just at the beginning of seeing the many applications of green hydrogen play out globally, and we think stationary power is one of the most important to get right, especially in Africa," Armstrong said. Adding storage capacity for hydrogen, a transportable renewable fuel, is relatively cheap and a fuel cell with gas storage can deliver long-duration energy. "Our solution is actually an integrated solar/wind, battery and hydrogen system to deliver a cost-effective hybridisation of these technologies. "We see ourselves as a technology integrator, which, when it comes to hydrogen, involves a fair bit of intellectual property and expertise itself. "We work with some of the leading technology suppliers of electrolysis, compressors, hydrogen storage, batteries, inverters, and fuel cells and build the systems and controls to get all of these working together smoothly. "Our core system is a smart power station that looks similar to a big diesel generator but is actually a lot more than that. It really becomes the brains and controls of all the power supply and storage on site. "We also integrate hydrogen storage cylinders into a smaller trailer design that we build and assemble ourselves. This allows us to move hydrogen around quite efficiently for low distance, high frequency distribution. "The hydrogen fuel cell does the job typically done by a diesel generator. The fuel cell chemically recombines hydrogen ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. This year could potentially turn out to be quite an interesting year for platinum as a commodity and also as an investment, with the 2023 platinum market deficit of 878 000 oz forecast to be followed by a 2024 deficit of 418 000 oz. In addition to automotive demand being poised to reach the seven-year-high figure of 3 297 000 oz, demand for platinum from stationary fuel cells and electrolysers is set to rise by more than 120%, amid green hydrogen projects getting under way in Europe, following oversubscribed auctions, and also in North America, where the Inflation Reduction Act is stimulating widespread development. Contrasting sharply with this are the two substantial consecutive annual platinum supply deficits, plus a seeming momentous decline in above-ground stocks, which is kindling hopes of a much-needed price rise. "We haven't seen the underlying fundamentals translate into price so far, for automaker inventory management reasons, but as the above-ground stocks are being depleted, you'd expect the residual above-ground ounces to require higher prices," World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) research director Edward Sterck outlined to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview to mark the publication of WPIC's latest quarterly report for the fourth quarter of 2023, along with a full 2023 year review and a revised 2024 forecast. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) While demand rose above eight-million ounces last year, supply fell to seven-million ounces, the second-lowest figure since 2013, surpassed only by the Covid-hit 2020. Even this year's 6% lower demand expectation easily outdoes the five-year demand average since 2019, while supply is projected to decrease still 1% further year-on-year. "It seems that the automakers have effectively accumulated excess inventories of around a million ounces of platinum, and that roughly matches up with the with the major deficit of 878 000 oz that we estimate for 2023. "We think what's happened is that during 2023, automakers effectively managed their new purchasing commitments to run down those excess platinum group metal inventories, and that effectively took the heat out of the market. That process is continuing to run through into the beginning of this year but we think it has largely now run its course," Sterck highlighted. What has not run its course, however, is automotive demand for platinum, which is expected to hit a seven-year high in 2024, after having jumped 16% to 3 272 000 oz last year. Traditionally, 40% to 45% of platinum has gone into exhaust treatment systems for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and on the horizon is major potential demand for green hydrogen amid more than $300-billion in government subsidies being turned into green hydrogen projects that are under construction and being commissioned. As green hydrogen demand grows, platinum offers investors a way of engaging with assets associated with compulsory global decarbonisation, with many companies advancing low-emission initiatives for implementation well ahead of the 2050 global deadline. With various governments around the world continuing to announce green hydrogen subsidies, platinum-based hydrogen implementation could be pulled closer faster. Mining Weekly: What is driving the ongoing high demand for platinum in the automotive sector at a time when ICE vehicle production is decreasing? Sterck: That's a very good question. If we think about the overall drive train landscape, it seems quite possible that 2023 was the post-Covid high watermark for ICE vehicle production. In 2024, the outlook for ICE vehicles is lower than for last year, and yet we continue to see growth in demand for platinum for automotive applications. There are really two driving forces behind that. Firstly, we still expect increased platinum-for-palladium substitution to occur this year. That may begin to abate or even reverse in future ye...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. While the operating environment remains challenging, with macro-economic and geo-political uncertainty persisting, the medium- to long-term view of Sibanye-Stillwater remains largely unchanged on the fundamental outlook for the metals it produces, with the exception of nickel. The Johannesburg- and New York-listed green metals and gold mining company said it was confident that the price weakness of platinum group metals (PGMs) during 2023 does not signal a structural change in PGM fundamentals, such as that of the nickel market, but is more temporary in nature, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said during the company's results presentation covered by Mining Weekly. "And we're beginning to see increasing signs that support a better demand outlook," said Froneman. "We believe that the precipitous decline in PGM prices during the first half of last year, was due to a confluence of negative factors and exacerbated by unexpected destocking of inventory which caught the market by surprise, causing increased uncertainty and market anxiety. " This bearish sentiment was reflected in a significant build-up of speculative short positions in palladium, which also contributed to the price pressure," Froneman added. The substantial declines in the prices of most commodities, with the notable exception of gold, and persistent cost inflation, has translated into materially lower earnings and cash flows placing the entire global mining industry under severe financial pressure. Sibanye's financial results for the year ended December 31 were similarly impacted by the sudden and sharp decline in PGM and nickel prices. The 33% year-on-year decline in the average PGM basket prices in particular, resulted in a dramatic fall in the profitability of Stillwater in the US and, to a lesser extent, Sibanye's South African PGM operations, which remain profitable while experiencing a 42% decline in the average four-element PGM basket price resulted in adjusted earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) more than halving period-on-period to R5.8-billion for the last six months of last year. Consequently, group adjusted Ebitda for 2023 fell to R20.6-billion, 50% lower than the R41.1-billion for 2022, which was in itself a 40% decline from record levels of R68.6 billion for 2021, which marked the peak of the commodity price cycle. The significant decline in metal prices and uncertain outlook, along with specific operational performance factors, also resulted in the recognition of impairments of R47.5-billion, which were a primary driver of the group reporting a loss for 2023 of R37.4-billion compared with a R19-billion profit for 2022. Sibanye continues to see emerging signals that support its long held, robust view on PGM demand including forecast growth of light duty vehicle production over the rest of this decade and recent moderation in battery electric vehicle (BEV) growth rates and accompanying increase in hybrid power-train adoption. The predicted demise of internal combustion engine vehicles is turning out to appear premature, which is challenging the forecast penetration of BEVs. Meanwhile, primary supply of PGM is likely to continue to decline in an inflationary environment with low PGM prices, while recycling supply remains subdued and well below forecasts.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. South Africa's consistently advancing mining investment company Menar has signed a memorandum of agreement with the government of Gabon. "We think that Gabon is one of the promising countries when it comes to investments in mining, especially manganese and iron-ore," Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu highlighted during a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) "We've been looking at doing things in Gabon for a while, and we did our homework and we ended up signing an MOU. We haven't gone further than that yet. But soon, we're hoping to have a visit to the country and start talking with the relevant government authorities to look at what is available and what we can do in terms of prospecting for manganese and iron-ore, which is part of our diversification strategy. "We're hoping that we're going to add a nice project in one of these ferrous metals in Gabon," said Bayoglu. "There was a change of government. As you know, there was a coup in the country. But they reorganised as mining is a very important revenue maker for the country. "They know that South Africa is a great mining culture, so they appreciate that we're showing interest and they're very responsive. From time to time, there are some issues some glitches but in general, they're very good in terms of responding to our requests or our questions. Mining Weekly: And you managed to speak to key members of the Gabon government face to face at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. Bayoglu: Yes, I did. I had the one-on-one meeting with them at the Mining Indaba and we're planning to visit Gabon in June. GUGULETHU PROJECT Meanwhile, in South Africa, investment in Gugulethu Colliery project has been completed, with opencast mining under way and infrastructure built. "We processed our first run of mine about three weeks ago and we're currently at the point of trying to ramp up to steady state," Bayoglu said. At steady state, the colliery will be employing 410 people. " We're employing people from the local community. We've already trained 41 new young male and female operators, so it's exciting for the community and it's exciting for the company to see the project progressing well. "We had some delays in the project because of rain and believe it or not, at some point, it snowed in that area. We're trying to catch up and it's looking very promising and we're hoping to reach the steady state in three months' time. Everything is going according to plan and we're expecting to move the first coal to the port in two to three weeks," Bayoglu added. On the rail logistics front, South Africa has seen the private sector stepping up to assist the State-run Transnet Freight Rail. How impactful do you think these public-private interventions will be? The collaboration between Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) and Transnet Freight Rail is working quite well. We actually started to help with security because one of the big issues is cable theft and that actually helped Transnet to drop the cable theft cases. Then we started talking about batteries and compressors and RBCT shareholders are helping Transnet regarding that point and the collaboration is working very well, which shows that private companies can work with State-owned entities if the will is there. In the last three to four weeks, Transnet Freight Rail consistently transported 1.1-million tonnes per week compared with the levels of 800 000 t to 900 000 t of the past. There's still a lot to be done because Transnet Freight Rail is targeting to move 60-million tonnes to RBCT this year from coalfields compared with last year's figure of 47-million tonne. Even if Transnet Freight Rail does not achieve the 60-million tonnes targeted, I'm still very hopeful that they will do better than last year. The recent changes in management have been very positively received and people who are in charge are very experienc...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining company Northam Platinum has begun construction of an 80 MW solar power farm at its Zondereinde operation in Limpopo - and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company will also begin constructing a large wind farm in the Western Cape at year-end. The mining right of the Zondereinde mine, situated roughly 30 km south of the town of Thabazimbi, covers 9 257 ha, providing ample land for solar. The 80 MW solar power farm will provide electricity to Zondereinde mine and metallurgical complex with power being supplied behind the Eskom meter. Development is in collaboration with an independent power producer, who will fund the construction and manage the installation. In addition to the solar and wind power, Northam has 22 MW of on-demand power generation capacity from diesel generators. Moreover, additional diesel capacity of 35 MW has been purchased and is being installed, with commissioning expected before the end of the third quarter. This additional capacity will enable all operations to be unimpeded under level 4 Eskom load curtailment conditions, which is the equivalent of stage 6 loadshedding. In response to Mining Weekly during a post-presentation media briefing, Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne cited speed and ease as the reason why the company was also installing diesel generation. "We can quickly mitigate the risk of loadshedding events," Dunne said, whereas solar photovoltaic (PV) power and the wind power development take longer. "Our very large wind farm in the Western Cape is very close to being sized," he added. A slide displayed during Northam's interim results presentation for the six months to December 31, put expected upcoming wind power at 140 MW. "Just out of interest, the carbon footprint of these modern diesel generators is lower than the carbon footprint of the average Eskom fleet. "While it's a sub-optimal solution from a carbon point of view, the average carbon per kilowatt hour is lower than the average of the Eskom fleet, because these are modern, brand new generators, they're not old dirty diesels, if I can say it that way. "Nevertheless, we need to do the renewables as well, and that's exactly what we're doing," said Dunne, who emphasised the low cost advantage of PV over all other options. "No doubt about it, the price of glass has come down quite significantly to the point where economically it's quite attractive to put in PV. "Wind, on the other hand, took a turn the other way. The large wind fans being largely priced in Euros has gone slightly against us. Nevertheless, we will do wind, but the best, as we see it at the moment, is PV," Dunne said. Regarding the use of diesel to power mining, Dunne said, again in response to Mining Weekly, that the conversion of high kinetic diesel-driven LHDs to electric is not on at this stage. "The technology is simply not sufficiently advanced when it comes to LHDs, but the slow movers, such as the drill rigs, are suitable for electrification, and we certainly are looking at that potential for the future," Dunne outlined. MINIMISING MINING'S IMPACT In highlighting that Northam produces metals critical for a cleaner and greener world, Northam CFO Alet Coetzee conceded that mining, by its nature, has an environmental impact. "So, we've consistently looked to minimise the impact across our business," Coetzee noted during the presentation, covered by Mining Weekly. Amid this, the Carbon Disclosure Project - a global climate change and water management disclosure platform that tracks the performance of more than 23 000 companies - has rated Northam above the global average. Moreover, the De Berg Nature Reserve, which is part of Northam's conservancy trust initiative at the company's Booysendal PGMs mine that straddles the Limpopo-Mpumalanga border, has been designated as South Africa's 30th Ramsar wetlands of international importance. Northam recycl...