Based on Kitco analytics Precious metals had a mixed performance in 2022, with platinum being the top performer, up nearly 11% on the year. Silver came in second, with a gain of nearly 3%, while gold ended the year flat. Palladium was the biggest loser, down around 6% in 2022. These precious metals showed their best performance in the last...
Editor Metals
Leading Nickel Companies to Watch in 2023 as Market Remains Tight
According to Investorintel, nickel prices have had a strong year in 2022, rising 43% to reach $28,199 per tonne at the time of writing. This increase has been driven by strong demand and limited new supply in the market. Looking ahead to 2023, the nickel market is expected to remain tight, although some analysts are concerned about potential new supply...
Russia’s Largest Lithium Deposit to Go Under Hammer in 2023
Russia’s largest lithium deposit, the Kolmozerskoye field, is set to go up for auction in 2023 with an initial price of 1.6 billion rubles. Heavily sanctioned by western governments, with no easy way to trade with global lithium suppliers, Russia was forced to restart the Kolmozersky lithium project to secure supplies of the metal, an essential ingredient in high-capacity power...
Canada announces USD 3.8 billion critical minerals strategy to address global demand for clean technology
The demand for critical minerals including lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper, rare earth elements, potash, uranium and aluminum is increasing as the world moves towards a global net-zero economy and the adoption of clean technologies such as solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. These minerals are not only essential for clean technology, but also play a crucial role in creating...
Russian mining giant Nornickel presents 3 scenarios for green transition to 2050
Who The Russian diversified mining company Norilsk Nickel has outlined three scenarios for economic growth, energy transition and climate change for the next three decades. The three scenarios, presented in November during the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt, are based on the global temperature projections of the Intergovernmental Panel...
New tailings technologies to be developed by Rio Tinto, OZ and Boliden
As part of the Think & Act Differently (TAD) incubator initiative, funding and support will be offered to innovators seeking to reimagine mining and processing to remove, minimize, find value in or reuse mine tailings. Who Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto, copper miner OZ Minerals and Sweden-based metals firm Boliden have agreed to partner on developing new solutions to manage...
Russia aims for rare earth metal independence, dominance
Russia is second only to China in terms of volumes of rare earth metal reserves, but accounts for just 2% of the global market. Supposedly, development of known reserves is hampered by a lack of local demand, but over 90% of required REMs are imported. In the context of ever toughening sanctions, shifting to a model similar to China’s is...
Half-billion-euro Finnish lithium project approved
EUR 588 million (USD 616.22 million) of capital expenditure has been earmarked for a lithium project in Finland. Who Diversified South African miner Sibanye-Stillwater is set to advance its Keliber lithium project in Finland, seeking a foothold in the European battery metals market. The company took control of Finnish battery chemicals maker Keliber in October after acquiring a 30.29% stake...
Canadian gold company sells off nickel assets
Wallbridge Mining sells all its nickel assets to Archer Exploration Corp. Who Canadian gold company Wallbridge is selling all the property, assets, rights and obligations associated with its nickel portfolio to Archer Exploration Corp, also based in Canada. The value of the deal is estimated to be around CAD 53.6 million in Archer shares (approximately 19.9% of outstanding common shares),...
New technology for titanium prosthesis developed in Russia
New porous titanium technology for implants developed by Russian scientists Who The Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology of the Moscow Aviation Institute claims to have developed a crystallization technology that allows for the relatively inexpensive production of titanium “cotton” for implants, which is set to be 5–6 times less expensive and more consistent than existing technologies. 3D printing...