Germany’s BASF and French miner Eramet are finalizing a USD 2.6 billion partnership deal to invest in a facility in Indonesia to process nickel for use in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). The facility will produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from nickel through a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant, to be used in EV batteries. Eramet estimates that the plant...
Base Metals
Antofagasta reports 10.4% drop in 2022 copper output, 2023 guidance remains unchanged
Chilean miner Antofagasta reported a 10.4% decrease in copper output for 2022, due to lower ore grades and a drought in Chile impacting production. The company produced 646,200 tonnes of copper last year, which was at the lower end of its outlook of 640,000 to 660,000 tonnes. The CEO of the company, Iván Arriagada, said that the recent strength in...
FICCI seeks increase in import duty on aluminium and aluminium products in Indian Union Budget 2023–24
India’s industry body FICCI has called for an increase in the import duty on aluminium and aluminium products to at least 12.5% in the upcoming Union Budget 2023–24. The move is aimed at curbing the dumping of aluminium products and encouraging the growth of the domestic manufacturing and recycling industry. The current import duty on aluminium and aluminium products is...
Top trader readies large outtake of copper from LME inventories
Trafigura, one of the world’s largest commodity traders, is planning to remove significant batches of copper from warehouses registered with the London Metal Exchange (LME), Reuters reported last week citing two sources. “In an environment of constrained supply, reflected by high copper benchmarks in Europe, we are ensuring we can continue to supply our customers with the metals they need,”...
EU battery industry to receive boost from Finland’s multi-billion-euro expansion
Finland’s battery industry plans to invest more than EUR 6 billion in the coming years, a new industry association reported. Akkuteollisuus ry – Finnish Battery Industries, a newly created body, expects thousands of new jobs in line with industry expansion, adding that turnover is expected to reach EUR 9 billion per year by 2027. The group comprises nine companies: Finnish...
Expert: Indonesian Copper Ore Ban May Send Price Up 20% in Mid-2023
The ban on copper ore exports, which was announced by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday and will take effect from mid-2023, could send global metal prices up 20%, as well as increase demand for Russian copper, metal markets expert Leonid Khazanov told RIA Novosti. “The suspension of exports of the ‘red metal’ from Indonesia may lead to an increase...
Nordic Nickel Awarded Inaugural BHP Xplor Funding for Exploration in Lapland
The recently listed nickel sulphide explorer Nordic Nickel has been selected as one of seven junior companies to participate in BHP’s inaugural Xplor programme. BHP Xplor is a cohort-based accelerator programme designed to help early-stage mineral exploration start-ups to find the critical resources required for the global energy transition, such as copper and nickel. The programme provides candidates with a...
Canada Silver Cobalt Discovers Significant Gold Mineralisation in Underground Mines
Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. has released gold assay results from its 60,000-metre 2020-2022 drilling programme and reviewed the company’s gold data from the 2011-2019 surface drill and 2014 channel sample programmes at Castle East, as well as the underground drilling programme from 2019 at its Castle Mine. The company has discovered gold mineralisation in the Nipissing Diabase, where most...
Chile’s Codelco Launches Bid to Attract 2,500 GWh of Renewables Annually
Chilean state-owned copper mining giant Codelco has invited energy companies to participate in tenders to supply around 2,500 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable power capacity annually from 2026 to 2040 for its operations in central and northern Chile. Bidders are expected to offer electricity from non-conventional sources, such as solar and wind power plants, but also from conventional renewables, such as...
Indonesia to Limit Nickel Smelter Development in Green Energy Drive
Indonesia has announced plans to limit the construction of nickel smelters in the country in order to encourage the production of high-value products. The country’s investment minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, said that the focus should be on downstreaming with 80% to 100% value addition, and that any new smelters should be powered by green energy. The country is also considering mandating...