Arconic sells its Russian operations for USD 230 million
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows no signs of stopping, US-based lightweight metal engineering and manufacturing company Arconic has sold off its Russian assets. Who To comply with sanctions against Russia, Arconic sold its Russian operations to the majority owner of the state-backed metals company VSMPO-AVISMA for cash. The key property changing hands is the Samara Metallurgical Plant. Why it...
Largest deficit in decades on the cards for silver
Global demand for silver is expected to rise 16% this year to 1.21 billion ounces, creating the biggest deficit in decades. Who The US-based Silver Institute states that the use of silver by industry for jewelry and silverware, and for bars and coins for retail investors are all forecast to reach record levels. As demand grows, a deficit of 194...
Nickel prices rise amid falling supplies and market volatility
Analytics recap. Nickel. Mid-November. Based on analysis by the Financial Times. Nickel prices have reached a six-month high, in a continuation of the market deterioration that has been observed since March. On Monday, the three-month nickel contract briefly hit a daily trading limit of 15%, reaching nearly USD 31,000 per tonne. This was followed by a 5% increase on Tuesday...
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...
USD 23 billion per year over the next three decades needed to supply copper for zero-carbon targets
Achieving current climate targets to potentially save the world from catastrophe will require hundreds of billions in copper investments. Who Analysts from Wood Mackenzie claim that 9.7 million tonnes of copper are needed over the next 10 years to cover the projects necessary to hit goals outlined in the Paris Agreement targets, an increase of almost a third over current...
European market ban on Russian metal untenable, says London Metal Exchange
A major UK exchange has decided against banning Russian metal. Who The London Metal Exchange, after several weeks of deliberation, has published a paper outlining its reasoning for not banning Russian metal. The key points include the stipulation that the Exchange should refrain from making ethical judgements, the potential effects on participants in the market being too serious for the...
Kopy Goldfields acquires stake in Khakassia gold company
Kopy Goldfields AB’s (publ) wholly owned subsidiary JSC AG Mining (“AGM”) has signed an agreement to acquire a 25% interest in the Russian gold company Zolotaya Zvezda CJSC, for a total cash consideration of RUB 550 million (USD 8.9 million). Who Swedish gold exploration and production company Kopy Goldfields, which is looking to take over operations at several mining projects...
New electrokinetic rare earth mining technology appears too good to be true
A green and efficient new rare earth mining technology that uses electricity instead of chemicals has been proposed. Who Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry proposed a new approach in the Nature Sustainability journal earlier this month, showing that employing electrokinetic mining techniques to extract rare earth elements from weathering crusts can be both clean...
Lithium cartel may shift global power balance
The countries holding a majority of the world’s known resources for manufacturing batteries are considering forming a cartel based on the OPEC model in the face of growing demand and surging prices. Who There’s growing interest in a lithium OPEC in the ‘Lithium Triangle’, a colloquial term for Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, which are home to 58% of the world’s...
Coeur Mining sale of Nevada asset to AngloGold pushes stocks higher
Coeur Mining announced the closure of the sale of its southern Nevada assets on 4 November. The Sterling and Crown exploration sites, which occupy a land area of 14,365 ha, will be purchased by a subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU). AngloGold has existing gold projects in the Beatty area of Nevada, making the purchase a strategically important one.The Sterling...
Nevada Copper restarts extraction at Pumpkin Hollow
After the signing of a financing package that will provide up to $123 million in liquidity, Nevada Copper is set to restart operations at its Underground Mine location within the larger Pumpkin Hollow reserve. The resumption of copper extraction at the site comes with an optimised plan to bring the mine’s life-cycle value forward by incorporating the larger, higher-grade East...
Nickel Creek Platinum completes drilling project at Yukon flagship asset
Nickel Creek Platinum has announced the completion of a drilling and geophysics programme conducted in Yukon, Canada, as part of the Nickel Shaw Project. The project involved a total of 3,300 metres of drilling, 2,000 metres of which comprised a Prefeasibility Study (“PFS”) at the Wellgreen deposit. Eight holes were drilled to support the conversion of mineral resources from inferred...
New platinum-based catalyst shows great promise in dealing with methane emissions
A new palladium and platinum catalyst shows great promise in eliminating methane emissions from various human activities. The major advantage over other catalysts is its ability to work in the presence of water vapor, which is always present during natural gas combustion. Who Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya outlined their findings in a paper published in the Nature...
Germany calls for ‘precautionary pause’ on deep-sea mining
The German government has appealed to the International Seabed Authority to put deep-sea mining activities on hold while an assessment of regulations and potential environmental damage is conducted. The announcement comes after the climate activist group Ocean Rebellion staged a protest against the Hidden Gem drill ship in Rotterdam in February 2022. Spain and New Zealand have previously made similar...
Norilsk Nickel’s mine tops the list of most valuable mines in the world
A USD 873 billion mine extracting Ni, Cu, Pt, Pd and Au metals from the magmatic sulphide deposit that forms the core of Norilsk Nickel’s eponymous operations was listed as the most valuable mine in the world by MINING.COM. If the calculations were based on prices back in March, the value of the mine would have pushed USD 1.5 trillion....
New solidification approach promises truly invariable iron–nickel alloy
A new theory of iron–nickel alloy solidification has been proposed. Regulating the process of creating Invar (iron–nickel, Fe–Ni) could bring about a more uniform structure, controlled characteristics, and improved properties in the final product. Who Physicists at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) have determined that oncoming flow plays an important role in the technology for creating Invar products, namely in...
New copper centre to boost cable recycling in Finland
A new recycling facility is set to turn the Finnish town of Heinola into an aluminium and copper processing hub. The plant, whose construction costs are estimated at 7 million euros, will begin operating next year. The facility consists of a pre-crushing line and a separation line. The operations will have a production capacity of about 2.5 tons per hour,...
New aluminum technology brings hope for lighter electric vehicles
Impression Technologies Ltd (ITL) and fischer group have presented novel forming solutions for ultra-high-strength aluminum structures. The developments have the potential for widespread application in automotive production, especially in electric vehicles. Who Since becoming ITL’s first globally accredited HFQ (Hot Form Quench) partner in December 2020, fischer has invested in a dedicated state-of-the-art high volume HFQ manufacturing line in Achern,...
More hope for European industrial sovereignty as major lithium mine set to open in France
One of Europe’s largest lithium mines is set to be opened in Central France by 2027. The plan is to produce 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year from 2028, enough to equip 700,000 electric vehicles annually. Who Industrial metals firm Imerys has confirmed that there are sufficient concentrations and quantities of lithium at a site in the central Allier...
