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Image: Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.   BY REUBEN ADAMS   THE Minerals Council of Australia and nine other national industry groups have expressed strong support for the resurrected Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was formally signed in Chile by 11 nations after the US backed out last year.   Ministers and senior officials representing Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on 8 March. The TPP-11 will enter into force 60 days after at least 50 per cent of the original signatories to the Agreement have notified each other of the completion of their domestic legal procedures. US President Trump’s decision to withdraw the...

The Kestrel mine in central QLD. Image: Rio Tinto.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   RIO Tinto has completed its exit from the coal industry after agreeing to sell its remaining QLD coal assets for $US4.15 billion.     The mining giant has been on a selling spree in recent years, letting go of assets such as its $US2.7 billion Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) to focus on growth in iron ore and copper. In March, Glencore was named the winning bidder for Rio’s 82 per cent interest in Hail Creek open cut mine and its 71.2 per cent interest in the undeveloped Valeria project, paying $US1.7 billion for the assets. Days later, Rio entered a binding agreement to sell its 75...

BY CAMERON DRUMMOND   CHINESE steel exports to global markets is increasingly volatile as it tackles industry reforms to decrease pollution in a period of slowing domestic demand.   The world’s largest steelmaking nation is reporting an increase in steel stockpiles due to sluggish demand, which has led to decreased demand for raw steelmaking materials and a drop in iron ore prices. Steel exports are down 30.5 per cent in 2018 compared with the same period last year. According to data from Steelhome Consultancy, rebar inventories held by Chinese traders rose to 9.79mt during March, the highest since April 2013. The looming possibility of a trade war between China and the US has also reduced confidence in the steel and...

Union leaders celebrating the win. Image: CFMEU. BY ELIZABETH FABRI THE amalgamation of three of Australia’s largest unions to form a new 144,000 member- ‘super union’ has received a strong response from industry. In early March, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) approved the formation of the new union, CFMMEU, comprising the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA), and Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). CFMMEU, led by MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin, has combined assets of $310 million and annual revenue of about $150 million. Mr Crumlin said the approval of the merger was a “historic day” for Australian workers. “Wherever there is a need to defend the interests of Australian...

BY ELIZABETH FABRI WESTERN Australia could become the next global battery manufacturing hub as it edges closer to mining all the necessary materials for lithium-ion battery production. Speaking at day one of the Battery Minerals Conference in Perth, Mineral Commodities business development manager Daniel Hastings said the State was expected to become “the only jurisdiction in Australia and possibly the world” producing all raw materials for battery production, including nickel sulphate, lithium carbonate and hydroxide, and potentially battery anode material such as graphite. “We take the view - like most other companies - that the current energy revolution has just begun and the outlook for battery raw materials is extremely positive,” Mr Hastings said. “The State will soon be well...

BY REUBEN ADAMS   THE price per tonne of cobalt – essential to EV battery production – rose to $82,000 on the London Metal Exchange in mid-February. This represents a tripling of value since the start of 2016, and a 147 per cent jump since January 2017.   Burgeoning EV demand is already proving a disruptive force for both the mining industry and end users of metals such as lithium and cobalt. In order to meet this increasing demand for EV batteries, cobalt supply will need to reach 180,000 tonnes (t) by 2026 – up from 48,000t in 2016, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Platts expected a tripling in demand to more than 300,000tpa by 2030. This surge in demand...