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S&P GLOBAL Market Intelligence latest report on lithium and cobalt paints a revealing picture for the rare earths’ market. Though the fall-out from COVID-19 has seen total sales and growth of EV’s slow in China, S&P are predicting an increase in sales in Europe due to stricter vehicle emissions standards pushing drivers toward electric vehicles. European and Chinese government policies favour of EV’s driving down battery costs. European car-makers including Volkswagen and BMW have made investments in the EV market which should bear fruit over the course of 2020 as EU transitions toward carbon neutrality. The EV sales should lead to an increase in the Lithium Carbonate price which has so far decline 9.5% this year, averaging US$8,121 p/t in...

A RESEARCH project by Painted Dog has revealed that contributions from mining in WA are much more significant than eastern states residents realise, with many attributing NSW and Victoria with a far higher percentage of the national export figures than they actually are. The West Australian reported that WA contributes 36.5% or $171.4b of the $470b worth of exports, compare to NSW and Queensland in second place with a much smaller 20% contribution while Victoria lagged behind with 12%. This contrasted with the perception by 75% of those surveyed who lived in NSW and half of those who live in Vic, who wrongly assumed that their own state was the top contributor. Premier Mark McGowan oft cited phrase that WA...

ONE of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is by washing our hands often with soap and water, or if that is not an option, by using hand sanitiser. And because right now everyone is being extra vigilant about keeping our hands squeaky-clean, hand sanitiser is in short supply. To help, Rio Tinto teams around the world are doing everything from donating it to making their own. Here are three reasons why: When it makes its own, it leaves more for others. Six of Rio’s sites in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States have already made around 7000 litres. By making its own, the company can make sure it has enough to keep its employees’...

VENTURE Minerals has made a significant gold discovery at its Kulin Project in WA. This emerging province boasts a proven pedigree, hosting several major gold deposits such as Boddington (30moz), Edna May (2.2moz), Katanning (1.2moz) and Tampia (0.7moz). Venture initially carried out surface sampling and mapping programs at Kulin to target nickel and platinum group element mineralisation. But follow-up soil sampling uncovered a cluster of six high-grade  gold in soil anomalies, comparable to the soil geochemical footprint of the 0.7moz Tampia Gold Deposit. Managing Director Andrew Radonjic said Venture was also encouraged by the historic gold exploration work done by BHP which had already recognised Kulin as a gold target as it did for Tampia which, following Ramelius’ takeover, is...

EXCEPTIONAL women in leadership positions have today been recognised in the NSW Women in Mining Awards 2020. The yearly awards, run by the NSW Minerals Council, recognises and celebrates the contributions and achievements of women and gender diversity champions in the NSW mining industry. NSW Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women Bronnie Taylor said the awards are a wonderful opportunity to highlight the outstanding women in the mining industry. “ are a shining light for women and girls interested in joining this important industry,” she said. NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the awards showcase some of the highly skilled women who are helping to keep the world-class mining industry in NSW operating during the...

COPPER has bounced back from the effects of COVID-19, rising to US$5700/t, the highest it’s been in three months. The high level has been due to robust demand from China, the world’s top consumer of copper. It’s a welcome spike for the base metal, which dropped to  $4300 in March. Copper production is expected to climb by 3.1pc between 2020 and 2029 as global output increases by more than 6mt. BHP is currently awaiting approval from the South Australian Government for a copper production increase from 200,000 to 350,000tpa at its Olympic Dam mine. South Australia is the country’s main copper explorer, with national exploration budgets for the commodity reaching $272m last year.

THE Australian Government has begun to develop an online portal for assessing the economic and geological potential of a selection of critical minerals. This builds on last week’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Australia and India on critical minerals, including other collaborations involving the US and Canada. The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office and Geoscience Australia have partnered to develop the web-based Critical Minerals Portal. Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt says this latest collaboration is especially important in the challenging environment COVID-19 has presented to the world. “Australia has one of the world’s most technically advanced, innovative and efficient resources industries, a skilled workforce, stable investment climate and government incentives,” he said. “The portal will increase the visibility of our high...

ALCOA has used an online crowdsourcing competition to connect with some of the world’s smartest people to improve the descaling process at its Wagerup Alumina Refinery in WA. The company collaborated with Unearthed, an innovative online business which connects the resources industry to thousands of developers, data scientists and innovators around the world who pitch novel and diverse solutions to industry challenges. Called Scale Away, the competition challenged participants to come up with ways to more efficiently descale tanks, vessels and pipes. During the refining process, which involves extracting alumina from bauxite, scale builds up and causes lost production from reduced available tank volume. Its removal is costly and is time consuming. More than 90 innovators from 20 countries registered...

AUSTRALIA and India have declared a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on critical minerals. The announcement was a key outcome of the virtual meeting between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elevate the relationship between the two nations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It’s a further step forward towards Australia establishing itself as a reliable supplier of the critical minerals needed to grow India’s manufacturing sector and its defence and space capabilities. Resources Minister Keith Pitt said India was a key potential market for Australia’s critical minerals. “My department has worked closely with the Ministry of Mines to develop the MoU, which focuses on avenues to increase trade, investment and R&D in critical minerals between...

GLOBAL iron ore prices topped the US$100/t level for the first time in 10 months last week on concerns over supplies from Brazil, as the COVID-19 pandemic grows in the iron ore producing regions in the north and south of the country. The price of 62pc Fe fines delivered to northern China rose 5.4pc to US$102.39, the highest price since last August. Reuters reports that Brazilian giant Vale managed to reverse a court decision closing mines in the south (where the January 2019 mine wall tragedy happened) because of rising numbers of COVID-19 infections, and in the north where infections are also rising. Sources also claim there were hundreds of COVID-19 infections at Vale’s mines in Itabira, in the southern...