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S America changing tack for in-demand minerals

Published: 21 Jun 24

An emerging trend in Latin America, and South America in general, is the shift from mining certain commodities to mining commodities that are more critical for the energy transition, such as copper, reports field research professional services firm Southern Pulse founder and managing partner Samuel Logan. “One of the trends that we’re noticing in Latin America, not just South America but [also in] the western hemisphere, is that mining companies that have 20, 30 and 40 years of experience in the business, focusing on gold and geological derivatives of gold, are retooling, shifting and looking at investing in copper.”

Uitkomst Colliery, South Africa

Published: 21 Jun 24

A coal mine in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

A Skydio drone and Boston Dynamics robot dog

Dwyka highlights new drone technology at showcase

Published: 20 Jun 24

Mining technology company Dwyka Mining Services has announced the launch of several new drone technology services through its partnerships with drone technology companies Wingtra, Emesent and now Skydio. At a showcase event hosted at the FNB Stadium, in Gauteng, on June 20, Dwyka announced its newly signed strategic partnership and reseller agreement with Skydio, one of the largest artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered drone technology companies in the US.

This Prieska mine chamber was blasted in the 1970s.

Green copper, vapour refining envisaged at Orion’s Northern Cape base metals mines

Published: 20 Jun 24

Green copper and clean smelting and refining are envisaged at Orion Minerals’ quickly advancing base metals mines in South Africa’s well-endowed Northern Cape province, which has historically produced 2.5-millon tons of copper until base metal mining ceased there several decades ago. The fully permitted and already reviving Prieska mine will begin producing its first saleable copper and zinc 12 to 18 months after finalising its total funding requirement, which is estimated at from R3-billion to R4-billion.

Eskom wins South African appeal to keep five polluting power plants open

Published: 20 Jun 24

South Africa’s State power utility and biggest source of air pollution won an appeal to keep five of its oldest plants open even though they are set to flout incoming emission caps. The plants - which account for almost a quarter of Eskom Holdings’ almost 45 GW of coal-fired generation capacity - will be allowed to operate under current emission limits until the end of March 2030, Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s environment minister, ruled. That will exempt them from more stringent restrictions on pollutants, ranging from particulate emissions to sulfur dioxide, that come into effect in 2025.

Vale Base Metals chairperson Mark Cutifani

Vale unveils $3.3bn plan to boost copper and nickel output

Published: 20 Jun 24

Vale plans to spend as much as $3.3-billion on improvements at its mining operations in Brazil and Canada to boost copper and nickel production capacity over the next four years. The Brazilian mining giant sees the potential to expand production capacity to about 500 000 tons of copper by 2028 mainly through improvements to its Salobo and Sossego mines in Brazil, Vale said in its latest estimates for its base metals unit. Vale produced 321 000 tons of the wiring metal last year. Nickel also gets a capacity lift.

Proposed Australian emissions shift could conceal methane — Ember

Published: 20 Jun 24

Australian opencut coal mine operators may be able avoid reporting hundreds of thousands of tons of methane emissions if a government proposal to change how the releases are estimated is approved, according to Ember. The plan from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water would eliminate state-provided emissions factors and required operators to determine their own. But the current proposal doesn’t include crucial safeguards to ensure independent verification and the accuracy of the data, Chris Wright, a climate strategy advisor at the energy think tank, said in a report.

Drone-sinking of coal ship takes Red Sea perils to new level

Published: 20 Jun 24

The sinking of a coal-carrier by a sea drone has boosted the risk of navigating the vital Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint to a new level and is driving a fresh surge in insurance costs. The British navy said Tuesday that the only visible objects in the last known location of the Tutor dry-bulk carrier — at which point it was semi submerged — were some debris and an oil slick. Yemen’s Houthi militants managed to strike it with a seaborne drone, killing one crew member and injuring others.

Australia to fund road clearing to Porgera mine after PNG landslide

Published: 20 Jun 24

Australia said it would provide A$2-million to Papua New Guinea to restore road access to the Porgera gold mine, previously one of the world's largest, and other support for survivors after a deadly landslide in Enga province in May. Seven Australian ministers and the country's police chief are in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to hold security and trade talks amid competition with China for policing ties in the Pacific Islands, and to underscore Australian humanitarian assistance after the disaster last month.

Harmony confident of meeting full-year targets, reporting 'exceptional' free cash flow

Published: 20 Jun 24

JSE-listed Harmony Gold Mining Company has informed shareholders that it will meet its production, grade and cost guidance for the financial year to end on June 30, and that it continued to generate "exceptional" operating free cash flow on the back of the recovered grades, a higher rand gold price received and sustained operational excellence. In a pre-close statement published on June 20, CEO Peter Steenkamp notes that group production is expected to exceed the 1.55-million ounces guided, while all-in sustaining costs will come in comfortably below R920 000/kg, as guided.