Thakadu Resources and Mertech Marine have entered into a joint venture to establish a new high-purity copper sulphate plant in South Africa. The new plant, which will be funded equally by both parties, aims to provide a unique, reliable, and responsible source of copper sulphate for the mining, agricultural, and chemical industries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thakadu, which has pioneered the...
Polar Lithium, a joint venture between Nornickel and the mining division of state energy corporation ROSATOM, has been granted the right to develop Russia’s largest lithium deposit, Kolmozerskoye, located in Murmansk Region. The project aims to produce 45,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate and hydroxide per year, both of which are key components in the production of batteries. The partners plan...
Ardea Resources has achieved a technological breakthrough at its Kalgoorlie nickel project that will result in lower costs, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and more production. This discovery, which relates to its mineralized neutralizer process breakthrough at the Goongarrie Hub, has led to a provisional patent application being lodged. The breakthrough centers on the separation of magnesite-goethite-clay saprock into serpentine-goethite clay...
SPC Nickel, a junior mining company, has signed a cooperation agreement with mining giant Vale to combine the ownership of two adjacent nickel and copper deposits – SPC’s undeveloped West Graham and Vale’s Crean Hill 3 – into an advanced exploration project. The properties are situated 20 kilometres west of the city of Sudbury, between the Totten and Creighton mines...
Chemists at Russia’s Tomsk State University (TSU) have developed a method for obtaining Ti–Al composites (titanium aluminides) doped with rare earth metals zirconium and neodymium, and have already produced prototypes of the alloys, the university said. Why it matters: Ti–Al alloys can be used in various fields including the nuclear industry, aviation, shipbuilding, space and rocket technology, transport engineering and...
The Finnish company Sensmet has developed a technology called Micro-Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (µDOES), which can measure multiple metals, including lithium and their impurities, in real time. The technology is based on atomic emission spectroscopy and creates a micro-discharge or electric spark directly inside an aqueous sample, causing a microscopic volume of the fluid surrounding the spark to be flash-heated...
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...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) announced on 17 January that General Counsel and Head of Enforcement Tom Hine will step down from his role at the end of the month. In a statement, the exchange said that the LME Group legal management team temporarily assumed Hine’s responsibilities starting September 2022. Hine has been with the LME for 17 years and...
LKAB, a mining company based in Sweden, has identified significant deposits of rare earth elements in the Kiruna area, which are essential for the manufacture of electric vehicles and wind turbines. The company reports mineral resources exceeding one million tonnes of rare earth oxides, making it the largest known deposit of its kind in Europe. Who LKAB, a mining company...
The chair of the London Metal Exchange (LME), Gay Huey Evans CBE, announced that she will step down from her role in the wake of a nickel trading scandal that has shaken the exchange. The scandal, which was sparked by volatile prices in the nickel market in March due to the war in Ukraine, prompted the LME to shut its...
