2022 JUNE ADVETORIAL ISSUE
111/06
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Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Boosts in house battery production with $3.16 Billion
40
Best Dividend Paying Mining Metal Stocks
10
Interview with Scott Austin Quillinan, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, USA.
32
We were interested in finding out which miners paid the greatest payouts. We discovered five companies that provide a dividend yield of over 6%.
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THE LEAD
10 The Salton Sea would produce the world's Greenest Lithium let the latest extraction technologies work!
MINING JOBS
28 A Bundle of Fresh Mining Jobs in Saudi Arabia: 14500 in Planning
SURFACE MINING
24 Kamoa Copper to enlarge by concentrator
24 Vale Hits a Nickel Supply Deal with
UNDERGROUND MINING
22 Artisanal mine: 35 Killed in a Raid 22 Labrador West Iron Project Gets a Start: High Tide Begins Drilling
Tesla: Ensures Long Term Collaboration
25 Expanded state mining rights not okay
STATISTICS
29 Rio Tinto: Reviving the Ser-
46 April 2022 crude steel production 47 crude steel production December 2020
in Chile’s constitutional assembly bian lithium project
30 Elon Musk’s Supply Chain All Set To Change the Energy Sector
PROFILES IN MINING
32 Interview with Scott Austin Quillinan, Senior Director of Research, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, USA.
SPECIAL FOCUS
18 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Boosts in house battery production with $3.16 Billion
26 Circular Thinking: The Key to Sustainable Mining in Africa
40 Best Dividend Paying Mining Metal Stocks www.skillings.net | 3
2022 JUNE ADVETORIAL ISSUE
PUBLISHER
2022 JUNE VOL.111. NO.06
CHARLES PITTS 111/06
18
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Boosts in house battery production with $3.16 Billion
40
Best Dividend Paying Mining Metal Stocks We were interested in finding out which miners paid the greatest payouts. We discovered five companies that provide a dividend yield of over 6%.
10
Interview with Scott Austin Quillinan, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, USA.
32
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THE LEAD
Photo Caption: Berkshire Hathaway's Salton Sea geothermal well could provide lithium for Tesla's electric car batteries.
10 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
THE SALTON SEA IS A DIMINISHING LANDLOCKED LAKE ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER. THOUGH THE LAKE WAS ONCE THE HEART OF A THRIVING VACATION CITY, WATER CONTAMINATION AND DECADES OF DROUGHT HAVE RESULTED IN THE ECOSYSTEM'S COLLAPSE AND THE EMERGENCE OF GHOST TOWNS. Despite the environmental calamity, the California Energy Commission estimates that there is enough lithium in the state to supply all of the United States' predicted future demand and 40% of global need. Lithium is the common denominator in all sorts of EV batteries, so this is major news for the expanding electric-vehicle industry.
www.skillings.net | 11
THE LEAD
faces high unemployment and poverty rates, as well as health effects from poisonous dust that blows off the Salton Sea's evaporating lake bottom.
“In terms of the Lithium Valley, we're cautiously excited. For Imperial County, we see it as a game changer.”
"In terms of the Lithium Valley, we're cautiously excited," Maria Nava-Froelich, the mayor of Calipatria, California, where the geothermal power plants are located, remarked. "For Imperial County, we see it as a game changer."
MARIA NAVA-FROELICH The Mayor of Calipatria, California
“Across all of our 10 geothermal sites, we're already pumping 50,000 gallons of brine per minute to the surface, and we're using the steam from that brine to generate sustainable energy.” ALICIA KNAPP President, and CEO of BHE Renewables
O
pen-pit mining or evaporation ponds, which work by pumping lithium-containing brine to the surface and waiting for the water to dry out, have traditionally been used to recover lithium. Both of these systems have large land footprints, use a lot of water, and produce a lot of contaminants and trash. However, three businesses in the Salton Sea are developing chemical procedures to extract lithium in a far cleaner manner, utilizing the Salton Sea's abundant geothermal resources. There are now 11 geothermal power facilities running around the lake, 10 of which are owned by Berkshire Hathaway's renewable energy company, BHE Renewables.
12 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
"Across all of our 10 geothermal sites, we're already pumping 50,000 gallons of brine per minute to the surface, and we're using the steam from that brine to generate sustainable energy," said Alicia Knapp, president, and CEO of BHE Renewables. So, we're already halfway there since we have the lithium in our hands."
Nava-Froelich expects that the business would bring much-needed jobs and development to the region, assisting in revitalizing communities that have experienced a large outflow of young people seeking better chances abroad. Environmentalists hope that the increased attention and funding would speed up California's attempts to rehabilitate the ecology around the Salton Sea. If there was ever a time to invest in domestic mineral projects, it's now. President Joe Biden used the Defense Production Act to enhance EV battery materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese at the end of March. However, because extracting lithium from geothermal brines has never been done at a scale previously, it is unclear if the electric vehicle industry, the local people, or the environment would benefit.
Valley of Lithium
EnergySource and Controlled Thermal Resources, or CTR, are two additional companies working on joint geothermal-lithium facilities near the Salton Sea, and GM has already committed to sourcing lithium from CTR.
This isn't the first time the Salton Sea has sparked interest in lithium recovery. Simbol Materials, a hyped start-up, built a demonstration plant but shut down in 2015 after a failed takeover effort by Tesla and never built a commercial-scale facility.
This new sector might be a big economic windfall to the region, where the predominantly Mexican-American community
Since then, demand for lithium has increased dramatically, and prices have risen considerably after falling sharply in
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THE LEAD
ion-exchange technology developed in collaboration with Bay Area-based Lilac Solutions. Geothermal brine is pumped through tanks containing ceramic beads, which absorb lithium from the brine.
Controlled Thermal Resources is building a combined geothermal power plant and lithium extraction facility, which will provide 20,000 tons of lithium to GM. Andrew Evers (CNBC).
Geothermal power station, south of the Salton Sea, in Imperial Valley California, October 27, 2021. In the background, the agricultural crops that feed part of America. olivier touron divergence for the world.
2018, motivating projects that previously would not have been viable. The current trio of companies stands to profit handsomely from the hundreds of thousands of tons of lithium in the area if they can prove their technology works. "When completely developed, the Salton Sea field could easily service over 600,000 tons a year, when global production is now less than 400 [thousand]," stated Rod Colwell, CEO of CTR. CTR, unlike Berkshire Hathaway and EnergySource, does not have any geothermal power plants in the area, so it is simultaneously establishing a geothermal and lithium recovery facility. The company is now building a demonstration plant and hopes to establish its first full-scale operation by 2024, supplying GM with 20,000 tons of lithium. 14 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
CTR's first facility, according to Colwell, will cost slightly under $1 billion, which is a higher price per ton of lithium than many typical lithium recovery operations. However, all three firms see that price dropping as technology advances. To recover lithium, CTR is employing
The lithium is washed out with hydrochloric acid when the beads are saturated, leaving only lithium chloride. CTR proposes to refine this intermediate product on-site, yielding lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, a powder ready to be processed and turned into precursor chemicals, and then made into battery cells. Berkshire Hathaway is also adopting ion-exchange technology, though it hasn't provided as much information about how it will operate as CTR has. EnergySource has created a technology called Integrated Lithium Adsorption Desorption, or ILiAD, and is now working on a full-scale facility operational by 2024. According to Derek Benson, CEO of EnergySource, "What we see in terms of production costs is that geothermal brine should be around the first quartile in terms of market competitiveness." Notably, all three businesses want to purify the lithium on-site rather than outsourcing the process. However, the
companies are ill-equipped to handle other procedures such as chemical processing and battery cell production, which are still predominantly done in Asia. "Hopefully in the next years, the remainder of the supply chain will be created in the United States as well," Knapp said, "so that we can go straight from lithium and other minerals in the ground to batteries that we're utilizing to drive our infrastructure." Italvolt, an EV battery manufacturer, recently announced intentions to form
Statevolt with the goal of building a $4 billion gigafactory in Imperial Valley to create enough lithium-ion batteries for 650,000 electric vehicles per year. Statevolt signed a letter of intent with CTR to buy lithium and geothermal energy but did not respond to a question from CNBC about whether it will undertake chemical processing on-site.
Community participation The new business can have a significant influence on the Imperial Valley neighborhood, where many low-income
individuals work in agriculture, and the unemployment rate is over three times the national average. The Lithium Valley Commission was established in California to bring together government, industry, and community partners to examine the potential benefits of lithium recovery. "It's going to be critical that the community be involved and engaged," said Luis Olmedo, a member of the commission who represents disadvantaged and low-income communities in the Salton Sea geothermal resource area.
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LEAD
"We are well aware that these are high target regions where communities will be exploited. "We understand." The Lithium Valley Commission also has representatives from Berkshire Hathaway and CTR. The corporations emphasize the positive effects of the booming industry, such as job creation and increased property tax income that will support local schools and fund further government services.
lithium extraction salton sea drone
Knapp stated, "This neighborhood needs us." "And this is a fantastic place for us to invest and benefit not just ourselves as a company, but all of us, because lithium is so important, and [benefit] these people right here in this community by providing jobs, education, opportunities, and all the economic development that comes with such a large investment," says the company. According to Knapp, they're collaborating with a number of local educational institutions, ranging from high schools to community colleges to four-year universities, to ensure that students interested in working in the geothermal and lithium industries are appropriately taught.
Hudson Ranch I geothermal power plant, March 2012, Salton Sea, California USsource EnergySource.
"You realize we're probably 90% trades, right?" So we're not searching for a bunch of Ph.D.s," Colwell explained. Olmedo and Nava-Froelich believe the current dialogues are encouraging, but they've been disillusioned in the past by grandiose rhetoric. "We're being careful because we don't want to get our hopes up too high," said Nava-Froelich. "Is all of this stuff true, or are they merely talking about it and planning to withdraw out and go somewhere else?" It nearly appears to be too good to be true."
16 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
Environmentalists see this as an opportunity to accelerate habitat restoration efforts at the Salton Sea. While California has been attempting to solve the problem for years, environmentalists are urging the state to speed up initiatives that entail establishing lower-salinity ponds on the dry lake bed where fish and birds may thrive. Things are finally moving, thanks to the state's fiscal surplus. "They require a longer-term strategy as well as a pipeline for future projects." So
The Lithium Valley Commission also has representatives from Berkshire Hathaway and CTR. The corporations emphasize the positive effects of the booming industry, such as job creation and increased property tax income that will support local schools and fund further government services. there's a lot more work to be done, but we're seeing some progress," said Michael Cohen, a senior research associate at the Pacific Center, a water conservation research institute. "In fact, we're seeing more development than we've ever seen."
As mining projects in other parts of the country face community opposition, it appears that lithium recovery at the Salton Sea could be the rare-minerals project that brings everyone together. If it works, that is.
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Joe Biden signs the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill November 15, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Boosts in house battery production with $3.16 Billion 18 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
The u.s. department of energy (doe) announced $3.1 billion in
financing from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to expand battery and component manufacturing in the United States, strengthen domestic supply chains, create good-paying jobs, and help families save money. New, refurbished, and enlarged commercial facilities, as well as manufacturing demonstrations and battery recycling, will benefit from the infrastructure investments. DOE is also announcing a $60 million grant to support second-life uses for batteries that have previously been used to power electric vehicles, as well as novel recycling procedures for materials that have been used in the battery supply chain. Both funding opportunities are critical components of the Administration's whole-of-government supply chain strategy to strengthen America's energy independence, reduce our reliance on competing countries, and support the President's goal of electric vehicles accounting for half of all vehicle sales in the United States by 2030. "We can increase our competitiveness and electrify our transportation system by positioning the United States front and centre in fulfilling the growing need for sophisticated batteries," stated U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. "President Biden's unprecedented investment in battery manufacture and recycling will provide the jolt our domestic supply chain needs to become more secure and less reliant on other countries—strengthening our clean energy economy, creating good-paying jobs, and decarbonizing the transportation sector."
DOE is collaborating with industry to prepare the United States for rising market demand, as the global lithium-ion battery market is likely to develop substantially over the next decade. Over 2.5 million plug-in electric vehicles had been sold in America by the end of March 2022, with more than 800,000 of those sold since President Biden assumed office. Since 2008, battery costs have dropped by more than 90%, while energy density and performance have grown dramatically, clearing the path for a faster transition to zero-emission vehicles. Responsible and sustainable domestic procurement of important lithium-ion battery ingredients, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite, can help avoid or reduce supply chain disruptions and speed battery manufacture in America to meet demand and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles. "For far too long, foreign countries have been supporting new technology faster than the United States. We are at a turning point in our race to produce the next generation of electric vehicles and batteries in the United States, as well as to maintain Michigan's automotive leadership in these vehicles. This financing will help us win this race by investing in our supply chain and manufacturing here at home, thanks to www.skillings.net | 19
SPECIAL FOCUS
battery technologies required to deploy the next all-electric fleet" (MI). "I was proud to assist obtain this financing through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will help our automakers fulfil the growing demand for cleaner, safer cars by reducing our reliance on foreign producers like the Chinese government for these essential technologies." "Bringing our supply chain home, investing in domestic production of minerals and materials for electric vehicle batteries, and creating good-paying, union jobs here in Michigan and the United States is critical to establishing a new generation of mobility in this country," said U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12).
our bipartisan efforts in Congress and the President's leadership. Senator Debbie Stabenow stated, "Our employees are the best in the world, and nothing is more American than ensuring that our products and technologies are made in America" (MI).
"The future of mobility is electric," said U.S. Senator Gary Peters. "This support might help to guarantee Michigan remains at the vanguard of innovation by strengthening our supply chains for sophisticated
"The Biden Administration's commitment to ensuring that half of all auto sales are electric vehicles by 2030 is demonstrated by this announcement, which was made possible by financing given by my battery material legislation established under the IIJA." We still have a long road to travel to reach that goal, but this is a significant step forward. I will continue to bring together labor, environmental advocates,
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of New Mexico remarked, "I obtained provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to promote the domestic essential mineral supply chain used in battery production" (N.V.). "The infrastructure law might bring important new investments to Nevada's innovation sector, which is at the forefront of battery manufacturing and recycling." These incentives to expand battery manufacturing in the United States will help us generate good-paying jobs, boost our economic competitiveness, and combat climate change. I applaud Secretary Granholm and the Department of Energy's committed team for moving this priority forward so quickly." 20 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
President Joe Biden looks at a 2022 Corvette at the General Motors’ Factory ZERO Facility in Detroit with UAW President Ray Curry and CEO of GM Mary Barra, Wednesday, November 17, 2021. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
industry leaders, and government officials in the days and weeks ahead to move us forward." "Many frontline communities in the 13th Congressional District have already experienced the catastrophic effects of climate change, underscoring the critical need for a just and equitable energy transition," said U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI13). "I appreciate Secretary Granholm and the Department of Energy coming to our communities and investing in the future by announcing money to expand battery manufacture. This type of funding is required to ensure that everyone has access to a green future. I'm excited to keep working with the DOE to guarantee that we deliver clean, renewable energy and a livable Earth for future generations."
includes generating and recycling essential minerals without new extraction or mining, as well as procuring resources for domestic manufacturing. The funding opportunities are the first to be announced as a result of a collaboration between DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the new Office of Manufacturing and Supply Chains, which was established as part of DOE's organizational realignment to ensure that the Department has the structure it needs to effectively implement the clean energy investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Energy Act of 2020. $7.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers, $5 billion for electric transit buses, and $5 billion for clean and electric school buses are all included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
The National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries, authored by the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries and led by DOE and the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and State, is aligned with the funding opportunities for "Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing" and "Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second Life Applications." The blueprint lays forth a plan to boost domestic battery supply by 2030 by equitably developing a strong and varied battery workforce. Applicants for new funding opportunities will be shown and tried to consider how project benefits can flow to relevant disadvantaged communities, in line with President Biden's Justice40 initiative, which sets a goal for 40 percent of the benefits of Federal investments in climate and clean energy to flow to disadvantaged communities. President Biden's Administration reiterated this commitment in a letter to Americans from the Department of Energy's Office of Economic Impact and Diversity. AMERICA'S SUPPLY CHAINS MUST BE STRENGTHENED
DOE issued a 100-day review of the large-capacity battery supply chain in response to President Biden's Executive Order on America's Supply Chains, recommending the formation of domestic production and processing capabilities for critical materials to support a fully domestic end-to-end battery supply chain, as well as investments in battery recycling and the circular economy to increase domestic supply and reduce the future need for new extraction and raw materials. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act allocates almost $7 billion to strengthen the United States' battery supply chain, which www.skillings.net | 21
SPECIAL FOCUS
Artisanalmine:35Killed in a Raid
M
ilitants attacked an artisanal gold mining facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern region of Ituri, killing 35 civilians. For the past decade, rebel groups in the mineral-rich east of the Central African country have been fighting over land and resources, claiming thousands of lives and displacing millions.
Labrador West Iron Project Gets a Start: High Tide Begins Drilling I
n May, High Tide Resources Corp. (CSE:HTRC) announced that drilling has begun at its flagship Labrador West Iron Project, which is located 20 kilometers northeast of IOC/ Rio Tinto's Carol Lake Mine complex in Labrador City, Newfoundland. HIGH TIDE'S DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT, AND INTERIM CEO, STEVE ROEBUCK, REMARKED,
"We are thrilled to inform that drilling at the Labrador West Iron Project has begun. We expect to drill up to 8 HQdiameter holes. We've put together a strong technical team to assist Mercator Geological Services' drilling and geological activities, and we're excited to welcome iron ore expert Tim Leriche to the team. Tim worked over 30 years with IOC at the Carol Lake Mine in several top technical roles until his recent retirement in 2020, thus his in-depth understanding of local iron ore deposits is a big asset for High Tide. We're in good hands in terms of technology."
According to army spokesperson Jules Ngongo Tsikudi, CODECO militia militants invaded a mining encampment outside the town of Mongwalu last month, where they were competing with another rebel group for access to the site. "Many people were caught in the crossfire... many died and their homes were burned," he added in a statement. CODECO "assassinated" 35 civilians during the attack, Congo's government announced on Twitter. According to civil society activists, more than 50 individuals were slain. According to one witness, a local hospital was overwhelmed by the amount of victims. The organization has a history of killing civilians, with 18 people killed in a church last month and another 60 killed in a displaced person camp in February. In Congo's vast eastern provinces, where CODECO clashes with various militias, including a local Islamic State affiliate, violence is a regular occurrence. In an effort to stop the carnage, Congo's government proclaimed martial law in Ituri and neighboring North Kivu provinces a year ago. According to the Kivu Security Tracker, which tracks fighting in the region, fatal incursions have only increased since then. 22 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
At High Tide's core shack near Labrador City, the drill core is being logged and sampled. Samples will be safely transferred to Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario, for sample preparation and analytical testing every week throughout the drill program.
West Labrador Iron Project Within the first 12 months of coming public, High Tide intends to move the project through the drilling phase, report a maiden resource, and begin a PEA level analysis. The deposit was explored and drilled by Rio Tinto Exploration from 2010 to 2012 and thenprivate High Tide Resources from 2020 to 2022, with 22 core holes and 5,200 meters of drill core logged and tested. The project, approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Labrador City, is close to the necessary infrastructure for exploring, daylighting, and developing a substantial new iron deposit in the core of the southern Labrador Trough.
FloLevel Technologies www.skillings.net | 23
Vale Hits a Nickel Supply Deal with Tesla: Ensures Long Term Collaboration
Kamoa Copper's Annebel Oosthuizen and Ivanhoe Mines' Marna Cloete at the Kamoa 1 and 2 box cut
Kamoa Copper to enlarge by concentrator
A
5 million tonne-per-annum concentrator will be added to Ivanhoe Mines' construction of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mining Complex in Phase 3. A direct-to-blister flash smelter based on Metso Outotec technology will be introduced during Phase 3 development. The smelter will have a nominal capacity of 500,000 tonnes of 99 percent pure blister copper per year. The concentrator will be built next to the complex's two newly developed mines, Kamoa 1 and Kamoa 2. At Kakula West, the corporation will also be developing initial decline development. By the December quarter of 2024, Phase 3 will have increased copper production capacity to around 600,000 tonnes per year. By the June quarter of 2023, Ivanhoe aims to debottleneck the Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators, bringing them up to production levels of 9.2 million tonnes of ore per year. This will bring annual copper production at Kamoa-Kakula to above 450,000 tonnes. Hydroelectricity will fuel the Phase 3 development, with the Inga II collaboration estimated to generate an extra 178 megawatts. In the December quarter of 2024, an upgrading project will be finished. In April, Ivanhoe signed a contract with Voith Hydro, a German hydropower business, to upgrade the Inga II Turbine #5. Ivanhoe continues to negotiate Phase 2 offtake agreement revisions for the copper complex. According to Ivanhoe, copper is now being supplied under existing Phase 1 agreements. In the second half of 2022, the business aims to complete a pre-feasibility study for Phase 3. The new box-cut excavation at the Kamoa 1 and Kamoa 2 mines has begun. 24 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
T
he world's largest nickel and iron ore producer, Vale, has signed a long-term agreement with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) to supply the electric car (EV) icon with nickel mined in Canada. The miner said the supply contract fit with its goals to deliver 30 percent to 40 percent of Class 1 nickel shipments to the fast-growing EV industry, confirming market rumors. The Rio de Janeiro-based company highlighted that its Canadian operations produce some of the lowest-carbon nickel in the world but did not give financial or transactional specifics. Rounds from Vale's Long Harbour refinery in Newfoundland and Labrador had a verified carbon footprint of 4.4 tonnes CO2 equivalent per tonne of nickel in 2020, according to the company, while pellets and powder from the Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery in Sudbury, Ontario, had a 7.3 tonne-equivalent footprint. These estimates include upstream Scope 3 emissions from inputs, as well as Scope 1 and 2 emissions from mining, milling, and refining, according to Vale. Tesla has spent the last year inking deals with multiple battery metals companies, with a focus on nickel and lithium. In response to concerns about an impending shortfall, CEO Elon Musk promised "huge contracts" in 2020 to companies that can supply nickel in an "environmentally sensitive" fashion. Since Musk's commitment to miners, his company has signed nickel supply agreements with BHP (ASX: BHP) in Australia, Prony Resources in New Caledonia, and Talon Metals (TSX: TLO) for its Tamarack nickel property in Minnesota. Nickel allows EVs to charge faster and drive further between plug-ins by cramming more energy into smaller and cheaper battery packs.
Expanded state mining rights not okay in Chile’s constitutional assembly
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n May, Chile's constitutional assembly enacted provisions extending environmental rights but rejected a plan giving the government exclusive mining rights over lithium, hydrocarbons, and rare earth metals, as well as majority ownership of copper mines. The article was met with fierce hostility from Chile's mining industry, which is the world's largest copper producer. To
be included in the proposed constitution, it required a supermajority of 103 votes, but only 66 were cast. The article will now be renegotiated by the environmental commission before being put to a second vote. Another item, indicating that mining rules will take into account environmental safeguards and the finite, non-renewable character of mining resources, was adopted and will be included in the draught constitution that citizens will vote on Sep 4th.
The Institute of Mining Engineers opposed the article in a statement released earlier this month, claiming that "temporary authorizations that do not grant property generate a type of potential arbitrariness," which could force companies to choose other countries due to mining's high investment costs. Articles redefining water governance to focus on water availability and expand water protection in the indigenous territory were also passed by the assembly.
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The Key to Sustainable Mining in Africa
Mining and the circular economy are not typically associated with each other, yet in a decar-
bonized future, more minerals and metals will be needed, not less. Mining isn't usually related to circular economy visions. However, more minerals and metals, not less, will be necessary if the world is to transition to a low-carbon future. Copper, lithium, cobalt, platinum, chrome, and manganese will be required in large quantities to make this transition.
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he circular economy (CE) isn't a new concept, but thanks to powerful organizations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum, it's gaining traction. They take materials from the Earth, make products out of them, and then spring them away as waste in our current system - the process is linear. In a circular economy, on the other hand, we avoid creating waste in the first place. The design drives the circular economy, which is built on three concepts. First, remove waste and pollution, next circulate high-value products and materials, and finally, restore nature. A step towards renewable energy and materials underpins it. Economic activity is decoupled
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from the consumption of finite resources in a circular economy. It's a dependable system that benefits businesses, people, and the environment. Africa is rich in mineral resources such as gold, silver, copper, uranium, cobalt, and a variety of other metals that are important inputs in manufacturing processes worldwide. However, taking those valuable minerals from the ground comes at a cost to the environment that is increasingly being scrutinized, and this is where circular thinking might help. A CIRCULAR ECONOMY'S ADVANTAGES
The African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) is a government-led alliance of African countries whose goal is to
accelerate Africa's transition to a circular economy that generates economic growth, jobs, and positive environmental effects. Africa's mining industry may cut costs while also limiting risks connected with changing consumer and investor preferences, as well as new legislation and requirements, by embracing CE principles. Given the economic value of mining to African countries, CE would considerably contribute to developing a sustainable mining industry, according to the ACEA research 'Increasing Circularity in Africa's Mining Sector.' Mining contributes significantly to the foreign profits of countries whose principal economic activity is mining. For the past four decades, mining
in Botswana has accounted for around 85 percent of national foreign exchange profits, 33 percent of government revenue, and 25 percent of GDP. Mining has a key role to play in assisting the transition to a circular economy, given its economic contribution to African countries. Adopting a CE strategy can help the mining industry adjust to rising pressure on limited resources as we progress through the energy transition and demand for Africa's mineral richness rises. However, there are obstacles to overcome in this round voyage, including inadequate infrastructure. The mining industry's drive to cut carbon emissions will be hampered by a shortage of clean energy resources. CE's capacity to reduce operating expenses by enhancing operational efficiency is one of its advantages. Because optimizing resource use is a part of a CE strategy, creating efficient systems that follow CE principles will minimize consumption intensity and resource sourcing costs. Syama Gold Mine's transition to renewable energy from its existing source of electricity, a 28 MW diesel generator, is an example of this. Aggreko and the mine negotiated a 16-year deal for a hybrid power plant. The cost of electricity at the Syama Gold Mine will be 40% lower in 2020, and CO2 emissions will be 20% lower. THREE STEPS TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
The ACEA has outlined three key CE principles that the African mining industry should follow. First and first, resources and waste should be recycled, reduced, and reused. Second, natural resource regeneration, and finally, waste design. The mining industry's water usage is one of the most important areas for reuse. A major mine can require up to 30,418
megalitres of water each year to process minerals, convey slurry, and control dust, which is enough to feed more than half of Africa's population for a day. According to the ACEA, mining is South Africa's second-largest water usage, after only agriculture. The management of clean water and wastewater is critical to ensuring that this resource is available. If mining effluent is recycled, reused, concentrated, and reclaimed, water consumption can be reduced. Mining businesses can improve wastewater management in three ways: by lining waste and tailing dams to reduce water seepage, storing wastewater in tanks to prevent evaporation, and filtering water from a slurry, sludge, and tailings before storing them in dams.
Africa's mining industry may cut costs while also limiting risks connected with changing consumer and investor preferences, as well as new legislation and requirements, by embracing CE principles. Anglo American is working on a solution that will close the loop by building a sealed system that will boost efficiency while also directing water recycling and reuse. Recycling and reusing vehicle parts, repurposing waste rock, recycling and reprocessing tailings, recycling and reusing construction materials, rehabilitating mines for economic development, and recycling food waste for energy generation are other areas of CE that fall into this category.
REDUCE ENERGY USAGE BY USING RENEWABLE ENERGY
There is no escaping the fact that mining consumes a lot of energy. It is critical throughout a mine's lifecycle, from discovery through final product processing. Historically, the sector has relied on diesel and grid electricity to meet its needs. Glencore, for example, uses up to 210 petajoules of energy each year, which is equivalent to the energy consumption of 12.7 million people in Africa. This high energy use results in increased carbon emissions. Switching to renewable energy sources like solar and wind to power mining operations can help natural systems rejuvenate. Renewable energy is less expensive and produces fewer CO2 emissions than standard diesel-powered generators. The Syama Gold Mine in Mali is one mine that has benefited from the switch to renewables. THE REQUIREMENT FOR CIRCULAR MINES
Designing smart mines with the environment in mind is a more forwardthinking and less accessible way to minimize resource use and recycle trash. This means incorporating sustainability into the design process from the start, investing in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and implementing water-saving systems in mines. For upcoming mining ventures on the continent, this would be the most feasible option. Some corporations are already considering reorganizing their mining operations. Anglo American is actively investing in developing a circular FutureSmart Mine that will save costs, improve efficiency, and simplify mine operations.
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a plan called Vision 2030, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to diversify its economy away from oil. One of the industries that have been identified for expansion is mining. A $4 billion steel plate mill complex for the shipbuilding, oil and gas, construction, and defense industries, and a "green" flat steel complex for the automotive, food packaging, machinery and equipment, and other industrial sectors, are among the nine projects.
A Bundle of Fresh Mining Jobs in Saudi Arabia: 14500 in Planning According to the Saudi government, the new projects in the
Kingdom will generate over 14,500 employments, and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources is now processing 145 exploration license applications from foreign corporations.
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he Saudi Arabian Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that it had secured $6 billion in funding for a steel plate mill complex and an electric vehicle battery metals production as part of its aims to attract $32 billion in mining investment. As per a comment from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, the objective would fund 9 mining projects for midstream minerals and metals. Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources stated that the ministry aims to attract 28 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
$32 billion in investments to the country's mining and minerals sector through nine new projects. The Kingdom is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in Vision 2030 to diversify its economy away from oil. According to SPA, the initiatives will assist mineral product supply to local and worldwide markets. According to SPA, Alkhorayef said the ministry is presently reviewing 145 applications for exploration licenses from foreign businesses. Saudi Arabia is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in
Both projects, as well as a $2 billion EV battery metals plant, are currently underway. Last month, the Saudi government agreed to buy 50,000 to 100,000 electric vehicles from Lucid Group Inc, a company in which Saudi sovereign fund PIF maintains a majority position. The projects will create over 14,000 employment, according to the minister, who also stated that the ministry is currently processing 145 exploration license applications from foreign corporations. "These targeted investments are a significant 'down payment' in our attempts to move beyond exploration and extraction and toward the construction of integrated value chains, which is a fundamental emphasis of our entire mining strategy," al-Khorayef said in a statement. "The investments will help the Kingdom maintain its position as a mining production and logistics center for a region stretching from Africa to Asia, as well as promote the transformation of our mining sector to reach its full potential." Saudi Arabia's tourism minister told the United Nations that climate action is critical to ensuring the global tourism industry's long-term viability. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly's 76th
Session, highlighted the sector's vulnerability in the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the ongoing effects of climate change and extreme weather occurrences. He noted that tourism-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to rise by 25% by 2030 compared to 2016, making it "essential" to strengthen climate change action. "During the global pandemic, the tourism sector lost an estimated 62 million jobs," he stated. "COVID-19 demonstrated the sector's vulnerability to pandemics as well as the consequences of harsh weather." "Addressing climate change is fundamental to establishing a more resilient tourism business, and there is no sustainability without resilience." To ensure long-term sector resilience for people and the earth, we must work together to put sustainable and resilient tourism at the center of inclusive recovery. "Only by working together can we secure a better and more resilient future for the millions of people who rely on tourism around the world." The impacts of the pandemic, according to Al-Khateeb, have emphasized the necessity to ensure the tourism sector's future, as well as the need to protect the environment. In line with the country's Vision 2030 development and diversification plan, Saudi officials have undertaken several biodiversity and conservation efforts aimed at breeding and protecting endangered species. By the end of the decade, the Kingdom hopes to have protected an amount of land 11 times the size of Belgium and 20% of its land, coastal, and marine habitats. The project will repair 200 million hectares of degraded land in cooperation with the Middle East Green Initiative, which will see 40 billion trees planted across the region. This represents 5% of a global goal of 1 trillion trees planted.
Rio Tinto: Reviving the Serbian lithium project
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io Tinto's chief executive and chairman said the business is keen to reopen talks with the Serbian government regarding the $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project, which was halted ahead of the country's recent election. After huge protests triggered by environmental concerns about the planned mine, the Serbian government canceled licenses for the Jadar project in January. "We very much hope that now that the elections are done, we will be able to explore all of the alternatives with the government of Serbia," Thompson said at Rio Tinto's Australian annual meeting, in the company's first public comments following the Serbian election. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was re-elected by a large margin in April, but his party could not form its own cabinet. According to Thompson, the Jadar project, which could supply 90 percent of Europe's current lithium needs, is "very important for Serbia" because it could boost the country's economic output and provide opportunities for the development of a downstream business to supply green technology to the European automotive market. Jakob Stausholm, the company's CEO, said its intentions to become a lithium producer are still on track, with the Rincon project in Argentina, which it bought in December, a priority. "But we haven't given up on Jadar," Stausholm told reporters after the annual meeting. "Quite frankly, it's a great initiative." He called the project's environmental, social, and governance credentials "impeccable." According to Serbian regulations, the business could not share its environmental and social impact evaluation of the project until it had received official clearance, which Thompson claims caused falsehoods about the proposal to circulate ahead of the election. "We absolutely appreciate the worries of the local community," Thompson said, "but we believe that the environmental and impact evaluations that we have conducted have substantially addressed those issues." Rio Tinto is acutely aware of community concerns following public outrage over the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves in Western Australia for an iron ore mine, a calamity that caused Thompson to resign.
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Elon Musk’s Supply Chain All Set To Change the Energy Sector The Syrah graphite plant in Vidalia, which is backed by millions
in federal financing, is poised to treble in size to supply electric vehicles. A plain metal building surrounded by farm fields south of Vidalia may appear to be an unusual location for a key nexus of the electric vehicle sector.
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ut that's exactly what it's about to become. Since 2018, the Australian mining company Syrah Technologies has been processing the mineral graphite within the building as part of a pilot program. Lithium-ion batteries use graphite as a significant component. Syrah plans to more than treble the plant's footprint with the support of a $107 million federal loan announced recently. This will result in the creation of 36 new employment as part of a project to build the first commercial-scale graphite processor in the United States, which will generate Active Anode Material, which is used in electric car batteries. It will give the corporation a presence in the expand30 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
ing electric vehicle supply chain in the United States, having previously signed a deal to supply Elon Musk's Tesla from the plant. It also reflects how state authorities see the global energy transition toward greater renewable energy as an opportunity for rural Louisiana. According to Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson, Syrah could be the tip of the spear regarding clean energy technology in Louisiana. "A number of components are going to be required," he stated. Louisiana companies "are well positioned to get into that" if demand grows, he added. According to Pierson, other businesses, such as solar and carbon capture, might also thrive in
Louisiana's less inhabited areas. LED has made regenerating rural communities a priority, according to him. 'EXTREMELY LARGE'
Vidalia, in Concordia Parish, is located 90 miles north of Baton Rouge, directly across the Mississippi River from Natchez. Over a little more than 60 businesses in the area are already working with Syrah, according to Mayor Buz Craft, who took office in 2016. He expects a boost to the city's coffers. "It's big," Craft said, not just for Vidalia but for the entire region. The company's growth "might result in around $2 million in sales taxes per year." The Syrah land is only a few thousand feet from the river, allowing for easy shipping. Syrah is to invest $175 million in the facility, adding 180,000 square feet to the existing 50,000 square feet. Construction is ready to hit this year, with anode production beginning in 2023.
GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES
China is where the majority of graphite mining and processing takes place nowadays. According to Syrah CEO Shaun Verner, bringing the Vidalia facility expansion online will shorten the supply chain for U.S.-based battery and car manufacturers while also diversifying their supply source. In December, Tesla agreed to buy 8,000 tonnes per year, or around 70%, of the Vidalia plant's output. The company received a conditional loan from the US Department of Energy, one of the first under a scheme promoted by the Biden Administration as a strategy to support domestic manufacturing of essential clean energy technology. The funding comes from the federal Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program, which was established in 2007 but has been inactive since 2011. Jigar Shah, a clean energy entrepreneur, was appointed to lead the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office in 2021, with the mission of leveraging money to advance clean energy initiatives.
Officials believe that this expansion is only the first phase. According to an energy department statement, the plant may create enough anode material for 2.5 million electric vehicles by 2040. "Louisiana has all of the key ingredients for developing innovative manufacturing technology, including a vision for sustainable development that is in line with Syrah's values," Verner said. In October, Verner told an Australian television program that Vidalia is "very crucial for the manufacture of anode material for lithium-ion batteries." The state will also aid the company with workforce development tax benefits under the Industrial Tax Exception and Quality Jobs programs. In 2019, the company was already granted one ITEP. Once Syrah is operational, Craft expects that the availability of land, easy access to the river, and low taxes will entice related enterprises to Concordia Parish.
"Projects like Syrah Vidalia are essential to our national security, foreign policy, supply chain development, and economy," Shah said in announcing the financing. The program has previously offered loans to big automakers, but subsequent reforms have made loans to mining businesses eligible.The money isn't yet in Syrah's possession. Both the DOE and the company must complete due diligence and agree to a term sheet, which must be authorized by Syrah's board of directors. Officials from the company and the federal government plan to finish by the end of June, with the Syrah receiving the first tranche of payments in September. In Louisiana, Syrah has not always been well received. Residents complained about the impact on local fisheries. Thus, the company's previous plan to build a factory in Port Manchac, Louisiana, was canceled. Citizens crowded a public meeting in Vidalia in 2018 to express their concerns over the plant's air and water discharges. According to Craft, there hasn't been any recent pushback to the expansion plan.
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The expanded plant will be able to generate 11,250 tonnes of Active Anode Material, a processed form of graphite, each year once it is up and running. The graphite will be mined by Syrah in Mozambique and then sold to electric vehicle manufacturers.
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SCOTT AUSTIN QUILLINAN SENIOR DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING SCHOOL OF ENERGY RESOURCES, USA.
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Scott Quillinan is the Director of Research for the School of Energy Resources (SER), University Of Wyoming (UW), and a licensed, consulting Professional Geologist (PG-3824). Quillinan directs SER grant-funded and state-funded research, is a Principal Investigator for several Department of Energy-funded projects, directs the SER Center of Economic Geology, and manages the funding for the SER Centers of Excellence. Quillinan has geologic expertise in Wyoming’s geologic basins (e.g. Powder River, Green River, Wind River, Bighorn, and DJ) and in China’s Ordos Basin. Quillinan’s research focuses on the interconnections between energy resource production and groundwater resources. Quillinan has worked with energy challenges associated with the production of coal, coalbed methane, oil and gas, hydraulic fracturing and CO2 sequestration. Specifically, his research interests include; predicting and identifying water/rock geochemical reactions, isotopic groundwater tracing, characterization of rare earth element and high-value materials, identifying aquifer/reservoir mixing, efficient reservoir dewatering techniques, potential beneficial use for produced waters, and the permanent and safe geologic storage of CO2.
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What is the mission of the School of Energy Resources (SER) and how SER uses that mission to support energy extractive industries within the State of Wyoming? scott austin quillinan: The Mission of the School of Energy Resources is energydriven economic development for the state of Wyoming. To accomplish this, SER develops and deploys expertise to solve critical energy challenges, add value to the Wyoming energy sector, and position UW as a primary provider for energy innovation at the national level.
To that end, SER facilitates internal and external interdisciplinary coalitions and builds institutional capacity in energy education, research and outreach. SER distinguishes its programs in areas of strategic importance to Wyoming’s extractive industries by focusing on four strategic areas: 1. Maximizing the economic recovery of energy and mineral resources; 2. Protecting existing markets for Wyoming’s energy and mineral resources; 3. Creating new markets – traditional and value-added – from Wyoming energy and mineral resources; 4. Educating the workforce and stakeholders to facilitate growth and 34 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
diversification of the energy sector through the addition of value-added activities.
What is the Wyoming energy mix and why it is important to the State? What is the SER research portfolio and Carbon Capture and storage (CCS)? What is its importance to Wyoming? scott austin quillinan: Nationally, Wyoming is the largest producer of coal, ranks first in uranium, eighth in oil, ninth in natural gas, and third in wind energy generation capacity. The state’s economy historically has been supported by the energy and extractive industries.
Due to the economic significance to the state, the SER research portfolio is designed to solve challenges faced by these industries. Generally the topic areas are organized into Centers of Excellence housed within SER that maximize partnerships and expertise in other UW departments. The various centers work on topics related to diversifying and adding value to Wyoming coal, unconventional oil and gas development, carbon capture, use and storage, produced water management, air quality and methane mitigation, hydrogen (production, transportation, use and stor-
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age), nuclear energy, and wind energy. Chief among the many research topics is carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture and storage is the process of capturing (or separating) carbon dioxide (CO2) from a point source or even directly from the air, and then compressing the CO2 into a dense phase to store in deep underground geologic formations. Carbon capture and storage can help extractive industries --like those operating in Wyoming—meet net zero goals.
Please talk about Wyoming CarbonSAFE and how CCS can be leverage to diversify WY’s energy economy? scott austin quillinan: The Department of Energy (DOE) Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) Initiative began in 2016 with the goal of addressing the key gaps on the critical path towards CCS deployment. The Wyoming CarbonSAFE project is one of thirteen original carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project sites funded by the DOE program. Four of the original thirteen projects have advanced to Phase III through competitive down select, including sites in North Dakota, Alabama, and Illinois. One new project located in New Mexico has joined the program.
Wyoming CarbonSAFE is located at the Basin Electric Dry Fork Power Station and Wyoming Integrated Test Center in the Powder River Basin (“PRB”) in Campbell County, north of Gillette, Wyoming. In the project’s current phase – Phase III (Site Characterization and CO2 Capture Assessment) – a detailed site characterization is being conducted.
The site characterization includes: 1. Additional data collection activities in the field through, for example, the drilling of a second test well (UW PRB#2); 2. a front-end engineering design and CO2 capture analysis; www.skillings.net | 35
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3. baseline data collection and surface monitoring; 4. subsurface data analysis and modeling; 5. National Environmental Policy Act approvals; 6. preparation of Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI permits to
construct; 7. preparation of a risk assessment, mitigation plan and monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) plan; and 8. finalization of a business plan and related commercial aspects.
Wyoming CarbonSAFE is important because the coal mines located in the Powder River Basin supply subbituminous coal to 113 coalfired plants in 25 states.
Wyoming CarbonSAFE is important because the coal mines located in the Powder River Basin supply subbituminous coal to 113 coal-fired plants in 25 states. We seek to demonstrate that carbon capture and storage can be deployed safely, economically, and at a commercial scale on a coal-fired power plant. More importantly, we want to transfer the knowledge, expertise and methodologies to accelerate CCS at the national scale. Carbon capture and storage can also be the key to diversifying the Wyoming energy economy. For example, hydrogen generation and direct air capture are nascent and rapidly growing industries. Hydrogen can be created from natural gas or coal and if the process is combined with CCS, the hydrogen can have a low carbon-intensity. Direct air capture is the process of removing CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Once removed it can be per-
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manently stored deep underground. Each of these industries provide new opportunities for the highly trained workforce that we have in Wyoming and require access to carbon storage.
Kindly discuss Carbon Engineering, developing new non-thermal uses for coal, and how Carbon Engineering can be used to diversify Wyoming’s Economy? scott austin quillinan: While we continue to focus on supporting existing markets for Wyoming coal, the SER Carbon Engineering Initiative seeks to discover new added value uses for coal. These include the development of novel market products derived from coal with a strategic focus on products that consume large volumes of coal.
The program is also focused on workforce development and how these new markets can utilize the talented existing workforce to create new coal-based manufacturing businesses. www.skillings.net | 37
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A few examples of the products under development include; coal-derived building materials, coal-derived paving and asphalts, and coal-derived agricultural products (e.g. soil amendments). One example of the coal-based building materials is a char brick. The brick is actually made from coal char that is created as a result of fast pyrolysis (a component of the SER patented coal refinery) that deliberately decomposes the coal into the valuable char byproduct. Thus far, lab results have indicated that the char bricks are superior to the clay bricks in many ways. They are lighter, stronger, less expensive, and require less energy to make and transport when compared to conventional bricks. Many of these attributes are because the bricks are porous, meaning the bricks contain air pockets within the matrix. The high porosity increases the thermal capacity and decreases the weight. SER researchers are even experimenting with coal derived bricks that are less dense than water. While these materials are performing well in the laboratory, it is important to see how they perform outside in the elements. For this work, the coal-derived building material program recently celebrated the completion of a demonstration house constructed of the coal-derived bricks. This way the bricks can be tested against the Wyoming elements (i.e. wind, sun, snow and ice). We also want to understand how the bricks perform relative to conventional materials. To do this, SER Researchers constructed a clay brick built demonstration house adjacent to the coal demonstration house to measure the difference in performance. They are monitoring variations in temperature, air quality, weathering, and sound. 38 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
Monitoring and testing will last another 12 months, but when entering each demonstration house it is easy to feel the increased thermal performance that the porous coal bricks add to the construction. In addition to the bricks other coal-based building materials include, plaster to substitute for dry wall, flooring tiles, roofing materials, mortar, and structural components that will one day be able to replace steel and aluminum beams.
What are your views on the current state of Rare earth elements and critical minerals in terms of background, location and distribution and how does this help coal mining? scott austin quillinan: The current state of rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM), is that they are growing
in demand, and reliable and affordable access to these minerals is needed for energy diversification, modern living, and national security. For example, these minerals are used in batteries, non-reflective glass, lasers, smart phones, and lighting among many other uses. Today the majority of these minerals, are mined and processed overseas. Even though current global operations are located abroad, the U.S does have domestic resources that can be developed. SER has several projects related to rare earth elements and critical minerals -- both from conventional and unconventional sources – to support a potential domestic mining industry. The first of these programs is funded by the U.S Department of Energy under the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth
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SER researchers have identified elevated concentrations directly above and below coal seams. They have also found elevated concentrations is ash beds within the coal seams, and they have found elevated concentrations in coal fly-ash. Fly ash is a by-product that is left after coal is burned for power generation.
REEs and CMs to be easily extracted from the coal ash using an acid digestion. In addition to coal-sourced REEs and CMs, SER is looking into other unconventional sources that lie in uranium deposits, phosphate deposits, and produced water, as well as conventional sources that lie in hard rock deposits.
The benefit of coal-based REE and CM resources is that it is already being mined. The high concentration areas in the over and under burden of the coal seams are often removed during the mining process but not used because of the high ash content.
What is needed to grow a domestic industry?
REE and CMs that lie in the coal ash have been accumulating near coal-fired power plants for many years. The interesting attribute of Powder River Basin derived coal-ash is that the coal can contain high calcium concentrations in the ash. This high calcium concentration allows for the
scott austin quillinan: In my opinion, growing a domestic industry is going to be a challenge. It can’t be done by simply identifying a resource. It requires clever and intentional policy development, workforce training, technology innovation, community support and engagement, and a commitment from domestic consumers. A domestic industry also has to be economically competitive with current markets. The CORE-CM program is developing strategies for each of these various topic areas.
Element and Critical Minerals Initiative (CORE-CM). This program is aimed at developing domestic strategies for rare earth element and critical mineral development across the value chain. For example the program is looking at exploration, mining techniques, mineral extraction, mineral processing, needed infrastructure, workforce development, commercial business plans, environmental and social governance, and more. Under the larger umbrella of CORE-CM we have several different projects that are ongoing. The largest of these is a project focused on identifying and extracting rare earth elements and critical minerals in coal and in coal fly-ash. It turns out that coal seams are a great place to look for rare earth elements.
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VALE CEO: EDUARDO BARTOLOMEO
VALE S.A. IS A BRAZILIAN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION ENGAGED IN METALS AND MINING AND ONE OF THE LARGEST LOGISTICS OPERATORS IN BRAZIL. VALE, FORMERLY COMPANHIA VALE DO RIO DOCE, IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF IRON ORE AND NICKEL IN THE WORLD
RIO TINTO CEO: JAKOB STAUSHOLM
RIO TINTO GROUP IS AN ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN MULTINATIONAL COMPANY THAT IS THE WORLD'S SECOND-LARGEST METALS AND MINING CORPORATION. THE COMPANY WAS FOUNDED IN 1873 WHEN OF A GROUP OF INVESTORS PURCHASED A MINE COMPLEX ON THE RIO TINTO, IN HUELVA, SPAIN.
BEST DIVIDEND PAYING MINING METAL STOCKS 40 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
SIBANYE-STILLWATER CEO: NEAL JOHN FRONEMAN SIBANYE-STILLWATER IS A MULTINATIONAL PRECIOUS METALS MINING COMPANY, REVEALING A DIVERSE PORTFOLIO OF PLATINUM GROUP METALS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UNITED STATES, GOLD AND BASE METALS OPERATIONS AND VARIOUS MINING PROJECTS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS.
We were interested in finding out which miners paid the greatest payouts. We discovered five companies that provide a dividend yield of over 6%.
BHP CHAIRPERSON: KEN MACKENZIE
SOUTHERN COPPER CEO: OSCAR GONZALEZ ROCHA
dividend yield VALE
BHP (BHP BILLITON) IS AN AUSTRALIAN-BRITISH MULTINATIONAL MINING, METALS AND PETROLEUM PUBLIC COMPANY THAT IS HEADQUARTERED IN AUSTRALIA. THE BROKEN HILL PROPRIETARY COMPANY WAS FOUNDED ON 16 JULY 1885. BY 2017, BHP WAS THE WORLD'S LARGEST MINING COMPANY.
SOUTHERN COPPER CORPORATION IS A MINING COMPANY THAT WAS FOUNDED IN 1952. THE CURRENT INCARNATION OF SOUTHERN COPPER CAN BE TRACED TO THE 2005 ACQUISITION OF SOUTHERN PERU COPPER CORPORATION BY THE MEXICAN COPPER PRODUCER MINERA MÉXICO.
RIO TINTO
13.61 % 11.15%
SIBANYESTILLWATER BHP
9.22% 10.39%
SOUTHERN COPPER 6.43%
One may argue that lithium is the most valuable metal currently being mined. Lithium's commodity price has climbed by about 400 percent in the last year, while gold's price has only increased by 4.3 percent. The value of four of the world's largest lithium miners soared by over 315 percent, with shares of four of the top companies rising by roughly 47 percent. However, none of these miners pay a dividend. Over half of gold mining businesses, three out of four copper miners, and three out of seven silver miners pay a dividend. Other industrial metals miners, such as aluminum and iron ore, frequently pay dividends. www.skillings.net | 41
SPECIAL FOCUS
Vale's stock has declined roughly 8.6% in the last year, after a year-to-date increase of more than 18%. For every quarter of the last four quarters, the company has failed analysts' revenue projections while beating earnings estimates in the last two. This isn't a really impressive track record. The business said in April that it would repurchase up to 500 million shares (about 10% of outstanding shares) in the coming 18 months, a program valued at $8.3 billion at the time. Even coronavirus-related lockdowns in China are unlikely to have a substantial impact on the company's performance this year, given a 33 percent increase in production and an estimated price hike owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Vale Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) of Brazil produced more iron ore than any other firm in the world in 2020, with 300 million metric tons (tons). Brazil is second only to Australia in terms of iron ore reserves, a vital component of steel production. This year, Vale plans to produce 400 million tons of iron ore.
Then there's Vale's 13.61 percent dividend yield, which is paid in semi-annual payments. For the past ten days, daily trading volume has averaged roughly 43.3 million shares, with a payout ratio of nearly 61 percent. For the previous 12 months, free cash flow was $17.72 billion.
Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RIO) is a global mining company that produces aluminum, copper, diamonds, gold, borates, titanium dioxide, salt, iron ore, and lithium. Rio Tinto is the world's second-largest iron ore miner, with most of its production coming from its Australian mines. It has a high-grade lithium development project in Serbia that has had its licenses canceled by the government, but the business is optimistic that it will overcome obstacles. Copper mines are also owned and operated by firms in Mongolia, Utah, and Arizona. Rio reported reduced iron ore shipments both sequentially and year over year in its March quarter operational assessment. Copper exports decreased 5% sequentially but up 4% year over year. In March, 42 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
Rio Tinto made a bid to buy 49 percent of Turquoise Hill Resources' Mongolian copper and gold mine for $2.7 billion.
110,000 and 150,000 tons in fiscal 2022, with gold production between 115,000 and 165,000 ounces.
Turquoise Hill's copper production declined 33% year over year and 22% sequentially in the March quarter, while gold production dropped 60% year over year and 25% consecutively. Copper production is expected to be between
Rio Tinto has an 11.15 percent dividend yield and a daily trading volume of roughly 4.5 million shares. The mining behemoth's payout ratio is around 52 percent, with $17.96 billion in free cash flow over the last four quarters.
Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. (NYSE: SBSW) is a South African company that mines precious metals, notably gold and platinum group metals (PGM), in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, Argentina, and Montana. Miners striking for a $12.62 monthly salary hike have been targeting the company's South African gold facilities since March. The three mines affected by the strikes employ approximately 30,000 people. Negotiations are still underway, with a meeting set for Thursday.
The value of four of the world's largest lithium miners soared by over 315 percent, with shares of four of the top companies rising by roughly 47 percent. Sibanye Stillwater operates the United States' only platinum mine and platinum recycling facility in Montana. In a year, gold prices have dropped around 4%, while platinum prices have dropped nearly 22%. Gold production has dropped by roughly half sequentially and year over year, according to the company's March-quarter operations statement. Although the average gold price increased by around 5.5 percent, all-in sustaining costs increased by over 50 percent. PGM production fell by roughly 4% sequentially and by more than 20% yearly. PGM basket prices were down nearly 17% on average year over year, with all-in costs practically steady. The dividend yield of Sibanye Stillwater is 9.22%. Its payout ratio is around 55 percent, and its daily trading volume is around 3.8 million shares. The company generated $2.36 billion in free cash flow during the last 12 months. www.skillings.net | 43
SPECIAL FOCUS
BHP Group Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) BHP Group is the world's third-largest iron ore miner, as well as one of the world's top copper and coal producers. In the March quarter, BHP produced 370,000 tons of copper and 60 million metric tons of iron ore. Copper production increased by 1%, but iron ore production decreased by 10%. BHP's metallurgical coal production increased by 20% to 20.6 million tons, while thermal coal production increased by 13% to 2.6 million tons. BHP's petroleum business sale to Woodside Petroleum of Australia is expected to close on
June 1. The deal marks the end of BHP's oil and gas extraction operations. Copper production is expected to dip between 1.57 million and 1.62 million tons in the fiscal year 2022 (which ends in June). 249 million to 259 million tons of iron ore are expected to be produced. BHP has a dividend yield of 10.39 percent and a payout ratio of approximately 90 percent. On a typical day, about 4.7 million shares are traded. BHP has had a free cash flow of $24.1 billion during the last year.
Copper from the South Copper and molybdenum are mined by Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. It ranks fifth in the world, behind Chile's Codelco, BHP, FreeportMcMoRan, and Glencore. The company generated more than 1 million tons of copper in 2020. 44 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
Southern sold approximately 208 million tons of copper in the first quarter of this year, down 13.4% yearly. Silver sales fell 16.8% year on year to 4.4 million ounces. Copper sold for an average of $4.54 per pound (up 17.6% year over year), while silver sold for an average of $24.05 per ounce (down 8.5 percent year over year). Southern has a 6.43 percent dividend yield and a payout ratio of 72.8 percent.
Shares are traded infrequently, with an average of 1.1 million changing hands every day. The corporation generated $3.47 billion in free cash flow over the last four quarters.
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www.skillings.net | 45
STATISTICS
APRIL 2022 CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION
W
orld crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 162.7 million tonnes (Mt) in April 2022, a 5.1% decrease compared to April 2021. CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION BY REGION
Africa produced 1.2 Mt in April 2022, down 5.4% on April 2021. Asia and Oceania produced 121.4 Mt, down 4.0%. The EU (27) produced 12.3 Mt, down 5.4%. Europe, Other produced 4.2 Mt. up 0.5%. The Middle East produced 3.3 Mt, down 14.5%, North America produced 9.4 Mt, down 5.1%. Russia & other CIS + Ukraine produced 7.3 Mt, down 18.4%. South America produced 3.6 Mt, down 4.8%. The 64 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 98% of total world crude steel production in 2021. Regions covered by the table: Africa, Asia and Oceania, European Union (27), Europe, Middle East, North America, Russia & other CIS + Ukraine, South America.
TOP 10 STEEL-PRODUCING COUNTRIES
China produced 92.8 Mt in April 2022, down 5.2% on April 2021. India produced 10.1 Mt, up 6.2%. Japan produced 7.5 Mt, down 4.4%. The United States produced 6.9 Mt, down 3.9%. Russia is estimated to have produced 6.4 Mt, up 0.6%.
Table 1. Crude steel production by region
africa
Table 2. Top 10 steel-producing countries
change apr 2022 % change jan-apr %jan-apr (mt) apr 22/21 2021 (mt) 22/22 1.2 -5.4 5.0 -3.6 121.4
-4.0
452.6
-7.7
12.3
-5.4
48.9
-4.7
europe, other
4.2
0.5
16.1
-3.8
middle east
3.3
-14.5
13.5
-5.3
north america
9.4
-5.1
37.4
-2.3
russia & cis + ukraine
7.3
-18.4
31.3
-11.0
south america
3.6
-4.8
14.3
-3.2
162.7
-5.1
619.1
-7.1
asia and oceania eu (27)
total 64 countries
South Korea produced 5.5 Mt, down 4.1%. Germany produced 3.3 Mt, down 1.1%. Turkey produced 3.4 Mt, up 1.6%. Brazil produced 2.9 Mt, down 4.0%. Iran is estimated to have produced 2.2 Mt, down 20.7%.
apr 2022 (mt) china
92.8
india
% change apr 22/21
jan-apr 22 (mt)
% change jan-apr 22/21
-5.2
336.2
-10.3
10.1
6.2
42.3
6.5
japan
7.5
-4.4
30.5
-3.3
united states
6.9
-3.9
27.1
-1.7
e 6.4
0.6
25.1
-0.7
south korea
russia
5.5
-4.1
22.4
-4.0
germany
3.3
-1.1
13.1
-3.0
turkey
3.4
-1.6
12.8
-3.2
brazil
e 2.9
4.0
11.6
-1.7
iran
e 2.2
-20.7
9.1
-8.9
The 64 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 98% of total world crude steel production in 2020. Regions and countries covered by the table: Africa: Egypt, Libya, South Africa. Asia and Oceania: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Vietnam. CIS: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. European Union (27). Europe, Other: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, United Kingdom. Middle East: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates. North America: Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, United States. South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
46 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2022
CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION DECEMBER 2020. Source – World Steel Association COUNTRY
DEC 2020
DEC 2019
%CHANGE DEC-20/19
2020
% CHANGE
COUNTRY
DEC 2020
DEC 2019
%CHANGE DEC-20/19
2020
% CHANGE
Austria
530 e
521
1.7
6 665
-10.2
Mexico
1 550 e
1 361
13.9
16 854
-8.3
Belgium
359
6 434
7 292
-11.8
72 690
-17.2
9 107
9 801
388
326
19.0
3 651
-21.4
2 886
2 462
17.2
30 971
-4.9
505
-28.9
6 119
-21.1
United States
Bulgaria
40 e
43
-6.3
485
-14.3
Croatia
15 e
7
101.9
47
-32.0
North America Argentina
-7.1 101 119 -15.5
Czech Republic
408
359
13.7
4 465
0.6
Finland
339
186
81.8
3 500
0.8
France
1 155
918
25.7
11 596
-19.8
Chile
105 e
109
-3.5
1 165
2.8
Germany
3 137
2 835
10.6
35 658
-10.0
Colombia
110 e
97
13.5
1 126
-15.5
94
17.0
1 430
5.9
Ecuador
50 e
50
0.5
477
-21.5
164
-44.8
1 513
-14.5
Paraguay
3 e
3
-4.4
22
-17.5
1 404
6.9
20 200
-12.9
Peru
105 e
91
15.8
671
-45.4
Uruguay
5 e
5
-7.2
47
-24.6
Venezuela
2 e
0
315.8
29
-43.6
3 654
3 143
16.3
38 158
-8.4
Egypt
994
574
73.0
8 229
13.4
Libya
73
63
16.2
495
-18.4
297
-1.5
3 877
-37.0
934
45.5
2 224
19.6
29 030
13.4
85
186
-54.3
1 218
-52.4
Saudi Arabia
440
664
-33.8
7 775
-5.1
United Arab Emirates
280
297
-5.8
2 722
-18.2
Middle East
3 465
3 371
2.8
40 745
2.7
China
91 252
84 692
7.7 1 052 999
5.2
India
9 796
9 383
4.4
99 570
-10.6
Japan
7 526
7 785
-3.3
83 194
-16.2
South Korea
5 952
5 880
1.2
67 121
-6.0
380 e
261
45.6
3 743
13.3
1 700 e
1 693
0.4
20 570
-6.3
Thailand
410 e
357
14.8
4 420
4.1
Vietnam
1 600 e
1 876
…
19 500
11.6
Greece Hungary Italy
110 e 90 1 500 e
Luxembourg
113
97
17.3
1 886
-11.0
Netherlands
540
521
3.6
6 054
-9.1
Poland
680 e
642
5.9
7 890
-11.9
Slovenia
50 e
34
45.0
570
-8.5
Spain
891
765
16.4
10 934
-19.5
Sweden
410
376
8.9
4 409
-6.6
United Kingdom
710 e
550
29.0
7 185
-0.5
Other E.U. (28) (e)
680 e
642
6.0
8180
-12.1
European Union (28) 11 757
10 665
10.2 138 786 -11.8
Bosnia-Herzegovina
75
70
6.5
759
-5.2
Macedonia
33
24
35.9
180
-24.8
Norway
41
40
3.2
624
0.5
Serbia
119
158
-24.8
1 456
-24.6
Turkey
3 403
2 893
17.7
35 763
6.0
3 671
3 185
15.3
38 782
3.9
Other Europe Byelorussia
200 e
225
-11.2
2 490
-5.0
Kazakhstan
355 e
374
-5.0
3 835
-7.2
45 e
35
28.2
465
18.7
Russia
6 110 e
6 159
-0.8
73 400
2.6
Ukraine
1 906
1 561
22.1
20 616
-1.1
84
-4.8
950
42.6
3.1 101 756
1.5
Moldova
Uzbekistan C.I.S. (6) Canada
80 e 8 696
8 438
1 070 e
1 092
-2.0
11 078
-14.1
20 e
22
-8.5
181
-21.4
El Salvador
8 e
8
-5.7
79
-22.5
Guatemala
25 e
26
-3.9
237
-22.6
Cuba
Brazil
South America
South Africa Africa Iran Qatar
Pakistan Taiwan, China
Asia Australia New Zealand Oceania
292 e 1 359 2 660 e
118 616
111927
12 600 -10.1
6.0 1 351 117
1.6
473
449
5.4
5 490
0.0
59
57
3.8
586
-12.2
506 151 969
5.2
6 076
-1.4
533
Total 64 countries (1) 160 858
5.8 1 829 140 -0.9
(1) - HADEED only. (2) - the 64 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 99% of total world crude steel production in 2019. e - estimated
www.skillings.net | 47
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