Rio Tinto to invest in battery technology firm Inobat Auto

Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto is planning to invest in European-based battery technology and manufacturing company Inobat Auto. The investment will help Inobat complete the construction of a research and development centre and pilot battery line in Voderady, Slovakia.

The investment follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the firms in May 2021, which outlined an intention to jointly work for establishing a cradle-to-cradle electric vehicle battery value chain in Serbia.

InoBat Auto CEO Marian Bocek said: “Our mission has always been to provide solutions across the entire value chain – a cradle-to-cradle approach, which showcases the concept of the circular economy and will support Europe’s bid for technological independence.

“Side-by-side with Rio Tinto, we are looking forward to further developing our manufacturing capacities and working closely on the downstream development of a battery ecosystem with common decarbonisation efforts at its core.”

Rio Tinto battery materials business managing director Marnie Finlayson said: “Our Jadar lithium project in Serbia is on the doorstep of the European electric vehicle market. Capable of producing enough lithium to make around one million electric vehicle batteries a year to the highest environmental standards, we believe Jadar will be a critical supplier of the European battery ecosystem and, through our investment in InoBat, we hope that we can assist in making some of those batteries locally.”

Eastern Iron and Yahua team up to develop lithium projects

Eastern Iron has signed a partnership agreement with Ya Hua International Investment and Development to acquire and develop lithium projects in Australia and other countries. A wholly owned subsidiary of Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group, Yahua is a substantial shareholder of Eastern Iron.

The two firms will cooperate on the potential acquisition and development of spodumene projects in countries excluding China and in Africa, and as part of the new agreement, Eastern Iron and Ya Hua will establish a long-term partnership for the spodumene concentrates supply.

Eastern Iron will also have an option for signing a long-term offtake agreement with Yahua for spodumene products produced from Eastern Iron’s other projects.

Eastern Iron chairman Eddie King said: “Following Yahua’s substantial investment in EFE, the strategic partnership agreement with Yahua is a transformational agreement for the company and should be an exciting phase for all stakeholders involved with Eastern Iron.

“The strategic partnership agreement provides the company with an advantage to acquire and develop lithium projects as we seek to strengthen our position in providing green energy solutions for future generations.”

Vale and China Baowu collaborate to decarbonise steelmaking

Brazilian mining company Vale and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop green steelmaking solutions. The MoU allows the firms to pursue opportunities to develop steelmaking solutions with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of the effort, the duo aims to produce biochar and use it in blast furnaces. This would make use of a carbon-neutral material that is based on biomass, rather than fossil fuels. Vale is also considering a possible investment of $9.3m-10.9m (CNY60m-70m) in China Baowu’s pilot biochar plant project.

The move is expected to contribute to Vale’s commitment to reducing net Scope 3 emissions by 15% by 2035. The Brazilian miner has also set a target to reduce 33% of absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and aims to become a carbon-neutral firm by 2050.

Vale recently signed an MoU with South Korea’s steel firm POSCO to develop solutions for sustainable steel production. In October, Australian mining firm BHP also partnered with POSCO for similar reasons, agreeing to jointly explore ways to optimise coke quality, as well as assess carbon capture storage and utilisation options.

Fortuna’s Mexican silver mine faces uncertainty over permit expiry

Canadian mining firm Fortuna Silver Mines’ ten-year-old mine in southern Mexico is currently at the risk of being closed down as a result of the expiry of its permit.

Operated by Fortuna Silver Mines Mexican subsidiary Companía Minera Cuzcatlán (CMC), the San Jose silver mine received an environmental impact authorization (EIA) for a 12-year period until 23 October 2021.

CMC filed an application in May 2021 to extend the EIA term for an additional ten years, but Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources denied the application due to a pending evaluation related to the regularisation of the mine’s ancillary infrastructure.

In a press statement, Fortuna Silver Mines said: “In addition, it cited non-receipt of the requested information, which the company has already provided to the authority. The company is reviewing the reasons for the denial with its advisers, but believes that it is fundamentally in compliance with all material aspects of the San Jose EIA and is entitled to an extension.”

The San Jose silver mine is currently operating under the protection of Mexican courts, which allows the continued operation of mine beyond the expiry date of the EIA. The firm is permitted to operate the mine only on a temporary basis according to the recent court order, according to Reuters.

Newmont Mining forms net-zero partnership with Caterpillar

US-based gold producer Newmont Mining has collaborated with mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar to deliver a zero-emissions mining system to improve safety and productivity in the industry, and will contribute to Newmont’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets.

As part of the strategic alliance, Newmont will initially invest $100m to support the deployment of an all-electric autonomous haulage fleet in two continents. The miner previously pledged to reduce more than 30% of its GHG emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon operations by 2050.

The partnership will enable the two firms to validate equipment, infrastructure, technologies and processes that would help transform surface and underground mining operations. Caterpillar will also deliver an automated haulage fleet of up to 16 for deployment at Newmont-operated Cripple Creek and Victor mine in Colorado, US, through 2023.

Newmont president and CEO Tom Palmer said: “A year ago, Newmont announced industry-leading emission reduction targets because we understand the human contribution to climate change. We followed with a commitment to invest $500m over five years to identify pathways forward as we firmly believe that we must make bold, lasting commitments to achieve the necessary change for a bright, healthy future.”

Uranium Energy to take over Uranium One Americas

Uranium Energy (UEC) has agreed to acquire Uranium One Americas (U1A) in a deal that will result in the formation of the largest US uranium mining company. The deal consideration includes $112m in cash and the replacement of $19m in reclamation bonding.

U1A owns seven uranium projects in the Powder River Basin and five projects in the Great Divide Basin, all located in the US state of Wyoming. The company is a unit of Canadian uranium company Uranium One, which itself is a part of Russia’s state atomic energy firm Rosatom and is said to be the fourth-largest uranium producer worldwide.

UEC CEO Amir Adnani said: “The opportunity to acquire an advanced asset base of this quality from one of the global leaders in the nuclear energy sector is highly rare in the uranium sector anywhere in the world, let alone in our own home jurisdiction of the United States. The purchase price is equal to only 12% of our current enterprise value, yet the acquisition doubles the size of our production capacity in three key categories: total number of permitted US ISR projects, resources, and processing infrastructure.”

“Combined with our physical uranium holdings of 4.1Mlb of U.S. warehoused uranium, we now have the unparalleled ability to provide reliable domestic supply to the U.S. Uranium Reserve, as well as re-emerging demand from American and global nuclear utilities.”