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Credit: The Metals Company

Norway plans to become one of the first countries to open its waters to deep-sea mining in the race for critical mineral sourcing. The Scandinavian country wants to open up an area of the Norwegian Sea the size of Germany for the mining of transition minerals on the sea floor.   

The Norwegian Government is readying plans to be submitted to parliament. These will require approval before mining can commence.    

Polymetallic nodules found on the sea floor at depths of around 3,500–6,000m contain base metals used in energy transition technologies including batteries. The nodules contain copper, manganese, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate. 

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told national newspaper Bergens Tidende that deep-sea mining can be conducted without harming ocean life, a claim countered by environmentalists and scientists, including Norway’s own environment agency.

Mining company Savannah Resources’ proposal to develop the largest lithium mine in Western Europe has secured environmental approval from the Portuguese Government. 

Savannah received preliminary approval in 2021 for its open-pit mine, but the Portuguese Environment Regulator (APA) at the time demanded changes that were submitted in a revised proposal this year.  

The Barroso mine is a high-grade, low-iron, lithium project in northern Portugal, amid a world heritage site for agriculture. According to Savannah, the country has 60,000t of known lithium reserves. However, there is strong opposition to lithium mining from environmentalists and local communities who fear extraction could damage the environment and nearby farms. 

Nevertheless, on 31 May 2023, APA approved Savannah’s environmental impact assessment, on the condition that it implements a  range of damage-control measures.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Alberto Fernández, the President of Argentina, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to establish a partnership between the EU and Argentina on raw materials value chains. 

The Commission announced in a press release on Tuesday that the MoU aims to ensure the development of a “secure and sustainable” supply of the raw materials needed for energy transition technologies such as electric vehicles. It also aims to develop a sustainable raw materials industry “to the mutual benefit of both sides”. Argentina is a producer of copper and holds one of the world’s largest lithium reserves. 

“I am glad to sign this partnership between the EU and Argentina for the development of sustainable raw materials value chains… It is a big step forward for the EU’s climate ambitions and it is beneficial to Argentina as a key global player in the clean energy transition,” said Von der Leyen.

The Indian government will continue to operate power plants that use imported coal at full capacity until the end of September, according to an official order seen by Reuters. 

The new deadline provides a more-than three-month extension to the previous timeline set out in February, which initially allowed coal plants to operate at full capacity until 15 June. The move comes as India prepares output for an expected record surge in power use during this summer to combat heat waves across the country. 

Many of India’s power plants use imported coal, including those operated by Adani Power, a subsidiary of India’s energy giant Adani Group and Tata Power. However, these have not been operating at full capacity, contributing to the challenge of increasing demand.

An investigation has discovered alleged unsafe working conditions in the Chinese-run Arcadia mine in Zimbabwe, which caused the death of two workers.  

The Arcadia lithium mine, located in Goromonzi, just outside of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, is owned by Prospect Resources through its subsidiary Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe. The open-pit mine is considered to be one of the world’s largest hard rock lithium resources, holding estimated reserves of 42.3 million tonnes.  

The three-month investigation by national news outlet NewZimbabwe.com and non-profit organisation Information for Development Trust uncovered several incidents, including one in which a worker was crushed to death by a dump truck as he slept in a cabin onsite. 

Simbarashe Madera, aged 26, was working as a rig operator until he was crushed to death on 31 May 2023. Zhongjingfu, which owns the truck that crushed Madera, has committed to putting new safety measures in place to prevent further tragedies.