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Credit: AMG Lithium

AMG Critical Materials has successfully opened Europe’s first lithium hydroxide refinery in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany.

AMG Lithium, which oversees all of AMG’s lithium operations, started producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide at the first of its five planned modules at the site on Wednesday, 18 September.

One module’s annual capacity is 20,000 tonnes (t), enough for around 500,000 electric vehicle (EV) batteries. AMG’s first module is sold out, and the company plans to expand production to 100,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of battery-grade lithium hydroxide by 2030.

Recent forecasts by Benchmark project 700,000t of lithium will be needed for European batteries in 2030.

Heinz Schimmelbusch, chairman of the management board and CEO of AMG NV, said: “With the refinery, we are the first mover, making a decisive contribution to securing the supply of the critical raw material lithium for the industry in Germany and Europe.”

Canadian mineral resource development company Giyani Metals has secured a mining licence from the Ministry of Minerals and Energy of Botswana for its K.Hill battery-grade manganese project.

Valid for 15 years with potential for multiple renewals, the licence marks a crucial step in the project’s development.

Giyani Metals’ project secured environmental authorisation and surface rights earlier in the year. With a projected 57-year operational lifespan, the project will produce battery-grade manganese.

The company’s next focus is the production of battery-grade manganese from its demonstration plant in Johannesburg, set to commence operations in the fourth quarter of this year.

Giyani Metals is also progressing with a definitive feasibility study, expected to be completed in 2025, which will refine the project’s economic assessment. Located within a 438km² licence area that is part of the Giyani project area, the K.Hill project produces high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced plans to develop Pongamia seed farms in Australia as part of a new biofuels pilot.

Pongamia is a legume tree native to Australia that produces oil-rich seeds that can be harvested annually and processed into renewable diesel.

The company is in the final stages of acquiring approximately 3,000 hectares of cleared land in north Queensland to establish farms to study growth conditions and measure seed oil yields.

Rio Tinto has partnered with woodfibre processor and exporter Midway to oversee the planting and management of the Pongamia seed farms.

The mining company stated that it sees biofuels as an avenue to reduce reliance on fossil diesel as fleet electrification technologies mature. It is using the pilot to investigate how biofuels could be used in scenarios where electrification may face practical limitations, such as in blasting and non-haul equipment.

The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) has commenced the production of rare earth metals at its facility in Saskatoon, Canada, marking North America’s entry into the production of these critical elements.

The SRC Rare Earth Processing Facility has successfully produced rare earth metals at a commercial scale ahead of schedule using automated technology in metal smelting. SRC’s automated technology has enabled the production of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metals with purities exceeding 99.5% and conversion rates surpassing 98%.

Starting with a monthly output of 10t, the facility is set to increase production to 40t per month by the end of December 2024. When fully operational in early 2025, the facility is expected to produce around 400t of NdPr metals annually, sufficient to power half a million electric vehicles.

Since 2020, the SRC facility has received substantial funding from the Saskatchewan and Canadian governments, totalling $101m (C$136.86m).

South African coal mining company Seriti Resources has announced plans to cut as many as 1,137 jobs across two of its opencast coal operations due to unprofitability.

The company said that the MMS and Klipspruit South-East mines are not currently commercially sustainable. These mines require material restructuring to enhance unit costs and return to profitability.

The decision to trim the headcount comes as Seriti faces challenges including poor performance from the state-owned rail company Transnet SOC, as well as market volatility.

In response to these challenges, Seriti initiated a Section 189A process under the support of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. The process is expected to affect up to 1,241 roles with 1,137 employees potentially being laid off across MMS, Klipspruit operations and corporate services team. However, Seriti has reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling coal supply agreements with Eskom Holdings SOC, local customers and the export markets.