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Credit: Fortescue

Fortescue has initiated its $50m (A$75.37m) green metal project at the Christmas Creek site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA).

This plant is estimated to have an annual green metal production capacity of more 1,500 tonnes (t), with its first output expected next year.

It will utilise green hydrogen from the company’s gaseous and liquid hydrogen facility along with an electric smelting furnace to make “high-purity” green iron.

New Zealand-based Fabrum collaborated on the design, build and commissioning of the plant, which it said is Australia's largest at a mine site. It can generate around 530kg of hydrogen gas each day.

The facility includes a gaseous hydrogen refuelling station that supports ten hydrogen-driven fuel cell electric coaches. A separate liquid hydrogen refueling station will be used to run Fortescue’s offboard power unit and its hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype, which recently arrived on site.

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on 15 August that it will enforce export controls on antimony and related products.

A ministry spokesperson said that the export controls will take effect on 15 September to “safeguard national security and interests and fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation”. Those intending to export the mineral in various forms must seek a licence.

The restrictions cover antimony products such as ore, ingots, and oxides, as well as gold-antimony smelting and separation technology, according to the ministry.

Antimony is used by the electronics industry to produce certain semiconductor devices, while antimony alloys find applications in batteries, type metal (used in printing presses), bullets, and cable sheathing.

China was the top global antimony producer last year, contributing 48% of the worldwide mine production, according to the US Geological Survey.

Electra Battery Materials has received $20m from the US Department of Defense to support the development of a cobalt sulphate refinery in Toronto, Canada.

The funding, facilitated through the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, aims to bolster domestic production capabilities.

Electra plans to use the funds for the construction and commissioning of North America's sole cobalt sulphate refinery.

Situated north of Toronto in Temiskaming Shores, the $250m refinery will have the world’s lowest carbon footprint.

The expansion of an existing plant is in progress, with necessary permits acquired, construction advancing and most long-lead custom equipment already on site.

The facility is expected to yield 6,500t of cobalt annually, sufficient to support the manufacture of more than one million electric vehicles each year.

Ivanhoe Mines announced on 19 August that the Phase III concentrator at its Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the DRC has reached commercial production.

The site’s three concentrators collectively produced a record 35,941t of copper in July.

Ivanhoe Mines’ executive co-chairman Robert Friedland said the milestone “marks the onset of rapid copper growth over the second half of 2024,” with annual production expected to increase from 450,000t to over 600,000t.

Once achieved, this would make Kamoa-Kakula the third-largest copper mine in the world after Escondida in Chile and Grasberg in Indonesia.

The Phase III concentrator was completed ahead of schedule on 28 May, with copper concentrate production beginning on 10 June. It is currently milling at a nameplate processing rate of five million tonnes per annum of ore.

Kazakhstan's national uranium producer, Kazatomprom, has updated its production guidance for 2024 from 21,000–22,500t of uranium to 22,500–23,500t (11,600–12,600tU attributable).

Production rose by 5% in the second quarter of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.

The company stated that this growth has resulted from the resumption of 2023 drilling works.

It said the increased uranium produced “will be used for replenishing the company’s inventories”.

Kazatomprom was also able to secure necessary volumes of sulphuric acid required for its 2024 production. However, limited access to sulphuric acid and construction delays could unfavourably influence production plans for 2025. 

Kazakhstan accounted for 37.3% (20,100t) of the total global uranium supply in 2023, according to figures from GlobalData.