French company Orano said on Thursday that Niger had removed a mining permit for its subsidiary Imouraren. Orano said the decision would have a negative economic impact on Niger and added it reserved the right to take legal measures to challenge the decision.
Allegations of human rights abuses ‘unfounded’, Barrick Gold tells UNHRC
Barrick Gold said in a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday that allegations of human rights violations at its North Mara gold mine were “misdirected, unfounded” and “lacked substance”.
The UNHRC’s special procedures branch had sent a letter to the Canadian gold miner in April, saying it had received information about allegations of killings, assault, torture, sexual abuse and violence against women and girls, among others, committed by security forces and private security contractors at the North Mara mine in northern Tanzania.
Dwyka highlights new drone technology at showcase
Mining technology company Dwyka Mining Services has announced the launch of several new drone technology services through its partnerships with drone technology companies Wingtra, Emesent and now Skydio. At a showcase event hosted at the FNB Stadium, in Gauteng, on June 20, Dwyka announced its newly signed strategic partnership and reseller agreement with Skydio, one of the largest artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered drone technology companies in the US.
Marula finalising arrangement for first sales from Blesberg project
Africa-focused battery metals investment and exploration company Marula Mining’s executive management team is finalising the outstanding logistics and export arrangements for the initial 500 t of spodumene to be sold from the Blesberg project, in South Africa. This initial sale and the receipt of proceeds is expected to be concluded over the next two to four weeks.
Key EV battery material can come from a surprising source: methane
Graphite is key to manufacturing the lithium-ion batteries that power everything from electric cars to smartphones. While China is the world’s top producer and exporter of the crystalline carbon, there’s been a push to grow a US supply chain. Oakland-based startup Molten Industries is working to build it by relying on something that’s cheap and abundant in the US: natural gas. The company has developed a specialized technique to break methane into graphite and hydrogen, the latter of which can be used as a source of clean energy. The effort is funded in part by a $25 million Series A financing round led by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV).
Europe’s EV battery plans fade on China price war, US subsidies
In 2019, France and Germany agreed to pump billions of euros into a plan to boost Europe’s battery industry and catch up with China and the US. Five years later, that effort is running out of steam.
As electric-vehicle sales slow, companies including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or refocusing battery projects. Chinese manufacturers are slashing costs and the US is drawing away investment with lucrative subsidies.
Green copper, vapour refining envisaged at Orion’s Northern Cape base metals mines
Green copper and clean smelting and refining are envisaged at Orion Minerals’ quickly advancing base metals mines in South Africa’s well-endowed Northern Cape province, which has historically produced 2.5-millon tons of copper until base metal mining ceased there several decades ago. The fully permitted and already reviving Prieska mine will begin producing its first saleable copper and zinc 12 to 18 months after finalising its total funding requirement, which is estimated at from R3-billion to R4-billion.
Malawi rail upgrades under way, reports Sovereign Metals
Upgrades to the 399 km Nkaya–Mchinji railway section connecting the Malawi–Zambia border to the Nacala Logistics Corridor (NLC), are under way, reports ASX- and Aim-listed Sovereign Metals. The railway section runs across the company’s Kasiya rutile/graphite project tenements and it notes that the refurbishment of that part of the railway mainline that connects the Kanengo junction in the Lilongwe district, where Kasiya is located, to the NLC junction at Nkaya, is near completion.
Eskom wins South African appeal to keep five polluting power plants open
South Africa’s State power utility and biggest source of air pollution won an appeal to keep five of its oldest plants open even though they are set to flout incoming emission caps. The plants – which account for almost a quarter of Eskom Holdings’ almost 45 GW of coal-fired generation capacity – will be allowed to operate under current emission limits until the end of March 2030, Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s environment minister, ruled. That will exempt them from more stringent restrictions on pollutants, ranging from particulate emissions to sulfur dioxide, that come into effect in 2025.
Harmony confident of meeting full-year targets, reporting ‘exceptional’ free cash flow
JSE-listed Harmony Gold Mining Company has informed shareholders that it will meet its production, grade and cost guidance for the financial year to end on June 30, and that it continued to generate “exceptional” operating free cash flow on the back of the recovered grades, a higher rand gold price received and sustained operational excellence. In a pre-close statement published on June 20, CEO Peter Steenkamp notes that group production is expected to exceed the 1.55-million ounces guided, while all-in sustaining costs will come in comfortably below R920 000/kg, as guided.