The permit has been issued by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ)’s Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) after a thorough review. It is subject to customary conditions as well as those tailored to the project’s specifics.

The application for the mining permit was submitted by Piedmont Lithium on 30 August 2021.

Located in Gaston County, the Carolina project is to become a fully-integrated lithium project, encompassing mining, spodumene concentrate production, and lithium hydroxide conversion, all within a single site.

Currently, the American lithium project is in the development stage.

The Carolina lithium project is being designed to have an annual output of 30,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide.

According to Piedmont Lithium, the projected capacity would more than double the present US production capacity of about 20,000 metric tons annually.

Besides, the Carolina lithium project is expected to greatly contribute to the energy security of the US.

The construction of the American lithium project is expected to begin after obtaining the remaining necessary permits, rezoning approvals as well as project financing activities.

Piedmont Lithium president and CEO Keith Phillips said: “The North Carolina mining permit approval is the precursor for the county rezoning process, and we look forward to continued engagement with the local community and the Gaston County Board of Commissioners.

“Construction would commence following receipt of all required permits, rezoning approvals, and project financing activities.

“We have had extensive and ongoing dialogue with possible funding sources for Carolina Lithium, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office and strategic parties who could provide some combination of capital, offtake, and technical support.”

In February 2024, Piedmont Lithium completed a 27% reduction in its workforce as part of the company’s cost-cutting measures amid a decline in lithium prices.

The post Piedmont Lithium secures mining permit for Carolina lithium project appeared first on NS Energy.

Commodity prices can be very volatile, so when the price suddenly decreases, mining companies will typically try to increase production to maintain their top line revenue.  Access to timely operational & production information is essential to be able to succeed in these competitive markets.

At the same time, in the resource global market, every mining company wants to be the lowest cost provider. If they can achieve this, then they will always be competitive in their market.

To consistently achieve this, decision makers need accurate and timely information that views each operation in context across the value chain. An integrated view of operations delivers better visibility across the mining value chain, allowing mining companies to respond quickly to market changes and opportunities.

The information revolution through Mining Operations Management (MOM)

Even though consistent visibility and operational excellence is critical, some mines are still heavily reliant on field operators, manual processes, and voice radio communications to determine if an asset is performing correctly. Conventional legacy systems were typically designed to be siloed which makes it difficult to create the right context across mining operations. Thus, to present the information to the end-users in this situation, manual processes and custom data solutions must both be used, which results in multiple custom applications creating many versions of the truth, making it very difficult for optimum decision making.

So even though the miners generate vast quantities of data about their operations every day, they still may struggle to convert it to useful, timely and accurate information for multiple stakeholders across the overall mining value chain.

This is where the value of a Mining Operations Management (MOM) platform comes into play, enhancing the utilization of data generated by current automation and control systems in mining operations.

Optimal digital solution for mine to market integration and operational efficiency
The MOM suite interprets and contextualizes data from the control, business, and laboratory systems to provide an accurate representation of production performance and availability.  It integrates and models data from existing operations and business systems and then delivers fit-for-purpose applications designed for mining that interact, share, and cooperate on the same platform to deliver new insights for better decision making that impacts bottom line. It also provides a single user-interface across all modules, and shared data between production, downtime, accounting, and reconciliation facilities – improving data integrity across the site.

Miners can choose out-of-the box functionality from MOM where they see the bigger impacts and larger returns, which includes Tracking & Reporting, Inventory Management, OEE & Asset Utilization KPIs, Downtime / Loss Accounting, Production & Performance Reporting and Metal Reporting.

With this, miners can review the performance of their processes and assets, understand the business impact of planned and unplanned stoppages, identify where production losses occur and their causes, and tackle the complexities of inventory management. In particular, ‘Downtime Accounting’ serves as a tool to pinpoint and clarify the causes of suboptimal performance, equipment failures, and delays throughout the value chain. It is designed to integrate seamlessly with the technologies and systems miners already use, offering scalability as they update and modernize their technological infrastructure through digital transformation.

MOM can be further contextualized with sustainability data in the Sustainable Digital Factory, where the business operations and sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) can be merged to understand the positive and negative impacts of decisions. This is a new initiative by Rockwell Automation and Accenture, to help companies embrace sustainability as part of the manufacturing process.

Bringing mining to a whole new level – safe, sustainable, secure, connected, smart and compliant

Once again, we are seeing a paradigm shift in the mining industry whereby companies are increasingly seeing the need to increase production while meeting sustainability targets, reducing greenhouse gas carbon emissions and wastes toward net-zero initiatives.

In short, MOM can help identify those ways to improve production, reduce cost per ton, optimize water and energy usage and enable the workforce to be more productive and safer too.  Learn more about how this digital technology can open a new vision for mining operations.

The post Mine-to-market visibility transforms decision making for greater productivity appeared first on NS Energy.

An announcement in this regard was made by Fluor’s mining and metals unit. Fluor is responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the Chilean mining project.

Located in the High Andes at an altitude of 12,750-15,400ft above sea level, Salares Norte is a high-grade gold-silver, open-pit deposit.

According to Fluor, construction as well as pre-commissioning are slated to be wrapped up this month.

The Salares Norte project, after reaching the full operations stage, is anticipated to yield around 350,000 ounces of gold annually through the life of the mine, which stands at 11.5 years.

The mine’s attributable mineral reserves are 4.3 millions of ounces (Moz) of gold, 398 million pounds (Mlb) of copper, and 42.2Moz of silver.

Fluor mining and metals business line president Harish Jammula said: “Salares Norte is a project at the forefront of innovation, technology and environmental care.

“The location is extremely challenging and demanded an extraordinary level of modularisation never seen before on a project developed in the Andes region. Integrated processes and remote monitoring were leveraged to facilitate real-time support systems and maximise operational efficiencies.

“The operation also plans to implement solar energy usage in subsequent investment phases, which will reduce carbon emissions by more than 100,000 tons over the life of the mine.”

Gold Fields’ board had given its formal approval to develop the mining project in April 2020 following a positive feasibility study and Chilean authorities’ environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Fluor was given full notice to proceed with the execution of its EPC contract by Gold Fields in July 2020. The former also undertook the pre-feasibility study for the Salares Norte project.

Construction on the $860m project formally began in January 2021.

The post Gold Fields achieves first gold from Salares Norte project in Chile appeared first on NS Energy.

By shipping the first batch of cathodes to customers, the Adani group has made its debut in the metal industry.

Adani Enterprises is investing approximately $1.2bn to establish the copper smelter, which will have a capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in the first phase.

The second phase of the greenfield copper refinery project at Mundra is expected to bring an additional capacity of 0.5MTPA.

According to Adani Enterprises, the completion of the second phase will make the facility the largest single-location custom smelter in the world.

The Indian greenfield copper refinery project is anticipated to generate 2,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employment opportunities.

Adani Enterprises said that one-third of the plant area has been allocated as green belt space. Besides, 15% of the capital has been allocated towards environmental protection.

Furthermore, the Mundra copper unit plant deployed a zero-liquid discharge model to mitigate the ecological impact. The plant also leverages desalinated water for operations, and to reduce waste, it recycles treated wastewater within processes.

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said: “With Kutch Copper commencing operations, the Adani portfolio of companies is not only entering the metals sector but also driving India’s leap towards a sustainable and aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) future.”

“Our speed of execution in this ambitious, super-sized project underscores our commitment to take India to the forefront of the global copper sector.

“We believe the domestic copper industry will play a crucial role in achieving our nation’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2070 by strengthening our green infrastructure hand in hand with mature environmental stewardship.”

Last month, Adani signed contracts to purchase 1.6MTPA of copper concentrate for the Mundra copper smelter.

The post Adani commissions first unit of Mundra copper refinery in Gujarat, India appeared first on NS Energy.

Under the terms of the agreement, Taseko will acquire Dowa and Furukawa’s shares in Cariboo Copper, which allows Taseko to gain an effective 100% stake in the Gibraltar Mine.

The transaction price comprises a minimum of C$117m ($86m), payable over ten years, and additional contingent payments based on copper prices and Gibraltar mine’s cash flow.

An initial C$5m will be paid to Dowa and Furukawa, 2.5m each, shortly after closing and the remaining amounts will be settled with annual payments commencing in March 2026.

Taseko president and CEO Stuart McDonald said: “We are happy to once again own 100% of the Gibraltar mine, our foundational asset, which will continue to generate strong returns for the Company for many years to come.

“This acquisition provides 14% growth in our attributable copper production and is immediately cashflow accretive as we advance construction at our Florence Copper Project.

“We also receive additional offtake rights as the Cariboo offtake contract comes back to Taseko, providing potential cost savings and longer-term strategic benefits as we continue to develop our North American copper production profile.”

The annual payments are linked to the average London Metal Exchange copper price from the previous calendar year, based on a percentage of cashflow from the Gibraltar Mine.

If the copper prices are below $4 per pound, the annual payment will be C$5m, and a maximum annual payment of C$15.25m at copper prices of C$5 per pound or higher.

Also, the annual payments cannot exceed 6.25% of the mine’s annual cashflow between 2025 and 2028, and 10% of its cashflow for the 2029-2033 calendar years.

The outstanding balance on the minimum consideration will be repayable in March 2034, and the total payment is capped at C$142m, limiting the contingent consideration to C$25m.

The company has the option to make total payments of $117m at any time before 2029.

Taseko’s minimum payment obligations are structured as loans from Dowa and Furukawa to Cariboo, which are guaranteed by Taseko, and partly by Cariboo’s 25% interest in the Gibraltar mine.

Furthermore, Dowa and Furukawa will receive 30% of Gibraltar’s copper concentrate offtake for the life of the mine, under the offtake arrangements signed in 2010.

The post Taseko to take full control of Gibraltar copper mine in Canada appeared first on NS Energy.

The status was awarded based on the social and economic significance the project would have to the north-west region of Queensland.

Announced by the Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure, the special status for the Australian copper mine will facilitate the coordination of approval processes needed for the project.

Located near Mt Isa and Cloncurry, the Eva copper mine will introduce a new stream of copper mining and smelting. This is expected to bolster local supply for solar, wind, and battery energy manufacturing.

The copper mine is estimated to operate for at least 15 years.

Besides, the Eva copper project will generate up to 1,250 jobs in construction and operations as well as prolong the life of local copper mining and smelting jobs.

Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure Grace Grace said: “The Eva Copper Mine Project plans to provide a new source of copper concentrate that has the potential to feed Mount Isa’s copper smelter.

“Harmony Gold Mining Company already has key mining approvals for the project and my prescribed project declaration means the Office of the Coordinator-General can now provide additional assistance to coordinate remaining approvals.

“Priorities will include establishing a renewable energy source that can help run mining operations until the project connects to CopperString 2032.”

Harmony Gold Mining acquired full ownership of the project and 16 exploration tenements in December 2022.

Currently, the company is updating a feasibility study to support the proposed development of the Australian copper project.

According to the mining company, the Eva copper project has the capacity to be a long-life conventional open pit mine with copper concentrator producing a highly saleable copper concentrate.

Harmony Gold Mining CEO Peter Steenkamp said: “We appreciate the support of the Queensland Government and all stakeholders who supported our application for ‘Prescribed Project’ status.”

The post Harmony Gold’s Eva copper mine gets Queensland’s prescribed project status appeared first on NS Energy.

Louise Wrathall, CAML Executive Director of Corporate Development, commented: “As a focused junior explorer with its CEO and exploration team based in Northeast Scotland, Aberdeen is well placed to undertake exploration in an exciting area that is prospective for copper and nickel mineralisation. Importantly, we believe Aberdeen has built an impressive land package in Aberdeenshire and has a firm foundation of strong local relationships.

“We have been impressed with the Aberdeen team and its approach to exploration, and we look forward to working together to discover the extent of the base metal potential in this area of Scotland.

“Our wider business development activities continue as we maintain our work appraising other accretive and potentially transformational opportunities that can contribute to CAML’s long-term growth.”

The post CENTRAL ASIA METALS to invest in Aberdeen Minerals appeared first on NS Energy.

The Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project is now a 60/40 joint venture between Ivanhoe Electric and Sama. In addition to a 60% interest at the Project level, Ivanhoe Electric also owns 22.7% of the common shares of Sama.

Mr. Taylor Melvin, President and CEO of Ivanhoe Electric commented: “We are pleased to have completed our earn-in to 60% of the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project. We are particularly encouraged by the significant improvement in both the quality and quantity of potential future copper concentrate production at the Project compared to earlier studies. The results announced by our joint venture partner, Sama, are a product of the hard work by our dedicated joint team. We look forward to working together with Sama on the next steps for our high-quality nickel-copper Project.”

The Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project is located in western Ivory Coast approximately 600 km from the capital Abidjan. The total area of the Project is approximately 835 km2.

Ivanhoe Electric entered into a binding term sheet for an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Sama which was subsequently formalized in March 2021. Ivanhoe Electric satisfied the terms of its 60% earn-in by spending C$25 million by March 2024.

The 2024 PEA outlines the potential for a conventional open pit mining operation supporting 86.5 million tonnes of modelled mill feed together with 1.62 million tonnes of direct shipped laterite material entirely from the Grata, Main and Extension deposits and the Sipilou Sud Laterite deposit.

Over the life of mine, the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project would produce an annual average of 38,627 tonnes of a 26% copper concentrate and 55,119 tonnes of a 13% nickel concentrate through a process plant with a capacity of 5.475 million tonnes per year. This would be achieved through a conventional process that focusses entirely on flotation, for the production of separate copper and nickel concentrates together with cobalt, platinum, palladium and gold as by-products.

The 2024 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources, considered too speculative in nature to be categorized as mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert inferred mineral resources to indicated or measured mineral resources. There is no certainty that the results of the 2024 PEA will be realized.

The 2024 PEA includes only the Grata, Main and Extension deposits and the Sipilou Sud Laterite Deposit, which together with the proposed mine infrastructure, covers only approximately 3% of the 835 km2 Project area. This provides ample opportunities for exploration upside and expansion opportunities, including at known mineralized zones at Yepleu and Draba, as shown in Figure 2.

The Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project is a potentially commercially profitable operating open-pit operation consisting of magmatic polymetallic sulfide mineralization with by-product metals, including copper, gold, cobalt, platinum, and palladium. The Project has a comparatively small capital cost and favorable internal rate of return while producing competitive nickel and copper concentrates.

Figure 3 compares the Project’s total estimated capital and pre-tax IRR against other pre-production nickel assets, including primary magmatic sulfide deposits like Tamarack, as well as the bulk-tonnage low-sulfur, ultramafic-hosted deposits like Dumont and Crawford. Based on the 2024 PEA, the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project has one of the lowest total capital costs while producing a pre-tax IRR that is second only to the Tamarack deposit in the United States providing the opportunity to construct a relatively small, but comparably profitable polymetallic mining operation.

Finally, the polymetallic nature of the Samapleu-Grata Nickel Copper Project means that it has the potential to produce not only a nickel concentrate, but a high quality 26% copper concentrate that is on par with the copper concentrate produced from primary copper mines.

The post Ivanhoe Electric Announces Completion of Earn-In to Acquire a 60% Interest in the Samapleu-Grata Nickel-Copper Project in the Ivory Coast appeared first on NS Energy.

The project SECURE – standing for Sustainable Ethylene from CO2 Utilization with Renewable Energy – aims to develop a transformational technology to produce sustainable ethylene from captured carbon dioxide (CO2). Technip Energies and LanzaTech announced their Joint Collaboration Agreement to create this new pathway to sustainable ethylene at commercial scale in July 2023.

Estimated to reach a $200 billion market by 2030 and with a global demand of over 231 million tons per year, ethylene is the key building block for thousands of chemicals and materials and is often called the “world’s most important chemical”. This new joint technology will be developed in the U.S. for integration directly into existing commercial ethylene crackers, whereby it will capture CO2 emissions from the process and convert them into sustainable ethylene.

Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies, stated: “We are extremely proud to have been selected by the DOE for this significant award consideration. Together with LanzaTech, our plan is to fully test and develop this breakthrough technology, at scale, in an actual plant, which can then be replicated in other facilities. Carbon utilization and the ability to decarbonize ethylene will have a significant impact on the chemicals industry’s emissions abatement, which is a benefit to us all.”

Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, said: “The DOE’s Industrial Demonstrations Program is climate leadership in action. We look forward to developing a replicable, breakthrough solution with Technip Energies that creates high-quality jobs and supports local communities for a just energy transition.”

If awarded, up to $200 million is expected to fund the design, engineering, construction, and equipment for a commercial-scale integrated technology unit in the U.S. Leveraging Technip Energies’ substantial industry expertise, this integrated solution has significant replication potential for ethylene crackers worldwide. Globally, there are an estimated 370 ethylene steam crackers, over 40% of which use Technip Energies’ technology, including 8 in the US.

Project SECURE expects to provide 200 construction jobs and 40 permanent jobs with benefits and training opportunities. Once the site is finalized, the project aims to hire from the local area with a focus on residents of disadvantaged communities. Technip Energies and LanzaTech plan to approach community groups, unions, and labor groups to negotiate, review, and update agreements for quality jobs and community collaboration at the host site. The project was selected as one of 33 projects across more than 20 states to receive up to a total of $6 billion to demonstrate commercial-scale decarbonization solutions needed to move energy-intensive industries toward net-zero while strengthening local economies, creating, and maintaining high-quality jobs, and slashing harmful emissions that jeopardize public health.

The post Technip Energies and LanzaTech selected by US Department of Energy to receive $200m investment for decarbonised ethylene commercial facility appeared first on NS Energy.

Linden is an Australia-based gold producer, developer, and explorer with significant landholding in the South Laverton Goldfields in Western Australia.

Under the terms of the Bid Implementation Agreement (BIA), Linden shareholders will receive 6.9 Brightstar shares for every Linden share held.

Also, Linden shareholders will receive 6.9 Brightstar options for every Linden option held, equating to an implied offer price of 11.04 cents per share.

The unlisted options held by the Linden option holders, if not exercised into ordinary shares before the Offer closes, will be exchanged for unlisted options in Brightstar.

The offer implies an undiluted equity value for Linden of around $23.7m.

Brightstar managing director Alex Rovira said: “This is an outstanding transaction for both Brightstar and Linden shareholders and aligns with our strategy of becoming a mid-tier gold producer in the near term.

“This combination will create a gold producer and development company with a material resource base, synergistic operations, strengthening in-house operational expertise and a strong balance sheet that will drive development and growth.

“We would like to thank the Linden Board and their major shareholders for their support and note the Board of Linden unanimously recommends this compelling Offer in the absence of a superior proposal.”

Upon implementation of the offer, Brightstar shareholders will hold 62% and Linden shareholders will hold 38% ownership of the combined company.

Linden’s Board of Directors unanimously recommended that Linden shareholders and optionholders accept the offer, in the absence of a superior proposal.

Australia-based gold mining company St Barbara has signed a pre-bid acceptance agreement with Brightstar to accept the offer in respect of its existing 19.8% holding in Linden.

Linden’s major shareholders and their associated entities, Mako Mining, Mine Trades and Maintenance-Electrical (MTM) and Blue Capital Equities (BCE) intend to accept the offer.

Brightstar said that the merger is aligned with its strategy to become a mid-tier gold producer from two of West Australia’s most prolific regions, Laverton and Menzies.

Linden managing director Andrew Rich said: “Brightstar’s team and assets are highly complementary to Linden’s, and we believe the combination will unlock material synergies to the benefit of all shareholders.

“The Offer provides Linden shareholders with a range of benefits, including exposure to a liquid, growing ASX-listed gold producer, a strengthened balance sheet and the ability to utilise Brightstar’s existing infrastructure and resource base.

“The Board of Linden unanimously recommends the Offer and encourages all shareholders to accept the Offer in the absence of a superior proposal.”

The post Brightstar makes off-market bid to acquire Linden Gold Alliance appeared first on NS Energy.