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Aluminium News
Allow geologists from surrounding African countries to boost SA's exploration rebirth, top explorer advises 
By: Martin Creamer 11th June 2021 Exploration geologists from surrounding countries should be allowed into South Africa to boost exploration. That is the view of Exploration Geology Consultants exploration manager Thinus Jordaan, who believes that South Africa’s planned exploration thrust should focus on commodities required in... →
Mining firms with higher ESG ratings outperform market – PwC
By: Martin Creamer 8th June 2021 Mining companies with higher environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings outperformed the broader market during the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, delivering 34% average total shareholder return over the past three years — ten percentage points higher than the general market index, PwC... →
Hot prices pervading commodities market, CRU tells Junior Indaba
By: Martin Creamer 2nd June 2021 Price hotness is pervading the commodities market, CRU senior analyst Clare Hanna said on Tuesday, when she addressed the second and final day of the Junior Indaba. Speaking on ‘what’s hot and what’s not’, Hanna said almost all commodities were at the higher-than-15% level. (Also watch attached... →
Council for Geoscience goes live with digital geoscience data
By: Martin Creamer 1st June 2021 South Africa’s Council for Geoscience went live on Tuesday with making geoscience data digitally available. During a panel discussion on the first day of the Junior Indaba, Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza invited all to go on to the council’s website to find this data, the bulk of which,... →
From top clockwise, ENSafrica COO Otsile Matlou, Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza, Orion Minerals CEO Errol Smart, DMRE DG Advocate Thabo Mokoena and AmaranthCX director Paul Miller.
Tender for new modern cadastre system to be invited next week
By: Martin Creamer 1st June 2021 A tender for a new modern cadastre system to provide exploration information will be invited by the end of next week, Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) director-general Advocate Thabo Mokoena said on Tuesday. In his opening keynote address on initiatives to ignite the exploration... →
Battery material value-add consolidation in South Africa under consideration by Mick Davis-linked NextSource
By: Martin Creamer 31st May 2021 South Africa, which has the wherewithal to provide the value-add consolidation advantage to battery materials that the world’s electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) want, is being seriously considered for the role, NextSource president and CEO Craig Scherba said on Monday.... →
Fitch lifts 2021 pricing assumptions for various metals
By: Marleny Arnoldi 28th May 2021 Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has increased its copper price assumptions, among others, following “exceptionally” strong pricing conditions in the year-to-date. The agency declared a new price assumption of $9 000/t for this year, up from its previous assumption of $7 200/t. →
Rio paves aluminium alloy way
By: Esmarie Iannucci 28th May 2021 Mining major Rio Tinto has partnered with casting solutions provider Comptech to bring a new generation of aluminium alloys to the market for use in advanced technologies such as electric vehicles and 5G antennas. Rio’s metallurgical experts have designed the alloys for the semi-solid... →
Concern over lack of JSE listings ahead of Junior Indaba
By: Martin Creamer 27th May 2021 In anticipation of next week's Junior Indaba virtual conference, AmaranthCX director Paul Miller has updated statistics on the change in the number of listed mining companies on the JSE over time. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) It is not a pretty picture. (See attached chart.) →
Govt-Minerals Council team established to promote exploration – Mgojo
By: Martin Creamer 26th May 2021 The Department of Mineral Resources (DMRE) and Minerals Council South Africa have established a task team to promote exploration, outgoing Minerals Council president Mxolisi Mgojo said on Wednesday. The exploration task team, Mgojo said during his address to the council’s 131st annual general... →
Nolitha Fakude first woman mining industry president in 131 years
By: Martin Creamer 26th May 2021 The board members of Minerals Council South Africa on Wednesday elected the first female president in 131 years. New president Nolitha Fakude, a former Minerals Council VP who is the chairperson of Anglo American South Africa, said she would be focusing on ensuring that mining contributes... →
Li-ion batteries provide development opportunity for South Africa
By: Simone Liedtke 25th May 2021 As electric mobility and energy storage increases its share of the transport and energy sectors, the demand for batteries is rising, with lithium-ion batteries (LIB) dominating the market. While research by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) indicates that South Africa’s vibrant venture... →
Diamond explorer Bill McKechnie feels South Africa has battery mineral exploration potential
By: Martin Creamer 25th May 2021 The renowned exploration geologist linked to the colossal and still-thriving diamond discovery against all odds at the Venetia diamond mine in Limpopo, believes there is no reason why new battery and other specialist minerals cannot be discovered in South Africa, using the techniques that he... →
Alcoa starts trial to lower carbon footprint
By: Esmarie Iannucci 21st May 2021 The federal government has announced a A$11.3-million investment, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), to support aluminium producer Alcoa’s A$28.2-million trial using renewable energy to process bauxite into alumina, a key part of the aluminium supply chain. Alcoa this week... →
Hire jobless geologists to capture much-needed exploration data – LEI 
By: Martin Creamer 19th May 2021 A strong call for unemployed geology graduates to be contracted to capture historic exploration data electronically has been made by Letaba Elihle Investments (LEI) principal geology consultant Siphelele (Siphe) Ntshangase. In a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly Ntshangase also called on South... →
Rusal to demerge its higher carbon assets and change name
By: Reuters 19th May 2021 Russian aluminium producer Rusal said on Wednesday that it would demerge its higher carbon assets into a separate company as part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and will change its own name to AL+ as part of the process. Hong-Kong listed Rusal is the world's largest aluminium... →
SAEC name change to Seriti Power signals coal miner’s new broader energy vision
By: Martin Creamer 17th May 2021 The change of name of South African Energy Coal (SAEC) to Seriti Power when South32’s coal assets become absorbed into Seriti Resources from June is indicative of Sereti Resources seeing opportunities in general energy beyond coal, CEO Mike Teke said on Monday. SAEC is the name that the ASX- and... →
The world economy is suddenly running low on everything
By: Bloomberg 17th May 2021 A year ago, as the pandemic ravaged country after country and economies shuddered, consumers were the ones panic-buying. Today, on the rebound, it’s companies furiously stocking up. Mattress producers to car manufacturers to aluminum foil makers are buying more material than they need to survive... →
New technologies transforming mining, metals industry – ICMM
By: Martin Creamer 14th May 2021 New technologies are transforming the mining and metals industry, making it cleaner and safer, says the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which is progressing an 'innovation for cleaner, safer vehicles' initiative. The initiative brings together 28 of the world’s leading mining... →
Eskom highlights financial limitations as it mulls industrial applications for discounted tariffs
By: Terence Creamer 12th May 2021 State-owned electricity producer Eskom confirms that it has been approached by customers in various industrial sectors with regard to possible applications for discounted Negotiated Pricing Agreements (NPAs), but says its weak financial position prevents widespread implementation. The first NPA... →
Regulator gears up to evaluate new discounted tariff deal for Hillside smelter
By: Terence Creamer 11th May 2021 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has invited stakeholder comment on a proposed 10-year negotiated pricing agreement (NPA) between Eskom and the Hillside aluminium smelter, in KwaZulu-Natal, which is owned by South32 and is Eskom’s largest single customer. The proposed NPA is... →
Low carbon world needs $1.7-trillion in mining investment
By: Reuters 10th May 2021 Mining companies need to invest nearly $1.7-trillion in the next 15 years to help supply enough copper, cobalt, nickel and other metals needed for the shift to a low carbon world, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The United States, Britain, Japan, Canada and others raised their targets... →
IEA report outlines urgent need to accelerate investment in critical minerals needed to drive energy transitions
By: Terence Creamer 5th May 2021 A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report is warning of a potential supply deficit for some of the ‘critical minerals’ needed to support a global shift in the energy system that is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the growing number of country commitments to cutting... →
Rio Tinto’s Iceland smelter achieves ASI certification
By: Creamer Media Reporter 3rd May 2021 Diversified major Rio Tinto said on Monday that its ISAL smelter, in Iceland, had been certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) for meeting the highest internationally recognised standards for responsible aluminium production. ISAL achieved ASI performance standard certification... →
Afarak notes quarterly decline in output, particularly ferroalloys
By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th April 2021 LSE- and Nasdaq-listed Afarak Group has reported a 50.6% decline in production for the first quarter of this year, to 37 000 t, owing to reduced mining activity at its South African mines in line with lower market prices and demand. Production in the first quarter of last year totalled 76 405 t. →
Biden's EU trade dilemma: more pain for Harley, distillers or back off metals tariffs?
By: Reuters 29th April 2021 The Biden administration faces a major dilemma in its dispute with the European Union over Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs: back down to avoid acute pain for Harley-Davidson Inc and whiskey distillers or stick with the duties even though they are now exacerbating acute shortages for US... →
Mining policy should be hugely supportive of exploration’s multiplier magic – investor
By: Martin Creamer 28th April 2021 Mining, preceded by exploration, is the greatest economic multiplier of all business activities, including government expenditure, says Integral Asset Management chief investment officer Bruce Williamson. It therefore makes huge sense for government to enact attractive investment-friendly... →
Copper jumps to highest since 2011 as demand bets reignite rally
By: Bloomberg 26th April 2021 Copper surged to the highest in a decade on expectations supply will tighten as the global economic recovery gains traction. Prices have climbed amid a broad rally across industrial commodities from iron-ore to aluminum. Economic bellwether copper has been boosted by prospects for rebounding... →
Rio trials new technology at Alma smelter
By: Esmarie Iannucci 21st April 2021 Major Rio Tinto’s Alma smelter, in Quebec, has been tapped for the first installation and demonstration of an inert anode technology developed by the ELYSIS joint venture (JV), at a commercial size. The demonstration plant would have a capacity of 450 kiloamperes (kA), which is a common... →
World-first mineral export under financial transparency
16th April 2021 Global blockchain platform Minexx has exported minerals with full financial transparency from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), by processing $250 000 of blockchain certified payments. This is a milestone for the company and the sector, as it secures the supply chain from the moment a... →
DRC exploration ongoing
16th April 2021 Global mining house Ivanhoe Mines co-chairpersons Robert Friedland and Yufeng “Miles” Sun announced in February that the company plans to commence an expansive 2021 exploration programme on its 100%-owned Western Foreland exploration licences. The exploration programme will include about 2 550... →
Gamsberg ramp-up exceeds expectations
By: Halima Frost 16th April 2021 Diversified miner Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) says its Gamsberg mine and processing plant have successfully ramped up to full production, with the plant currently exceeding its projected design capacity of four-million tonnes a year. The ramp-up was scheduled after a shutdown period from... →
New collectors released
By: Halima Frost 16th April 2021 South African chemical company Axis House has developed and released a new polymetallic range of collectors – PolyQ – to be used in the floatation process to recover base metals from polymetallic ores. “The PolyQ range of collectors are not only safer than standard reagents (xanthates) but also... →
Exploration industry has tight deadline to comment on controversial draft regulations
By: Martin Creamer 9th April 2021 South Africa’s exploration industry has until April 19 to comment on controversial regulations still in draft form. “They’ve never consulted industry about it and what they are requesting is impractical,” says Allan Saad, a consulting exploration geologist, who formerly represented the now... →
Govt launches A$1.3bn MMI fund
By: Esmarie Iannucci 7th April 2021 The hydrogen technology, specialised batteries are expected to benefit from the government’s A$1.3-billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI). The MMI will help manufacturers to scale-up production, commercialise their products and operations, and integrate into domestic and global supply... →
Value of iridium in electrolysis could top R90bn mark in years ahead – HySA
By: Martin Creamer 7th April 2021 The value of iridium for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis technology alone could exceed R90-billion in the next ten to 20 years. This is the view of Professor Dmitri Bessarabov, the director of the Department of Science and Innovation's National Centre of Competence: Hydrogen... →
Canadian underground mining likely to take hydrogen ventilation lead – HySA
By: Martin Creamer 6th April 2021 Canadian and Australian mines are big on wanting hydrogen ventilation in underground mining operations, and Canada will likely lead in the use of hydrogen underground. This is the view of Professor Dmitri Bessarabov, the director of the Department of Science and Innovation's National Centre of... →
Govt awards energy saving grants
By: Esmarie Iannucci 31st March 2021 The federal government on Wednesday launched A$14-million worth of grants under its broader A$3.5-billion Climate Solutions Package to help lower power bills for high energy-using businesses. Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor announced that 48 businesses that consume more... →
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