Earth’s mineral diversity 75% greater than previously thought

Staff Writer | July 5, 2022 | 

Nature has used 21 different ways over the last 4.5 billion years to create pyrite. (Image by ARKENSTONE/Rob Lavinsky, courtesy of the Carnegie Institution for Science).

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science developed a method for clustering (lumping) kindred species of minerals together or splitting off new species based on when and how they originated, a novel approach that explains the origins and diversity of every known mineral on earth.


In two papers published in American Mineralogist and sponsored in part by NASA, the scientists point out that their findings help reconstruct the history of life on earth, guide the search for new minerals and ore deposits, predict possible characteristics of future life, and aid the search for habitable planets and extraterrestrial life.

The International Mineralogical Association recognizes more than 30 “species” of tourmaline, but the new papers acknowledge only a handful of “mineral kinds.” (Image by ARKENSTONE/Rob Lavinsky, courtesy of the Carnegie Institution for Science).

According to co-authors Robert Hazen and Shaunna Morrison, once mineral genesis is factored in, the number of “mineral kinds” — a newly-coined term — totals more than 10,500, a number about 75% greater than the roughly 6,000 mineral species recognized by the International Mineralogical Association on the basis of crystal structure and chemical composition alone.

Another key finding of the 15-year scientific effort is that more than 80% of the earth’s minerals were mediated by water, which is, therefore, fundamentally important to mineral diversity.

By extension, this explains one of the key reasons why the Moon and Mercury and even Mars have far fewer mineral species than earth.

“The work also tells us something very profound about the role of biology,” Hazen said in a media statement. “One-third of earth’s minerals could not have formed without biology – shells and bones and teeth, or microbes, for example, or the vital indirect role of biology, such as by creating an oxygen-rich atmosphere that led to 2,000 minerals that wouldn’t have formed otherwise.” 
Many roads lead to…fool’s gold

The paper also notes that nature created 40% of earth’s mineral species in more than one way – for example, both abiotically and with a helping hand from cells – and in several cases used more than 15 different recipes to produce the same crystal structure and chemical composition. Those recipes ranged from near-instantaneous formation by lightning or meteor strikes, to changes caused by water-rock interactions or transformations at high pressures and temperatures spanning hundreds of millions of years.

Among those minerals with a number of different recipes is pyrite, aka fool’s gold, for whose creation nature came up with 21 different methods over the last 4.5 billion years. Pyrite forms at high and low temperatures, with and without water, with the help of microbes and in harsh environments where life plays no role whatsoever.

Composed of one part iron to two parts sulphide (FeS2), pyrite is derived and delivered via meteorites, volcanos, hydrothermal deposits, by pressure between layers of rock, near-surface rock weathering, microbially-precipitated deposits, several mining-associated processes and many other means.
Rare elements

The studies also found that rare elements play a disproportionate role in the planet’s mineral diversity. Just 41 elements — together constituting less than 5 parts per million of earth’s crust — are essential constituents in some 2,400, or over 42%, of earth’s minerals. The 41 elements include arsenic, cadmium, gold, mercury, silver, titanium, tin, uranium, and tungsten.

In addition, much of the planet’s mineral diversity was established within its first 250 million years, with the oldest known minerals being tiny, durable zircon crystals, almost 4.4 billion years old.

There are also almost 300 minerals that are thought to pre-date earth itself. Of these, 97 are known only from meteorites, with the age of some individual mineral grains estimated at 7 billion years, which is billions of years before the origin of our solar system.

Mining, on the other hand, has also played a role in the creation of minerals — over 500 species of them. Of these, almost half were formed by coal mine fires.
How they did it

To reach their conclusions, Hazen and Morrison built a database of every known process of formation of every known mineral. Relying on large, open-access mineral databases, amplified by thousands of primary research articles on the geology of mineral localities around the world, they identified 10,556 different combinations of minerals and modes of formation.

In all, minerals have come into being in one or more of 57 different ways.

The goal behind all this work was to understand how the diversity and distribution of minerals have changed through deep time and to propose a system of mineral classification that reflects mineral origins in the context of evolving terrestrial worlds.

Canada’s first rare earths producer reports first run at plant beats expectations

Staff Writer | July 8, 2022 | 

Vital Metals became the first rare earth producer in Canada by starting ore production from the Nechalacho project in the Northwest Territories in June 2021. Credit: Vital MetalsVital Metals (ASX: VML) has reported that results from the first feed of the dense media separation (DMS) unit at its Saskatoon rare earths extraction facility in Saskatchewan, Canada, is comparable to the TREO grade achieved from laboratory metallurgical testwork in its first run.


The company is the first rare earth producer in Canada and the second in North America, besides California’s Mountain Pass mine. Vital is processing ore from the company’s Nechalacho operation in Canada’s Northwest Territories, where mining began in mid-2021.

Vital’s Saskatoon plant will have initial throughput capacity of 1,000 tonnes per year of rare earth oxide (REO) excluding cerium, which is equivalent to ~470t NdPr/year.

Results show the DMS plant Sinks achieved comparable grades to those seen in testwork, with 43.7% total rare earth oxide (TREO) achieved from the DMS Cyclone at Saskatoon, compared to 44.6% TREO achieved in laboratory conditions at SGS.

The DMS unit also achieved 75.2% recovery in its first run for a single pass, processing ~2,300kg of concentrate mined at Vital’s Nechalacho rare earth project, sorted onsite and then crushed at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) facility adjacent to Vital’s Saskatoon plant as part of a rare earths hub.

“The fact that on the first run we hit the laboratory test grades for total rare earths with 75% recovery with low grade feed material is above expectations,” Vital Metals managing director Geoff Atkins said in a media statement.

“There will be work to do with optimising our process over the coming months but these initial results demonstrate incredible potential. It gives us a great level of confidence for future commissioning activities through the remaining process,” Atkins said.

“We look forward to continuing our commissioning process with the production of our 2.5T qualification sample followed by production ramp-up.”

Political changes boost risk for miners in Latin AmericaCecilia Jamasmie | July 7, 2022 
Since leftist President Pedro Castillo took office, the number of social conflicts has increased by more than 7%. (Image courtesy of FrenteGuasu | Twitter.)IT'S BECAUSE THE PARLIAMENT HAS A RIGHT WING DOMINANCE

A rising demand to participate in the revenues from natural resources, tougher environmental protection rules and changes to laws are increasing risks for mining and energy companies across Latin America, even in countries once considered safe investment destinations, a new study shows.


According to the 2022 Latin America Mining Risk Index, published by consultancy Americas Market Intelligence (AMI), once investors’ darling – Chile – now presents more risks, but it remains the most welcoming jurisdiction for miners in the region.

The world’s top copper producer, where global copper giants like Codelco, BHP, Anglo American, Albemarle and Antofagasta have mines, scored 68 out of a maximum of 70 points in AMI’s ranking, which places it at the top.

The higher the overall score, the better a jurisdiction is for mining investment because the risks are not as acute, the authors explain.

The nation is redrafting its market-orientated constitution, which dates back to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It will hold a nationwide referendum vote on the new text in September, which could bring a full ban to mining in glaciers, many of which are adjacent to lithium deposits.

The new constitution may also include mandatory community prior consent on new concessions near indigenous land claims and the end to ownership of water within concession boundaries, replaced by a water permitting process.

The consultants use a proprietary approach that divides risk into seven overlapping categories, namely political interference, economic pressure, community opposition, legal and regulatory instability, reputational risk, safety and security and operational risk.

Perhaps surprisingly in light of recent community opposition-driven turmoil, Peru is the second most welcoming jurisdiction, with 61 points and 80 projects on hold.

The mining industry blames President Pedro Castillo for the recent wave of social unrest, which has taken a toll on production. Since the former rural activist from a Marxist party took office, the number of social conflicts is up about 7% as the administration is prioritizing the right to protest over other concerns such as free transit.

“Peru’s political class has generally understood the economic importance of mining and has promoted it accordingly,” Alejandro Alvarez, one of the authors, told MINING.COM.

“This may change in next year’s edition of the ranking if the Castillo administration does not manage to harmonize community opposition and social demands with the intrinsic importance of the industry to the country’s economy,” Alvarez added.
Source: The 2022 Latin America Mining Risk Index. (Note: the higher the better)

Argentina, with 56 points, is the third best country for miners and energy firms in Latin America.

The country has attracted over the past year major players, including the world’s second largest miner Rio Tinto and South Korean steelmaker Posco.

Economic pressure may hinder some of the expected growth in the industry, as an ever-present fiscal crisis in Argentina pushes the government to raise taxes on its natural resource sectors, including mining, the report reads.

Brazil holds the fourth position, with 54 points. The country’s diverse geography, history, and people, combined with its decentralized political system, makes it challenging to analyze risk on a national level, the authors of the index say.

They highlight an increasing number of projects in the Amazonian basin, thanks to concessions given by President Jair Bolsonaro, which have drawn global criticism.

Costs are other issues in Brazil, as almost everything is more expensive in Brazil than in the rest of Latin America, the authors say. Logistical costs in the country are, according to the report, 50% higher than in Canada.

On top of that, in some Brazilian states like Bahia, security is of grave concern, mostly due to drug trafficking.

Completing the “top five” countries is Panama, with 53 points. First Quantum’s Cobre Panamá put the country on the map by developing the world’s third-largest mine. With little mining history, Panama is only now waking to the industry’s potential, the report reads.Cobre Panama copper mine put the Central American country in the mining map. (Image: First Quantum Minerals.)
The nation’s mining code, written in 1963, is outdated and fails to incorporate today’s best practices. Key issues that need to be addressed include adherence to best environmental stewardship practices, such as water, waste, and biodiversity management, the study says.

The mining risk index assigns a lower numeric value to countries with adverse environments to miners and investors. Based on that metrics, Venezuela, Bolivia and Honduras rank last across all categories, including heightened security, regulatory instability and operational concerns.

The authors of the ranking warn mining investors that country risk is only one of many factors to be considered ahead of project investment or lending.

Of equal or greater importance is the local investment climate, including interests of local stakeholders, fears and aspirations of local communities, the rule of law and security environment, as well as the historical relationship between the local community and national authorities, among other issues, they say.

The report also highlights that most obstacles to mining projects Latin America currently originate from local, not national, issues.

Illegal gold mining in Amazon equivalent to half of Brazil’s production — reportBruno Venditti | July 7, 2022 |

Aerial view of deforested area of the Amazon rainforest caused by illegal mining activities in Brazil. (Image: Imago Photo | Adobe Stock.)

Between 2015 and 2020, Brazil traded 229 tonnes of gold with evidence of illegality, equivalent to almost half of the gold produced and exported by the country, according to a new report from NGO Instituto Escolhas.


The organization says most of the metal comes from wildcat mining in the Amazon rain forest, threatening local indigenous people who still live in relative isolation.

According to the report, 84 tonnes came from “shell titles”, where there was no evidence of extraction. Another 38 tonnes came from mining titles with evidence of extraction outside the designated mining areas.

Brazil’s wildcat gold mines operate in the Amazon and the gold mined by these operations must be sold to Distribuidoras De Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios (DTVMs). When miners (or anyone) sell gold to a DTVM, they fill out a paper form asking for the gold’s origin. The information is not checked and the provision of documents providing proof of origin is not required. Under current law, the declaration of origin is based on good faith.

“Here we are in the 21st century and companies still use paper forms. The gold is laundered by simply declaring illegally mined gold legal at the moment of sale. Just like that,” Instituto Escolhas project manager Juliana Siqueira-Gay told MINING.COM.

According to the report, there has been a seven-fold rise in deforestation caused by mining in the Amazon over the last seven years, from 18 square kilometers in 2015 to 121 square kilometers in 2021.
Violence and contamination

On May 10, 2021, two Yanomami children drowned after fleeing from gunshots fired by wildcat miners. Fifteen days later, miners burned down Munduruku leader Maria Leusa’s house.

Recent studies have shown high levels of mercury contamination among indigenous peoples caused by gold mining.

The Brazilian Senate is currently discussing a bill that sets out a legal framework for tracing gold at all points of the supply chain, from extraction to purchase by consumers, defining transportation and proof of origin documentation, electronic invoicing, and digital recording systems.

ALBERTA  TARSANDS

Mine fatality adds to pressure for Suncor Energy changes

Bloomberg News | July 7, 2022 | 

Loading a truck at the Fort Hills oilsands mine in Alberta. Credit: Suncor Energy.

A worker was killed at Suncor Energy Inc.’s Base Plant mine in northern Alberta, the latest in a series of accidents that have shaken confidence in Canada’s biggest oil-sands producer and led to calls for changes in management.


A contractor’s employee died at the site early Thursday, Suncor spokesman Leithan Slade said in an email. The victim was a 26-year-old man from Fort McMurray, Alberta, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

In April, Suncor investor Elliott Investment Management LP called for five directors to be added to the producer’s board and sought a management review after operational mishaps and accidents at its oil-sands projects caused the company to miss production targets. A truck accident in January killed a contractor and injured two others at the Base Plant mine. In June of last year, a person was killed at the Syncrude mine, and two deaths happened in December 2020 at the Fort Hills mine.

Suncor’s safety record has been a contributing factor to its poor investment returns. The company’s share price has risen about 18% over the past five years, trailing the roughly 79% gain for rival Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

An email to Elliott about Thursday’s fatality wasn’t immediately returned.

Because of the death, Suncor will postpone a presentation on its oil sands operations, scheduled for July 13, to the fall, according to a company statement.

“We remain committed to improving our safety and operational performance,” the company said. “Today’s tragedy underscores the importance of our work to improve the safety of our operations.”

In June, RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardy upgraded the oil-sands producer to outperform from sector perform and hiked the price target, saying meetings with management “left us encouraged that the company has a tighter grip on the steps required to regain its status as a best-in-class oil sands operator.”

(By Robert Tuttle)

BHP loses appeal to multibillion lawsuit over Samarco disaster

Cecilia Jamasmie | July 8, 2022

Samarco’s dam burst killed 19 people, wiped out several towns and polluted rivers.(Image by Romerito Pontes | Flickr Commons.)

BHP (ASX: BHP) said on Friday it had lost an appeal in a London court seeking to block an over £5 billion (over $6bn) lawsuit by 200,000 Brazilians over a deadly dam failure in Brazil seven years ago.

The group claim, one of the largest in British legal history, alleged that BHP, the world’s largest miner by market value, ignored safety warnings as the dam’s capacity was repeatedly increased by raising its height – and disregarded cracks that pointed to early signs of rupture.

BHP tried stopping the suit from proceeding in London, but Friday’s verdict overturned previous judgments, by ruling the case can be heard in English courts.

“The days of huge corporations doing what they want in countries on the other side of the world and getting away with it are over,” said Tom Goodhead, managing partner of law firm PGMBM, which represents Brazilian individuals, businesses, churches, municipalities and indigenous people. In total, 3,400 indigenous people were affected by the disaster.

The Samarco Fundão dam burst in November 2015 released 39.2 million cubic meters of tailings waste into the Rio Doce Basin, killing 19 people. It was Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

Samarco, a joint venture between BHP and Vale (NYSE: VALE), was shuttered for five years. During that time, BHP and Vale focused on reparations, compensations, and clean-up efforts.

They also faced several lawsuits and site inspections until the miner was ready to safely reopen Mariana Complex in December 2020.

Lawsuits continued to pile up, including the group action, which was initially blocked by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal for being “irredeemably unmanageable”.

BHP said Friday’s judgment was a decision about jurisdiction and not related to the merits of the claim. It noted it remains “concerned” with the preliminary question of whether the group action can continue against the company in the United Kingdom.

“BHP Brasil remains committed to continue supporting the local remediation efforts in Brazil through the Renova Foundation,” it said. “Those efforts have already provided BRL9.8 billion (~$1.8bn) in compensation and direct financial aid in relation to the dam failure to over 376,000 people.”

BHP and Vale set up the Renova Foundation in 2016 with Vale to carry out repair and compensation work.

The mining giant also said it would consider a Supreme Court appeal.

Do Cities Control Their Economic Destiny?


Analysis by Pete Saunders | Bloomberg
July 9, 2022 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 13: The Space Needle stands over the Seattle skyline on March 13, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. The iconic observation tower was constructed in 1962 for the World’s Fair and was once, at 605 feet, the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. The Space Needle remains a top tourist attraction, despite the city’s recent struggles with an uptick in homelessness and violent crime. 

(Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images North America)

I often hear from people living in thriving cities that other metropolises should copy their economic policies. Examples? Be more business-friendly. Keep taxes low. Tout your city’s unique assets. Foster an entrepreneurial culture. Make your city a more affordable destination. Make your city a more exclusive destination.

Yet, living in a part of the country that’s seen better days, I’m well-aware that economic success can be transitory, even ephemeral. Today’s winners might want to think more carefully about how much credit they can claim for their success.

Do cities really control their economic destiny? Or are they pawns to broader forces? Was the decline of the Rust Belt, say, the result of bad policies or fundamental economic trends?

Some cities certainly can claim to be self-made, their fortunes built on hard work and visionary polices. A case could be made that Los Angeles, blessed by beautiful weather but distant from natural water sources, should never have grown into the metropolis it is now. Similarly, one could argue that Las Vegas should never have existed at all. Both cities capitalized on their initial advantages — sunshine for Los Angeles, gaming for Las Vegas — to establish themselves. Then they actively transformed themselves into leading destinations.

What I like to call windswept cities, on the other hand, find themselves buffeted by external forces. Perhaps Detroit and Cleveland, or Orlando and Tampa, could have attained their peak sizes had broader economic shifts not favored them, but it’s not likely.

This can cut both ways. Some windswept cities are uplifted by global forces such as the rise of manufacturing or technology. Smaller but no less consequential changes — air conditioning, improved road systems, the rise of tourism — can have an equally momentous effect.

Other windswept cities are pummeled by change. As the broader economy evolves, they find themselves stuck with an infrastructure and workforce better suited to an earlier era. Most Rust Belt cities suffered this fate, saddled with an inventory of obsolete manufacturing plants and workers without the education and training to seek out new economy jobs.

The most successful US cities, I’d argue, have been those that benefited from shifting economic trends but also enhanced their advantages with smart policy moves. Compare Seattle with Detroit. In the late 19th century, the two cities were in similar positions. Detroit was the busiest port on the Great Lakes and one of the busiest in the nation, shipping millions of tons of goods. It was a national leader in shipbuilding and a major center of cast-iron stove manufacturing, earning the title “stove capital of America.”

That put Detroit in an enviable position when the automobile was invented. The city was filled with skilled, mechanically inclined workers. Moving from shipyards and stove plants to auto factories was not a great leap for them.

Detroit, whose factories had been a key part of the “Arsenal of Democracy” that won World War II, could have gone on to develop a burgeoning defense industry. In fact, the federal government looked for big automakers to spin off armament manufacturers. However, those companies declined and went back to focusing on cars. By contrast, Seattle smartly pivoted from shipbuilding to commercial aircraft production after World War II, led by local planemaker Boeing, and then built on its engineering workforce to develop a thriving tech industry.

Success stories such as Seattle’s are rare, however. More often, cities have enjoyed something akin to dumb luck. Boston’s concentration of elite educational institutions facilitated its transition from port city to knowledge center. Other cities took advantage of their status as a state capital, home of a major university, or host to educational and medical institutions to do the same. Atlanta, Austin, Nashville and Phoenix seem to fit that bill.

No one wants to believe that the aphorism, “standing on third base and thinking they hit a triple” applies to them. We all want to be recognized for efforts that lead to success. But the saying correctly applies to many cities as well as people. While some metropolises have benefited from excellent policy decisions, many more — perhaps most — simply fell into a favorable economic situation as the winds of economic change shifted directions.

The next “big thing” could easily disrupt those economic success stories. They probably won’t be too happy when the cities that supplant them start dispensing advice on how they, too, can revive their fortunes. The one skill all city leaders would be wise to learn is a bit of humility.


This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.


Pete Saunders is the community and economic development director for the village of Richton Park, Illinois, and an urban planning consultant. He is also the editor and publisher of the Corner Side Yard, a blog focused on public policy in America’s Rust Belt cities.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Giant Congo cobalt mine exports at risk as investors feud
Bloomberg News | July 9, 2022 |

Tenke Fungurume operation. (Image courtesy of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold).

An intensifying feud between shareholders of the giant Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo may lead a court-appointed administrator to block its exports of copper and cobalt.


The administrator, Sage Ngoie Mbayo, began ordering the export suspension over the past week as he tries to resolve a dispute over royalty payments between CMOC Group Ltd. and state-owned miner Gecamines, according to four separate letters sent to a Congolese tax agency, and three export agents including a unit of France’s Bollore Group. The documents seen by Bloomberg were verified by Ngoie’s office, which said the suspension would take some time to take effect.

CMOC said Ngoie doesn’t have the authority to stop exports. Tenke “is always under the legitimate and effective control of the management team nominated by CMOC,” company spokesman Vincent Zhou said in an emailed response Friday. “The production and operations, including transportation and export, are normal.”

A prolonged suspension of Tenke’s cobalt exports could have a significant effect on the market for the mineral, which is a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries. The mine accounted for about 14% of world cobalt production last year, according to calculations by Bloomberg using figures from Darton Commodities Ltd.

Gecamines, which owns 20% of the Tenke project, said China’s CMOC has been lying about its mineral reserves and owes the company $7.6 billion in royalties and interest. The state miner sued last year to have a temporary administrator appointed to run the company while the two partners worked out their differences. Ngoie took over Tenke last month with the blessing of Gecamines, but CMOC has blocked him from entering the mining site.

“No other person has the right to interfere with TFM’s operations,” Zhou said. “Letters from the so-called provisional administrator, without the approval of TFM’s shareholders’ meeting and board of directors, are not binding on TFM and do not represent the will of TFM to external parties.”

The company said it reserved “the right to pursue legal liability against relevant persons.”

CMOC’s response to the threat to exports shows “the disdain, disregard and disrespect to which they hold both the DRC and our justice system,” Ngoie’s office said in a statement sent to Bloomberg Friday.

“Because the export system is a complex and intricate machine, it cannot be stopped with one button, however because CMOC continues with denial and mockery of our justice system, the entire world will very soon see a complete halt of TFM exports,” according to the statement.

Gecamines officials did not respond to messages requesting comment. Bollore said in an email Saturday that it received the temporary administrator’s missive and its position is “in line” with a letter sent Friday by Tenke’s counsel to Congo’s customs agency, which said that Ngoie was not the legal administrator as long as the court’s decision to appoint him was under appeal. The lawyer, Deo Bukayafwa of MBM Conseil, did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment outside of normal business hours.

Congolese civil society entered the fray Thursday, with a consortium of national and international organizations known as Congo is Not For Sale calling on CMOC to release all its mineral data and decrying what it called “a lack of transparency” around the project and its royalty calculations.

(Reporting by Michael J. Kavanagh).

RADIOACTIVE: Central Europe remains highly exposed to Russian uranium

Europe's uranium supply sources / Euratom

By Richard Lockhart in Edinburgh July 8, 2022

Europe’s nuclear power sector is starting to worry about its fuel stocks as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is calling into question the security of uranium supplies and processing services provided by Russia.

The issue has the potential to turn into a fuel crisis with parallels to the current gas crisis, with countries now needing to look for alternatives and the Kremlin using both raw uranium 235 and finished fuel to apply political and economic pressure.

Fuel cycle

Russia may only supply 6% of the global raw uranium market, but it controls 40% of the conversion market – where uranium oxide, or yellowcake, is converted into uranium hexafluoride – and 46% of the enrichment market, where the U-235 content in raised to 3-5%, allowing nuclear fuel to be formed.

Also, Russia is prominent is many stages of the global nuclear fuel cycle through various state-owned companies grouped under the Rosatom umbrella.

What this means is that Russia has the capability in several segments of the nuclear value chain to make a particular service or material scarce or difficult to source. This would make many reactors, especially in Central and Eastern Europe but also in Western Europe and the US, vulnerable to supply problems that could take reactors offline.

The Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University said in a recent paper that countries such as Finland, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Ukraine have Russian reactors in operation or under construction. They are at risk of operational difficulties or even outages without materials, equipment and services to maintain them.

Even the US relies on Russia for 16% of its uranium, with another 30% from Russian allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

However, all is not lost, as in various segments of the value chain, from uranium mining and milling, conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication, various Western manufacturing companies can over time start producing replacements to overcome that supply challenge.

For example, Westinghouse already has a joint venture with Kazatomprom to provide fuel that can be used in Russian-designed VVER reactors.

European reactors

Russia is a major supplier of processed nuclear fuel to Russian-built reactors across Central and Eastern Europe and holds direct supply contracts with utilities and plant operators.

Indeed, 18 out of 103 reactors in the EU, or 10% of EU nuclear capacity, use Russian fuel under contract with TVEL. These are in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Finland

TVEL operates worldwide, supplying nuclear fuel to 73 VVER reactors inside Russia and in other countries, including Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, China, India and Iran, making up around 16% of the world market in 2020.

Many of the countries that import processed fuel from Russia are now reconsidering, with CEZ, the Czech state-owned electric utility, recently announcing it would obtain its fuel supplies for its Temelin nuclear power plant (NPP) from Westinghouse and Framatome from 2024.

Slovakia has secured enough nuclear fuel from TVEL for the next year and has a contract with TVEL for four more years, according to Euractiv, but the economy ministry has also began negotiations with Westinghouse, though it does not currently produce the fuel needed by Slovak nuclear power plants and it would also be more expensive.

Hungary, however, remains committed to its nuclear ties to Russia. The expansion of the Paks NPP, involving two 1,200-MW VVER units, is due to be completed by Russian companies by 2030. They will use Russian nuclear fuel supplied by TVEL.

Likewise Bulgaria, which has 2,000 MW of capacity at Kozlodui, receives all its nuclear fuel from Russia’s TVEL via its trading unit Techsnabexport.

In Ukraine, Energoatom decided after Russia’s invasion to stop using any more Russian nuclear fuel once stockpiles are used up in 2024, and will instead use Western fuel supplied by Westinghouse.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) noted in its recent nuclear report.that one impact of the war could be that heightened energy security concerns could bolster the case for nuclear energy in some countries as they seek to reduce reliance on expensive and volatile fossil fuels and accelerate transitions.

However, it could also have negative impacts. Aside from the effects on public opinion of active conflict in the vicinity of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, the conflict raises questions about Russia’s future as a producer and exporter of nuclear fuel supplies.

Market share

Russia plays an even more significant role in the production of uranium fuel, accounting for 38% of uranium processing (conversion) worldwide and over 45% of fuel enrichment capacity in 2020.

Much of the uranium processed and enriched by Russia is sourced from Kazakhstan, which was responsible for 41% of global uranium production in 2020.

Indeed, Kazakhstan is by far the largest producer of uranium, mining 21,810 tonnes in 2021, according to the World Nuclear Association. Next comes Namibia with 5,743 tonnes, Canada with 4,692 tonnes and Australia with 4,192 tonnes. Uzbekistan follows with 3,500 tonnes, then Russia with 2,635 tonnes and Niger with 2,248 tonnes. This means that about 75% of uranium comes from Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.

On the other hand, Russia is one of a number of suppliers of raw uranium to Europe, accounting for 20.2% of the market, just behind Niger with 20.3%. Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan are not far behind.

Within Europe, different countries have varying exposure to Russia. Some countries, such as Finland, source raw uranium from such countries as Canada, Australia and Africa, before sending it to TVEL in Russia for enrichment and processing.

France, by contrast, sources 9,700 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate (8,200 tonnes of uranium) per year from Canada and Niger, before enriching and processing it in France.

Meanwhile, Euratom, which monitors European uranium trade, estimates that Russian companies provided about 24% of uranium conversion services and 25% of enrichment services to EU utilities in 2020.

France’s Orano supplies the majority of enrichment services and the largest share of conversion services to those utilities, while Canada and the US are also significant suppliers of conversion services to them.

Indeed, World Nuclear Association figures show that Russia provided 25mn SWU per year of enrichment capacity, against a global total of 69mn SWU, making it the biggest enricher, following by China, France, the US, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.





Slow market

The IEA pointed out that the global uranium market is slow moving. Nuclear power plants (NPPs) need to refuel infrequently, reducing exposure to short-term disruptions, and fuel can be stored for a few years before being used.

Nuclear power is set to hold its own in the world in the coming 30 years. While capacity is forecast by the IEA to double between 2020 and 2050 from 413 GW to 812 GW, its share of global output would actually dip slightly to 8% as total global consumption rises.

What this means is that Russia has the capability to exploit the nature of the global nuclear market to use nuclear fuel to apply pressure across the value chain.

On the other hand, in many areas, from uranium supply to enrichment technology, other operators in other countries are available. Nuclear companies can change suppliers if forced by pressure from Russia, however economically painful or technically difficult it may be.

Yet the most exposed remain the Central European countries, whose Russian rectors are an inheritance from the days of the USSR and COMECON economic links. Ukraine and the Czech Republic have already sought alternatives supplied by Westinghouse, but others such as Hungary appear happy to maintain close Russian links.

Serbia’s strong tech sector growth defies brain drain

Impact Hub Belgrade is helping to foster the tech ecosystem in Serbia. 

/ Impact Hub Belgrade


By Clare Nuttall in Belgrade and Glasgow

 July 8, 2022

LONG READ


International companies in search of tech talent and innovative local startups are converging in Serbia, an emerging high-tech hub that is especially strong in blockchain and game development.

The latest figures, announced by Nenad Popovic, Serbia’s Minister without portfolio in charge of innovations and technological development, on June 21, are startling: Serbian startups attracted over $135mn of investments in 2021 – more than six times as much as in the previous year. Meanwhile, the Digital Serbia Initiative (DSI), an NGO whose aim is to develop a globally competitive digital economy in Serbia, has its own database of startups that number over 350, and the organisation estimates there are many more, probably around 400-500 in total.

Alongside them are the international companies drawn to Serbia by the availability of tech talent and relatively low costs; DSI CEO Nebojša Bjelotomić cites costs that are two to three times lower than in major European cities combined with the quality of life in Belgrade. Among the major global companies in Serbia are Microsoft, Intel, Dell and a number of game developers such as Endava and UbiSoft.

While some Serbians are happy to work for international companies, others choose to strike out alone. This has created a growing startup scene in the last few years. Many of these new startups are nurtured by the Impact Hub Belgrade, a co-working space and a business incubator. The hub is housed in what started out as the Palace of Co-operatives, then in the socialist era became a radio studio. Now furnished with co-working desks and coffee bar, the decor pays homage to this history, and during the recent lockdowns a 21st century take on the radio studio, the podcast.rs service, was launched.

Speaking to bne IntelliNews, co-founder Nenad Moslavac recalls just how much things have changed in Serbia’s startup scene over the last eight to 10 years. “Back in 2014 it was difficult to explain what a startup is; starting your bakery is not a startup,” says Moslavac. However, even now not everyone has the startup mindset. “Serbia, like many other European countries, is a rather comfortable place… being a tech engineer puts you in a very comfortable situation. It’s difficult to take off those comfortable shoes to become a startup founder.”

Other industry insiders also believe the attitude to entrepreneurship is changing. “I think we are going through a modification of attitude. On one side entrepreneurship is maybe not something very strongly engrained in the mentality of the Serbian people, but on the other side our younger guys grew up on Silicon Valley, seeing successful entrepreneurs riding off into the sunset … this had an impact on Serbia,” says Bjelotomić.

Summing up what has happened in Serbia in recent years, Nemanja Petrovic, co-founder and business strategy adviser at startup Traken, says: “the IT sector development caught everyone by surprise. It grew organically – that’s the best thing.”

Bringing people together

Both the DSI and Impact Hub are working to bring people together – whether it’s large tech companies, startups, investors, government officials or all of these – with the aim of growing and developing Serbia’s tech ecosystem.

The DSI works with companies and the government, as well as organisations that support startups such as incubators and academic programmes. “We want to be the house for IT … we try to be middleman between big players, small players, academia, institutions, startups,” says Bjelotomić.

“You can’t really succeed without everyone being involved,” he stresses.

Nikola Mijailovic, CEO and co-founder of startup Joberty, comments on the recent changes. “Honestly, the last couple of years has been crucial for the startup ecosystem in Serbia. New accelerators, hubs and VC funds are emerging, and Serbia isn't an exception,” says Mijailovic. He also comments on the acceleration programmes in Serbia, saying: “Mentoring, investors, lectures, grants and networking are the key benefits and provide tremendous support for the startup ecosystem.”

Impact Hub also seeks to create a community for startups, and bring them into contact with investors and the wider tech community. “We are a window to the world, we try to reach out to entrepreneurs in Belgrade and beyond,” Moslavac says. COVID-19 was a challenge in that respect. However, by taking things online, the hub was able to reach out beyond Serbia to entrepreneurs in other countries in the Western Balkans.

The Serbian government is also increasingly aware of the importance of the growing tech sector, and is engaged in a dialogue with the industry. This led to, for example, the 2021 law on innovation which introduced for the first time a definition of a startup, as well as a registry of startups.

“There is a dialogue with government … there is an effort to create a better environment for the whole ICT sector and keep the ecosystem open, making it easier to start up companies,” says Traken’s Petrovic.

Investors consider Serbia

The other component of the startup ecosystem is funding. Serbia is gradually getting more locally focussed investors, a similar trend to that seen elsewhere in Southeast Europe and helped by the European Investment Fund (EIF) that was the cornerstone for a number of venture capital funds in the region. More recently, the government initiated a €50mn venture fund of funds. Among the regional venture capital investors active in Serbia are South Central Ventures, Bulgaria’s LAUNCHub Ventures and Fil Rouge Capital of Croatia.

However, Bjelotomić argues there is more still to do. “To attract serious VCs and for deal flow to be sturdy and interesting for someone from abroad, our ecosystem needs to develop further, probably go up another 50% before three of four different VCs will be continuously working in this area.”

Both Impact Hub’s Moslavac and representatives of startups like Joberty and Traken believe the country needs more business angels and other pre-seed investors. Mijailovic tells bne IntelliNews: “What I would like to see more in the future are angel investments. Also, I would like to see more potential investors from the corporate world become motivated to invest in startups, get involved in the ecosystem, learn about them and support them to succeed.”

Blockchain for the energy sector

Traken’s Petrovic makes a similar point. So far Traken has been bootstrapped and secured grants, but it is now looking for seed investment. Its team have participated in several EU accelerators. Unlike first time founders, its co-founders have the advantage of already running a blockchain development studio, which gives them access to talent and other resources.

Traken, where the team developed a data tracking, management and exploitation tool for smart electrical grids, is part of Serbia’s growing blockchain segment. Back in 2019, advisory and research organisation Startup Genome report identified Serbia among the top five destinations in the world according to the number of blockchain developers. Serbia and nearby Novi Sad were found to have a particularly promising blockchain ecosystem.

Petrovic has a broad range of industry experience including as a former economy ministry adviser, on smart city projects and a venture capital investor, experience that he now aims to bring to the energy sector.

The Traken team are getting ready to pilot the project with international distribution service operators (DSOs) after an initial pilot with local startup Cargo (the Serbian Uber). “It is a good time for us because integration of renewables was a problem for the systems even before this energy crisis,” says Petrovic. “If you want Europe to move to sustainable, renewable energy, then you have to deal with viable sources of energy that need better tools to manage flexibility.”

He references the “huge potential” of the 50% of installed solar capacity owned by individuals that is not currently part of the market. “The only way to manage it is by using blockchain. We created a system that validates the source, validates the data from source and connects data to the individual,” Petrovic explains.

The other standout area within the Serbian tech sector is game development. According to data from the Serbian Games Association, there are currently about 130 teams and companies in Serbia that are actively working on the development of games and other services closely related to the gaming industry. The organisation estimates that more than 2,200 people work in the video game sector, with another 450 jobs set to be created in 2022. Overall the Serbian video game industry had a turnover of around €125mn in 2021.

Among the most successful local companies is Belgrade-based mobile games developer Nordeus, creator of Top Eleven Football Manager and strategy game Heroic – Magic Duel. The company was acquired by Take-Two Interactive for $378mn in 2021.

Bjelotomić believes Serbian game developers can get even bigger. “Maybe we don’t have a unicorn in gaming but at least have really big global players in the market. And you never know, a single hit can make difference,” he says.

Food and agriculture

He also points to biotech and agritech as an area where Serbia has strong potential, given that “we are still predominantly an agricultural county”. New technologies to increase food production and – the other side of the coin – to reduce food waste are becoming increasingly importance in the context of climate change and the need to feed the world’s growing population.

Serbia’s second city of Novi Sad is home to the BioSense Institute that works on projects that span bio systems and IT. The institute, now an important research centre with hundreds of international partners, started out as a small group of people who believed in the idea that IT and bio systems would meet in the future, director of the institute Vladimir Crnojević said in an interview with bne IntelliNews in April. That was back in 2005-06. “At that time it was science fiction,” he says. However, he adds, focusing on that area “was a really good bet, because now it’s completely melting. The borders between bio systems and IT are getting lost”.

Today, the institute is organised in three research centres: the centre for bio systems, the centre for sensing technology and the centre for information technology. Technologies developed under its research projects are used in Serbia and elsewhere.

Another aspect of feeding the world’s growing population is reducing food waste, an issue tracked by Serbia startup EatMeApp, developer of a smart assistant that helps users make educated decisions about how and when to use their food.

“Our grandmothers and their attitude about food are our inspiration. They built into our DNA that throwing food away is not under any circumstances a reasonable thing to do. So, one day in front of my open refrigerator it struck me while I was getting ready to throw away a chicken filet (again!) – what if we have an app that sends reminders about food expiration dates?” says co-founder Aleksandra Lønningen, explaining how the company came into existence.

“Eat Me App conceptually grew since then, but it’s core mission a to assist people in making conscious and educated food consumption decisions,” Lønningen adds. “The result is less food waste, less CO2, more disposable income.”

Android and iOs versions of the app have already been released, and Lønningen says the company’s user base is growing organically thanks to early adopters. This summer there are plans to accelerate adoption with an intensive user acquisition strategy.

Lønningen believes the current difficult times – countries across Europe and much of the world are experiencing rapid inflation including of food prices – are encouraging people to live more sustainable and reduce food waste. There is also an environmental dimension. Lønningen cites data showing that food waste is the third largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter, and within that household food waste accounts for 60% of total food waste. To give an idea of the scale, she says, a “family of four on average throws €30-50 weekly straight to the garbage bin”.

While there are a growing number of apps in the food waste space, EatMeApp differs from others, Lønningen says, because it is targeted at households rather than businesses such as restaurants and grocery shops. “Because we believe that the most important and numerous agent of change is – us, people, citizens.”

International talent

With local startups growing up, and the demand for skilled workers in international companies also increasing, the need to keep and retain talent in intense, a challenge cited not only in Serbia but across the region.

Joberty was set up precisely with this in mind. The company was born out of its founder’s experience of the search for talent; Mijailovic is a former CEO and co-founder of an HR company in Serbia.

“I had experienced first hand the difficulty of finding developers. And even if you magically happen to find them, it was about culture fit with the company, and developers would stay approximately 1.5 years with the IT employer … It was frustrating, so I've decided to do something about it. The idea existed in my head only for some time, and then I started opening up,” Mijailovic said.

Mijailovic and his wife Dusica, one of the company’s four co-founders and its product manager, began exploring the possibility of building a real product around this. “I never dreamed that something that was just an idea in my head would become a reality so soon. In 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia, Joberty was born, and ever since, it has grown each year exponentially. I couldn't be more proud of the team that works very hard to deliver such amazing results,” Mijailovic said.

Today, the company has 25 employees, who Mijailovic describes as its key asset, and operates in Serbia, Croatia and Romania. It currently has over 50,000 registered users, 15,000 reviews on the platform, and co-operating with over 1,200 tech companies in Southeast Europe.

Global software engineering firm DataArt, which has been present in the Balkans since it entered Bulgaria in 2016, recently acquired Belgrade-based Software Nation. “We feel confident about establishing our presence in Belgrade because of the well-rounded tech sector, and the solid tech talent in the country and the region,” said Mikhail Zavileysky, head of organisational development at DataArt, at the time of the acquisition. He describes the labour market in Serbia as “strong and developed”, pointing to particular strength in Java and .NET skills.

“DataArt has always viewed the Balkan region as promising. Now we’re focused on Belgrade, but we’re planning to open a second office in Novi Sad – a prominent university town with great talent,” Zavileysky says, commenting to bne IntelliNews on the partnership with Software Nation.

"We’re actively recruiting locally, and we welcome everyone who’s decided to relocate to Serbia. Erik Popovic, SVP DataArt Balkans, is spearheading our effort and helping us find the best talent. Remote recruiters are helping us as well."

Later in 2022, developer of online military games Wargaming announced the opening of two new studios in Belgrade and Warsaw following its decision to quit Russia and Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine. The company commented that both cities have “fast developing technology sectors with enormous potential”.

Working with the brain drain

Serbia, like other countries in the Western Balkans – and across most of emerging Europe – has experienced mass emigration and population decline in the last few decades. That makes competition for talent all the more intense.

The DSI’s Bjelotomić notes that the brain drain is a huge problem for Eastern Europe, especially Southeast Europe, though he believes it has slowed down recently, for two reasons. “First IT is such global industry it doesn’t matter where you sit, you can do your job anywhere. The second factor is corona; when the going gets tough, the best thing is to go home.”

When it comes to tacking the brain drain, Bjelotomić believes the good jobs offered by the IT sector can help. “These are the good jobs, where people get to be creative, to grow personally and professionally. They are the guys that don’t leave … in that sense helping startups is almost like social service.”

Impact Hub’s Moslavac acknowledges the problem of brain drain and the difficulties in reversing it, but says it’s important to look for the positives. “We have good examples from other counties where lot of good talent left, but brought back knowledge and often funding,” he says. “I don’t think the brain drain is something that can really be stopped, but probably there are ways for Serbia to benefit more from great people that are not physically here.”

Petrovic also talks of Serbia’s “very big technical diaspora”, with highly educated Serbians who left their home country now sharing experience and knowledge. Like Bjelotomić, he believes there has been movement back into Serbia since the start of the pandemic, not least because it was one of the first countries in Europe to roll out a mass vaccination programme.

He believes Serbia has benefited from its relationships with developing countries forged during the Cold War when Yugoslavia was one of the leaders of the non-aligned movement. Even today, Serbia is well known among those nations. “We’re a brand in these countries, [young people are] still coming here to go to college,” he says. This brings new talented graduates into Serbia.

More recently, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, countries across emerging Europe, including Serbia, have received a flood of immigrants, among them numerous tech professionals. These include both Ukrainians fleeing the war and Russians and Belarusians who can no longer live with their government’s actions and their countries’ international isolation. DataArt’s Zavileysky comments that the Serbian market "is welcoming many engineers from Russia and Ukraine, which certainly has an impact”.

Starting with education

The start of creating a new generation of tech talent lies in education, and the DSI is reaching out to universities and schools to help. The organisation has been working with the education system from elementary school right through to postgraduate level. This includes the Master 2.0 programme where the DSI brings different faculties together to create cross-disciplinary master programmes that give students the skills to work in industries such as game development.

Industry representatives say that while Serbia provides a good technical education more needs to be done on the commercial side. “We need to change that,” says Bjelotomić. “It’s good that we are good engineers, but it’s important to note that people investing in startups are predominately from the financial sphere. They are looking for entries and exits, not necessarily for the best technology.”

Similarly, Moslavac says that Serbia has a strong education that is “left over from the old system of building good engineers”. However, he says, “being a good engineer doesn’t make you a good businessman … to build a a good startup you have to understand business. There are a lot of smart people around but it’s not about building a perfect product, it’s about having a perfect customer for the product.”

On the other hand, Traken’s Petrovic is positive about Serbia’s "very good old school, technically based curriculum” which, he believes, “is a goldmine if you know how to act on it”. This education is coming into its own with the emergence of the blockchain industry.

Global companies with Serbian roots

One constraint cited many times by industry figures in Belgrade is the small size of the Serbian market. That being the case, ambitious startup founders look to go international from the start or at least early on in their development.

“The size of the market is a challenge for startup founders here. It’s a very small market with not such a startup culture,” says Maslovac. “Serbia is place of talent – there is certainly a lot of talent in Serbia, especially tech talent – however, such a market makes it very difficult to build a product or service for the customer, as this is a numbers game. This is why it’s very interesting to approach the market of the Western Balkans, which has a potential 20mn users instead of 6mn for their services.”

Some of the really standout Serbia-founded companies went abroad early on. Among them is consulting, software engineering and digital product development company HTEC Group, which now has its headquarters in San Francisco. In 2021, the company bought up Momentum Design Lab in Silicon Valley, following this with the announcement of a $140mn investment from Brighton Park Capital for global expansion. That deal was among the largest initial funding rounds by dollar value in Europe in the past year, HTEC said at the time.

Following the latest investment round, the aim is to “build HTEC into one of the most impressive global technology consulting companies,” said Aleksandar Cabrilo, CEO of HTEC Group at the time of the investment. The company, founded in 2008 as a startup within the Business Technology Incubator of Technical Faculties of the University of Belgrade, has now grown into an international company that employs over 1,000 people.

Startups interviewed by bne IntelliNews also referenced international expansion. Traken, for example, is seeking to work with electricity companies from other European countries rather than focussing on Serbia.

Joberty is fundraising for a seed round that it plans to use for its expansion to global markets, including the US. “Our plans are ambitious, but simply that's the only way to go,” said Mijailovic. “The startup scene is very fast-paced, and if you move slowly, you might still survive, but you won't win big time. Big dreams took us here, and we won't stop until we succeed globally.”

EatMeApp’s Lønningen says "going global” when asked about the future plans for the company. At the same time, however, she talks of the power of Serbia’s culture and social networks. “[Co-founder] Sanja Dramicanin] and myself … want to create even stronger momentum in Serbia,” Lønningen says. “We dream big, cross-border, but our heart is where our home is and our grandmothers are.”