Africa moving very slowly toward clean energy transition — report
Staff Writer | November 13, 2022 | 

Amogdoul wind farm in Essaouira, Morocco. 

(Image by Sqala, Wikimedia Commons.)

Africa’s investments in renewables trail far behind the rest of the continents, accounting for only 0.6% of the $434 billion destined for clean energy worldwide in 2021, a recent report by BloombergNEF shows.


According to the market analyst, despite Africa’s natural resource wealth, rapidly growing electricity demand and improving policy frameworks, only $2.6 billion of capital was deployed for new wind, solar, geothermal or other renewable power-generating projects in 2021, the lowest in 11 years.

The figures are particularly relevant at a time when the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties (COP27) is taking place in Egypt, offering an opportunity to take stock of how far the continent’s energy transition has advanced – and how much work remains to be done.

BNEF’s document states that Africa’s poor results cannot be blamed on any lingering effects of the covid-19 pandemic, particularly when taking into account that while renewables investment globally rose 9% from 2020 to 2021 to reach an all-time high, renewables investment in Africa slipped 35% year-on-year.

“The global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy has the potential to benefit economies and health across Africa,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN secretary-general’s special envoy on climate ambition and solutions and founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

“But as this new report details, clean energy investment in Africa is at an alarmingly low level. Changing that requires new levels of collaboration to identify viable clean energy projects and bring more private financing and public support to them – so we can turn Africa’s potential as a global clean energy leader into reality.”
Handful of markets

The study also found that clean energy investment in Africa is highly concentrated in a handful of markets. South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya have accounted for nearly three-quarters of all renewable energy asset investment since 2010 with a total of $46 billion. All others have secured just $16 billion over that time.

Looking specifically at solar energy, Africa is now home to just 1.3% of global solar capacity. The existing capacity is 13GW or 5.5% of Africa’s total. South Africa, Egypt and Morocco account for two-thirds of the solar capacity.

Yet, in 2021, as many as 24 countries installed at least 1MW of solar – a new high following five years of stagnation. Solar was also the top technology for new capacity added in 11 countries in the region in 2021, a development attributed to the modular nature of photovoltaics, along with steep equipment price declines over a decade.

(Graph by BloombergNEF).

In the dark

Despite the additional installed capacity, Africa continues to lag far behind the rest of the world in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 of having clean, affordable energy for all its citizens.

Among all those lacking access to electricity globally, 77% or 564 million people reside in sub-Saharan Africa, the report points out, citing World Bank sources.

The same data sources show that the rate of new electricity-generating projects added to Africa’s grids has slowed since 2018, with year-on-year installed capacity growth averaging 6.6% annually from 2011 to 2018, but only 3.8% over the 2019-2021 period.
Privileged position

In the view of BNEF’s experts, Africa is in a privileged position to take advantage of lowering prices when it comes to clean energy infrastructure, particularly due to its wealth of natural resources. Their research shows that such resources have the potential to be transformative in expanding power-generating capacity and access to electricity on the continent.

“Nevertheless, 75% of Africa’s power needs are met today by coal- and natural gas-fired generation. Hydro continues to play an important role, accounting for 18% of output. Wind and solar are a combined 5%,” the report reads. “Africa’s dependence on gas- and coal-fired electricity puts the continent at risk of economic shock when commodity prices fluctuate. At least 28 countries meet at least half of their power demand with fossil fuels, of which 16 rely on fossils for 80% or more of their power.”

(Graph courtesy of BloombergNEF).

Notwithstanding their fossil fuel dependence, countries in the region are praised for having made noteworthy strides to improve their policy regimes with an eye toward attracting funding for clean energy projects. Among the 42 African nations BNEF surveyed for its study, 86% now have long-term clean power targets in force, up from 57% in 2019.

Another positive development noted by the research firm is that net metering policies, which allow owners of distributed solar systems to be compensated for excess generation they feed back into the grid, are in place in 29% of African nations.

Back to the not-so-positive side, BNEF believes that countries have done far less to implement concrete programs to ensure that they meet their long-term clean energy targets. While half the nations surveyed have policies in place to hold reverse auctions for clean power delivery contracts, far fewer have held tenders. Even fewer have successfully brought projects online under such auctions.

“The ingredients are there for Africa to be a major market for clean energy growth, including outstanding natural resources and massive demand,” Luiza Demôro, head of energy transition research at BNEF, said. “But incomplete policy regimes and reluctant investors continue to keep investment levels below where they could and really should be.”

Protestors invade Hochschild’s largest mine in Peru
Staff Writer | November 13, 2022 |

Hochschild Mining’s Inmaculada mine in Peru. (Image by Hochschild Mining).

A couple of weeks after protestors burned infrastructure at Hochschild Mining Plc’s (LON: HOC) Inmaculada mine in south-central Peru, residents of the nearby Huancute Annex have invaded the mine and have built picket lines placing women and cattle at the forefront to avoid being forcefully removed by police.


In a media statement, Hochschild Mining and its affiliated company Minera Ares said that early on Friday, Huancute residents cut the metal mesh that surrounds the operation and gained access to Inmaculada.

“A group of invaders threw rocks at the dump trucks that were moving around the mine, thus endangering workers’ safety and disrupting mine operations,” the release reads. “These acts constitute the crimes of aggravated usurpation, aggravated material damage to private property, violation of domicile and rioting.”

According to the companies, about 1700 workers are working in fear at Inmaculada, as they see people from nearby communities illegally accessing the mine. Hochschild and Ares have, thus, filed legal complaints before the National Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police and demanded immediate intervention from Peruvian authorities.

In their coomuniqué and legal filings, the precious metals miners argue that they are legally occupying the terrains on which Inmaculada sits based on mining easements and contracts signed with the landowners and the Peruvian state, as well as with the farming community of Huallhua. They say that they have also been granted possession rights by members of the Huancute Annex and by the Qatary Huancute Association.

Inmaculada, which produces both gold and silver, is Hochschild Mining’s largest mine in the Andean nation.

The UK-listed company plans to invest $4.4 billion in Inmaculada to extend the mine’s life through 2042.

(With files from Reuters).

21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY
Novel copper-based material key to safely convert heat into electricity
Staff Writer | November 14, 2022 | 6:06 am Energy Europe Copper Manganese

Copper. (Reference image by the US Geological Survey, Flickr.)

A recent study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie presents a new synthetic copper material that acquires a complex structure and microstructure through simple changes in its composition, thereby laying the foundation for converting heat into electricity.


In detail, the novel material is composed of copper, manganese, germanium, and sulphur, and is produced in a relatively simple process.

“The powders are simply mechanically alloyed by ball-milling to form a pre-crystallized phase, which is then densified by 600 degrees Celsius. This process can be easily scaled up,” Emmanuel Guilmeau, corresponding author of the study, said in a media statement.

Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity. This is especially useful in industrial processes where waste heat is reused as valuable electric power. The converse approach is the cooling of electronic parts, for example, in smartphones or cars. Materials used in this kind of application have to be not only efficient, but also inexpensive and, above all, safe.

However, thermoelectric devices used to date make use of expensive and toxic elements such as lead and tellurium, which offer the best conversion efficiency.

But Guilmeau and his team were convinced that it is possible to create safer alternatives. This is why they decided to explore derivatives of natural copper-based sulphide minerals. These mineral derivatives are mainly composed of nontoxic and abundant elements, and some of them have thermoelectric properties.

The team succeeded in producing a series of thermoelectric materials showing two crystal structures within the same material.

“We were very surprised at the result. Usually, slightly changing the composition has little effect on the structure in this class of materials,” Guilmeau said.

He and his colleagues found that replacing a small fraction of the manganese with copper produced complex microstructures with interconnected nanodomains, defects, and coherent interfaces, which affected the material’s transport properties for electrons and heat.

Guilmeau pointed out that the novel material is stable up to 400 degrees Celsius, a range well within the waste heat temperature range of most industries. He is convinced that, based on this discovery, novel cheaper and nontoxic thermoelectric materials could be designed to replace more problematic components.

GREENWASHING

Vale, other large companies leading reforestation program in Brazil
Staff Writer | November 14, 2022 | 

Vale and other major corporations have pledged to restore and conserve 4.0 million ha of forests in Brazil. Credit: Vale S.A.

Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) and a number of other large Brazilian companies are creating a new company focused entirely on the restoration, conservation, and preservation of forests in Brazil. Joining Vale are Itaú Unibanco, Marfrig, Rabobank, Santander and Suzano.


The company is initially to be called Biomas. Over the next 20 years, the new enterprise will restore and protect 4.0 million ha of native forests in some of Brazil’s most valuable ecosystems, including the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Carrado biomes.

Two million degraded hectares will be restored with the planting of two million native trees. Another 2.0 million hectares of existing trees will be preserved. The project is expected to stimulate regional development and strengthen local communities through their involvement in the value chain.

Each partner will initially commit $5 million to support early Biomas activities. The company is underpinned by a sustainable operation and a financially sustainable business model. Each project will be based on the commercialization of carbon credits.

The first stage of the project will consist of identifying areas, creating nurseries for native species, engaging with communities, advocating for public land concessions, and working on carbon credits certification. After successful pilot projects, Biomas will begin rolling out projects on a vast scale in 2025. Efforts will continue until it reaches the 4.0 million ha goal.

The alliance launched at COP27, held earlier this month and sponsored by United Nations Climate Change, is expected to remove the equivalent of 900 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. It will also provide habitat for more than 4,000 species of animals and plants.

ECOCIDE

Tesla-backed nickel miner cuts output after waste dam leak

Bloomberg News | November 14, 2022

Construction of a tailings storage area Goro Nickel Mine, Kwe West Bassin, New Caledonia – Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The troubled Goro nickel mine — one of the world’s largest deposits, which is part-owned by Trafigura Group and backed by Tesla Inc. — has been forced to reduce production to address a leak from its tailings dam.


Goro, which is located in the South Pacific territory of New Caledonia, reported a “limited release of salt-laden liquid” after heavy rains in August, a spokesperson for owner Prony Resources said by email. Corrective measures required by local authorities mean that nickel output will be reduced in the fourth quarter, the company said.

The cuts at Goro are the latest example of global nickel mines disappointing at a time when the outlook for demand is soaring for use in electric-vehicle batteries. Production is booming in top supplier Indonesia, but there have been a slew of cuts or misses elsewhere, including by Eramet SA, which recently lowered its annual production target in New Caledonia, while Solway Investment Group shuttered a ferronickel plant in Ukraine due to power outages after Russian air strikes.

“The corrective measures required by the South Province mean that Prony Resources New Caledonia’s nickel production will be reduced in the fourth quarter,” the company said. “The minimum quantities required by our customer contracts will be met and we expect to be at full capacity again shortly.”

It declined to give more details or comment on when production would return to normal.

Goro was previously owned by Brazilian miner Vale SA, which sold the asset last year to Prony — a consortium made up of employees, commodities trader Trafigura, Agio Global, and the New Caledonian government. The group announced an agreement at the time with Tesla to support the operation through a “technical and industrial partnership.”

Operational woes

Under Vale’s ownership, Goro was beset by operational woes and cost overruns — becoming a byword for the mining industry’s inability to deliver projects on time and on budget — and the deal with Prony only materialized after years of trying to find a buyer.

Mine tailings dams have also drawn increased international scrutiny after a collapse at one of Vale’s iron ore mines at Brumadinho in Brazil in 2019 killed 270 people, in one of the most deadly mining accidents in modern history.

At Goro, Prony said it has increased monitoring of the dam and hasn’t found any significant changes that could affect its stability.

The company was required to lower the water levels in the dam and ordered to take immediate corrective measures because of environmental concerns, the South Province, the local authority, said in an Oct. 14 statement.

The situation is still being analyzed, Mandy Brizard, a spokesperson for the province, said this week.

In its annual report last year, Trafigura said that priorities for the mine in 2022 “include progressing with a tailings drystacking project to reduce tailings storage risk and protect the environment,” which it said would increase production to at least 35,000 tons a year.

New Caledonia’s output of nickel hydroxide cake, or NHC, of which Prony is the key producer, rose 41% in the first nine months of 2022 from the same period a year earlier to 19,662 tons of nickel content, according to a report from the government.

(By Mathieu Dion and Jack Farchy, with assistance from Mark Burton)

ECOCIDE

Uranium mining in Egypt is expanding despite water contamination, satellite images show
Bloomberg News | November 15, 2022 | 

The Allouga mine is located in a remote and arid area with no major population centres nearby. (Stock image by lotus_studio.)

Egypt’s Allouga uranium mine has been expanding despite evidence that its radioactive runoff is contaminating scarce water resources, according to satellite images captured last month for Bloomberg by Planet Labs PBC.


The uranium mine, located less than 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the ongoing United Nations COP27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, underscores the difficult tradeoffs involved in producing minerals used in zero-emission energy sources such as nuclear power plants.


A peer reviewed study published by Environmental Health Sciences earlier this year sampled uranium levels near Allouga as much as six times the concentration normally found in nature. Egypt’s Nuclear Materials Authority, which owns and operates the site, acknowledged as far back as 2018 that drinking water wells in the area contained “greater concentrations of uranium than acceptable limits.”

“People who are exposed to that level of radiation for a lifetime would have an elevated cancer risk,” wrote the Cairo-based scientists from Ain Shams University who carried out the research, which was published in April. “Available water resources in the study area are considered unsafe for human consumption and irrigation.”


Satellite imagery of Allouga shows how successive waves of excavation and rubble have changed the landscape of the red, craggy hill tops that surround the site over nearly two decades. Ore crushers, processing plants, sulphuric acid tanks and waste repositories appear operational, according to Robert Kelley, a former safeguards director at the International Atomic Energy Agency, who reviewed the photographs. Allison Puccioni, a nuclear non-proliferation imagery analyst at Stanford University, also confirmed activity at the site.

Egypt is estimated by the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency to have less than 0.01% of the Earth’s identifiable uranium reserves — not enough to produce commercial quantities it can profitably export. Egypt also doesn’t currently possess the infrastructure to process the ore into fuel for its own future power reactor, which is under construction and will be supplied by Russia.

The small quantities excavated from Allouga could technically be tapped to eventually supply a military program, according to Kelley, a former nuclear-weapons engineer in the US Department of Energy. Egypt is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its IAEA envoy, Mohammed ElMolla, dismissed any suggestion it might seek nuclear arms. He said nuclear energy and uranium mining were part of efforts to diversify the country’s energy mix and bolster its economy.

Whatever its purpose, the excavation continues and waste has been dumped on the hillsides.

“A large quantity of mine tailings in the form of slurry waste are placed in small piles adjacent to the mine without engineered barriers,” the researchers wrote. “During the processing, no safety measures were taken to assure the isolation of the tailings from the environment. The major threat of these tailings is the leaching of contaminants (e.g. radionuclides and heavy metals) into groundwater which is considered the main source of drinking water in the area.”

While it warns that the activity needs to bear in mind the impact on local water resources, the study does not present any evidence or make any suggestion that people have been made ill.

The Allouga mine is located in a remote and arid area with no major population centers, mitigating its human impact. The satellite images nevertheless show some small communities, as well as irrigated fields, nearby.

Those most likely to be affected from radioactive effluent leaching into groundwater are local Bedouins, who count among the most vulnerable of the 100,000 people living in the South Sinai Governate, Egypt’s least-populated administrative region. It is the “indigenous community who are principally affected by the mining operation,” according to the Environmental Health Science research.

For the latest study, the authors collected 47 water and soil samples from four wadis — dry valleys that turn into streams after rain — surrounding the Allouga mine and covering an area of some 250 square km.

Egypt’s Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring, which analyzed the samples, found most contained uranium concentrations higher than the average two parts per million found in nature. Nineteen of 30 stream sediment samples registered higher-than-normal uranium traces while “all samples’’ of groundwater did, according to the report.

(By Jonathan Tirone, with assistance from Patricia Suzara)

KILLER MINE

Newcrest resumes operations at Brucejack mine
Cecilia Jamasmie | November 16, 2022 

Brucejack gold-silver mine is located about 940 km north of Vancouver, B.C. (Image courtesy of Newcrest Mining.)

Newcrest Mining (ASX, TSX, PNGX: NCM) said on Wednesday it had resumed operations at its Brucejack gold-silver mine in Canada, which had been shut since late October following the death of a worker.


Australia’s largest gold producer said that during the three-and-a-half weeks Brucejack was suspended, it reviewed the operation to identify major hazards and corresponding critical controls to prevent fatalities and life-changing injuries.

“The devastating incident at Brucejack is a stark reminder that safety must always be our number one priority as a business,” chief executive Sandeep Biswas said in the statement.

The latest accident was the third workplace death at the northern British Columbia operation since it opened in 2018. In the two previous cases, either the mine or its contractors were disciplined for failing to ensure workers received adequate safety training.

Newcrest added Brucejack to its portfolio earlier this year, following the acquisition of Pretium Resources.

The mine began commercial production in July 2017 and is one of the world’s highest-grade operating gold mines.

The asset spans 1,200 square kilometres in the heart of British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, which has a 100-year mining history and also hosts the Red Chris, Eskay Creek and Snip mines.

21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY

Scientists learn what it takes to develop gold-based meta-materials

Staff Writer | November 16, 2022 

Gold particles. (Reference image from Public Domain Pictures.)

A team of researchers from Finland, Singapore and Saudi Arabia has achieved the first insights into engineering crystal growth by atomically precise metal nanoclusters.


In detail, the group synthesized metal clusters consisting of 25 gold atoms, one nanometer in diameter. These clusters are soluble in water due to the ligand molecules that protect the gold. This cluster material is known to self-assemble into well-defined close-packed single crystals when the water solvent is evaporated.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the scientists explain that ordinary solid matter consists of atoms organized in a crystal lattice. The chemical character of the atoms and lattice symmetry define the properties of the matter, for instance, whether it is a metal, a semiconductor or an electric insulator. The lattice symmetry may be changed by ambient conditions such as temperature or high pressure, which can induce structural transitions and transform even an electric insulator into an electric conductor, that is, a metal.

Larger identical entities such as nanoparticles or atomically precise metal nanoclusters can also organize into a crystal lattice, to form so-called meta-materials. However, until now, information on how to engineer the growth of such materials from their building blocks has been scarce since crystal growth is a typical self-assembling process.

This is where the research team comes in.

Led by Qiaofeng Yao, the team found a novel concept to regulate crystal growth by adding tetra-alkyl-ammonium molecular ions in the solvent. These ions affect the surface chemistry of the gold clusters, and their size and concentration were observed to have an impact on the size, shape, and morphology of the formed crystals.

Remarkably, high-resolution electron microscopy images of some of the crystals revealed that they consist of polymeric chains of clusters with four-gold-atom interparticle links.

According to the researchers, the demonstrated surface chemistry opens now new ways to engineer metal cluster-based meta-materials for investigations of their electronic and optical properties.

Charts: How much will coal’s transition cost?

MINING.COM Staff Writer | November 17, 2022 | 

Coal. Stock image.

The world needs to invest $380 billion per year in clean energy until 2030 to transition away from coal, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).


The amount is around 20% of all clean energy spending in the IEA Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), which assumes that all climate commitments made by governments around the world will be met in full and on time.

“$380 billion to transition away from coal isn’t much. It’s less than the GDP of Austria. It’s 0.4% of global GDP,” Peter Zeniewski, an Energy analyst for the IEA World Energy Outlook, wrote in a tweet.

Until 2030, around $250 billion, about 70% of global investment in the coal transition, will need to be spent in the power sector to replace the use of unabated coal with low emissions sources, primarily wind and solar PV

.

Source: IEA

While coal is still the largest source of electricity generation, accounting for 36% of the world total, it is also the largest emitter of energy-related global carbon dioxide (CO2) – 15 gigatonnes (Gt) in 2021.

According to the report, the buck of the investment needs to go into emerging markets and developing economies, where coal emissions are highly concentrated.

Source: IEA

This week, US President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced a $20 billion package to help the coal-dependent country shift to renewable energy and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The deal put forward by the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which includes the US, Japan, Canada, the UK, and several European countries in the EU and Norway, follows an agreement reached last year in which the United States and Europe pledged to give South Africa $8.5 billion in grants and loans in return for it retiring coal plants, switching to renewable energy, and re-training its workforce.

Similar arrangements are also being discussed with Vietnam, Senegal, and India.

Phasing out coal is essential to achieve the Paris Agreement, which limits global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

“The coal transition is affordable, and the challenges aren’t insurmountable. And if we operate the world’s coal assets as they have been in the past, we’ll sail past the 1.5° budget. That will cost the world much more… not just in dollars,” Zeniewski said.

Coal miners pay highest US dividends as prices soar to records

Bloomberg News | November 16, 2022 |

An open pit coal mine. Credit: AdobeStock

Coal is paying off for investors.


Miners of the fossil fuel are raking in cash and paying out hefty dividends, with shares surging as the global energy crisis boosts coal prices to record highs. US coal producers are projected to offer an average return of about 6% to investors over the next year, more than any other industry. That’s led by Arch Resources Inc., which is about to distribute a substantial $10.75-a-share payout.

It’s a notable turnaround for an industry that experienced waves of bankruptcies in recent years as power producers shift away from the dirtiest fossil fuel. The resurgence comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine roils energy markets, and underscores that the market for coal remains robust even as environmentalists, progressive politicians and many corporations push to abandon the fuel to fight climate change.

Still, coal’s long-term prospects remain bleak, which is why miners enjoying record profits are returning cash to shareholders instead of spending on new projects.

“The name of the game in coal right now is capital returns,” Lucas Pipes, an analyst with B Riley Securities, said in an interview.

Arch’s payout follows a $6-a-share quarterly dividend announced in July and an $8.11 one declared in April. The dividend yield of the second-biggest US coal miner is expected to reach 25% over the next year, the highest on the Russell 2000 Index. Since the company has explicitly pledged to hand half of its cash flow back to shareholders, investors can expect healthy returns for the next several quarters or more, said Andrew Blumenfeld, director of data analytics at McCloskey by Opis.

Other US miners show similar promise, including Alliance Resource Partners LP’s projected 12-month dividend yield of 9.5% and the projected 4.2% yield of Ramaco Resources Inc. Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. just raised its regular dividend and announced a special payout of $5 a share.

Coal miners are in a unique position, Blumenfeld said. The market is healthy, for now, as utilities clamor to secure enough fuel to keep the lights on. But the world is inexorably shifting to cleaner sources of power and demand for coal is expected to gradually decline during the next few decades. There’s little reason to spend money on mines to boost output, but offering beefy payouts will make stocks appealing to investors and drive up share prices.

“They’re saying ‘we believe the best place for this cash is back with our investors’,” Blumenfeld said.

(By Will Wade)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Ex-Tesla Australia boss admits to insider trading
Bloomberg News | November 16, 2022 |  

Stock image.

The former head of Tesla Inc.’s Australian operations, Kurt Schlosser, admitted to insider trading after learning that the US electric carmaker had struck a supply deal with a publicly traded lithium producer, Australia’s securities regulator said.


Schlosser bought 86,478 shares in Piedmont Lithium Ltd. on Sept. 16., 2020 after becoming aware that Tesla had reached an agreement with the mining company, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission said Wednesday. After the information was made public, Schlosser sold his Piedmont shares for a profit of A$28,883.53 ($19,500), ASIC said.

Schlosser also told a friend about the deal before it was announced, knowing that the individual would probably buy Piedmont stock, according to ASIC. Schlosser pleaded guilty at a Sydney court on Nov. 15 to two counts of insider trading, the regulator said.

Schlosser is yet to be sentenced. An insider-trading offense carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, ASIC said.

(By Angus Whitley)