Platinum facing biggest deficit in years as carmakers snap up metal
Reuters | May 15, 2023

Image by Hans-Joachim Müller-le Plat from Pixabay

Rising demand from automakers, industry and investors will push the global platinum market into its biggest deficit in years, three industry reports predicted on Monday.


The reports underline an emerging change in fortunes for platinum and its sister metal palladium, both used chiefly in vehicle exhausts to neutralize harmful engine emissions


For years, rising demand and undersupply of palladium pushed prices higher, while lacklustre consumption and more plentiful availability kept platinum prices low.

Two of Monday’s reports predicted that while palladium would remain in deficit this year, platinum’s undersupply would be bigger.


Automakers are now shifting from palladium to platinum to save money, production of platinum-intensive heavy-duty vehicles is rising, and exhaust-free electric vehicles are making inroads into the palladium-focused light vehicle market.


Also supporting platinum are consumption by industry and jewellers, while palladium demand depends almost entirely on autos.

Palladium prices have fallen sharply in recent months, while platinum prices show signs of recovery.

(Click here for an interactive chart of palladium prices)

Specialist materials maker Johnson Matthey said the roughly 8 million ounce a year platinum market would be undersupplied by 128,000 ounces this year, the first deficit since 2020 and a major shift from last year’s surplus of 740,000 ounces.

The World Platinum Investment Council predicted a 983,000-ounce platinum deficit – the biggest since at least 2014 – after last year’s surplus of 854,000 ounces.

Consultants Metals Focus forecast a 953,000-ounce platinum undersupply, up from just 53,000 ounces in 2022.

The forecasts use slightly different methodology, with Metals Focus excluding platinum bought or sold by exchange-traded funds.

JM also predicts a rise in supply of both platinum and palladium this year, which Metals Focus and the WPIC do not.

For the roughly 10 million ounce a year palladium market, JM predicted a deficit of 43,000 ounces this year, down from 531,000 ounces in 2022.

Metals Focus, however, foresees the deficit rising to 707,000 ounces from 547,000 ounces last year.

Following are numbers and comparisons from Johnson Matthey’s report

Platinum (thousands of ounces)

	2022	2023	% change
SUPPLY
Primary supply (mined)	5,530	5,808	5%
Secondary supply (recycled)	1,468	1,521	4%
TOTAL SUPPLY	6,998	7,329	5%
DEMAND
Automotive	2,762	3,063	11%
Chemical	699	697	0%
Dental & biomedical	253	257	2%
Electrical & electronics	235	266	13%
Glass	594	565	-5%
Investment	-565	283
Jewellery	1,344	1,351	1%
Petroleum	230	213	-7%
Pollution control	223	260	17%
Other	483	502	4%
TOTAL DEMAND	6,258	7,457	19%
Movement in stocks	740	-128

Palladium (thousands of ounces)

	2022	2023	% change
SUPPLY
Primary supply (mined)	6,307	6,556	4%
Secondary supply (recycled)	3,099	3,234	4%
TOTAL SUPPLY	9,406	9,790	4%
DEMAND
Automotive	8,449	8,251	-2%
Chemical	589	534	-9%
Dental & biomedical	186	171	-8%
Electrical & electronics	544	545	0%
Investment	-109	25
Jewellery	87	88	1%
Pollution control	108	123	14%
Other	83	96	16%
TOTAL DEMAND	9,937	9,833	-1%
Movement in stocks	-531	-43

Rhodium (thousands of ounces)

	2022	2023	% change
SUPPLY
Primary supply (mined)	695	724	4%
Secondary supply (recycled)	338	345	2%
TOTAL SUPPLY	1033	1069	3%
DEMAND
Automotive	953	947	-1%
Chemical	66	82	24%
Electrical & electronics	5	6	20%
Glass	-41	5
Other	15	15	0%
TOTAL DEMAND	998	1055	6%
Movement in stocks	35	14

Source: Johnson Matthey

(By Peter Hobson; Editing by Jan Harvey)

New CSIRO research explores influence of coal seam gas activity on human health

The exhaustive study provides forensic information about the potential hazards to affect human health from coal seam gas activities in the Surat Basin, Queensland.

NEWS RELEASE



New research has been released into the potential for coal seam gas (CSG) activity in Queensland to affect human health.

A 2,150 square kilometres study site in the Surat Basin, Queensland, was selected and factors that could lead to potential hazards such as chemicals, air emissions, noise, light and dust associated with CSG activities were identified and appraised. Existing data related to these factors was screened to determine whether any factors would require in-depth assessment.

While the study found that for the majority of factors there was no plausible pathway to impact human health, it determined further in-depth assessment of a small number of identified factors was required.

As a result, two new CSIRO research projects are now underway and will conduct further in-depth studies focussing on eight groups of chemical factors.

The research, undertaken by CSIRO and The University of Queensland, was governed through CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA). GISERA is an alliance led by CSIRO and is a collaboration between CSIRO, commonwealth, state and territory governments and industry with the purpose of working with the community to undertake research about the potential or actual impacts of gas development, across major environmental and socio-economic topics.

The study was funded primarily by the Queensland (59 per cent) and Federal Governments (21 per cent) and CSIRO (18 per cent). GISERA industry partners APLNG and QGC each provided one per cent in funding and also made available operational data.

CSIRO Energy Resources Research Director and GISERA Director Dr Damian Barrett said the study provided forensic information about the potential hazards to affect human health from CSG activities in the Surat Basin.

“The value of this exhaustive study is that it provides certainty about where we need to focus further research,” Dr Barrett said.

“By ruling out factors of no concern we ensure cost-effective and targeted use of research resources to zero in on chemical factors with a possible pathway for potential impact on human health.

“CSIRO is already taking the next steps to look more closely at these eight groups of chemical factors where a potential pathway can’t be ruled out or more information is needed.”

Study overview

The study examined all activities relating to coal seam gas operations in a 2,150 square kilometres study in the region of Miles, Chinchilla and Condamine. CSG infrastructure in the study area comprised over 2,400 wells, 5,000km of gathering lines, four water treatment plants, eight gas processing plants, and 15 compression stations.

Researchers identified ‘factors’ associated with CSG activities within the study site and appraised them for their hazard potential to human health. These factors included chemicals (chemicals used by industry and naturally occurring chemicals that may be released by industry activities), air emissions, noise, light and dust.

The university’s Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS) appraised the chemical factors used by industry, while CSIRO completed the assessment of chemical factors associated with air emissions and physical factors (noise, light and dust).

Australia Pacific LNG’s upstream operator Origin, and Shell’s operator QGC supplied data on their activities. Researchers also accessed Queensland Government data sets. This information related to drilling and workovers operations for 2,424 wells, detailed data for the 67 wells in the study area that were subjected to hydraulic fracturing, and data relating to water treatment, gas processing, and flaring operations.

In addition to CSIRO and GISERA’s existing governance arrangements the health study was subject to additional governance and ethics controls, and was supported by local regional stakeholder and technical reference groups.

The health study design was based on a framework developed by CSIRO in a previous related GISERA health project that closely follows the established enHealth Health Impact Assessment approach.

Key results

The study found that for the majority of factors, there was no plausible pathway to impact human health. Noise and light emissions from CSG activities do not pose a hazard to physical health in the study site. Chemical factors associated with air emissions from CSG activities were within relevant health-based air quality objectives.

Of the 97 unique chemical factors used in CSG drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations:72 were assessed and found to have low hazard potential to human health at the study site.
25 chemical factors (in eight groups) warrant further in-depth assessment. Based on the available evidence, none of these chemicals were found to represent an acute hazard to human health in the study site.
A CSIRO extension study examined the microbial degradation of these groups of chemical factors in soil and aquifer samples and found that four chemical groups degraded readily in soils within days, and more slowly in aquifer samples.

Further research

In response to this study two new CSIRO research projects are underway and will conduct further in-depth studies focussing on these eight groups of chemical factors.

One of the newly approved studies – Exposure assessment of identified chemicals used in CSG activities – will examine the seven chemical groups that have a potential pathway to affect human health via soils and groundwater. The other study – Analysis of dust near CSG sites to assess potential for respirable crystalline silica – will focus on the eighth chemical factor, silica dust, which has a potential airborne pathway to affect human health. Both new studies will involve comprehensive field sampling campaigns.

More information

Download the final report

Learn more about the project

Read the fact sheet

Read the extension study

Further research Health 3 and Health 4

ISS advises Glencore shareholders to vote against climate progress report
Reuters | May 15, 2023 

Image: Glencore

Glencore’s investors should vote against the global miner and trader’s climate progress report and in favour of a shareholder resolution seeking more disclosure on thermal coal, proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said.


ISS joins proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis and investors including Britain’s largest asset manager Legal & General Investment Management in supporting a motion seeking detail on how Glencore’s thermal coal output plans aligned with the world’s climate goals.

Another minority investor, Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI), said on Monday that it will vote in support of the shareholder resolution.

Glencore – whose annual general meeting is scheduled for May 26 – said in a statement dated May 3 that it opposed the shareholder motion because it risked undermining the board’s responsibility for its climate strategy, given existing disclosures.

The Swiss company mines and trades thermal coal, the fossil fuel used to generate electricity. It has said it plans to run down its coal mines by the mid-2040s, closing at least 12 by 2035.

“Questions persist over the plan’s alignment to Paris goals,” ISS said in its latest report dated May 12.

“The lack of a dedicated capex to the transition is also highlighted, as is the emphasis on reductions post-2035, as opposed to this decade,” it added.

Just 24% of investors voted against Glencore’s climate progress report at its 2022 AGM, with some citing slow progress in scaling back coal production.

(By Clara Denina and Simon Jessop; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Australia approves new coal mine after pledges of climate action
Bloomberg News | May 15, 2023 |

Credit: Bowen Coking Coal Ltd.

Australia’s center-left Labor government has approved its first new coal mine since it came to power a year ago, in a boost to the country’s lucrative fossil fuel industry.


Bowen Coking Coal Ltd. said Friday that it had received approval to move ahead with its planned Isaac River Coal Mine, which will sit alongside several other projects in the Bowen Basin in Queensland. The company plans to increase output of coal used in steelmaking to 5 million tons by 2024.


Australia is one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel exporters, which also makes it one of biggest per-capita polluters. The Labor government has pushed to reverse the nation’s reputation as a climate laggard, including imposing emissions targets of 43% off 2005 levels by 2030 and increasing funding for the transition to renewable energy.

However, it’s also faced criticism for maintaining its support for the industry, including guaranteeing future gas exploration and supply. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek defended her decision to approve the new coal mine on Monday, saying that she had made the decision in line with Australia’s current environmental regulations.

“This is a small project,” Plibersek told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “It’s a project that produces metallurgical coal, which is the coal you need for steel making. There’s no renewable energy future that doesn’t have steel in it.”

(By Ben Westcott)

Korea’s battery makers embrace LFP cells as China strides ahead

Bloomberg News | May 15, 2023 |

Multiple lithium-iron phosphate cells. (Image by Yo-Co-Man, Wikimedia Commons).

South Korea’s battery giants have to date mainly focused on nickel cells and largely neglected research into iron-based cells, which China favors, citing their poorer performance at low temperatures. Recent technology developments at Chinese rivals, however, is changing that perception.


Korea’s three key battery makers — LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK On Co. — are leaning into so-called lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery technology as fast as they can, according to Byoungwoo Kang, a professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology who conducts research with Korean cell firms. The most “passionate” player appears to be SK On, Kang said, as it tries to boost its market share.

SK On showcased its pilot product for LFP batteries at the InterBattery conference in Seoul in March, the first Korean company to do so. The product can enhance energy density at a low temperature, according to the company.

“SK On has succeeded in applying the technologies around making high-nickel battery electrodes and materials to LFP batteries,” Hwang Jae-youn, a vice president at SK On who’s in charge of technology competitiveness, said in an emailed response to Hyperdrive. “SK On is trying to respond to various demands from customers and boost global competitiveness through diversifying portfolios.”

LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI also both said in their latest earnings calls that they’re developing LFP cells for EVs. LG plans to build an LFP plant in Arizona for energy storage systems while Samsung joined a Korean government-led project to make LFP batteries by 2026.

While LFP batteries are cheaper and considered safer than nickel batteries (they don’t contain nickel, cobalt and magnesium, resulting in lower manufacturing costs), they’ve got a lower energy density in cold climates, hampering the driving range for electric cars during winter. Korean battery companies have historically shunned the technology for that reason.

But that attitude has changed in recent months as Chinese battery makers make various efforts to overcome those inherent weaknesses. One innovative method employed by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s largest battery maker, is a so-called “blending technology,” mixing nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries (NCM) and lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) to boost energy density, according to an April 27 report from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. The technology is expected to be applied to a new battery called M3P, the report said.

“CATL’s blending technology surprised Korean rivals,” Kang said. “The technology seems to increase driving range to around 400 kilometers (248 miles) on a single charge.”

At a seminar on next-generation electric-car battery technology that Hyperdrive attended in Seoul last month, the most popular topic of conversation was LFP. An official from LG Energy said the company was in talks with various carmakers to supply LFP cells. Cathode maker Ecopro BM Co., a supplier to Samsung SDI and Ford Motor Co., unveiled plans for a LFP pilot line by the end of 2023.

Carmakers for their part are embracing LFP cells in order to offer electric cars at a cheaper price. Ford in February announced a 35-gigawatt-hour LFP battery plant in Michigan in partnership with CATL, the first plant in the US for LFPs. Tesla Inc. meanwhile produces vehicles powered by LFP batteries at its plant in Shanghai, while Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Volkswagen AG and Rivian Automotive Inc. have pledged to use LFPs for some of their vehicles.

Chinese battery makers could use loopholes in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to win tax credits and enter the US market, said Park Chul-Wan, a professor at Seojeong College who’s an advisor to the Korean presidential office on its net-zero policy. Some conditions — including the fact iron is not classified as a critical mineral by the IRA — may give Chinese companies the wriggle room to find a way through the US law, he said.

“Korean battery makers have no next-generation battery technology that near commercialization, while CATL and BYD are both writing a new history for LFP battery technology,” Park said, with reference to the Chinese automaker that only makes pure electric and hybrid cars and has its own Blade battery technology.

The global combined market share of LG Energy, Samsung SDI and SK On dropped to just under 25% as of the end of March, from almost 30% in 2021, according to SNE Research. The shares of CATL and BYD jumped to 51.2% from 35.2% during the same period.

According to James Oh, vice president at SNE Research, Korean battery makers will have to build separate plants for LFP cells due to their different production process. Iron batteries can’t be produced at the same facilities as nickel batteries, which even use magnet sweepers to remove any trace of iron in the manufacturing process, he said.

Still, despite the challenges, Korean battery makers aren’t out of the game yet.

“Korean companies will be able to make LFP batteries in the end,” said Yongwook Lee, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. “The question is whether they’ll have the cost competitiveness of Chinese rivals.”

(By Heejin Kim)

Indonesia: After two decades, ExxonMobil settles case of alleged human rights abuses including torture brought by Aceh villagers


PXFuel
Read more

"ExxonMobil settles long-running Aceh torture lawsuit", 16 May 2023

ExxonMobil settled Monday a long-running lawsuit brought by Aceh villagers who alleged human rights violations by Indonesian military officials providing security to the oil giant. The two sides agreed to resolve "all matters," said a joint filing from the opposing counsel that did not disclose terms of the agreement.

Filed in 2001, the case was brought by 11 villagers in Aceh province who allege they were victims of human rights violations committed by the Indonesian military between 1999 and 2003, including sexual assault, battery and unlawful detention.

A trial had been scheduled for May 24. "Our clients ... bravely took on one of the largest and most profitable corporations in the world and stuck with the fight for more than twenty years," said Agnieszka Fryszman, an attorney at Cohen Milstein. "We are so pleased that now, on the eve of trial, we were able to secure a measure of justice for them and their families."

The plaintiffs have stayed anonymous, "having brought this lawsuit in the face of grave threats to themselves and their fellow villagers," said a Cohen Milstein news release.

ExxonMobil "condemns human rights violations in any form, those include the actions asserted in this case against the Indonesian Military," a company spokesperson told AFP. "It should be noted while there were no allegations that any employee directly harmed any of the plaintiffs, the settlement brings closure for all parties."

Timeline

Indonesia: After two decades, ExxonMobil settles case of alleged human rights abuses including torture brought by Aceh villagersDate:16 May 2023Content Type:Article

After more than twenty years, ExxonMobil has settled a lawsuit brought by Aceh villagers in Indonesia over allegations of human rights abuses.

US judge rules that ExxonMobil case about allegations of complicity in violence in Indonesia can go to trial after 21 yearsDate:27 Jul 2022Content Type:Article

Eleven villagers from Aceh Province allege they and their family members were tortured, sexually assaulted, raped and beaten in and around the ExxonMobil oil and gas plant located in the city of Lhoksukon during the late 1990s and early 2000s. ExxonMobil has denied being aware of any human rights violations at the time and argued it cannot be held responsible.

US judge orders ExxonMobil to pay nearly $290,000 to plaintiff’s lawyer following botched deposition in lawsuit over company's alleged involvement in human rights abuses in Aceh, IndonesiaDate:25 Apr 2022Content Type:Article

"US court orders oil giant to pay nearly $290,000 to plaintiff’s counsel following botched deposition."

Trial in US lawsuit against ExxonMobil over alleged complicity in torture & beatings by military in Indonesia could start after 20 yearsDate:3 Jan 2022Content Type:Article

"Villagers in Aceh say they were tortured by 'Exxon Army' hired by gas plant." The company denies the allegations.

Exxon Human Rights Case Survives — on Claim that Execs Knew All Along

Date:21 Jul 2015

Content Type:Article

View full case 

 

Mexico: Workers protesting against Minera Penmont's refusal to pay 10% of the profits allegedly owed to 1,800 of them are removed by the police in Sonora

"Sonora police intervene to remove blockaders from Fresnillo’s La Herradura mine",

 13 May 2023

...Minera Penmont, a subsidiary of Fresnillo announced that the Sonora police removed a number of blockades installed at different entry points of the company’s La Herradura operation located in northwestern Mexico.

...[B]lockaders...had been protesting for 14 days...

The conflict started on April 27, 2023, when some employees protested against the company’s refusal to pay 10% of the profits that – they say – is owed to 1,800 workers. They were also defending their right to freedom of association.

In a communiqué, Minera Penmont said that some people that don’t even work for the company were part of the group that launched the “illegal strike action” and that all of them refused to go through the regular institutional channels to negotiate a solution to the conflict.

“The company initiated legal actions against those responsible for this work stoppage that has put the mining operation, social stability and the local economy at risk,” the media statement reads.

Fresnillo’s subsidiary noted that management has, at all times, responded to workers’ demands within the existing legal framework, in compliance with the contract it signed with the FRENTE Mining and Metallurgical National Union and without interfering with the decisions made by the union during its general meetings, which have been endorsed by the Mexican labour authorities...

Lithium Americas’ breakup is really about China, executive says

Bloomberg News | May 12, 2023 |

The Caucharí-Olaroz project, located in Argentina’s Jujuy province. (Image courtesy of Lithium Americas.)

Lithium Americas Corp.’s decision to split the company came down to one thorny issue: US-China relations.


The mining company announced a plan in November to separate its Argentine and North American units into two separate entities. If approved by shareholders, the split would effectively distance it from one of its top shareholders, Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., a Chinese producer of the white, slivery metal. Ganfeng partnered with Lithium Americas in 2017 to help advance the project in Argentina.

Ganfeng is a “smart, dedicated” partner, said Lithium Americas’ John Kanellitsas, executive vice chair. But Kanellitsas said Lithium Americas needed to cut ties with Ganfeng to build the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, a project that has drawn a $650 million investment from General Motors Co. as the US pushes to build a domestic supply chain for electric vehicles.

Lithium Americas has since applied for funding from the US Department of Energy, which has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars toward battery-metals projects.

“What makes it problematic, optics wise — and optics matter — is when the beneficial owners of those Department of Energy funds are Chinese shareholders,” Kanellitsas told an audience of investors and industry members at Canaccord Genuity’s annual metals and mining conference in Palm Desert, California.

“You can only imagine a press release saying here, ‘Lithium Americas and Ganfeng announce a new joint venture’ — it just would not fly at all, especially given what we’re trying to accomplish here in North America.”

The US and its allies have cracked down on Chinese investment in mining as they push to compete with China for access to critical minerals. Lithium Americas’ separation, which is expected to close this year, was announced one day after the Canadian government ordered three Chinese companies to divest their stakes in the country’s lithium miners.

(By Jacob Lorinc)

LME fights to regain trust after last year’s nickel crisis

Bloomberg News | May 16, 2023 |

London Metal Exchange. (Image by HM Treasury, Flickr.)

The embattled London Metal Exchange is still trying to rebuild faith in its nickel contract after an epic short squeeze last year, according to chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain.


The crisis last March, when the metal used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries spiked 250% in little more than 24 hours, brought the venerable LME to the brink of collapse. It raised doubts about the exchange’s viability as the world’s benchmark pricing mechanism for nickel and was followed by plunging trading volumes and frequent wild price swings.

“Every day, every week, every month you are competing for people’s confidence,” Chamberlain said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Hong Kong. “Trust doesn’t arise overnight, but I really hope people feel that we are doing the right things to strengthen this.”

The LME didn’t restart nickel trading in Asian hours, the time in which prices jumped most dramatically, until this March, a year after the crisis.

“It was such an important step to be able to reopen nickel trading in Asian hours,” Chamberlain told reporters at LME Asia Week in Hong Kong on Tuesday. “Because we know how important this time zone, this geography is to all of our metals, particularly nickel,” he said at the exchange’s first in-person event in Asia since 2019.

The LME has made a number of changes to its rules since the crisis, including imposing daily price limits, and is proposing more changes to its nickel operations. It’s also facing a rare investigation from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority over its handling of the debacle, and lawsuits from hedge funds.

Nickel is still the worst-performing contract on the LME so far this year. It’s fallen by 28%, compared with drops of around 2% for copper and 5% for aluminum.

April was probably the best-volume month for the exchange in well over a year, Chamberlain said in the TV interview.

“There’s a lot of interest in base metals and people are still trying to figure out where it’s going to go,” he said. “But in many ways that’s a good place to be because it means people want to hedge, they want to express an opinion. And that’s obviously all great for the exchange and our community.”

LME to require warehouses to feel their nickel bags after heist

Bloomberg News | May 12, 2023 |

Credit: LME

The London Metal Exchange is tightening rules for handling nickel by its network of warehouses, following the shock discovery earlier this year that some of its nickel contracts were instead backed by bags of stones.


The LME will now require warehouse companies to carry out additional checks in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the scandal, according to people familiar with the matter. The tests include using magnets and metal detectors to ensure that the bags do in fact contain metal, and a so-called “touch inspection,” which involves warehouse workers feeling the outside of the bags to verify that the material inside is an appropriate size and shape.

The changes come two months after the exchange discovered that 54 tons of “nickel” held at a warehouse in Rotterdam and owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co. was actually just bags of stones. While the amounts involved were small, the incident shook traders’ faith in the LME, whose contracts have long been seen as unquestionably safe in an industry where fraud and theft are commonplace.

At the heart of the case is a quirk specific to the nickel market: unlike aluminum and copper, which are kept in neat stacks in warehouses, most of the nickel in the LME is in the form of briquettes stored in bags. It is typically only weighed by warehousing companies once: when it first enters their warehouse. That meant that the existence of the bags of stones at the Rotterdam warehouse was able to go undetected for a significant period of time.

The warehousing company, Access World, believes it’s likely that someone snuck into the warehouse at some point after the bags were first delivered, several years ago, and replaced the nickel with stones. The heist was only noticed when the bags had been sold, delivered out and were inspected upon their arrival elsewhere.

The changes mandated by the LME, which only cover nickel stored in bags and were communicated to warehousing companies in recent days, seek to reduce the chances that the incident could be repeated.

The exchange will require warehouses to carry out additional checks when bags of nickel are delivered in. It will also require them to carry out certain checks when bags of nickel are “warranted” (registered for delivery on the exchange) and when they are “rewarranted” (registered again, after previously having been deregistered).

Finally the exchange is asking warehouses to weigh bags of nickel as they are delivered out of the LME system — a final check to ensure the trustworthiness of the system and to prevent traders getting a nasty surprise when metal they bought on the LME turns out to be the wrong weight, as happened to Trafigura Group and Stratton Metals with “nickel” from the Access World Rotterdam warehouse.

An LME spokesperson confirmed the exchange is putting in place “enhanced operating procedures for bagged products in LME-licensed warehouses,” and said the LME is committed to continuing to evolve its procedures to ensure the future robustness of its physical storage network.

(By Jack Farchy and Archie Hunter)

London court rejects BHP’s 14-month delay request to Brazil dam case

Reuters | May 12, 2023 | 

The collapse of the Fundao tailings dam in 2015 killed 19 people and polluted hundreds of miles of rivers. (Image: Agência Brasil Fotografias).

A London court on Friday rejected BHP Group’s request to delay until mid-2025 a potential 36 billion pound ($44 billion) lawsuit over Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, instead granting a five-month deferral.


The world’s biggest miner by market value is being sued by 720,000 Brazilians over the 2015 collapse of the Fundao dam owned by the Samarco joint venture BHP holds with Brazilian iron ore producer Vale.

When the dam collapsed, 19 people were killed as mud and toxic mining waste swept into the Doce river, obliterating villages, contaminating water supplies and reaching the Atlantic Ocean more than 650 km (400 miles) away.

BHP said in an email on Friday “it denies the claims brought in the UK in their entirety and will continue to defend the case”.

The company was initially being sued by around 200,000 people but in March the number of claimants leapt by 500,000.

BHP’s lawyers had said the April 2024 trial should be delayed until at least June 2025 to give the company more time to prepare and allow Vale to participate.

But Judge Finola O’Farrell on Friday set a trial start date of Oct. 7, 2024 and said “this will give the parties a more relaxed, achievable timetable and will provide time for Vale and others to participate if necessary.”

BHP applied in December to have Vale join the case.

Vale has challenged the London High Court’s jurisdiction to determine the claim, and that challenge will be heard in July.

Reparation and compensation programmes implemented by the Renova Foundation, a redress scheme established in 2016 by Samarco and its shareholders, in connection with the disaster had funded $6 billion in financial aid as of the end of 2022, BHP said.

The lawsuit, one of the largest in English legal history, first began in 2018 and was thrown out of court two years later, before the Court of Appeal ruled in July that it could proceed.

“Over seven years on from the disaster, today’s Judgment means our clients will finally have their day in court and they are now one step closer to the justice they deserve,” Tom Goodhead of law firm Pogust Goodhead, which represents the claimants, said in a statement.

BHP has also applied to the Supreme Court to end the case without trial following the Court of Appeal’s decision last year.

(By Clara Denina; Editing by Hugh Lawson)