Grossi issues fresh call for restraint around Zaporizhzhia plant

22 February 2024

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has reiterated his call for "maximum restraint and strict observance" of the UN-backed safety principles at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant because of the "continued volatile situation".

Grossi visited Zaporizhzhia earlier this month (Image: IAEA)

In a statement issued by the Vienna-based agency, Grossi "emphasised the need to protect, at all times, the physical integrity" of the plant "and avoid any attack or military activity that could impact the safety and security of the facility".

Also on Wednesday, the director general said that there had been a loss of connection to its one remaining back-up external power line at 14:04 local time, due to a problem which occurred across the Dnipro river some 13.5 kilometres away. The cause of the disconnection was not immediately known.

Although external power to the plant was not lost, the lack of back-up power options was a cause of serious concern he said, adding that "the extremely vulnerable off-site power situation continues to pose significant safety and security challenges for this major nuclear facility".

The six-unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, and it is situated close to the front line. Five of the units are in cold shut down and one in "hot shutdown" where it is producing heat for the plant and the nearby town of Energodar. Those running it said that the continued operation of the main power line means safety operations had not been impactd by the loss the back-up line.

Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said on Thursday that restoration work on the damaged overhead high-voltage power transmission line, which provided a back-up power supply for the nuclear plant, was taking place but was complicated by constant shelling.

Grossi visited the nuclear power plant earlier this month to assess the security and safety situation for himself. He also held talks in Kiev with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and he is expected to visit Russia in the next week for talks as he continues efforts to ensure the safety of Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

Meanwhile, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine says that the 20th rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency experts at the Rivne, South Ukrainian and Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant has taken place, together with a 22nd rotation of those at the Chernobyl site.

EBRD signs new grant agreement for next stage of Chernobyl work

23 February 2024

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant have signed Grant Agreement No.2 designed to help "solve the most urgent and critical needs" at the site.

The New Safe Confinement in position in 2019 (Image: EBRD)

The agreement provides support for the restoration of infrastructure at the site, with the completion of pre-design activities of the New Safe Confinement and the on-going dismantling of the unstable structures within it, as well as the procurement of vehicles and equipment for "reliable and safe operation of the New Safe Confinement shelter facility ... there will also be inspection of the deaerator stage and engine room protruding beyond the boundaries of the fence contour of the New Safe Confinement".

Andrii Tymchuk, deputy CEO of State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management, said: "This programme is intended to solve the most urgent and critical problems of the power plant. ChNPP personnel have gained successful experience in delivery of complicated projects, and we can be sure that this agreement will be implemented expertly."

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) acts as the manager of grant funds provided by the International Cooperation Account for Chernobyl to the State Specialised Enterprise Chernobyl NPP (ChNPP).

Balthazar Lindauer, director of the EBRD nuclear safety department, said: "We are starting a new stage and the signing of the grant agreement symbolises the beginning of the operation of the ChNPP security programme."

The original shelter over the destroyed unit 4 at Chernobyl was constructed at pace, and the international Shelter Implementation Plan in the 1990s had three phases - firstly to stabilise it and secondly to build a larger secure construction to enclose it - the New Safe Confinement (NSC) which was completed in 2017 to pave the way for the dismantling and decommissioning stage.

According to World Nuclear Association, the hermetically sealed NSC "will allow engineers to remotely dismantle the 1986 structure that has shielded the remains of the reactor from the weather since the weeks after the accident. It will enable the eventual removal of the fuel-containing materials in the bottom of the reactor building and accommodate their characterisation, compaction, and packing for disposal. This task represents the most important step in eliminating nuclear hazard at the site - and the real start of dismantling."

The NSC is the largest moveable land-based structure ever built - with a span of 257 metres, a length of 162 metres, a height of 108 metres and a total weight of 36,000 tonnes equipped - and with a lifetime of 100 years has been designed to allow for the eventual dismantling of the ageing makeshift shelter from 1986 and the management of radioactive waste. It has also been designed to withstand temperatures ranging from -43°C to +45°C, a class-three tornado, and an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale.

In December Chernobyl was given a six-year extension for work dismantling the parts of the original shelter facility most at risk of collapse.

The NSC has been funded by the international community through donations from more than 40 countries to the EBRD and cost about EUR2.1 billion (USD2.5 billion).

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Collaboration points way to potential reductions in waste volumes

23 February 2024

Pairing a used fuel recycling facility with deep borehole disposal technology could reduce the total volume of waste requiring disposal in a deep geologic repository by greater than 90%, a study by Deep Isolation and SHINE Technologies has found.

Deep Isolation's waste repository concept leverages directional drilling to isolate used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in deep boreholes located underground in suitable rock formations (Image: Deep Isolation)

Nuclear waste storage and disposal solutions company Deep Isolation completed the study for fusion technology company SHINE Technologies, which is working on ways to recycle used nuclear fuel in facilities designed to reduce the volume of waste requiring deep geologic disposal.

The study was an initial scoping assessment of the costs of disposing the byproducts of a pilot recycling facility that would extract and enable reuse of valuable components from used nuclear fuel while separating fission products that require geologic disposal, the companies said. The goal was to assess the cost, feasibility, and fundamental characteristics of deep borehole disposal repositories for these long-lived waste forms using Deep Isolation's designs.

"This study highlights the design flexibility and advantages of deep borehole disposal in terms of modularity and potential to accept a wide range of radioactive wastes," study lead Ethan Bates, director of systems engineering for Deep Isolation, said.

Deep Isolation CEO Elizabeth Muller said the collaboration highlights the "massive potential for driving cost out of the nuclear fuel cycle" through innovation. "SHINE's pilot recycling facility will unlock new power generation out of spent nuclear fuel from traditional nuclear power plants, significantly reducing the volume of high-level waste that requires geologic disposal. And Deep Isolation’s borehole technology reduces the cost of that disposal itself," she said.

Wisconsin-based SHINE is working to deploy fusion technology through a "purpose-driven and phased approach" which includes eventually applying its technology to recycling nuclear waste. And ultimately generating power from nuclear fusion. "This study is an important step toward understanding the tremendous potential for optimisation in nuclear waste disposal volume and cost reductions, and therefore helps demonstrate important social and economic benefits from the deployment of our recycling technologies," SHINE Chief Technology Officer Ross Radel said. "It's validation that our planned approach to nuclear waste recycling is foundational to our mission of creating a safer, healthier and cleaner world."

Holderness withdraws from UK repository siting process

22 February 2024

Just one month after the formation of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) Working Group, East Riding of Yorkshire Council has voted to withdraw from talks about the possibility of a UK radioactive waste repository being built in South Holderness.

Withernsea, a seaside resort town and civil parish in Holderness (Image: NWS)

Last month, East Riding of Yorkshire Council accepted an invitation from Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) to join the South Holderness GDF Working Group. The group's role is to open up engagement with the community, begin the work to understand the local area and identify an initial search area for further consideration. The group would also identify initial members for a GDF Community Partnership, which would take over from the Working Group and be a more enduring vehicle for community engagement and involvement in the siting process, including developing a community vision and distributing community investment funding.

However, at a meeting on 21 February, councillors voted 53-1 in favour of a motion brought by Councillor Sean McMaster, which called on the council to withdraw from the siting process for the facility.

McMaster, ward councillor for South East Holderness, said there had been an "overwhelming response" from the community since the formation of the Working Group. He called on the council to use "its right of withdrawal with immediate effect, due to the strong opposition from the communities of South Holderness, as a promise was made to take the views of residents into account as the relevant principal local authority".

Councillor Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "The purpose of the Working Group was always to open a conversation with the community about whether a GDF would be right for the South Holderness area. The council and NWS were clear about that from the very start.

"In the past few weeks, many people within the community have made it clear that they find this idea unpalatable and do not want South Holderness to be part of the conversation. Many other people have attended the drop-in events curious to find out more about the long-term benefits a GDF could bring to its host community. Councillors have today considered all these views and decided that it is right to withdraw from this process."

NWS said it "fully respects the council's decision to withdraw from the GDF siting process. Together with the Working Group Chair, NWS will now take the necessary steps to wind down the South Holderness Working Group and respond to outstanding requests for more information".

NWS will continue to engage with the other three Community Partnerships currently involved in the GDF siting process and "will consider other communities who are interested in learning more about this vital project and the benefits and opportunities it could bring".

Between late-2021 and mid-2022, four localities formed Community Partnerships interested in hosting a GDF - Allerdale, South Copeland and Mid Copeland in Cumbria in northwest England, and Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire, in eastern England. However, in September last year, Allerdale was removed from the siting process due to limited suitable geology.

The UK search for a GDF site is based on the idea of community consent. Finding the right site to build the GDF could take 10-15 years.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 OTHER NUKE NEWZ 

India to seek nuclear investors as Kakrapar units inaugurated

23 February 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's formal dedication to the nation of Kakrapar units 3 and 4 - the first Indian-designed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors - took place days after reports that the Indian government is in talks with several private firms to invest in the country's nuclear sector.

The Prime Minister addresses personnel at the Kakrapar plant during his 22 February visit (Image: Press Information Bureau)

Kakrapar 3 and 4 are the first of a fleet of planned 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs): unit 3 achieved first criticality in July 2020, and the unit was connected to the grid in January 2021 and was declared to be in commercial operation in July 2023. Unit 4 reached first criticality in December and is now undergoing power ascension testing.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the two units were built at a cost of "more than INR22,500 crore" (about USD2.7 billion - 1 crore is 10 million). "They are first-of-its-kind reactors and with advanced safety features comparable with the best in the world. Together, these two reactors will produce about 10.4 billion units of clean electricity per year and benefit consumers of multiple states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Goa and UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu," the PMO said in a press release ahead of the ceremony.

According to the Times of India, Modi inaugurated the two new reactors and "interacted with senior officials" including Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) Chairman Bhuwan Chandra Pathak, as well as visiting the visited the main control room of the plant.

"Went to the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station. Two new Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors were dedicated to the nation," Modi said on X.

The next two 700 MWe PHWRs are under construction at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, and the Indian government has sanctioned the construction of further units at Kaiga in Karnataka; Gorakhpur in Haryana; Chutka in Madhya Pradesh; and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan.

Seeking investors

According to Reuters, government sources said India was planning to invite private firms to invest some USD26 billion in its nuclear energy sector, and is in talks with "at least" five private firms including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power and Vedanta Ltd to invest around INR440 billion (USD5.30 billion) each.

Plans are not yet finalised, but the government hopes to use the investments to build 11,000 MWe of new nuclear capacity by 2040, the sources said. The plants would be built and operated by NPCIL, with the investing companies earning revenue from electricity sales from the plants. This hybrid plan would not require any amendment to India's Atomic Energy Act of 1962 - which prohibits private control of nuclear power generation - but would need to be approved by the Department of Atomic Energy, they said.

Only two government-owned enterprises - NPCIL and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI, set up to build and operate fast reactors) - are legally allowed to own and operate nuclear power plants in India. But the possibility of involving other public sector and private corporations in the country's future expansion plans is something that has been under consideration for some time. In 2016, the government amended the Atomic Energy Act to allow NPCIL to form joint venture companies with other public sector undertakings India in a move intended to help the state-owned company to secure funding for new projects, although the legislative change did not extend to private sector companies or foreign investors.

As well as further 700 MWe PHWRs, Indian plans envisage the construction of large reactors from overseas vendors, including further Russian-designed VVER reactors in addition to those already in operation and under construction at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. In August 2023, Minister of State Jitendra Singh also told the country's parliament that the government was considering options for small modular reactors, and looking at ways to allow the participation of the private sector and start-ups in such projects.

France’s $1.6 billion uranium deal with Mongolia faces delays

Bloomberg News | February 22, 2024 | 

Zuuvch-Ovoo project. Credit: Orano

A $1.6 billion uranium mining deal between France and Mongolia that is part of French efforts to diversify supplies to power its fleet of nuclear reactors is running into political hurdles.


A debate about protecting strategic resources in Mongolia risks delaying the finalization of the agreement until after elections in June, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. Progress has also been hampered after the Asian country’s chief negotiator stepped down, a third person said, meaning the deal had to be redrafted.

French uranium producer Orano SA reached an outline accord to develop and operate the Zuuvch-Ovoo mine in Mongolia in October during a trip by the nation’s president, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, to Paris to meet with counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

A final investment agreement was expected to be signed by the end of last year, with production due to start in 2028.

A long delay or even cancellation of the project would be a blow to state-controlled nuclear group Orano, which has said the plan is a key step in widening supplies as global demand picks up. It has uranium mining operations in Canada and Kazakhstan, as well as in Niger, where its business has been put in jeopardy by last year’s military coup.

Mongolian government representatives were not immediately able to comment on the contract delays. Orano said in an emailed statement that talks are continuing and that authorities have expressed strong motivation to finalize the agreement as soon as possible.

A series of supply setbacks in the past year including the Niger coup, which disrupted shipments to Europe, has pushed spot uranium prices to 15-year highs. The world’s biggest producer of the metal, Kazakh state-owned miner Kazatomprom, cut its production forecast last month, citing a shortage of acid needed to process the ore. That’s happening amid a revival of interest in nuclear power as governments try to decarbonize their economies to meet emissions targets.

France said in October it wants to give landlocked Mongolia, which is situated between Russia and China, “the means to benefit from greater strategic sovereignty” in the face of “two extremely powerful neighbors.”

Russia supplies more than 80% of the petroleum products Mongolia needs, while China is the main buyer for Mongolian exports. Beijing is adding atomic plants at a rapid pace.

Tensions around access to critical raw materials and strategic equipment have flared up between the West and Russia after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine two years ago. The US and Europe have imposed severe sanctions on the Russian economy, prompting the Kremlin to turn to China, Turkey and Arab countries to keep its industry afloat.

Uranium price jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall

Russia has also become much more hostile to any Western influence on its neighbors, including Central Asian nations and Mongolia. Meanwhile, Moscow has displaced Paris as a leading partner in several African capitals in the wake of military coups, including in Niger.

Soon after Mongolia’s president returned from Paris in October he was paid a visit by a Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko. In December, Russia also agreed with Mongolia on a plan to build a small modular reactor, according to state news agency TASS.

When Russia cut energy supplies to its neighbor in December, citing an incident at a hydro power plant, Mongolia had to limit daily power consumption, highlighting its dependence.

Mongolian Energy Minister Battogtokh Choijilsuren visited Moscow the same month to discuss the possibility of uninterrupted supply of petroleum products with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Earlier in February, Russia said it’s treating Mongolia in a preferential manner when it comes to oil-product prices.

(By Ilya Arkhipov, Samy Adghirni and Francois de Beaupuy)

France and Bulgaria to strengthen nuclear energy cooperation

22 February 2024

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Bulgaria's Energy Minister Rumen Radev have signed a declaration of intent to establish bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, including the areas of nuclear construction programmes, small modular reactors and development of a European supply chain.

(Image: Bulgaria's Ministry of Energy)

The declaration, signed in Paris, will see the two members of the European Nuclear Alliance continuing to cooperate as part of the Alliance and its promotion of nuclear energy within the European Union, as well as committing to establish bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

According to the French Economy Ministry: "This cooperation will concern, among other things, the nuclear construction programmes envisaged in the two countries, the analysis of new technologies such as small modular reactors or advanced technology reactors, the development of a European supply chain, the fuel cycle, nuclear power and the strengthening of nuclear training courses within the two countries."

The declaration recognises the "essential role" nuclear energy will play in both countries' "efforts to strengthen energy security and sovereignty, reducing carbon emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, provide affordable energy and support industrial and regional development".

It also "promotes the participation of companies from both countries in new projects, management of aging and long-term operation, dismantling and decommissioning of nuclear installations and in particular nuclear reactors"  as well as analysing, with a "long-term vision, the possibilities of cooperation on new construction projects in Bulgaria based on European Gen III+ technologies including large reactors and small modular reactors".

The statement says it is not designed to be legally binding on either side but seeks to strengthen cooperation with regular exchanges, and leaves the door open for extending cooperation by mutual agreement.

Bulgaria's Radev said: "When we share know-how on technology, education and training programmes between Bulgaria and France in the nuclear field, this means that we also share an understanding of the future, and also of our security and competitiveness, a green future based on real baseload, on low carbon energy that is secure, reliable and gives us the chance to be sustainable, competitive and to develop our economies in the best possible way."

France's Le Maire said: "We want to extend our cooperation with Bulgaria to other areas with regard to nuclear energy. This includes cooperation in the supply chain, skills development. I set out the idea of a project of common interest in the nuclear field because you know that we have projects of common interest on many topics, including raw materials, hydrogen. It is worth having projects of common interest in the field of nuclear energy as well."

Bulgaria currently has two units operating. Kozloduy units 1-4 were VVER-440 models which the European Commission had classified as non-upgradeable and Bulgaria agreed to close them during negotiations to join the European Union in 2007. Units 5 and 6 feature VVER-1000 reactors that were connected to the grid in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Both units have been through refurbishment and life extension programmes to enable extension of operation from 30 to 60 years. The country is currently planning two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at Kozloduy, and has said further new units will be needed by 2050. There have also been discussions over the feasibility of small modular reactors as the country.

France derives about 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy and has been active in developing nuclear technology and advocating for it within the European Union and has an ambitious expansion programme for six EPR-2 PWRs at three sites in France over the coming years with the aim of a construction start before May 2027.

Construction starts on second phase of Zhangzhou plant

22 February 2024

The first safety-related concrete has been poured for the nuclear island of unit 3 at the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in Fujian province, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced. It is the first of two Hualong One units planned as the second phase of the plant, which will eventually house six such reactors.

The first concrete is poured for the basemat of Zhangzhou unit 3 (Image: CNNC)

In May 2014, the local government gave approval for Phase I of the Zhangzhou plant, comprising two AP1000 units. The National Nuclear Safety Administration gave approval in December 2015 for the AP1000 units and confirmed site selection in October 2016. Construction of Phase I had originally been expected to start in May 2017. However, CNNC subsequently decided to use the HPR1000 (Hualong One) design instead. Two more Hualong One units are planned for Phase II of the plant and a further two proposed for Phase III.

Construction of Zhangzhou 1 began in October 2019, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020. The units are scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

CNNC issued the environmental impact assessment for Zhangzhou units 3 and 4 in October 2020. In September 2022, China's State Council approved the construction of two Hualong One units as Phase II of the Zhangzhou plant.

CNNC has now announced that work on Phase II has commenced, with the pouring of first concrete for the nuclear island of unit 3 on 22 February.

The Zhangzhou project is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).

The first two demonstration units of CNNC's version of the Hualong One design at the Fuqing plant in Fujian province have both already started up. Unit 5 entered commercial operation on 30 January 2021, with unit 6 following on 25 March 2022. Two Hualong One reactors have also been constructed as units 2 and 3 of the Karachi plant in Pakistan's Sindh province. These entered commercial operation in May 2021 and April 2022, respectively.

"At present, the first four units of Hualong One have been completed and put into operation, and the batch construction is progressing smoothly," CNNC said. "Among them, the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Project is the starting point for the batch construction of Hualong One: unit 1 is expected to be put into operation in 2024; unit 2 is undergoing cold test-related preparations such as the installation of internal components of the reactor."

In addition to Zhangzhou units 1-3, CNNC is also building two Hualong One reactors as units 3 and 4 of the Changjiang plant, in Hainan province, construction of which began in March 2021 and December 2021, respectively.

Earlier this week, it also held a ground-breaking ceremony for Phase I of the Jinqimen plant in Zhejiang province, which will also feature two Hualong One reactors.

Investment contract supports US demonstration reactor project

22 February 2024

The US Department of Energy (DOE) and Kairos Energy have signed a technology investment agreement to implement an Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) risk reduction award to support the design, construction, and commissioning of the Hermes demonstration reactor.

A rendering of the Hermes demonstration reactor plant (Image: Kairos Power)

The agreement will see the DOE provide up to USD303 million using a performance-based, fixed-price milestone approach, with the company receiving fixed payments on demonstrating the achievement of significant project milestones.

Kairos Power co-founder and CEO Mike Laufer applauded the DOE for pursuing the use of this "novel" approach to public-private partnerships, which he said "allows us to remain focused on achieving the most important goals of the project while retaining agility and flexibility to move quickly as we learn key lessons through our iterative development approach", he said.

"This agreement incentivises efficiency, drives performance, and establishes credibility to deliver," Laufer added.

Hermes, a 35 MW (thermal) non-power version of the company's fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor, the KP-HFR, is to be built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and is the first non-water cooled reactor to be approved for construction in the USA in more than 50 years. It is a critical step on Kairos' iterative pathway to commercialising its technology: the company has also submitted a construction permit application for Hermes 2, a proposed two-unit, electricity-producing demonstration plant that would build on the learnings from Hermes and would demonstrate the complete architecture of future commercial plants.

The KP-HFR is one of five teams selected in 2020 by the DOE to receive USD30 million in initial funding for risk reduction projects under the ARDP. Since then, Kairos said, it has made "steady progress" towards demonstration, establishing extensive testing and manufacturing infrastructure to deliver the Engineering Test Unit series and advancing its fuel and molten salt coolant workstreams.

US Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff said the Hermes reactor is an important step toward realising advanced nuclear energy's role in the nation's clean energy transition. "Partnerships like this one play a significant role in making advanced nuclear technology commercially competitive," she added.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

GEMOLOGY

MINING – Lucara unveils diamond recoveries from its Karowe mine

February 22, 2024

Lucara Diamond Corp. has announced the recovery of a 320-carat, 111-carat, and two +50-carat stones from its 100% owned Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana.

These diamonds were recovered from the direct milling of EM/PK(S) kimberlite ore from the South Lobe during a recent production run that saw additional recoveries of numerous, smaller +10.8 carat diamonds of high value.

The 320-carat is a stunning, gem-quality, top light brown diamond, while the 111-carat diamond is described as a magnificent Type IIa white stone of high quality.

The two +50-carat stones add to these recent recoveries and are also Type IIa white diamonds.

These recoveries add to the collection of significant diamonds recovered at Karowe and further solidify Lucara’s reputation as a leader in the recovery of large, high-quality diamonds.

Australia’s Orica seals $640m deal to buy US chemical firm Cyanco Produces sodium cyanide (NaCN)

GOLD MINING IS TOXIC ECOCIDE

Reuters | February 21, 2024 | 

Credit: Cyanco Intermediate 4 Corp

Australia’s Orica said on Wednesday it would acquire US-based chemical company Cyanco Intermediate 4 Corp for $640 million to expand its geographical reach in mining chemicals business.


Orica will fund the buy mainly through an underwritten institutional placement worth A$400 million ($261.9 million), along with existing cash and debt facilities, the company said.

The placement’s issue price of A$15.84 per share represents a 6% discount to the stock’s last traded price of A$16.85 on Tuesday.

Shares of the company were halted prior to the announcement. Orica said it would resume trading on Thursday.

The company said it would also undertake a share purchase plan of A$65 million for financing the Cyanco deal, which will be priced lower than the institutional placement.

“At face value, Orica’s acquisition of Cyanco appears strategically sound, by extending the current sodium cyanide (NaCN) chemicals platform to a global scale by more than doubling capacity,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Owen Birrell said in a note.

“Overall we believe the transaction will be well received by the market, and the equity raising supported.”

Cyanco produces NaCN, a specialised chemical required for gold processing, at its Nevada and Texas plants in the US, and supplies it primarily to gold mining industries across parts of Americas and Africa.

“The acquisition will more than double Orica’s existing sodium cyanide production capacity and provide us with the ability to cater to the highly attractive US and Canadian gold mining industries,” Orica CEO Sanjeev Gandhi said in a statement.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2024, and earnings-per-share-accretive in mid-single-digits in the first year and provide “strong EBITDA margins” benefits, Orica said.

($1 = 1.5274 Australian dollars)

(By Poonam Behura; Editing by Chris Reese, Stephen Coates and Subhranshu Sahu)

Thai potash mine owner ITD weighing $500 million stake sale

Bloomberg News | February 22, 2024 |

Image by elwynn | Shutterstock.com

Italian-Thai Development Pcl is considering selling its 90% stake in Asia Pacific Potash Corp., which has mining rights in Thailand, and is seeking about $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.


The Bangkok-based construction company is working with an adviser and talking with potential buyers, including from China, one of the people said.

Talks with potential interested parties are ongoing and may not lead to a deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Asia Pacific Potash referred queries from Bloomberg News to ITD, which didn’t respond to a request for comment.

ITD, one of Thailand’s biggest construction firms, acquired Asia Pacific Potash in 2006. The company has exploration and development rights to high-grade potash deposits in the northeastern Thai province Udon Thani.

Asia Pacific Potash applied to the government for rights to the 10,500-acre site in 2003, but it took until 2022 for it to receive official approval to operate the project for 21 years, according to the company’s website. It has annual capacity of 2 million tons of potash, the company said.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin inspected the main mine on Feb. 19, according to a government statement. He asked about the source of funds for the project and also met citizens opposed to the potash mine, it said.

ITD’s market value has shrunk since reaching around $3 billion in the 1990s, falling to $100 million now. The company, which was founded in 1954, reported a net loss of 44.7 million baht ($1.2 million) in the third quarter of 2023 and a 4.76 billion baht loss for full-year 2022.

The company’s president and biggest shareholder, Premchai Karnasuta, was released from prison on parole last year after being sentenced for wildlife poaching, including, according to the Bangkok Post, a rare black panther.

Krungthep Turakij newspaper reported in January that ITD planned to delay payment of 2 billion baht in bonds due the following month. Bondholders later agreed to approve extending redemption dates for two years.

(By Dong Cao, Elffie Chew and Anuchit Nguyen)

Posco to import African battery graphite to cut China reliance

Bloomberg News | February 22, 2024 | 

Construction of the Molo graphite mine in Madagascar.

 (Image courtesy of NextSource Materials.)

Posco Future M Co., which produces battery materials for companies including General Motors Co., is preparing to import graphite from Africa to reduce its dependence on supplies from China.


“Graphite is the most troubling part when making batteries,” chief executive officer Kim Jun-hyung told reporters on Thursday. “We are importing 100% of natural graphite from China. But we are planning to bring natural graphite from Africa, such as Madagascar, and process it in South Korea.”


The move comes after China tightened export rules for graphite used for electric vehicle batteries in December, hitting Korean battery makers which rely heavily on the Chinese materials. South Korea imported 93% of its natural graphite and 95% of its synthetic graphite from China last year, customs data showed.

African-mined graphite could help Posco Future meet requirements under Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act, which is encouraging carmakers to be less reliant on Chinese components, Kim said. The company has been making synthetic graphite with needle cokes, a byproduct from steel plants, since February, and plans to ramp up that investment, he said.

The Korean producer’s sister company, Posco International, signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada’s NextSource Materials Inc. in August 2023 to jointly invest in a graphite mine in Madagascar.

To meet demand for high-performance batteries, Posco Future is building a plant in Gwangyang to produce 52,500 tons of nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathode, adding to its current capacity of 155,000 tons of all kinds of cathodes. All the NCA cathode from the new plant will be supplied for Samsung SDI Ltd., the battery maker for BMW AG. and Rivian Automotive Inc.

Posco Future is mass-producing so-called “single crystal, high-nickel” cathodes, a technology for increasing the driving range of EVs. It is supplying that product to Ultium Cells LLC, the joint venture between General Motors and its battery maker, LG Energy Solution Ltd.

(By Heejin Kim)

Axe falls on 2,600 jobs in South Africa

23 Feb 2024

Sibanye Stillwater said it has cut about 2,600 jobs at its South African platinum mines after discussions with labour unions over restructuring unprofitable operations.

Sibanye said earlier in the week that it expects to report a loss for last year after slumping platinum-group metals and operational problems across its businesses forced the firm to take impairments of R47.5 billion.

In South Africa, Sibanye will close a platinum shaft that ceased production in 2023, lower production at two others and may shutter a fourth if it makes monthly losses. The consultation process, which started in October, “achieved the necessary requirement of addressing loss-making operations and ensuring the sustainability of our SA PGM operations,” Chief Executive Neal Froneman said in a statement Friday.

Almost 1,300 employees accepted voluntary separation or early retirement packages, while 467 people left since September due to “natural attrition,” the Johannesburg-based firm said. The jobs of another 47 employees and 805 contractors were cut.

The company has already cut nearly 1,500 jobs at its gold operations in South Africa and is reducing the workforce at its high-cost Stillwater palladium mine in the US.

Sibanye’s South African peers — Anglo American Platinum Ltd. and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. — reported a sharp drop in profits last year.

Read: 4,300 job losses on the cards for South Africa

Nippon Steel’s China assets raise concerns over US deal

PROTECTIONISM AKA 

AMERIKAN SINO-NIPPON RACISM

Bloomberg News | February 22, 2024 | 

Credit: US Steel

President Joe Biden’s administration is examining Nippon Steel Corp.’s connections to China, people familiar with the matter say, a potential stumbling block for the Japanese giant’s politically contentious deal to acquire American rival United States Steel Corp.


The administration sees its priority as protecting US industry and is worried about Nippon Steel’s exposure to China, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the thinking. Biden has maintained tariffs on Chinese goods implemented by former President Donald Trump under Section 301 of the trade law and may consider future tariffs on steel and aluminum from China, the people said.

The complication for Nippon Steel is that regulators may look unfavorably on whether its acquisition of US Steel could allow more access to US markets for Chinese-sourced steel, while the administration uses tariffs and other measures to keep steel from being dumped on the American market.

Nippon Steel’s plans to purchase US Steel, an iconic American firm based in the election battleground state of Pennsylvania, has already touched off a political firestorm in the US, where it is undergoing a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

It is not clear whether the China assets will be an explicit part of the CFIUS review. Still, scrutiny over Nippon Steel’s China holdings threatens to add another complication to the transaction as Biden considers tougher trade measures against Beijing.

Shares of US Steel dropped as much as 1.2% and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., which was edged out in a bid for the company, rose as much as 2.9%, after Bloomberg reported the news. US Steel closed the day at $46.52, below the $55-a-share offer Nippon made in December.

Cliffs chief executive officer Lourenco Goncalves told Bloomberg earlier this month that his $54-a-share cash-and-stock bid for US Steel is gone and won’t be a backup if Nippon Steel’s offer that was accepted by the American steelmaker falls through.

The US Steel takeover faces opposition from organized labor and Trump — the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination — has threatened to block it if he wins a second term in November. The Biden administration has indicated that it wants to protect union jobs and the domestic steel sector, but has stopped short of making those conditions of an approval.

“Nippon Steel’s operations in China are very limited – representing less than 5% of our global production capacity – with only downstream business and no upstream facilities such as blast furnaces or electric arc furnaces which constitute a major portion of investments in the steel industry,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “Our operations in China – including joint ventures with Chinese partners – have no control over our operations or business decisions outside of China, including in the US.”

Nippon Steel’s website lists nine businesses that it operates in China. Those include an automotive-steel joint venture with a unit of China Baowu Steel Group Corp. — now the world’s biggest steelmaker — that dates back almost two decades.

The spokesman said that the company’s “goal is to enhance US Steel’s competitiveness in the global steel market and address the industry’s overproduction and overcapacity issues – largely driven from China.”

The White House and Treasury Department declined to comment.

China holdings

Nippon Steel has nine facilities in China among its global production base, according to its 2023 integrated report to shareholders. The company added the facilities to its asset portfolio between 2001 to 2013, a key period of unprecedented growth in Chinese steel demand.

That era has been long criticized by American steel producers as the time during which China massively overproduced the alloy and dumped excess metal in the US and the rest of the world, tanking global prices and leading to the unprofitability of many once-dominant American steel companies.

While Nippon’s total production from these facilities is quite small when compared to its global output — just 3.6 million tons of capacity per year out of a total 66 million — it presents a challenge the company may need to overcome to receive approval.

Political backlash to the loss of manufacturing jobs in steel and other sectors is a potent force in American politics, and rebuilding the sectors is a key pledge of both the Biden and Trump campaigns.

The last two decades have seen China’s rise as a global steel and economic power. In 2000, China produced 127.2 million tons compared to the US’s 101.8 million. The gap has widened, with China now producing more than 1 billion tons of steel in 2022 to 80.5 million for the US. Simultaneously, the US saw Chinese steel imports rise steadily, topping out at nearly 3 million tons in 2014.

The surge of imports weighed on domestic producers as US benchmark steel prices tumbled below $400 a ton. It caught the attention of the Obama administration, which oversaw a raft of trade cases that resulted in tariffs on imports from China and other countries.

That aggressive approach saw Chinese imports plummeting 72% by 2016. Barely a year into his presidency, Trump passed Section 232 tariffs on steel that effectively eliminated most imports from China. Chinese imports totaled just 400,000 tons in 2020.

Producers and US lawmakers, though, are now warning about Chinese steel that is shipped through neighboring countries such as Mexico.

(By Josh Wingrove and Joe Deaux)