North Korea launders $148 million stolen crypto using Tornado Cash

PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL

Updated on: May 15, 2024 
Reuters

Image by Andy.LIU | Shutterstock

A UN sanctions investigation discovers North Korea has laundered $147.5 million through virtual currency platform Tornado Cash just this March – after IT workers for the communist regime stole the digital funds last year from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange.

The information was released in confidential documents prepared by United Nations sanctions monitors and seen exclusively by Reuters on Tuesday.

The monitors told a U.N. Security Council sanctions committee in a document submitted on Friday that they had been investigating 97 suspected North Korean cyberattacks on cryptocurrency companies between 2017 and 2024, valued at some $3.6 billion.

That included an attack late last year where $147.5 million was stolen from HTX cryptocurrency exchange before being laundered in March this year, the monitors told the committee, citing information from crypto analytics firm PeckShield and blockchain research firm Elliptic.

In 2024 alone, the monitors said they had been looking at "11 cryptocurrency thefts ... valued at $54.7 million," adding that many of those "may have been conducted by DPRK IT workers inadvertently hired by small crypto-related companies."

The monitors said that according to U.N. member states and private companies, North Korean IT workers operating abroad generate "substantial income for the country."

Formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 and those measures have been strengthened over the years in a bid to cut funding for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

North Korea's mission to the U.N. in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. sanctioned Tornado Cash in 2022 over accusations it supports North Korea. Two of its co-founders were charged in 2023 with facilitating more than $1 billion in money laundering, including for a cybercrime group linked to North Korea.

Lawyers for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, who pleaded not guilty to the U.S. charges in September, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

So-called virtual currency "mixer" platforms such as Tornado Cash take the cryptocurrencies of many users and mash them together to help hide the source and owners of the funds.

The U.N. sanctions monitors were disbanded at the end of April after Russia vetoed the annual renewal of their mandate. Some of the monitors submitted unfinished work, which was shared with the council's North Korea sanctions committee on Friday.

Traditionally, reports by the sanctions monitors are first agreed by all eight members. The unfinished work submitted to the committee did not go through that process.

The monitors said they had been investigating a February 6th New York Times report that Russia released $9 million out of $30 million in frozen North Korean assets and allowed Pyongyang to open an account at a Russian bank in South Ossetia so it could better obtain access to international banking networks.

The UN sanctions monitors also said ships suspected of involvement in arms trade between North Korea and Russia had continued voyages carrying containers between North Korea's Rajin port and Russian ports, including Vladivostok and Vostochny.

U$A
Could Section 203 be used to regain control of our Facebook feeds?

Updated on: May 14, 2024 10:48 AM
Gintaras Radauskas
Senior journalist

Section 230, the famous 1996 statute, has been shielding internet companies, including social media platforms, from liability for ages. One law professor now thinks he can turn the document against big tech – but how?

Often called the law that “created the internet,” Section 230, a provision of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, has been under fire multiple times over the years – but it’s still here, and it keeps being praised by tech companies.

It’s those famous 26 words – “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” – that protect social media firms from being sued for their users’ posts.

Critics say that Section 230 gives tech companies too much power and control over what’s allowed on their sites, and since they’re often toxic, the quality and decency of public discourse have suffered massively.

Supporters, of course, include those very same firms but also free-speech advocates who say that without the law, the internet as we know it would be stifled and change dramatically.

The debate is seemingly eternal. But then Ethan Zuckerman, a technologist and professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, had a revelation, realizing about three years ago that Section 230 also protects – or should protect – users who want to filter or moderate the content they see online.

Well, at least that’s what Zuckerman – who is now going to court – thinks. Law experts welcome the suit filed in California by Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute on Zuckerman’s behalf but point out that big tech will fight back and might succeed.

“Unfollow Everything 2.0”

Zuckerman says he was inspired by the case of his friend Louis Barclay, a developer who said he was permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram after building a tool called “Unfollow Everything.” It allowed users to indeed completely reset their feeds and start anew.

In theory, users should have the right to do precisely that, and if a tool exists to restart their social media experience and get rid of all the annoying stuff – perfect! Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for big tech, who are keen to sell our data and attack us with ads.

In 2021, Facebook sent Barclay a cease-and-desist letter, disabled his account, and demanded that he take down the “Unfollow Everything” tool. After calling Facebook’s behavior “anti-consumer,” Barclay called it quits on the tool – he couldn’t afford litigation.

But now, Zuckerman has taken up the fight. In the lawsuit, a California court was asked to declare that Meta cannot ban or sue him for building an unfollowing tool inspired by the one developed by Barclay.

Then, if the lawsuit succeeds, Zuckerman is planning to release the tool called “Unfollow Everything 2.0.” The hope is that a wave of other similar tools, promising to give users more control over what they see online, will follow.

“The tool would allow users to unfollow their friends, groups, and pages, and, in doing so, to effectively turn off their newsfeed – the endless scroll of posts that users see when they log into Facebook,” says the complaint.

“Users who download the tool would be free to use the platform without the feed or to curate the feed by refollowing only those friends and groups whose posts they really want to see.”

Zuckerman also seeks a declaration that the tool does not violate Meta’s Terms of Service, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or California’s Computer Data Access and Fraud Act. And he’s sure Section 230 will help.

The right to see what we want to see

Zuckerman recognizes that, as a general matter, social media companies may design their products as they wish. Moreover, Section 230 essentially gives these firms the right to police content on their platforms as they see fit.

Simply put, Facebook doesn’t even need to have an army of human or machine moderators to sift through millions of posts to make sure they’re not violating any laws. The network still has rules because it’s under societal pressure, but it’s not responsible legally.

However, Zuckerman also says that with Section 230, Congress actually sought to empower and encourage individuals, families, and schools to “self-police” the information they receive online

.

Meta is the parent company of Facebook. Image by Shutterstock.

Section 230, he quotes in the lawsuit, immunizes from legal liability “a provider of software or enabling tools that filter, screen, allow, or disallow content that the provider or user considers obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.”

According to Zuckerman, precisely through this provision, inserted in Section 230, the lawmakers intended to promote the development of filtering tools that enable users to “curate their online experiences and avoid content they would rather not see.”

“I think in many ways Section 230 has become shorthand for, ‘The internet giants have too much power,’” Zuckerman told The Washington Post. “The funny thing is, when you actually read 230, it has language in there that could give us a path to more control.”

Ramya Krishnan, senior staff attorney at the Knight Institute, added: “Users don’t have to accept Facebook as it’s given to them. The same statute that immunizes Meta from liability for the speech of its users gives users the right to decide what they see on the platform.”

Is Meta too powerful to lose?

Now, will the lawsuit succeed? That’s probably highly unlikely as, of course, Meta is a trillion-dollar company, able to block users left and right and pay fines of any size.

Lest we forget, Meta agreed to pay $725 million in 2022 to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing the social media giant of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access users’ data, and it didn’t really hurt the company.


Meta is declining to say anything about Zuckerman’s lawsuit. But it has a history of shutting down similar projects – it can afford it, after all.

In the first quarter of 2024, Meta’s revenue rose 27% to $36.46 billion from $28.65 billion, and the number of people using Meta’s apps has increased to 3.24 billion users, up 7% year-over-year.

The company is declining to say anything about Zuckerman’s lawsuit. But it has a history of shutting down similar projects – it can afford it, after all.

For instance, in 2021, Meta went after New York University’s Ad Observatory, a tool to study political ads on Facebook – researchers were banned from the platform after the network said it had to comply with a Federal Trade Commission privacy agreement (it hadn’t, the FTC immediately said).

Zuckerman, as mentioned above, first wants to wait for the court’s verdict – only if the ruling is favorable will he release the unfollowing tool. He’s being careful.

Experts are excited but also wary. For example, Daphne Keller of Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center said on X that an overly broad ruling could force Meta to allow “any third party to come along and hoover up data in the name of middleware (that’s what filtering tools are known as).”

But she also mentioned a possible compromise – maybe “Unfollow Everything 2.0” could be immunized for collecting the data necessary to function while still being liable for any misuse of the information.

Keller said, though: “I am seeing a lot of skepticism about this case from wonks (people who take a keen interest in detailed cases) on lots of different grounds.” But then added: “Glad someone is taking these arguments out for a spin, whatever happens.”

Touchscreens with copper coating kill germs

Updated on: May 13, 2024
Justinas Vainilavičius
Senior Journalist

Touchscreens are some of the most contaminated surfaces that people touch everyday.

TOILET SEATS ARE CLEANER

 However, copper’s antimicrobial qualities could change that.

Researchers from Spain’s Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) and Corning Incorporated, an American multinational, have developed a transparent antimicrobial surface for touch displays using copper nanoparticles.

Copper is well known to be highly efficient in killing various microorganisms – and has been traditionally used for objects such as door handles and hospital bed rails. However, it is also opaque and electrically conductive, which makes it unsuitable for use on touchscreens.

With that in mind, researchers have designed “a transparent nanostructured copper surface (TANCS) that is non-conductive, and resistant against the growth of certain bacteria,” according to ICFO.

The researchers first deposited an ultra-thin copper film onto a glass substrate and then heated it to a very high temperature before cooling it down in a process called rapid thermal annealing.

This allowed the uniform film to “dewet” into individually distributed copper nanoparticles, resulting in “an antimicrobial effect, transparency, color neutrality, and electrician insulation,” the researchers said.

Layers of silicone dioxide and fluorosilanes were then added on top of the nanoparticles to provide environmental protection and durability.

Further tests, carried out under extremely dry conditions, showed TANCS eliminating over 99.9% of Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria present on the tested surfaces within two hours.

“While further development is necessary for full-fledged commercial deployment, this is a step in the right direction to enable antimicrobial touch screens for public or personal displays,” said Prantik Mazumder, researcher at Corning and co-author of the study.

The research was detailed in a paper published by the Communications Materials journal.

POSTMODERN ALCHEMY
Researchers unlock secret of gold's light

A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News | Last updated May 07, 2024

Generated with Adobe Firefly

New research on thin gold films has uncovered novel photoluminescence behaviors, advancing understanding of nanoscale chemical reactions and temperature measurement. This breakthrough enhances the use of metals in energy research and offers new methods to probe surface processes crucial for solar fuel development.

Uses quantum mechanics to discover how light makes thin gold films glow.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have revealed the quantum secrets behind how light makes thin gold films glow. This discovery, solving a decades-old puzzle, could transform how we make solar fuels and batteries.

Luminescence, the process where substances emit photons when exposed to light, has long been observed in semiconductor materials like silicon. This phenomenon involves electrons at the nanoscale absorbing light and subsequently re-emitting it.

Such behavior provides researchers with valuable insights into the properties of semiconductors, making them useful tools for probing electronic processes, such as those in solar cells.

In 1969, scientists discovered that all metals luminesce to some degree, but the ensuing years have failed to yield a clear understanding as to exactly how this occurs.

Renewed interest in this light emission, driven by nanoscale temperature mapping and photochemistry applications, has reignited the debate surrounding its origins. But the answer was still unclear – until now.

"We developed very high-quality metal gold films, which put us in a unique position to elucidate this process without the confounding factors of previous experiments," said Giulia Tagliabue, head of the Laboratory of Nanoscience for Energy Technologies (LNET) in the School of Engineering at EPFL.

A recent study published in "Light: Science and Applications," details how Tagliabue and the LNET team focused laser beams at the extremely thin – between 13 and 113 nanometers – gold films, and then analyzed the resulting faint glow.

The data generated from their precise experiments was so detailed – and so unexpected – that they collaborated with theoreticians at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, the University of Southern Denmark, and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA) to double-check their work and even apply a little quantum science to the mix.

This comprehensive approach allowed them to settle the debate once and for all surrounding the type of luminescence emanating from the films – photoluminescence – which is defined by the specific way electrons and their oppositely charged counterparts (holes) behave in response to light.

This also allowed them to produce the first complete, fully quantitative model of this phenomenon in gold, which can then be applied to any metal.

Unexpected quantum effects

Tagliabue explained that, using a thin film of monocrystalline gold produced with a novel synthesis technique, the team studied the photoluminescence process as they made the metal thinner and thinner.

"We observed certain quantum mechanical effects emerging in films of up to about 40 nanometers, which was unexpected, because normally for a metal, you don't see such effects until you go well below 10 nanometers," she said.

These observations provided important information about where the glowing process happens in gold, which is crucial for using gold as a thermal probe. Additionally, the study unexpectedly found that the light emitted by the gold can indicate how hot its surface is, a valuable discovery for scientists studying at the nanoscale.

"For many chemical reactions on the surface of metals, there is a big debate about why and under what conditions these reactions occur," said Tagliabue. "Temperature is a key parameter, but measuring temperature at the nanoscale is extremely difficult, because a thermometer can influence your measurement. So, it's a huge advantage to be able to probe a material using the material itself as the probe."

Gold standard in solar fuel

In addition to thermal probes, the researchers believe their findings will allow metals to be used to obtain unprecedentedly detailed insights into chemical reactions, especially those involved in energy research.

Metals like gold and copper – LNET's next research target – can trigger certain key reactions, like the reduction of carbon dioxide back into carbon-based products like solar fuels, which store solar energy in chemical bonds.

"To combat climate change, we are going to need technologies to convert CO2 into other useful chemicals one way or another," said LNET postdoc Alan Bowman, the study's first author. "Using metals is one way to do that, but if we don't have a good understanding of how these reactions happen on their surfaces, then we can't optimize them. Luminescence offers a new way to understand what is happening in these metals."

South32’s Hermosa federal permitting process gets under way


Hermosa will produce two federally designated critical minerals - zinc and manganese

13th May 2024
By: Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

The US Forest Service (USFS) has initiated the federal permitting process for the South32 Hermosa project, in Arizona.

Under the umbrella of the National Environmental Policy Act, the USFS has launched the scoping process, inviting public input and commentary on South32’s project plans. This process aims to identify the scope of environmental analysis and explore potential impacts as part of the environmental impact statement.


While all of Hermosa’s mining will be done from private lands and require several state permits to begin initial development, a federal permit is required to fully develop the project.

The scoping process is specifically focused on the scope of the environmental analysis, alternatives that meet the purpose and need of the project, and receiving information that will help the USFS understand and analyse environmental effects of the project’s proposed expansion of ancillary infrastructure onto Forest Service lands.


Hermosa stands out as the sole advanced mining project in the US capable of producing two federally designated critical minerals – zinc and manganese.

It is also the first mining project covered by the FAST-41 programme for critical infrastructure projects that benefit the nation, which enables open lines of communication and transparency between all stakeholders while ensuring a robust and rigorous review process.

“South32’s Hermosa project aims to set a new standard for sustainable mining, with advanced technology. Because we are building it from the ground up, it is being designed to minimise environmental impact, including operating on a limited surface footprint, using approximately 75% less water than other mines in the region and achieving the goal of no-net loss for biodiversity,” said Hermosa project director of permitting and approvals Brent Musslewhite.

“Hermosa represents the largest private investment in Southern Arizona’s history, and our goal is to design a project that benefits the region now and for generations to come. That’s why we encourage community members to participate in the Forest Service’s public comment process,” he said.

Federal authorisation is expected to take over two more years and will include multiple rounds of public feedback and discussion.

https://south32hermosa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/UD-Forest-Service-begins-South32-Hermosa-Project-federal-permitting-process-with-public-scoping-period.pdf

GREEN WASHING

Guest Opinion: A new standard for sustainable mining

By Pat Risner
May 13, 2024

South32’s work on the Hermosa Project has enjoyed a banner year, and we are just getting started. As we go through a key permitting milestone for the project, I want to make sure that everyone has the awareness and opportunity to make their voices heard.


Most notably, we recently announced a $2.16 billion investment to develop the project’s zinc deposit. As the largest investment in Southern Arizona’s history, this will help grow Santa Cruz County’s economy.


And our Hermosa Workforce Development Taskforce is identifying the skills needed and local facilities available to help train and develop the region’s workforce. Those efforts will help us fill the 200 full-time jobs at Centro, our future remote operations center in Nogales.


Centro represents a portion of the nearly 900 direct jobs that will be created in Santa Cruz County by Hermosa.


Now, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has begun the federal permitting process, known as the “NEPA process.” It offers community members the opportunity to participate in meetings and/or submit comments on the topics the USFS should analyze as a part of Hermosa’s Environmental Impact Statement.


Federal authorization includes multiple opportunities to share feedback, in addition to this first comment period. We encourage all community members to participate and ensure your voice is heard by submitting written comments to the Forest Service.


We’re looking forward to discussing how Hermosa aims to set a new standard for sustainable mining, with advanced technology that makes it more protective of the environment than older mines.


Central to our focus on sustainability is our approach to water.


Water is a precious resource here, and that’s why we aim to be one of the most efficient mines when it comes to water. Because we’re designing Hermosa from the ground up, we can work closely with the community to ensure needs and concerns are reflected in our water management plans and utilize advanced technology and monitoring systems to deliver on our commitments.


In fact, we listened to the community and identified alternate ways to keep water in the Patagonia Mountains through the proposed use of Rapid Infiltration Basins.


In addition, thanks to our underground mine design and dry-stack tailings facilities, Hermosa will use 75 percent less water than other mines in the region


But our sustainability commitment extends beyond just water.


We know the area where we operate is a unique place for biodiversity, and that’s something that we want to preserve and enhance as we develop and operate the project.


Wildlife and biodiversity monitoring has been ongoing at Hermosa since 2012, and we regularly conduct surveys for plants and aquatic species including those that are threatened and endangered.


With this ongoing collection of data, we manage biodiversity by evaluating potential impacts to local species and identify controls and best management practices to avoid, minimize, rehabilitate, and offset those impacts and work to achieve Hermosa’s goal of preventing long-term biodiversity loss.


Our robust monitoring program allows us to make informed decisions on activities that might occur near sensitive biological resources and take action to avoid and minimize impacts.


Our goal is to design a project that benefits the region now and for generations to come. That’s why it’s critical that community members participate in the USFS’s public comment process.


To submit a comment to the Forest Service, visit https://tinyurl.com/2m6phuee.

(Risner is president of South32’s Hermosa Project, located in the Patagonia Mountains.)

CRMA: Rare earth elements a potential blindspot for EU policymakers and industry – report

Amanda Stutt | May 13, 2024 |
LKAB broadened its business in 2022 to extract phosphorus and rare earths as residual products from iron ore production. (Image: Future circular industrial park LKAB.)

When the European Union passed the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) into law it was a landmark accomplishment that will strengthen critical raw materials supply chains – but not without some foreseeable challenges, according to a new report published by Adamas Intelligence.


While the EU published its first list of Critical Raw Materials in 2011 (there were originally 14 inclusions), it took over a decade to conceive, rally political support for, and ultimately announce the CRMA in September 2022, Adamas notes.

In March 2023, the EU Commission officially tabled a proposal for the CRMA as part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age, to which EU Parliament agreed in December of that year. In March 2024, the EU Council approved and adopted the act and in May, the act passed into law.

The EU developed the CRMA to bolster domestic supply chains while helping enable economic and environmental sustainability in the region. It identified 34 critical raw materials, of which 16 are deemed strategic raw materials. Among the strategic are rare earth elements and lithium, both crucial to the transition to electromobility and renewable power generation.

They are also critical to enabling the economic success and competitiveness of domestic manufacturers reliant on sustainable supplies that are mostly imported, the report notes. The CRMA directs EU member states to develop national mineral exploration programs for CRMs, which alone could boost exploration and development activity on the continent to unprecedented levels.

The EU Commission will publish projections of the expected annual consumption of each of the 34 CRMs for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050, with the first expected within 18 months of the act coming into law.
Supply chain risks

“The EU must mitigate the supply chains risks related to strategic dependencies to enhance its economic resilience, and the CRMA seeks to limit the EU’s imports from individual non-member states or nations to reduce single-source over dependencies,” Adamas analysts note.

CRMA mandates that 10% of the EU’s annual consumption must be mined domestically, 40% must be processed domestically, and 25% of all processing waste and end-of-life scrap must be recycled domestically by 2030. The act also stipulates the EU may not source over 65% of any strategic raw material from a single nation.

“Lithium and rare earths will soon be more important than oil and gas,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during her State of the Union address in 2022. “Lithium and rare earths are already replacing gas and oil at the heart of our economy. By 2030, our demand for those rare earth metals will increase fivefold.”

In the case of rare earth elements and lithium, the EU is host to sufficient mineral resources to meet CRMA targets, Adamas Intelligence notes, while pointing out that, to-date, political and social resistance, coupled with complacency on the part of some end-users, have hampered necessary investment and development.

The Wolfsberg lithium project in Carinthia, Austria, is set to become the EU’s only producing battery-grade lithium mine by 2027, owned by Critical Metals (Nasdaq: CRML). The EU does produce lithium in Portugal, but it is mainly used in glassware and ceramics.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) wanted to develop a lithium mine near Loznica in the western Jadar river valley, one of Serbia’s main agricultural hubs, but after Rio spent millions on preliminary economic assessments and feasibility studies, the Serbian government revoked licenses for the Jadar project in January 2022 after massive protests sparked by environmental concerns about the planned mine.

While lithium’s role in electrification and the energy transition is generally understood in society, the intricate role of rare earth elements is less understood, presenting a potential blindspot that EU policymakers and industry participants should be aware of, Adamas warns.

Filling the rare earths gap

Source: Adamas Intelligence

A detailed review of the act reveals a disproportionately high focus on raw materials used to produce rare earth permanent magnets, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, according to Adamas Intelligence.

“The outlook for rare earths is concerning, with the region unlikely to meet 2030 extraction or processing targets across the entirety of the value chain without an expedited, concerted push from government and industry,” the firm notes.

Without sufficient end-to-end processing capacity in the region, the EU may be constrained in its ability to recover rare earths from magnet production swarf and end-of-life devices, if first it can overcome hurdles related to sourcing and centralizing feedstocks, Adamas Intelligence points out.

Source: Adamas Intelligence

In the firm’s view, it is essential that EU politicians and industry stakeholders seek dialogue with the union’s population to inform, educate and foster acceptance of responsible mining projects in member states.

The Commission states it will streamline permitting for supply chain development projects and establish a system to facilitate offtake agreements, but the US Inflation Reduction Act has fueled fears of an exodus of industry players from the EU due to competitive subsidies being offered by the former, the firm points out.

Additional challenges for the EU’s competitiveness are, for example, high energy prices and slow bureaucracy, Adamas says.

According to Swedish state-owned miner LKAB, “the greatest threat to the mining and processing of materials that are indispensable for society is administrative in nature.”

Read the full report here, a collaboration between Adamas Intelligence contributors: Ryan Castilloux, James Tekune and Chris Williams and Tradium contributors: Brian Hendrich, Eric Hendrich, Jan Giese and Isabella Mook.

Billions in rare earths for U.S. at risk

K. Warner, Metal Tech News | Last updated May 13, 2024 

Rainbow Rare Earths

At the Phalaborwa project, Rainbow Rare Earths will recover rare earth oxides from phospho-gypsum mineral stacks in South Africa.

Without investors, the future of South Africa's rare earth elements enriched Phalaborwa site may depend on Washington support.

Bordering South Africa's renowned Kruger National Park stands Phalaborwa, a mine sporting two rare earths-enriched phospho-gypsum waste piles that could mean over a billion in critical minerals for the U.S. – if the project can get enough support to run.

To challenge China's near monopoly on rare earths, Washington has committed funds to a little-known miner, Rainbow Rare Earths, but a 63% price drop for these minerals since the start of 2022 has called into question the project's ability to secure enough funding to get off the ground.

Even with continuing demand, fluctuating and plummeting prices in rare earths and battery minerals like cobalt, lithium, graphite and nickel have prompted layoffs, reduced production and stalled expansion plans among even major players with deep pockets from Albemarle and BHP to First Quantum Minerals and Glencore.

"My concern is that the worst of the 20th-century energy architecture will be repeated in the 21st century," said Amos Hochstein, the U.S. government's chief energy security advisor. "It would maybe be worse because, instead of a group of countries that control the supply, there'll be a single point of failure or a single point of ability to manipulate global supply and prices."


Can we afford not to?



Rainbow Rare Earths

Workers overlooking one of the two phosphor-gypsum piles on the larger Phalaborwa mine site. If funding continues, the project is expected to reach commercial production in 2026, only five years after work initially began.

The uncertain fate of the $300 million project at Phalaborwa represents overarching doubts about the West's ability to secure its own fair trade critical mineral supply chain in general. Mining policies can change markedly between election cycles, but this unique, rare earth cache has the potential for huge earnings, recovery of critical minerals from waste, and an admirable carbon footprint.

The site contains viable quantities of the four most important rare earth elements used to make permanent magnets – neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.

Breaking Chinese dominance is a global priority and a high-stakes geopolitical battle. China is currently home to 70% of rare earths mining resources and nearly 90% of processing capacity, according to the International Energy Agency, and the U.S. is heavily reliant on these imports.

This covers the makings for permanent magnets used in everything from EVs and fighter jets to smartphones and headphones. China also controls the greater percentage of other clean energy resources such as cobalt, graphite, and nickel.

The U.S. is pushing to establish its own future supply, domestically sourced where possible and extracted and processed through fair trade allies if not. The government's Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has invested $105 million into TechMet, a billion-dollar critical minerals private investment company, which has pledged $50 million of equity for Rainbow when – or if – it is ready to start building this year.

DFC deputy chief executive Nisha Biswal said the state institution expected to increase investments in African critical minerals. "This is just the start," she said, expecting to exceed last year's $700 million outlay.

An international recycling project

Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, South African mining veteran George Bennett bid on two historic waste piles of phosphor-gypsum, left over from decades of phosphate mining.

With more than 20 mining projects under his belt already, sample analyses of Phalaborwa caught Bennett's attention – those waste stacks held a treasure trove of the rare earth minerals needed to make the permanent magnets used to power the green transition.

Rare earth minerals aren't especially rare, but locating sufficient concentrations to be economically viable is difficult, and having a ready supply already aboveground is definitely unique.

According to Bennett, Rainbow Rare Earths would be a key source of crucial energy-transition materials outside of Chinese influence. The company expects to generate a net present value of more than $1 billion, making it one of the biggest, lowest-cost producers of rare earth oxides in the world.

Today, Phalaborwa is close to completing a feasibility study on the economics of extracting minerals from the gypsum waste generated by old phosphate mines – but it still needs to raise another $250 million.


Where the money comes from



NASA

Satellite image of Phalaborwa and the two mineral stacks centered on the landscape.

Beyond the DFC funding, Washington is providing incentives for the construction of processing plants like Rainbow through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Investors may consider these projects at risk from price fluctuations because U.S. efforts to support the sector are still hit and miss compared to China's multi-decade lead, which has provided ample infrastructure, price control and resource stockpiles. Chinese producers are also often paired up with processors while potentially receiving state-backed financing, enabling them to ride out commodity downturns.

The U.S. Department of Defense does have a National Defense Stockpile of minerals, but its value has dropped from $9 billion in 1989 to less than $1 billion, below 0.3% of global annual demand as of March 2023.

Bennett argues that Washington needs to strategically increase those stockpiles by guaranteeing a minimum price for producers through long-term supply contracts. His company would be agreeable to such a deal despite it creating a price ceiling mines could charge. Projects such as this will be crucial to similar security in the West.

"Your green energy, wind turbines, electric cars, drones and handheld cell phones all have rare earth elements in them," said Bennett. "Sources outside of China to give the West some kind of independence are very important."

"Recent U.S. legislation supporting the critical minerals sector, and supply chain investments by major automakers, represent significant steps forward," said TechMet's CEO Brian Menell in a statement.

Other U.S. miners and automakers have already set a precedent, securing supply purchase deals like General Motors and MP Materials signing a long-term agreement including a facility in Fort Worth, Texas, that will supply alloy and finished magnets for more than a dozen GM models, sourcing materials from California.

"The U.S. government needs to become the buyer of last resort," said Bennett.

Without supply, you can't build manufacturing capability, and without a buyer, you can't create a reliable supply.

The Phalaborwa preliminary economic assessment has already confirmed strong baseline economics, a net present value of $627 million and a payback period of less than two years.

If funding continues, the project is expected to reach commercial production in 2026, as little as five years after work initially began.

Turning European mines into batteries

Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News | Last updated May 14, 2024


Gravitricity is assessing the potential to install a GraviStore gravity energy storage pilot system in a ventilation shaft at the Velenje coal mine in northeastern Slovenia.



Mining companies look to Gravitricity's gravity energy storage tech as anopportunity to extend usefulness of mine shafts after the ore is gone.

Energy storage is the lynchpin of a clean energy future that will rely on enormous quantities of zero-carbon electricity from intermittent sources such as wind and solar. After all, the billions of lightbulbs illuminating a city at night or millions of air conditioners keeping homes and businesses cool on a still summer day do not match well with optimal energy output from solar or wind.

Scotland-based Gravitricity has developed a patented technology called GraviStore that transforms underground mine shafts into gravity batteries that can bring equilibrium to electrical grids that are increasingly reliant on wind and solar.

Gravitricity Executive Chairman Martin Wright.

"As the world generates more electricity from intermittent renewable energy sources, there is a growing need for technologies which can capture and store energy during periods of low demand and release it rapidly when required," said Gravitricity Executive Chairman Martin Wright.

Operators of deep underground mines in Slovenia, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Finland are looking at GraviStore as an opportunity to extend the usefulness of their operations as ore production winds down.

"Gravity energy storage offers a powerful green opportunity to mine operators looking to extend a mine's life beyond the extraction of materials," said Wright. "As well as being a genuine alternative to decommissioning, new underground energy storage schemes can provide economic and employment opportunities in communities where traditional jobs are in decline."

GraviStore advantages

Fundamentally, GraviStore is an energy storage system that siphons excess renewable energy off the grid to power winches that lift heavy weights up vertical mine shafts. When extra power is needed, the weight is lowered, and the winches turn into generators that feed the stored energy back to the electrical grid.

A 20-megawatt GraviStore system could store enough energy to power 26,000 homes for two hours. While this stored energy would typically be delivered as a supplement to other sources over a much longer duration, the gravity battery is also able to rapidly deliver a burst of energy to the grid if needed.

"Our GraviStore underground gravity energy storage uses the force of gravity to offer some of the best characteristics of lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro storage – at low cost, and without the need for any rare earth metals," said Wright.

Another advantage of GraviStore is its energy storage capacity does not diminish over time.

Gravitricity has already proven the viability of GraviStore with an above-ground 250-kilowatt demonstrator in Scotland, where the company successfully raised and lowered two 25-metric-ton weights to generate full power and verify the system's speed of response.

The 12-meter-high test rig proved the system can go from zero to full power in less than a second – which can be extremely valuable for maintaining optimum electrical grid frequency and as a source of back-up power – as well as continuously vary power output dependent on demand.

Gravitricity

Gravitricit began working with Dutch lifting specialist Huisman in 2018 to develop the 250-kw prototype and more recently partnered with ABB to explore how that company's world-leading hoist expertise and technologies can accelerate the development and implementation of gravity energy storage systems in former mines.

"ABB has 130 years of history with mine hoists, since we first electrified one in Sweden in the 1890s, but this collaboration with Gravitricity shows how we can continue to diversify and adapt our technologies," said Charles Bennett, global service manager of business line hoisting at ABB Process Industries.

In addition to working with Gravitricity on feasibility studies to understand the application of existing hoisting technology for energy storage, ABB is providing mining industry consultation and working to identify suitable sites and shafts for the deployment of GraviStore.


European mining interest

Once all the ore is extracted from an underground mine, the company that carried out the mining is responsible for the costly and time-consuming process of decommissioning the mine shafts.

The repurposing of mine shafts as gravity storage systems for renewable energy can help mitigate those costs by providing a new green energy use for the mine that creates new job opportunities for decades.

The win-win situation of lowering postproduction mine costs and making a positive contribution to the clean energy transition has drawn interest from several mining companies with operations in Europe.

Gravitricity

GraviStore siphons excess electricity off the grid to power winches that lift heavy weights up a vertical mine shaft. When extra power is needed, the winches become generators that turn the stored gravity energy back into electricity.

Current projects considering GraviStore installations are:

• The government-owned Velenje lignite coal mine in northeastern Slovenia.

• The past-producing Darkov coal mine near the Czech Republic city of Karviná.

• The past-producing Grube Teutschenthal rock salt and potash mine in Germany.

• The past-producing Pyhäsalmi Mine – Europe's deepest zinc and copper mine – in northern Finland.

Gravitricity engineers have already visited Velenje to assess the technical feasibility of installing systems in two shafts, one of which is a ventilation shaft that may become available for a potential pilot project next year.

"The Velenje mine could be very well suited to future energy storage schemes as the operational shafts are both deep and in excellent condition," said Nigel Voaden, engineering project manager at Gravitricity.

Studies are also ongoing for near-term pilot projects at the Darvok, Grube Teutschenthal, and Pyhäsalmi mines.

"Our work with mine operators is underlining the interest in our technology, and we are in dialogue with both mine owners and public sector organizations to turn these studies into operational plans," said Wright.


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Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News

With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.Email: publisher@metaltechnews.com
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CIM: Responsible mining and resource management from a 12-year old’s perspective

“And remember – if it’s not sustainable, it becomes irrelevant,” Vikram told the audience

Amanda Stutt | May 14, 2024 |

Nivritti Vikram presenting at the CEO luncheon at CIM in Vancouver. 

Image: Amanda Stutt.

At 12 years old, Nivritti Vikram already knows what many adults don’t – that when it comes to the products we use and the food we consume – if its not farmed its mined.


Vikram captured an audience of CEOs at the CIM conference in Vancouver on Monday with her presentation: The Power of Sustainability: Responsible Mining and Resource Management (A 12-year old’s views).

CIM had put a call out for abstracts to submit thoughts on sustainable practices in mining operations, and the Toronto- based sixth-grader’s submission stood out, to say the least.

“What I lack in experience I make up for in passion,” the sixth-grade student and daughter of mining engineers told the audience.

“I think this is a great opportunity for everyone in this room to understand what is going through the minds of kids like me when we talk about mining.”

In preparation, Vikram canvased her schoolmates for their thoughts on the mining industry, and was generally met with grim descriptors such as: ‘dangerous’ ‘poor working conditions’ ‘damages water sources’ ‘suffocates plant and animal life’, as her peers highlighted the industry’s damaged reputation due to a legacy of unsustainable environmental practices.

But in her view, the industry is evolving, and coming together as one, striving to be responsible and sustainable.

“Clearly my generation has associated mining as an industry as irresponsible, climate changing, and one that generates carbon…and it seems to ask the question, what should our future look like?”

Vikram envisions a future where the mining industry lives in harmony with nature, where everything that is used is recycled, where all power is renewable, and there “is no carbon.”
Educating her peers – and the industry

“I explained to my friends, that all things, from steel, solar panels, and even the TV, all comes from metals from mines, and mines are as important as the food we eat,” Vikram said.

Vikram conceded both that all mines are not performing equally, and emphasized her fellow sixth graders do have a point.

Vikram said for the industry to meet the expectations of her peers, miners need to innovate extraction methods, so less ore is churned to get to the valuable metals.

“It might be cheaper to get tonnes of rock out in the hopes of getting a few grams of gold out, however, it makes very little sense for sustainability,” she said.

Vikram pointed to the use of selective mining with new technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve sustainability in operations.

“This now needs to be mainstream, and not just the poster child of big companies,” she said. “Reduce handling, rehandling, shipping for processing elsewhere, and shipping that product for refining elsewhere.

“The key, in my view, is to produce metal, and disrupt as little as possible while making metal. Use GPS tracking and AI to map out biodiversity to put plans into place for them to be actively managed in the mines of the future, while maximizing power to be used in the future, and hybridize all vehicles,” Vikram said.

“And remember – if it’s not sustainable, it becomes irrelevant,” Vikram told the audience — and received a standing ovation.

Hochschild’s Mara Rosa gold mine reaches commercial production

Staff Writer | May 14, 2024 | 

Hochschild’s new Mara Rosa mine in Goias, Brazil. Credit: Hochschild Mining

Hochschild Mining’s (LSE: HOC) Mara Rosa gold mine in Brazil has officially reached commercial production. The milestone was achieved ahead schedule, as its prior forecast was the end of second quarter.


In a news release Tuesday, the London-based miner said Mara Rosa, which made its first pour in February, is on track to produce somewhere between 83,000 and 93,000 ounces of gold for the calendar year. The mine, located in the state of Goias, is the company’s first Brazilian operation.

During the month of May, the Mara Rosa plant has operated at about 90% of its nameplate capacity of 7,000 tonnes per day and exceeded 80% average recoveries. Ramp-up is expected to continue, resulting in higher production during the second half of 2024.

“Achieving commercial production at Mara Rosa is a significant milestone for Hochschild and has been delivered ahead of our end H1 2024 forecast. This brings a new jurisdiction to the company and provides a springboard for further low-cost growth in Brazil,” Eduardo Landin, Hochschild’s CEO, stated.

Mara Rosa became a part of Hochschild’s portfolio through its C$135 million deal to buy Amarillo Gold in late 2021. At the time, the company cited the combination of low-cost and near-term production potential at Mara Rosa, and immediately began construction upon completing the acquisition.

Recently, Hochschild expanded its presence in Brazil by optioning the Monte Do Carmo project in Tocantins from Cerrado Gold (TSXV: CERT). A 2023 feasibility study on Monte Do Carmo outlined a nine-year mine that can produce 95,000 gold ounces annually.

Prior to entering Brazil, the miner had been focused on other jurisdictions in the Americas. It currently owns and operates the Inmaculada mine in southern Peru and has a 51% stake in the San Jose mine in Argentina. Both Inmaculada and San Jose are underground gold-silver mines that together produced nearly 220,000 oz. gold and 10 million oz. of silver last year. It also has the Pallancata operation in Peru that was put on care and maintenance late 2024.

 

Troilus Gold shares fall on Quebec project feasibility study

May 14, 2024

Troilus Gold (TSX: TLG) shares fell after releasing a feasibility study that outlined a 22-year open-pit operation in north-central Quebec that would produce 5.4 million oz. of gold, 382 million lb. of copper and 9.9 million oz. of silver over that span.

Average annual production of payable metal is 244,600 oz. of gold, 17.3 million lb. of copper and 446,700 oz. of silver, peaking at 456,100 oz. gold, 31.8 million lb. copper and 613,600 oz. silver in year 7.

The Troilus project has an estimated net present value (discounted at 5%) of $884.5 million and an internal rate of return of 14%, reflecting long-term forecast prices of $1,975/oz. gold, $4.05/lb. copper and $23/oz. silver.

Using current (April 2024 average) metal prices of $2,332/oz. gold, $4.30/lb. copper and $27.50/oz. silver, the after-tax NPV and IRR would rise to $1.55 billion and 19.5% respectively.

Initial development capital is projected at $1.07 billion, including all mine pre-production costs, net of existing infrastructure. The payback period is 5.7 years, based on cumulative after-tax cashflows of $2.2 billion.

Justin Reid, CEO of Troilus, said the FS outlines a “generational-scale asset” with compelling economics, both at discounted and current metal prices, highlighted by a reasonable capex and capital intensity, including bottom quartile operating costs among the major Canadian gold mines.

However, shares of Troilus Gold fell 15.2% to C$0.56 by 11:30 a.m. ET following the feasibility study release, for a market capitalization of C$155.5 million ($114m).

With the feasibility study complete, Troilus will now move towards the project’s environmental and social impact assessment, which it hopes to complete by the end of this year. Also in progress are the provincial and federal permitting processes, which it began in May 2022.

Concurrently, Troilus will focus on exploration of the 435 km² property. Numerous targets ranging from grassroots geochemical anomalies to early-stage drill targets are actively being explored, and the company believes “there is strong potential to further expand the scale of this project and extend the mine life beyond the 22 years.”

The proposed open-pit mine will have a processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes per day, a 43% increase on the 35,000 tpd contemplated in the 2020 preliminary economic assessment.

Mining will occur from four main zones of mineralization that together hold 380 million tonnes in mineral reserves grading 0.49 g/t gold, 0.058% copper and 1.0 g/t silver, containing 6.02 million oz. gold, 484 million lb. copper and 12.15 million oz. silver.