AUSTRALIA

Probe finds Sandfire caused Aboriginal heritage damage due to process failures

Reuters | June 4, 2024 | 

DeGrussa copper mine also owned by Sandfire. Credit: Sandfire Resources

Sandfire Resources said on Wednesday an external probe had found the miner damaged Aboriginal cultural heritage at a copper mine in Western Australia due to “ignorance and process failings”.


Damage to artefact scatters at the Monty copper mine, northeast of Perth, occurred in 2017 and 2018 due to a series of process failures during the construction of a satellite mine. However, it came to the company’s attention only in September 2023.

“Sandfire’s failure to protect the artefact scatters and to quickly escalate the issue once identified is unacceptable,” Sandfire chair John Richards said in a statement.

A group of traditional owners, the Yugunga-Nya, said in a statement the report showed Sandfire’s then management, “just didn’t care about Aboriginal heritage”, while disputing the report’s conclusion that the damage was unintentional.

It also said it looked forward to collaborating with Sandfire’s new management team, led by Brendan Harris, to address heritage matters.

Shares of the company slipped as much as 5.6% to A$8.86 by 0029 GMT, amid a broader weakness in mining stocks.

The damage, which was first flagged by the Australian miner in November last year, had led the Yugunga-Nya to demand the executive team to step down after failures to address the situation.

Aboriginal heritage protection has come into the spotlight since Rio Tinto destroyed rock shelters in Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge in 2020 that showed evidence of human habitation stretching back into the last Ice Age.

The findings of the probe confirmed that Sandfire’s then executive management failed to define line accountability for heritage or ensure measures were in place to manage heritage better within the organization.

“Sandfire recognises the magnitude of these findings and has committed to an extensive program of work designed to ensure the protection of cultural heritage across all of its operations,” Richards said.

A draft of the investigation has been shared with the Yugunga-Nya, the company said.

(By Prerna Bedi and Melanie Burton; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Rashmi Aich)

Coal dust pollution in regional Australian coal mining towns: Social License to Operate and community resistance

Geoforum

Volume 151, May 2024, 104008

Author links open overlay panel, , 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.104008Get rights and content

Under a Creative Commons license

open access

Highlights

• •

  Regional economic dependence on coal mining can disempower communities.

• •

  Disempowerment can transform community resistance from overt to covert modes of behaviour.

• •

  SLO is an unreliable community acceptance metric in the context of regional economic dependence.

Abstract

The mining industry’s generation of environmental risks has galvanised increasing social upheaval worldwide, leading to its Social License to Operate being called into question. The coal mining industry is no exception. Nonetheless, the industry remains a crucial supporter of many regional Australian economies, providing communities with employment opportunities and vital amenities. However, this support comes at the expense of direct exposure to particulate matter emissions or ‘coal dust’, a pollutant known for its adverse long-term health outcomes. Thus, communities are dealt an intriguing social dilemma: ‘Do you bite the hand that feeds you?’ This paper explores how Singleton and Clermont, regional Australian coal mining towns in New South Wales and Queensland, respectively, have exemplified such a phenomenon. Based on 34 thematically analysed semi-structured interviews, this paper develops its argument that the Social License to Operate, as a metric for community acceptance and approval, may be rendered useless when communities are economically dependent on coal mining. This paper aims to ultimately shed light on the factors affecting the Social License to Operate using regional Australian perspectives, highlighting the malleability of community acceptance.

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ALSO SEE

The socio-ecological impacts of mining on the

well-being of Indigenous Australians: 

A systematic review

 Samy Andres Leyton-Flor * , Kamaljit Sangha 

 Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, 

Charles Darwin University, 

Darwin, NT, 0810, Australia 

Mar 1, 2024

 ARTICLE INFO

 Keywords: Mining Ecosystem services Systematic literature review Indigenous well-being Indigenous people Natural systems 

 ABSTRACT

 Mining on Indigenous lands affects people’s well-being and the relationship between themselves and their lands. Indigenous peoples’ sociocultural and spiritual connections to their lands are symbolised in bush food, totems, ceremonial objects, sacred names, and kinship systems representing various provisioning and cultural Ecosystem Services (ES). In Australia, most mine sites are located on traditional lands, causing losses of vital ES due to alterations in the original land cover and the destruction of natural habitats such as woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands. In addition, mining causes conflicting relationships between locals and mining companies, reducing community cohesion and restricting land access. These socio-ecological impacts jeopardise the contributions of ecosystems to people’s well-being and their ability to care for traditional lands. However, studies assessing the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of mining on Indigenous well-being during the mine lifecycle are scarce. Considering the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, this study presents how mining operations on Indigenous lands have affected people’s well-being and ecosystems in Australia. This review aims to address the gaps in current knowledge for understanding the impacts of mining, not just on the environment but also on people living in mining landscapes, to inform public policy and future programs appropriately. We analysed peer-reviewed articles and book chapters published between 2012 and 2022 by applying the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Conceptual Framework using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Various associations were identified between well-being constituents, mining impacts, and ES. From an environmental perspective, the negative impacts of mining were mainly associated with provisioning and cultural ES, while mining operations affected all five constituents of well-being. We suggest addressing these knowledge gaps by applying integrated approaches focused on consolidating the environmental, social, and economic impacts over the mine lifecycle that can contribute to mine management and rehabilitation plans for the environment and Indigenous well-being.

Cdu.edu.auresearchers.cdu.edu.au/files/96955325/1_s2.0_S2214790X24000273_main.pdf

The socio-ecological impacts of mining on the well-being of ...

Antofagasta to invest $1.5bn for water transport system at Chile copper mine

Reuters | June 5, 2024 |

Centinela (pictured here) and Zaldívar mines will be the company’s first operations to adhere to the Copper Mark framework. (Image courtesy of Antofagasta Plc.)

London-listed Antofagasta on Wednesday signed a $1.5 billion investment deal to improve water supply at its Chile mining operations.


The deal, signed with a firm owned by Madrid-based Almar Water Solutions and Chile-based power transmission company Transelec, is to set up a water transportation system that will provide non-desalinated seawater for its Centinela mining operation.

Centinela’s operations are set to receive $600 million in 2024 from the consortium.

In 2022, Chile’s SMA environmental regulator filed two charges against the Centinela copper deposit due to its impact on a water source and local wildlife.
Context

Analysts have forecast a deficit of the red metal from this year as Panama ordered the closure of First Quantum’s mine and producers like Anglo American and Vale Base Metals both cut their supply estimates for 2024 and 2025.

Copper demand is expected to grow steadily in the coming years, yet recent price jumps appear to be driven in part by speculative activity.

Why it’s important

Chile, where Antofagasta’s operations are based, has suffered a 15-year drought, sucking water from reservoirs and sparking concern over the fresh water supply.

Additionally, miners and countries are looking to increase and reopen production of copper from mines amid a bullish outlook.
By the numbers

The World Resources Institute said nearly 16% of the world’s land-based critical mineral mines and districts are located in areas facing high or extremely high levels of water stress.

The project at Centinela in Chile includes the construction of two 144 km-long (89.48 miles) water pipelines that transports seawater to its ports and facilitates the expansion of the mine.

The expansion at Centinela would boost annual copper output from the Centinela mine by 140,000 tons, making it one of the world’s top 15 such mines by output.

(By Seher Dareen; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

FOR RUSSIAN ALUMINUM PRODUCTION

Rusal in talks to mine bauxite in Sierra Leone

Reuters | June 5, 2024 | 

Rusal already has operations in neighboring Guinea. (Stock Image)

Russian aluminum giant Rusal is in negotiations with the government of Sierra Leone on a bauxite mining concession, the RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the west African country’s mining minister.


“We had several meetings during which they (Rusal) showed a lot of interest in opening a bauxite mining concession in Sierra Leone,” Julius Mattai, minister of mines and mineral resources, was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Negotiations were still underway, RIA cited Mattai as saying. “We are here to resume cooperation, to confirm that we are strengthening Russian-African relations in the field of business, especially in the mining industry,” he added.

Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China, already has operations in neighbouring Guinea.

Bauxite is converted into alumina, a raw material to make aluminum used by companies in construction and packaging.

“Sierra Leone has significant reserves of bauxite… and is actively seeking partners in the international market,” Rusal said in a statement to Reuters.

“Rusal is considering various opportunities to strengthen its raw material base and resource endowment,” it added.

Australia’s alumina export ban and a suspension of operations at a refinery in Ukraine have prompted Rusal to seek more alumina in China and other countries to ensure adequate supply to its Siberian aluminum smelters in 2022.

In 2023 it bought a 30% stake in a Chinese alumina refinery to support the feed coming from its alumina assets in Russia, Ireland, Jamaica and Guinea.

(By Anastasia Lyrchikova and Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Zambia sees KoBold spending $2.3 billion on giant copper mine

Bloomberg News | June 7, 2024 | 

Bill Gates at Hioe Charity Forum. 

(Image courtesy of Greg Rubenstein | Flickr Commons.)

KoBold Metals, the Bill Gates-backed mining exploration company, could spend $2.3 billion to build a major new copper mine in Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema said, citing figures from the company.


The firm aims to produce more than 300,000 metric tons per year at Mingomba — making it the country’s biggest such operation — and will begin sinking the mining shaft in the first half of 2026, according to company officials. Their meeting with Hichilema on Friday was broadcast over state television.


Zambia is seeking to become one of the world’s largest producers of copper, which is crucial for green technologies like electric vehicles and wind turbines. The world faces predicted shortages of the metal in the coming decades amid the shift away from fossil fuels. Hichilema has previously said the Mingomba project could ultimately become one of the three-biggest copper mines globally.

Officials from KoBold, based in the San Francisco Bay area, met with Hichilema and a group of heavyweight investors visiting Zambia this week to tour the firm’s activities in the country. They included senior representatives from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Standard Industries, Equinor Ventures, Bond Capital and T. Rowe Price.

Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg News’s parent Bloomberg LP, is an investor in Breakthrough, according to the venture company’s website.

(By Taonga Mitimingi and Matthew Hill)

Read More: Hedge funds Andurand and Rokos took big copper bets before spike

Kobold - Wikipedia

Codelco reaches agreement with Andina mine workers

Reuters | June 7, 2024 | 

(Image: Andina open pit. Courtesy of Codelco.)

Chilean state-run miner Codelco said on Friday that it had reached a collective contract agreement with the union representing workers at its Andina mine ahead of schedule, averting the threat of a strike at the site.


At the end of May, Codelco wrapped up negotiations with two other unions at the mine.

The three-year agreement with union Suplant will go into effect in August and applies to more than 170 employees.

The company did not give financial details of the new agreement.

Last year, the mine churned out 164,500 metric tons of copper.

(By Fabian Cambero; Editing by Diane Craft)

Demand for Canadian natural resources on a “scale never seen before,” says MAC

Staff Writer | June 7, 2024 | 

The Canadian Malartic, Canada’s largest gold mine. Credit: Agnico.

The current state of mining and the Canadian economy is strong, according to the Mining Association of Canada’s (MAC) The Mining Story – Canadian Mining Industry Facts and Figures, a report based on the latest statistics and analysis.


The mining industry is a major sector of Canada’s economy, contributing C$161 billion to the national GDP and is responsible for 21% of Canada’s total domestic exports. Canada’s mining sector employs 694,000 people directly and indirectly across the country. The industry is proportionally the largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples in Canada and a major customer of Indigenous-owned businesses, MAC reported.

According to the report, the total value of mineral and metal production has quadrupled since 2000. Canada is among the top producers of metals and non-metallic minerals in the world. It is the top producer of potash, second largest producer of niobium and uranium, and third largest producer of precious diamonds and palladium (by metal content).

In 2022, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction represented 7.8% of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP). The sector made up a larger portion of Canada’s economy than finance, construction, transportation or retail trade, MAC said.

Extraction, mining services, primary metal/mineral manufacturing and downstream metal/mineral manufacturing all saw substantial increases in contribution to Canada’s GDP in 2022, according to the report.

Extraction contributed C$45 billion to GDP, an increase of 21% from 2021. Mining services contributed C$10.1 billion to GDP, an increase of 50% from 2021 while primary metal/mineral manufacturing contributed C$23 billion to GDP, an increase of 13% from 2021.

Downstream metal/mineral manufacturing contributed C$30.4 billion to GDP, an increase of 23% from 2021. Canada produces more than 60 minerals and metals through its mining activities.

“The rebound in mineral and metal production is great to see, after a lengthy period of lower commodity prices,” MAC CEO Pierre Gratton said in a news release.

“As Canada and its allies seek to secure critical minerals and other mining products for the future to address national security and climate change goals, these numbers also tell us about how much wealth can come to Canada if we build out our mineral endowment,” Gratton said.

The total value of Canadian mineral production in 2022 was C$74.6 billion, up from $58.6 billion in 2021. This growth was led by the increase in production values for nonmetals and coal.

“To provide the resources that are required to accomplish our transition to a low-carbon economy, Canada must create an investment and regulatory environment that works,” the report reads. “Over the past few years, the mining sector has heard positive commitments from the federal government, including the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, Fall Economic Statements, and the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Budgets.”

These measures, and the enhanced collaboration with allies in the European Union and US, are encouraging – but the true measure of success lies in the effective and efficient implementation of policies that will speed the delivery of Canadian minerals and metals to the global markets that are clamoring for them, MAC emphasized.

“The mining industry is an engine of Canada’s economy, but current demand for our natural resources presents us with opportunities on a scale we’ve never seen before – efficient and effective collaboration between government, industry, and all communities of interest will ensure that our industry continues to benefit all Canadians,” said Gratton.

The report proposes several recommendations that will enhance the Canadian mining sector’s competitiveness, including investments in mineral processing, exploration, infrastructure and workforce.

Read the full report here.

Rare Earths Norway says its REE discovery is Europe’s largest

Staff Writer | June 7, 2024 | 

Norway terrain. Stock image.

Rare Earths Norway (REN) has announced a mineral resource estimate that it said shows its Fen Carbonatite Complex in the country’s southeast hosts continental Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth elements.


After three years of targeted exploration, REN delivered this week a Maiden Mineral Resource estimate for the Fen carbonatite complex, reported according to the JORC 2012 code. REN holds an exploration permit covering approximately 90% of the Fen Carbonatite Complex.

The Maiden Inferred Mineral Resource, which satisfies the RPEEE is at 559 Mt at 1.57% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO). This means that the Fen Carbonatite Complex contains 8.8 Mt TREO with a reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction, the company said.

Within the TREOs, there is estimated to be 1. 5 Mt of magnet-related rare earth used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.

The EU considers these metals to be the most critical raw materials when considering supply risk.

The current work provides a Mineral Resource estimate depth to – 468m below mean sea level. REN said it expects significant potential future upside to the project, with previous exploration drilling completed by the Geological Survey of Norway and the geological advisor the Telemark County council, indicating mineralization is open to a depth of approximately -1000m msl.

REN also said it expects the development of new mining methods will increase the resource estimate.

“The company is working partners Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria to develop the deposit with the world’s most sustainable mine and mineral processing technology minimising the environmental footprint from mine to magnet,“ Rare Earths Norway CEO Alf Reistad said in a news release on Thursday.

“We have now, through an independent third party, confirmed that we have a significant Mineral Resource at Fen. This is a milestone for us that could be extremely important for the local community in Nome, but also Norway and Europe for generations,” added Rare Earths Norway ghief geologist of Trond Watne.

Drill core from Fen carbonatite complex. Credit: Rare Earths Norway

The company said its goal is to contribute to a total, compact value chain, from mine to magnet with considerably lower climate and environmental impact.

Further exploration drilling is scheduled for this year.

SPACE

US Awards Contract to Build Prototype Sea-Based Space Launch Infrastructure

Using a liftboat a demonstration was conducted in May 2023 (Evolution Space)

PUBLISHED JUN 7, 2024 3:46 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The Defense Innovation Unit, an office within the U.S. Department of Defense, issued awards to develop a novel method for sea-based space launch. According to The Spaceport Company which received the awards, the prototype is intended to demonstrate the launch capabilities to orbit and test autonomous-like features of the sea launch vessel after the company completed the first-ever launch in U.S. waters just a year ago.

“A sea-based launch platform is a strategically significant capability that increases equatorial launch access while enabling responsive launch coordination by avoiding high-traffic airspace,” DIU said in its announcement. The office which works across the Department of Dense is charged with leveraging commercial solutions and also aims to aid in accelerating the adoption of emerging commercial technologies both for the military and commercial applications. They called the ability to rapidly deliver cargo to space “presently underdeveloped.”

"Demand for launch sites exceeds supply, and building new launch sites on land is blocked by environmental concerns and community opposition. Furthermore, commercial launch companies seek a future with fleets of rockets delivering tons of cargo to and from orbit on an hourly basis," said Tom Marotta, CEO of The Spaceport Company. “The only viable way to build enough launch site infrastructure to support such a vision is to build it on ships at sea.”

The company had previously said that the national security community was looking at the evolving need for a flexible and agile launch capability. Satellites are also growing in demand for the commercial industry both to advance communications capabilities as well as applications tied to digitalization as well as the future capabilities including autonomous ships and self-driving cars and trucks.

 

Video from May 23, 2023, test launch from the liftboat

 

The Spaceport Company working with partner Evolution Space conducted the first-ever launch in U.S. waters in May 2023. Multiple rockets were launched in one day from a modified ship from Louisiana-based EBI Liftboats. The Gary Chiasson Elevator was positioned in the Gulf of Mexico for the tests. According to the companies, the demonstration successfully tested all the procedures necessary to conduct an orbital-class launch including regulatory approvals from the FAA and U.S. Coast Guard, scheduling, control of public access, range surveillance, hazard clearance, airspace integration, anomaly response, and remote launch vehicle ignition at sea.

China’s space company Galactic Energy conducted its first sea-based launch in September 2023. They launched four low Earth orbit satellites for another private Chinese company using a Ceres-1 solid rocket. So far in the U.S. several private companies have looked at the possibility of sea-based launches. Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin acquired a former Ro/Ro vessel as a possible launch and retrieval platform but later sold the vessel for scrap. SpaceX uses barges for rocket retrieval after launch.

As the latest step in the program called the Novel Response Space Delivery Program, DIU awarded the contracts to The Spaceport Company to construct and demonstrate foundational maritime launch technologies within the next 12 months. Last year, DIU awarded the company a $1.5 million contract for the design and development of the mobile sea-based spaceport. DIU is following a phased approach and expects to award additional contracts under the NRSD program in the future.

 NETHERLANDS

NGOs Secure Court Order to Halt Offshore E&P Off Borkum
Activists at the Borkum project site (Axel Heimken / Greenpeace)

PUBLISHED JUN 5, 2024 3:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The Netherlands' top court has issued an order requiring an offshore operator to pause drilling at a site off the coast of Borkum, following a lawsuit filed by European environmental groups. It is the second time that the court has ordered a halt on the controversial project.

On Friday, Greenpeace Netherlands and German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe filed a petition with the District Court of the Hague, asking for an order to halt installation of the Prospector 1 drilling platform at a gas field off Borkum. On Monday, in support of the legal action, 21 Greenpeace activists occupied the platform to protest the offshore operations of energy firm ONE-Dyas.

The District Court ordered a halt to the project more than one year ago, and requested a more thorough environmental review. After revisions, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate issued a revised permit on May 29, and ONE-Dyas was briefly able to resume work - until the court ordered it to halt again.

"Fossil fuel companies are planning several new gas projects across Europe. The science is clear: there’s no room for new oil and gas extraction, if the world is to stay well below 1.5 degrees. Every fraction of a degree of warming spells more extreme weather and more sea level rise impacting millions of people," said Greenpeace spokesperson Mira Jager in a statement.

The court will hold an additional hearing and issue a final ruling on the NGOs' requests next week.

The offshore project is locally controversial, according to German broadcaster NDR. The well site is close to the maritime boundary with the German state of Lower Saxony, and German officials told NDR that they believe that the well site is "not approvable" in its current form; it is located just outside of their jurisdiction, within Dutch waters.