It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
PSST MINING IS NOT SUSTAINABLE
EV makers eye bigger battery metals role by inking mining deals Bloomberg News | August 16, 2021 | Wheaton Precious Metals president and chief executive, Randy Smallwood. (Photo: Wheaton Precious Metals)
Electric vehicle makers are pushing for an intermediary role in mining to secure supplies of key battery metals, according to the head of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.
“We’ve had discussions on that and Tesla has definitely explored these options,” Chief Executive Officer Randy Smallwood said Friday in a phone interview. “There is a real concern on the battery metal side in terms of supply.”
Smallwood said he’s seeing increasing interest from electric vehicle makers to get more involved in the industry and has even had talks with “potential partners” interested in starting their own streaming companies for battery metals including cobalt, nickel and lithium.
Automakers have been signing supply deals with mining companies to secure metals used in batteries to meet surging demand amid a global push for a cleaner energy economy. Tesla Inc. struck a nickel-supply deal with BHP Group last month after CEO Elon Musk had expressed concern about supply due to challenges in sustainable sourcing.
These companies should “focus on the prominence of where their metals are coming from and making sure that the products they’re buying and investing into to supply their customers are sourced responsibly,” Smallwood said.
Wheaton Precious Metals remains primarily focused on gold and silver production deals, though the Vancouver-based company has a cobalt streaming deal with Vale SA for some output from the Brazilian miner’s Voisey’s Bay mine in Canada. Cobalt has become harder to find with companies like Tesla and Apple Inc. trying to secure their own supplies by signing long-term production deals with miners.
(By Alejandra Salgado, with assistance from James Attwood, Joe Deaux and Yvonne Yue Li)
Ag software startup Regrow has raised $17 million in Series A funding as it proceeds with the US rollout of its monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) tool for carbon sequestration and monetization.
New investors participating in the round included US agribusiness giant Cargill, US climate-focused VC Ajax Strategies, and Australian agrifoodtech VC Tenacious Ventures.
Regrow was formed in February this year following the merger of Australian crop science company FluroSat and US soil health startup Dagan.
The Durham, New Hampshire-based firm claims its MRV platform is “the first and only” such system that allows stakeholders across the emerging ag carbon credits industry to create, and cash in on, carbon strategies. It does this by enabling transparent reporting, historical analysis, and forward-looking projections of carbon sequestration and emissions reductions, with the hope of removing “the most critical challenges standing in the way of ubiquitous adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.”
Regrow “supports delivery of programs initiated by sellers or buyers to the growers, as well as supporting grower decision-making in choosing which practice to adopt by showing them the potential for outcomes and payments,” says CEO Anastasia Volkova, who describes the platform as “the first independent, objective turnkey system” for agriculture.
She tells AFN that it is this ‘independence’ which differentiates Regrow’s solution from those of competing MRV providers.
“It doesn’t combine the MRV capabilities with the market itself. We power sustainability programs of key players without deciding on the price of the credit or making the payment,” she says.
“This ensures that we stay focused on the science and the MRV itself, and are not incentivized by financial outcomes that we help create. Competitive MRV offerings such as CIBO and Indigo have a market attached to them, which creates undesirable conflicts of interest for all parties.”
Cutting the costs of verification
Another advantage of Regrow’s MRV, from Volkova’s perspective, is that it’s able to cut the costs of data collection — including soil sampling — by leveraging integrations with third-party farm management software, as well as the startup’s own satellite imagery-based monitoring and verification product, OpTIS.
“Soil sampling is important and plays a key role in initializing our soil model. Relying on a combination of modeling and remote sensing, however, means that you do not have to redo soil sampling as frequently since your model has known accuracy and uncertainty that you can propagate with time,” she says.
“If markets know the uncertainty of the outcomes then they can appropriately administer payment and simultaneously lower the cost of sampling.”
DNDC — the soil model Regrow uses to quantify carbon credits and other outcomes — “has been scientifically vetted and used internationally,” she adds.
“Again, this means for the food companies, which are the primary funders of sustainability programs at the moment, that the MRV will scale globally and cover their various supply chains.”
Among the companies and organizations that have signed up as paying subscribers to Regrow’s MRV platform and its supporting products are new investor Cargill, agrochemicals major Bayer, food giant General Mills, and environmental nonprofit The Nature Conservancy.
Volkova says there are several new partnerships on the horizon that will help Regrow to expand into new international markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Europe in the first instance.
“Not only does agriculture feed our growing population, but we know that, when done sustainably, it can sequester carbon and lead to better environmental outcomes,” Ben Fargher, managing director of sustainability for Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain North America, said in a statement.
“Regrow, with its dedication to science and bias for action, has tremendous potential to enable further transformation of sustainable agricultural systems around the world.”
SASKABOOM 2.0
Uranium tops Morgan Stanley’s commodity thermometer MINING.COM Staff Writer | August 15, 2021 | Autunite, frequently used as uranium ore. (Reference image by Parent Géry, Wikimedia Commons). Morgan Stanley has placed uranium at the very top of its Metals and Mining Commodity Thermometer.
Uranium was assigned a ‘most bullish’ thesis of 17 mined commodities under the bank’s coverage.
“Further price upside near term as commercial inventories are drawn down, investment demand continues, and mine supply remains below 2019 levels. Longer term, growth continues to push price higher,” reads a slide shared by a social media user.
The gap between uranium spot and contract prices has narrowed for a third consecutive month, reaching $32.40 and $33.50 per lb. at the end of July, respectively.
Benga Mining applies for judicial review following Canada’s coal mine snub
A unit of Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, Benga Mining, has applied to the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review of the rejection of the proposed $800 million Grassy Mountain steelmaking coal mine that it plans to build in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains.
Benga has applied for an order that quashes or sets aside Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s decision of August 6, that the project was “likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” and which referred the project to the Cabinet.
BENGA IS ALSO SEEKING TO QUASH THE CABINET’S DECISION THAT THE “SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS” THAT THE PROJECT “IS LIKELY TO CAUSE ARE NOT JUSTIFIED IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES”
Benga is also seeking to quash the Cabinet’s decision that the “significant adverse environmental effects” that the project “is likely to cause are not justified in the circumstances”.
The Minister’s determination was based on a decision by the Joint Review Panel on June 17, to deny the Grassy Mountain project. The determination, Benga said, was made despite applications being filed with the Court of Appeal of Alberta on July 16 and 19, by the company and the Piikani and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations.
Benga said that its legal counsel had written to Wilkinson on June 26, formally requesting that he took no action at this time, in order to allow the company to pursue its legal avenues on appeal.
Benga also wrote to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada on July 6, advising that failure by the Minister to hold the federal process in abeyance pending resolution of Benga’s legal challenges in the Court of Appeal of Alberta would prejudice Benga and potentially those Indigenous groups that might benefit from the project.
“We are dismayed that Canada’s Minister of Environment could render a decision so hastily, and based on a report that is facing multiple legal challenges,” Benga CEO John Wallington said in a statement.
“Not only were the Minister’s and Cabinet’s decisions premature and ill-informed, they were also made without adequate consultation with the relevant First Nations, something that is unconscionable within the rigours of a modern regulatory approval process.”
Benga’s parent company, Riversdale Resources, has spent about $700 million in acquiring the project and in pursuing the necessary regulatory approvals.
“At the time of acquiring the project, we were warmly welcomed and made to feel that Canada was very much open for business and intent upon attracting international investment and capital for the development of large-scale projects that would stimulate the economy and provide employment opportunities.
“We were acutely aware of Canada’s international reputation as a destination of choice for mining projects that could be developed without political interference within an open, transparent and fair regulatory regime. However, the Minister’s and Cabinet’s decisions that we are now seeking to review raise serious questions about sovereign risk and just how open, transparent and fair the regulatory regime actually is.”
Wilkinson said on August 6 the project was “likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” to surface water quality, including from selenium effluent discharge; Westslope cutthroat trout, listed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act, and its habitat; Whitebark Pine, listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act; and Physical and cultural heritage of the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika First Nations.
“The government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations. It is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy fish populations like the Westslope Cutthroat Trout, respect Indigenous peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations,” the minister said at the time.
The $800 million project is a proposed steelmaking coal mine in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, expected to contribute $1.7 billion in provincial and federal income taxes and royalties. Benga says the project has a Category 4 land use classification (being land on which surface or underground mining may be considered) and that nearly 25% of the project was on previously mined land.
As proposed, the Grassy Mountain coal project’s production capacity would have been up 4.5 million tonnes of processed coal per year, over a mine-life of about 25 years.
Canada is particularly concerned with harmful substances associated with coal mining. Effluent from coal mines in Canada can be a source of pollution that harms aquatic life and specifically fish and fish habitat. As such, Environment and Climate Change Canada is developing the Coal Mining Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act. These proposed regulations will establish effluent quality standards for deleterious substances of concern, including selenium, nitrate and suspended solids.
Woodside snares BHP oil, gas business in $28 billion merger
Reuters | August 17, 2021 | BHP’s oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. (Image courtesy of BHP)
BHP Group has agreed to sell its petroleum business to Woodside Petroleum in a merger to create a top 10 independent oil and gas producer worth A$38.5 billion ($28 billion) with growth assets in Australia and the Americas.
BHP’s exit from petroleum, which made up just 5% of its annual earnings, speeds up its exit from fossil fuels amid pressure from environmentally conscious investors. BHP CEO Mike Henry, however, said the company remained committed to metallurgical coal used in steel making.
BHP shareholders will be paid in Woodside stock, giving BHP investors a 48% stake in the merged group.
That effectively values BHP’s petroleum arm at about A$18.5 billion ($13 billion) on Tuesday’s close, roughly in the middle of analysts’ valuations between $10 billion and $17 billion.
For Woodside, the deal is transformational, doubling its output, expanding its footprint in liquefied natural gas, removing the main obstacle to its $12 billion Scarborough gas project and giving it near-term growth options in the Gulf of Mexico.
BHP’s assets, including its ageing assets in Australia’s Bass Strait where its petroleum business originated, generate cash that will help Woodside fund the Scarborough project as well as developments in the Gulf of Mexico. BHP SHAREHOLDERS WILL BE PAID IN WOODSIDE STOCK, GIVING BHP INVESTORS A 48% STAKE IN THE MERGED GROUP
“Merging Woodside with BHP’s oil and gas business delivers a stronger balance sheet, increased cash flow and enduring financial strength to fund planned developments in the near term and new energy sources into the future,” Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill said in a statement.
“We will have more optionality in where we invest and can prioritise the highest return opportunities,” she told analysts.
The merger ratio involved no premium for BHP’s assets, she said.
The deal was announced at the same time as Woodside appointed O’Neill as chief executive, following a stint as acting CEO. Some analysts had speculated BHP’s petroleum chief Geraldine Slattery, would get the job.
“The proposed transaction de-risks and supports Scarborough FID (final investment decision) later this year and enables more flexible capital allocation,” O’Neill said.
The companies said the merger would generate annual savings of more than $400 million from 2023, the year after the deal is expected to close.
Woodside plans to put the share issue to a vote in the second quarter of 2022.
A big Woodside investor, Allan Gray Australia, has raised concerns about a deal, especially if it involved a massive share issue.
“It’s very unlikely that shareholders would jump at that idea. We certainly wouldn’t,” Allan Gray Australia Chief Investment Officer Simon Mawhinney told Reuters last week.
O’Neill played down concerns that many BHP investors who don’t want fossil fuels or an Australian stock might dump the Woodside shares, saying there is already overlap among investors in the company and it would consider secondary listings in London and New York to help keep “high value” investors on board.
Analysts raised concern about the near-term decommissioning liabilities Woodside will be inheriting with BHP’s stake in the Bass Strait oil and gas fields. Analysts have estimated those costs at least $2 billion, but O’Neill would not put a figure on it.
“We feel good about how we’ve valued the decommissioning obligation in setting the merger ratio,” she said.
($1 = 1.3732 Australian dollars)
(By Sonali Paul; Editing by David Evans)
Glencore acquires stake in UK battery maker Britishvolt
Mining giant Glencore Plc acquired a stake in Britishvolt Ltd., allowing the U.K. battery maker to secure long-term supplies of key material cobalt.
Britishvolt is building the U.K.’s first giant battery factory in northern England. It will produce batteries for electric vehicles, with demand set to grow as the U.K. bans sales of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by the end of the decade.
“This is a huge step in the right direction for Britishvolt,” Chief Executive Officer Orral Nadjari said in a statement, without disclosing the size of Glencore’s stake or the financial terms. “By partnering with Glencore, we are locking in supply and derisking the project.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is trying to avoid falling behind in a transcontinental competition to chip away at the dominance of Asian battery makers and Tesla Inc. Johnson has committed 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) to help build factories that can produce batteries at scale.
Britishvolt’s plant will be built in three phases, with a total capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours from the end of 2027. Its production capability will equate to enough cells for around 300,000 electric-vehicle battery packs a year.
Sales of EVs — both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models — more than doubled in Europe last year to about 1.3 million units, topping China for the first time.
(By Amanda Jordan, with assistance from Thomas Biesheuvel)
Australian Aboriginal groups to get more say over heritage protection
Australian Aboriginal groups will be consulted more widely but gain no veto over development projects on their traditional lands, under proposed changes to laws in the state where miner Rio Tinto destroyed ancient rock shelters last year.
Rio’s destruction of the sites at Juukan Gorge, which showed signs of human habitation stretching back 46,000 years, was legal.
But it sparked a public outcry, cost top executives at the global mining firm their jobs and prompted a national review of industry practices and Australia’s heritage protection laws.
Briefing notes of amendments drafted to existing Aboriginal heritage laws in Western Australia – where the gorge is located and Australia’s most mineral-rich state – were seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The proposed changes include much heftier fines for damage to Aboriginal heritage and a focus on agreement-making between developers – who will have obtain informed consent and provide full disclosure of all their options – and traditional owners.
But they fail to provide the right to veto development projects damaging to their heritage that Aboriginal groups have demanded.
The bill establishes a new oversight body for the agreement-making process that will be majority Aboriginal and have a male and female co-chair, to account for cultural knowledge protected by gender.
The draft is designed to tackle a system in which development approval rests with the government minister for Aboriginal Affairs, in a process that has broadly rubber stamped such requests and does not now allow Aboriginal groups the right of appeal.
Aboriginal groups say they have not been adequately consulted over the new legislation, and expressed particular concern that the government remains the ultimate decision-making authority in cases where agreement can’t be reached.
The proposed Western Australia revisions state that, in such cases, “an alternate process will provide for Government consideration of these proposals”, without providing further details.
State parliament records showed that for the decade to July 2020, of more than 460 applications to disturb or destroy sites of potential cultural significance in the state by miners, all but one were approved.
The state government is briefing groups on the draft legislation over the coming days.
(By Melanie Burton; Editing by John Stonestreet)
MINING IS UNSUSTAINABLE
Most miners are falling short of carbon cuts needed for UN goal
The mining industry is falling short on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions enough to limit global warming, even after stepping up efforts to help combat climate change.
Only 11 out of 46 metal and mining companies analyzed by Bloomberg Intelligence have carbon-reduction targets that match levels needed for the United Nations’ goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report.
BIG MINERS HAVE BEEN WORKING TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS, SHOWING AWARENESS OF HOW HARD THEIR BUSINESS CAN BE HIT IF THEY IGNORE THOSE CALLS
The group includes global giants such as Anglo American Plc and Newmont Corp., the world’s largest gold producer.
Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and Sweden’s Boliden AB are the leaders of the group, indicating better preparedness for a low-carbon transition and suggesting the best combination of current and forecasted performance on curbing emissions, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s carbon score ranking. The top five companies, based on their overall carbon score, are:
Company Name Overall Score
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. 9.84 Boliden AB 9.75 Kumba Iron Ore Ltd. 9.73 Newmont Corp. 9.53 BHP Group Ltd. 8.84 Source: Bloomberg
The BI ranking measures the companies on reduction trends, current and future carbon-dioxide intensity, planned cuts and positioning to the end of the decade compared to a temperature-aligned benchmark, using data through April 1. Of the companies analyzed, only Fortescue has set a carbon-neutral target for 2030. Fourteen companies aim to zero out emissions with the target date ranging from 2030 to 2050 as part of a long-term transition.
The mining industry faces increasing scrutiny from investors and regulators demanding greater emphasis on environmental, social and governance issues. Big miners have been working to improve sustainability reports, showing awareness of how hard their business can be hit if they ignore those calls, and a number of producers have set goals to reduce emissions or adopted more ambitious targets in the past couple years.
Aluminum producers face the highest risks due to carbon-intensive operations, according to the BI report. Those companies need to reduce emissions 49% by 2030, compared to the 20% cutback needed by other diversified and precious metals miners.
“Having carbon-reduction goals is important to aluminum companies because they’re more carbon-intensive than most other metals,” Shaheen Contractor, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said. “That might be why for other miners like precious metal companies, few have set carbon emission goals as of April 1.”
European aluminum companies could see costs of as much as 1.5% of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to 2024, according to the report. A proposal to cut emissions in the European Union 55% by the end of the decade “may mean more headwinds”.
(By Mariana Durao)
USACE assigns a new review officer for Pebble appeal
MINING.COM Staff Writer | August 17, 2021 | The proposed area where Pebble mine would be built, 320 km southwest of Anchorage, within the Bristol Bay watershed. (Image courtesy of Northern Dynasty Minerals)
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has assigned a new review officer to handle Northern Dynasty Minerals’ (TSX: NDM) appeal of a negative record of decision for the massive Pebble copper-gold project in Alaska.
The new review officer comes after the previous officer was promoted out of the position.
The new officer is expected to set a detailed timeline for the administrative appeal process, including scheduling a potential site visit and appeal conference in the weeks ahead. THE NEW OFFICER IS EXPECTED TO SET A DETAILED TIMELINE FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL PROCESS, INCLUDING SCHEDULING A POTENTIAL SITE VISIT AND APPEAL CONFERENCE
Northern Dynasty’s US subsidiary, the Pebble Limited Partnership, says it has been advised that the administrative appeal process for Pebble could take a year or more given the complexity of the case. The administrative record contains 200,000 documents to date.
The Pebble Partnership submitted a request for appeal of the federal permitting decision in January.
“We have been, and continue to be, very concerned about USACE’s schedule and timeline for advancing our administrative appeal of the Pebble permitting decision, as we believe this does not accord with regulation,” said Northern Dynasty president and CEO Ron Thiessen in a media release this week.
“The new review officer has the power to help set the US down the path of strategic metals independence, which could enable the US to produce the copper, gold and silver it needs for a successful green economy transition. They can also help ensure that these metals are mined using industry-leading technologies under some of the strictest environmental standards in the world, while helping Alaska realize its right to manage its own resources for the benefit of its population.”
The project is considered one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits and has been through a roller coaster of regulation over the past 13 years.
The USACE in November denied a key water permit for the Pebble mine project. The lead federal regulator found Pebble’s ‘compensatory mitigation plan’ as submitted earlier this month to be ‘non-compliant’, and that the project is ‘not in the public interest’.
Northern Dynasty called the decision “politically motivated” and said it is fundamentally unsupported by the administrative record as developed by the USACE through the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for the Pebble project.
With resource estimates including 6.5 billion tonnes in the measured and indicated categories containing 57 billion pounds of copper and 71 million ounces of gold, 3.4 billion pounds of molybdenum and 345 million silver ounces, if permitted, Pebble would be North America’s largest mine.
Northern Dynasty shares trading in Toronto have cratered more than 75% over the past 12 months as the Pebble project continues to lay in regulatory limbo. Shares last traded on Tuesday at C$0.475 per share, giving the company a market value of C$243.63 million.
POTASH
The vital fertilizer that’s driving multibillion-dollar bets Bloomberg News | August 17, 2021 | (Image courtesy of BPC.)
BHP Group’s go-ahead to spend $5.7 billion on a giant Canadian potash mine is shining a spotlight on a commodity vital to feeding the world.
Prices of the nutrient essential to producing food for growing populations soared after a crop rally helped farmers boost fertilizer purchases. Unlike oil or most metals and grains, potash trade is focused on annual contracts or in the spot market, rather than on a futures exchange — and supplies are mostly controlled by just a handful of producers.
The fertilizer is part of mining giant BHP’s shift toward commodities of the future as it exits fossil fuels, though production won’t start for another six years. For now, much of the focus will be on how U.S. sanctions on Belarus’s state-owned producer affect supply.
Here’s why potash is important and what’s driving the market:
Market rally
Grains output jumped about 25% in almost a decade on rising global food demand, while a crop rally in the past year encouraged farmers to expand planting and use more fertilizers. That’s seen spot potash prices in Brazil and the U.S. hit the highest in at least eight years.
Nutrien Ltd., the biggest fertilizer company, earlier this year said it will raise potash production amid a tightening market. Last week, the Canadian company revised its forecast for global potash shipments to a record on strong demand.
Miners join party
BHP on Tuesday finally approved spending on the Jansen potash mine in Canada, after years of wavering over the huge cost. Potash offers the world’s top mining company a long-term future profit driver as it retreats from fossil fuels and focuses on commodities that should benefit from rising populations or the green-energy transition.
Jansen could operate for a century, and is a scalable business that could grow to rival BHP’s Pilbara iron ore operations and its copper mines in Chile in importance, Ragnar Udd, president of BHP’s Minerals Americas business, said on a media call on Wednesday. BHP isn’t the only miner moving into fertilizers — Anglo American Plc took over a $4 billion U.K. mine in 2020 as it shifts from coal to more environmentally-friendly commodities.
There are other big projects in the works. Russia’s Acron Group is speeding up construction of Talitsky potash mine and targets the first supplies in 2025. In Belarus, Slavkali plans to start a 2 million tons-a-year mine in 2023. Supply uncertainty
Output is mostly concentrated in North America and former Soviet nations like Russia and Belarus, from underground deposits formed by evaporated sea beds millions of years ago. Nutrien, Mosaic Co., Belaruskali OAO and Uralkali PJSC are among the main producers.
The U.S. last week sanctioned Belaruskali as it targeted companies with ties to President Alexander Lukashenko, though it’s not clear how that will affect supply. Counterparts have until December to wind down transactions with Belaruskali, while Belarusian Potash Co., which handles all of the country’s potash exports, wasn’t itself sanctioned.
Still, BPC told RIA Novosti the sanctions will lead to higher potash prices and less availability on the world market. Potash trade
Unlike say crude, copper or wheat, benchmark prices are largely derived from annual deals between producers and buyers, rather than on a futures exchange. The nutrient is also traded in spot markets.
Prices at multiyear highs “revived projects like Jensen or Talitsky in Russia, even as the market is still in oversupply,” said VTB Capital analyst Elena Sakhnova. “It’s not clear how long potash price dynamics will sustain, as it is driven by speculative factors and uncertainty over Belarusian shipments.”
BHP’s Udd said he was confident the market could absorb the extra supply from Jansen, with first production targeted for 2027. “The feedback we’re getting from customers at this point is that they will really relish the competition this will induce in the market.”
(By Nicholas Larkin, Thomas Biesheuvel and Yuliya Fedorinova, with assistance from James Thornhill) Nutrien confident in potash demand even with BHP’s project Reuters | August 17, 2021 | Patience Lake potash mine. Credit: Nutrien Ltd.
Canada’s largest potash producer Nutrien Ltd said on Tuesday it is confident in growing global demand for the crop fertiliser, shrugging off BHP Group’s decision to press on with its massive Jansen project in Saskatchewan that will add millions of tonnes a year of potash supply.
BHP announced it is going ahead with its Jansen potash project, which is expected to cost $5.7 billion in the first phase.
The mine will produce 4.35 million tonnes of potash per year from 2027, BHP said. Potash is a key element in plant nutrition that also makes crops more drought resistant.
Canada produced 21 million tonnes in 2019, accounting for more than 31% of global supply.
“It will take another decade for Jansen to have significant production,” Ken Seitz, chief executive of Nutrien Potash said in a statement.
Nutrien expects global demand to grow by 2-3% per year until close to 2030. The company is also seen as an ideal partner to dilute BHP’s risk and development costs. BHP says it is open to but not in need of a partner, while Nutrien has said that any tie-up with BHP is not its focus.
Global potash demand by 2030 is likely to be more than sufficient to absorb additional supply from Jansen, said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein, as farmers in Asia use more of the crop nutrient.
“Potash has one of the best demand outlooks of any fertiliser out there,” Goldstein said.
This month Washington imposed sanctions on Belaruskali OAO, one of Belarus’ largest state-owned enterprises and among the world’s biggest producers of potash. Belarus Potash Company (BPC), the exporting arm Belaruskali, warned the move would lead to global potash price increases.
Jansen is expected to create 3,500 jobs annually during construction and employ 600 permanent operating staff.
Premier Scott Moe said the mine is the largest private economic investment in the province’s history.
(By Nia Williams; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
SOCIALIST PERU
Copper price down again despite fears of supply disruption at Las Bambas
MINING.COM Staff Writer | August 17, 2021 Members of the Nueva Fuerabamba community at a town hall held at Las Bambas.
Photo by the Ministers Cabinet of Peru.
The copper price edged lower on Wednesday despite fears of supply disruption at Las Bambas mine in Peru amid ongoing labour strikes in top producer Chile.
Copper for delivery in September fell 2% from Tuesday’s settlement price, touching $4.12 per pound ($9,064 per tonne) on the Comex market in New York.
The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.1% to 69,020 yuan ($10,650.08) a tonne, tracking overnight losses in London.
Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices
Residents near MMG’s Las Bambas mine have blocked a road used to transport the metal after a two-week truce, community leaders said on Tuesday.
Last month, a four-day-long blockade disrupted operations of the mine, which produces about 400,000 tonnes of copper a year.
Despite the supply risk, the copper price has been weighed down by possible policy tightening in some major economies and rising global coronavirus cases, which could drag on recovery.
Top consumer China announced this week that its refined copper imports fell for the fourth straight month in July, adding to the sense of lost momentum. New government
Peru’s new socialist government said this week it is working with the mining industry on a new approach to community relations to unlock more of the country’s mineral wealth.
“All companies are happy, so far,” Minister of Energy and Mines Ivan Merino said in an interview Saturday.
“We all agree that all projects must be given a new social face, that we need a new pact.”
The minister’s conciliatory and pragmatic tone may further ease fears stoked by talk in the election campaign of greater state intervention in natural resources that would stifle investment and future output.
Tense relations between mining projects and often isolated rural communities combined with slow permitting have hampered progress in the industry.
Mining comprises 60% of exports from Peru, primarily for the Chinese market.
(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)
Peru calms interventionist fears with plan to tap copper riches
Peru’s new socialist government is working with the mining industry on a new approach to community relations and red tape to unlock more of the country’s huge mineral wealth.
“All companies are happy, so far,” Minister of Energy and Mines Ivan Merino said in an interview Saturday. “We all agree that all projects must be given a new social face, that we need a new pact.”
The minister’s conciliatory and pragmatic tone may further ease fears stoked by talk in the election campaign of greater state intervention in natural resources that would stifle investment and future output. Peru is the top copper producer after Chile and the market is relying on the Andean nation developing more of its giant deposits to meet surging demand in the shift toward clean energy.
Tense relations between mining projects and often isolated rural communities combined with slow permitting have hampered progress in the industry. Of 60 mining projects in different stages, the government intends to focus first on those that are close to starting and freeing up those that are trapped in red tape.
“We recognize that the state has not been present, that the best way forward is direct, with information exchange, so that there are no distortions,” Merino said.
Asked about Southern Copper Corp.’s Tia Maria initiative, Merina said his job was to deliver the program of President Pedro Castillo, who has said he opposed that project. AT SOME STAGE, THE PERUVIAN STATE COULD PLAY A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN STRATEGIC SECTORS AND MAY EVEN BE A SHAREHOLDER IN SOME PROJECTS “The president has already said it: projects with social profitability go, those that do not have social profitability simply do not,” Merino said. There are deposits in Peru that are richer and bigger, with the region between Apurimac and Cuzco containing enough mineral to match Chile’s production, he said.
Castillo’s administration is studying a proposal to lift taxes and leave more of the mining windfall in the country, although that still needs to go through different government departments and an opposition-led congress.
The message to companies is that the mining ministry will ensure clear rules and act as mediator and facilitator to streamline “this bureaucratic tangle,” he said. “What we are going to do is promote the industry so that things are done well and we are not an obstacle.”
At some stage, the Peruvian state could play a more active role in strategic sectors and may even be a shareholder in some projects, he said, but the priority is bring order to processes and requests that languish for more than a year. Regarding the Camisea gas fields, which Castillo vowed to nationalize during the campaign, the government is looking into whether its perceptions are supported by data.
“First there must be more gas, for there to be more gas there must be greater reserves and for there to be greater reserves, there must be more exploration,” the minister said.
The government has received expressions of confidence as it holds talks with commodity industry leaders. A sign of the trust is that some companies have just paid back taxes.
“We are not into ideological issues,” he said. “We are generating consensus.”
(By María Cervantes)
MINING IS NOT SUSTAINABLE
Clayton Valley lithium project in Nevada gets federal approval for operations
MINING.com Editor | August 17, 2021 | Clayton Valley lithium project. (Image courtesy of Pure Energy Minerals). Pure Energy Minerals (TSXV: PE) announced Tuesday that Schlumberger New Energy (SNE) has received approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a Plan of Operations covering the construction and operation of a pilot plant at Pure Energy’s Clayton Valley, Nevada, lithium brine project.
Schlumberger, Pure Energy’s partner and operator of the Clayton Valley project, has also received permit approval for the associated reclamation plan from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation.
The Vancouver-based miner, together with SNE, is exploring and developing the 9,450-hectare Clayton Valley project, the largest mineral land holdings in the area, which adjoins and surrounds on three sides the Silver Peak lithium brine mine operated by Albemarle.
THE 9,450-HECTARE CLAYTON VALLEY PROJECT IS THE LARGEST MINERAL LAND HOLDINGS IN THE AREA, ADJOINING AND SURROUNDING THE SILVER PEAK LITHIUM BRINE MINE OPERATED BY ALBEMARLE
Construction and operation of the pilot plant are planned at the Clayton Valley property, located 40 miles southwest of Tonopah in Esmeralda County, Nevada, as approved by the BLM and Nevada authorities.
In March, SNE announced its plans to develop a lithium extraction pilot plant at the Clayton Valley Project through its wholly-owned subsidiary, NeoLith Energy.
The BLM approved the Plan of Operations after completion of the required engineering design, environmental studies and public comment period. Additional permit applications are in process with NDEP.
“Pure Energy is excited that this important step towards development of the Clayton Valley Project has been achieved,” Pure Energy director Mary Little said in a media statement. “We look forward to advancing the Clayton Valley Project with Schlumberger New Energy.”
SNE is developing a lithium extraction pilot plant for the project, which uses a differentiated direct lithium extraction process to enable the production of high-purity, battery-grade lithium material while reducing the production time from over a year to weeks.
Pure Energy Minerals stock surged over 11% in Toronto on the news. The company has a $43 million market capitalization.
Rocket Lab will launch a Finnish cubesat this year to test space junk cleanup tech
By Mike Wall about 20 hours ago AuroraSat-1 will launch atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster later this year.
An artist's illustration of Aurora Propulsion Technologies' AuroraSat-1, a cubesat designed to demonstrate several space junk cleanup technologies. AuroraSat-1 is scheduled to launch atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster in late 2021. (Image credit: Aurora Propulsion Technologies/Rocket Lab)
Technology that could ease humanity's space junk problem is about to get an orbital test.
A tiny cubesat called AuroraSat-1 will launch atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster in the fourth quarter of this year, Rocket Lab representatives announced on Monday (Aug. 16).
AuroraSat-1, which will be operated by Finnish company Aurora Propulsion Technologies, will lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site, on the North Island's Mahia Peninsula. After deploying in low Earth orbit, the cubesat will demonstrate systems designed to help operators maintain control of small satellites and bring them down to Earth before they become space junk.
"The cubesat will validate the water-based propellant and mobility control of its Resistojets that can assist cubesats with detumbling capabilities and propulsion-based attitude control," Rocket Lab representatives wrote in a description of the upcoming mission.
"AuroraSat-1 will also test its deployable Plasma Brakes, which combine a micro-tether with charged particles in space, or ionospheric plasma, to generate significant amounts of drag to deorbit the spacecraft safely at the end of its life," they added.
Terms of the launch agreement were not disclosed, and no target date was given. However, Rocket Lab did say that four other Electron missions are ahead of AuroraSat-1 in the company's planned queue.
Three of those missions will loft Earth-observation satellites into orbit for the geospatial intelligence company BlackSky Global in August and September, if all goes according to plan. The fourth will send a cubesat called CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) to the moon for NASA.
CAPSTONE was originally scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab's new pad on Wallops Island, Virginia, near NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, but the company announced earlier this month that it had shifted the liftoff to its New Zealand site. Rocket Lab didn't explain what prompted the move. However, it's presumably related to the fact that NASA has not yet certified autonomous flight termination system software for launches from the Virginia site. Rocket Lab cited that issue as the reason it shifted a mission called "It's a Little Chile Up Here," which launched last month, from Wallops Island to New Zealand.
The CAPSTONE cubesat will ride to lunar orbit aboard Rocket Lab's Photon satellite bus, a relatively new offering that will fly on more and more of the company's future launches if all goes according to plan. For example, Rocket Lab announced last week that it had signed a Photon deal with Varda Space Industries, a California-based in-space manufacturing company.
Rocket Lab will provide three Photon spacecraft to Varda, which will integrate the vehicles "with their space factories, enabling high-value products to be manufactured in zero gravity and returned to Earth in Varda’s re-entry capsule," Rocket Lab representatives wrote in a statement last week.
"After launch, Rocket Lab's Photon will position the spacecraft in an operational orbit and provide station keeping," they added. "Photon will support Varda’s 120-kg [265 pounds] manufacturing and re-entry modules with power, data and attitude control."
The three Photons are scheduled to be delivered to Varda in 2023 and 2024, and the contract includes an option for Varda to procure a fourth Photon as well. Each mission is scheduled to last three months from liftoff to landing, Rocket Lab representatives said.
And Rocket Lab intends to send Photons much farther afield than Earth orbit and the moon. The company plans to launch privately funded Electron-Photon missions to Venus in the coming years, to hunt for signs of life in the planet's clouds.
Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
Mike Wall SPACE.COM SENIOR SPACE WRITER — Michael has been writing for Space.com since 2010. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
CAPITALI$M IN SPACE
Space Factory Startup Will Use Rocket Lab's 'Photon' Spacecraft For Its First Missions
Varda Space Industries will use three Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft to manufacture goods in space.
Aug 17, 2021 One of Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft.Rocket Lab
SpaceX competitor Rocket Lab has signed a new contract with Varda Space Industries, a space factory startup, to provide three of its Photon spacecraft for the company's first missions starting in roughly 18 month's time, a press statement reveals.
By leveraging the advent of lower-cost launch technologies, firms are increasingly looking to start new space services. The collaboration between Varda and Rocket Lab aims to kickstart the mass production of materials in space that either cannot be produced on Earth (zero gravity opens up a host of new possibilities), or are of better quality when manufactured in zero gravity (certain pharmaceuticals, fiber optic cables, and semiconductors). Earth products manufactured in space
Rocket Lab's Photon platform is an affordable (relatively speaking) satellite solution that can orbit around Earth or be sent to explore the distant reaches of the solar system — as will be the case when NASA sends two of the spacecraft to Mars in 2024. Each Photon spacecraft has a payload capacity of 440 lb (200 kg) for orbital missions and >88 lb (>40 kg) for interplanetary missions. Rocket Lab, which has the capacity to build one launch vehicle every 20 days, completely 3D prints large parts of its rockets, including the Curie engine for its Photon spacecraft and the Rutherford engine for its Electron rocket.
Varda Space Industries is a young startup, only about a year old, that aims to manufacture goods for Earth from space. "From more powerful fiber optic cables to new, life-saving pharmaceuticals, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space," Varda explains on its website. The company's goal is to enable the manufacture of such products at a mass scale from space, enabled largely by the increased accessibility to space in recent years thanks to private satellite launch services such as that provided by SpaceX and Rocket Lab. In fact, the company was founded by ex-SpaceX avionics engineer Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. The company has so far raised $50 million to build a space production line and will soon launch its first missions aboard Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft.
Launching the "world's first commercial zero-gravity industrial park at scale"
Though the financial figures behind the Varda and Rocket Lab deal have not been disclosed, Rocket Lab's Photon platform was built to make deep space exploration and orbital operations more affordable, a large incentive for Varda in this case. "Photon lets us have the most aggressive schedule and the tightest budget," Asparouhov told CNBC in an interview shortly after the announcement of the deal. "We’re thrilled to be purchasing a platform that already has some flight heritage, and will have even more by the time we launch," he continued.
Varda will aim to produce 220 pounds (100 kg) of material in its first three missions, each of which will be three months long. The first Photon spacecraft will be supplied to Varda in the first quarter of 2023, and two more will be sent in 2024. The contract between the two companies also has an option for an additional Photon to be purchased by Varda. Once launched by a separate spacecraft, the Photon platform will execute several burn procedures to set Varda's capsules on a re-entry trajectory with Earth. These capsules will house the required materials for the manufacture of several products that will re-enter Earth at the end of the mission.
"In simple terms, we are the real estate and the utilities for the space factory," Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said on CNBC. "We really provide all of the utilities, the power, the pointing and communications, and everything to enable the little factory to work away and do their thing."
Rocket Lab, which recently showcased its helicopter booster recovery technology and its plans for a large reusable rocket called Neutron, also announced that it is holding a shareholder meeting on August 20 to vote on its upcoming SPAC merger. Varda Space Industries, meanwhile, says it is on course to build "the world's first commercial zero-gravity industrial park at scale." The company, alongside firms such as Made in Space aim to take advantage of the latest launch technologies to manufacture goods that are easier — and sometimes only possible — to make in space.
Summer is really hot in Japan. To cool down, people used to tell really scary stories. So be careful walking alone in the wee hours of the night; Japan is full of ghosts, ghouls and other characters lurking in shadowy corners.
Yurei (ghosts of the deceased) and yokai (mythical spirits) have been part of Japanese folklore for centuries—even far back as the 8th century in the Kojiki (古事記, “Records of Ancient Matters”), which is the earliest record of Japanese mythology, chronicling the creation of Japan. Today, they appear in anime, manga, videogames and movies.
Here are seven of our favorite Japanese ghosts and ghouls to send shivers down your spine this summer season.
7. Yuki-onna
Yuki-onna by Sawaki-Suushi.
Ever seen a beautiful woman with snow-white skin and long black hair wandering through the frigid winter? It may have been a yuki-onna (snow woman). When she walks along a snow-covered terrain, you won’t find any footprints behind her.
The majority of yuki-onna stories originate from Japan’s snowy, northern prefectures like Aomori and Akita in the Tohoku region. In some versions, she is a snow vampire who sucks the souls out of her victims. In other versions, she uses her supernatural beauty to lure weak-willed men into the cold, then leaves them to freeze to death. Savage.
Some say the yuki-onna was a beautiful woman who was murdered in the snow and now does the same to others as an act of revenge.
6. Chochin Obake
Chochin Obake by Hokusai.
This lantern ghost isn’t malicious like other yokai—he’s just a naughty little trickster who enjoys giving humans a scare. The chochin-obake (paper lantern ghost) will flick its large tongue out, roll its eyes and laugh loudly to frighten passers-by. It’s actually kind of cute.
The chochin-obake does not appear in any of Japan’s mythical stories or legends, and only appears in ukiyo-e and kabuki plays. So there is no origin for this particular yokai. One theory is that he was invented simply to scare children. However, tsukumogami (tool spirit), do appear in Japanese mythology. Tsukumogami are tools or objects which become yokai after 100 years.
Thus, a regular lantern may turn into chochin-obake after 100 years of use. This comes from the ancient Shinto religious belief that all objects—even inanimate ones—have a soul. Maybe don’t visit any temples, izakaya or other places likely to have lanterns if you don’t want to run into one. Then again, they might make for a good drinking buddy.
5. Jorogumo
Photo: A monstrous spider by Kuniyoshi.Kuniyoshi’s print of a monstrous spider.
Translated to English, jorogumo (絡新婦) means “woman-spider.” However, the kanji can also mean “entangling bride” or “whore spider.” They are cunning and appear as seductive young women. They feed on young men who fall for their tricks—trapping them in their webs and devouring them slowly.
The jorogumo legend is based on the real golden-orb weaver spider, which is found all around Japan. When the spider reaches 400 years old, she will transform into ajorogumo and start preying on humans.
There are several stories based on the jorogumo. In Tonoigusa (Night Watchman’s Storybook), a young warrior encounters a beautiful woman. Realizing she is a yokai, he strikes her with his sword, and she flees to the attic. There, they find a dead spider about 30cm long and surrounded by decaying bodies.
Most versions end with him entangled in spider web and wishing he had kept his mouth shut
In Izu, Joren Falls is home to a jorogumo. The legend says a woodcutter encountered the spider when she tried to drag him behind the waterfall. He escaped, warning the village to stay away, but an outsider met the jorogumo. Surprisingly, she let him live as long as he never spoke of it. Unfortunately, the man was the opposite of coy. The story diverges from there, but most versions end with him entangled in spider web and wishing he had kept his mouth shut.
Worse, jorogumo isn’t the only killer spider in Japan. Tsuchigumo (土蜘蛛, “dirt/earth spider”), are huge wandering spiders with human-like faces that hide in corners and dark spaces. They were likely influenced by the real-life Chinese bird spider and bandits and soldiers that hid in the shadows and preferred to ambush people.
4. Gashadokuro
The titan gashadokuro by Kuniyoshi.
The poor, unfortunate bones of those who’ve perished on the battlefield turn into gashadokuro (starving skeleton). These yokai form in places where masses of normal skeletons lie, such as in villages after famine or disease has wiped out the population.
Because they died without a proper burial or funeral rites, the souls and bones come together and create one giant skeleton, 15 times the size of an average person. The skeleton specters feed on lone travelers, biting their heads off, feasting on their bones and drinking their blood, Dracula-style. It is like some sort of boss from Castlevania.
You may have seen this yokai in the famous ukiyo-e “Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre” by the famed Kuniyoshi.
3. Yamauba
The yamauba by Sawaki Suushi.
Are you planning on hiking in the mountains this fall? You may want to rethink that, as that’s where you’ll find the yamauba (mountain witch). These decrepit hags, depicted as old women with messy hair and filthy kimonos, are known to offer shelter to weary travelers only to kill them once they fall asleep.
The yamauba were once regular women but fled to the forest after being accused of crimes. Another theory is they were victims of ubasute (姥捨て), literally “abandoning an old woman.” During hard times such as famine, a family would lead their elderly into the forest to die. Here, they would grow angry and resentful, becoming cannibalistic and practicing black magic.
However, in some stories, they are benevolent. For example, a yamauba might give a kind stranger treasure or good fortune. In Aichi, yamauba are seen as protective gods.
2. Kappa
Sawaki Suushi’s print of a kappa.
This small human-like creature has a shell like a turtle, green scaly skin, and a plate on its head that must be filled with water at all times to stay alive. They live in Japan’s rivers, lakes and other waterways.
In Shintoism, kappa (river-child) are respected as gods of water and statues of them can sometimes be seen at shrines around Japan. Kappa quirks include having an affinity for cucumbers (hence the kappa-maki) and never breaking a promise.
In the urban legend version, a more menacing kappa loves to pull lost children and animals into the water to drown and eat. They still like to eat cucumbers but also raw human intestines.
1. Kuchisake-onna
Photo: iStockThink twice about answering her question. Or just run.
Kuchisake-onna is a malicious, contemporary yurei, whose name literally translates to “slit-mouthed woman.” Legend says when she was alive, her husband punished her for her acts of adultery by slicing her mouth open from ear to ear.
Thanks to that dick, this ghost appears as a beautiful young woman wearing a surgical mask, holding a sharp weapon like a pair of scissors. She approaches people at night and asks them a question with sinister intentions.
An encounter with a kuchisake onna is a lose-lose situation, always resulting in death.
“Watashi, kirei?” or “Am I beautiful?” she coos. If you answer no, she will kill you instantly. If you say yes, she removes the surgical mask revealing her gruesome mouth. With a big smile, exposing sharp teeth, she’ll ask, “how about now?” An answer of “no” will result in you being dismembered by the ghost. Say yes, and she will make you as “beautiful” as she is by slicing your own mouth from ear to ear. An encounter with a Kuchisake-onna is a lose-lose situation, always resulting in death.
The murderous woman briefly appeared in the 1984 Studio Ghibli movie Pom Poko and several Japanese horror movies have been made with her story as the premise, including the 2007 low-budget horror flick Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman.
Summertime in Japan means matsuri (festivals), hanabi (fireworks) and kakigori (shaved ice), but it’s also the season of wandering ghosts and vengeful spirits. The frightful visits are thanks to Obon, the Buddhist festival that honors the spirits of one’s departed ancestors by inviting them back to the human world.
While spooky stuff is reserved for Halloween in the US, Summer in Japan is the traditional time when friends tell scary stories, haunted houses are erected, and classic Japanese horror movies are streamed on TV.
In the spirit of giving yourself goosebumps, here are seven spooky Japanese superstitions to be aware of this summer.
7. Swimming during Obon will get you spirited away
Photo: iStock: D-KeineUhh… Mom says I need to wait 30 minutes after eating. Sorry.
Flowing water is known as a passageway for spirits coming back to the human world during Obon. This Japanese superstition warns against swimming because the spirits flowing through the water will grab you in the water and take you with them to the afterlife.
This warning could stem from disciplining children who interfered with the safe passage of spirits or obstructing the toro nagashi (lanterns on the river). In this Obon custom, families float lanterns down a river to represent their ancestors transitioning back to the spirit world.
Interestingly, a science-backed explanation for this superstition also exists. During the summer months, Japan experiences its typhoon season, making swimming in the ocean very dangerous. So whether swimmers get taken away by spirits or the tide, be careful about swimming in Japan during the summer!
6. Whistling at night summons snakes
Photo: iStock: Kazzpix“You rang?”
Walking home from a fireworks festival in high spirits might prompt some cheerful whistling at night, but you might reconsider. According to this old Japanese superstition, whistling at night summons “snakes,” which could refer to supernatural monsters, criminals or actual snakes. None of which sounds like something you want to bump into down a dark alley.
This superstition comes all the way from feudal times when outlaws and bandits prowled the roads. These criminals would whistle to each other to communicate at night, and it didn’t take long for the idea that whistling invited other unsavory characters to spread.
5. Hanging your laundry at night invites spirits
Photo: iStock: DomoniteYOU FOOL! GET THEM INSIDE!
Summer days in Japan can be rainy and humid, so why not hang your wet laundry out at night to dry? Bad idea. Especially during Obon when the world is full of wandering spirits. Hanging clothes at night gives these spirits a familiar object to “cling to.” It might also scare your neighbors to bits if they see a white nightgown blowing in the moonlight!
This belief started back when kimonos were handed down generations after the previous owner passed on, and their spirit was thought to latch on to the connection to their former selves.
4. Cutting your nails at night leads to an early death
Photo: iStock: AntonioGuillemPlaying with fire.
This superstition originated before nail clippers and electricity indoors were invented, and people used knives to trim their nails by candlelight. Slightly reckless, to say the least. One slip-up and an infection could have actually led to a person’s death.
Other iterations of this superstition say if you cut your nails at night, you won’t be there for your parents on their deathbed—because you died before them! Which makes sense, I guess.
It could also derive from another Japanese superstition. In the past, cutting tools, even the lowly nail clipper, were believed to have spiritual power or reiryoku in Japanese. So cutting anything at night, when the spirits are particularly active, was considered a bad idea.
3. Stepping on the border of tatami mats
Photo: iStock: Bee32Just one small step, and it’s game over!
This is sort of like the Japanese version of “step on a crack, break your mother’s back.” Tatami mats are traditional flooring you find in Japanese homes. They are made using soft rush and materials such as rice straw or compressed wood chips.
The borders are typically edged with decorative cloth, and some families put their family crest on the borders. Hence, stepping on the cloth borders is like stepping on your parents. Worse, it’s like stepping on your ancestors, who we’ve already established like to stick around and are quick to anger.
So next time you are visiting your Japanese in-laws, maybe watch your step?
2. Falling from a persimmon tree
Photo: iStock: ElectravkGrandma! Nooooooooo!
Many older adults in Japan who climbed persimmon trees may remember being scolded by their grandparents. “If you fall, you’ll die in three years,” they’d shout. Or some other curse to bewilder and scare the pants off them. But where does this superstition come from?
Persimmon trees have a deep connection to life and death in Japanese folklore and religion. For example, it was customary in Nara Prefecture to plant a persimmon tree to mark gravesites or the tree’s wood as fuel for cremations. In Nagano Prefecture, spirits are believed to be found under persimmon trees, and souls will cling to persimmon trees near their family homes.
They’re also associated with good luck and longevity. Many families will hang a string of hoshigaki (dried persimmons) in their homes through New Year’s Eve. However, some also believed that eating a “strange” persimmon fruit gave birth to a disabled child.
However, while there is already a lot of superstition surrounding persimmon trees, the “death in three years” story was likely invented just to keep kids from falling out of trees. Persimmon trees are known for having fragile branches. One too many kids coming home with scraped knees and broken bones likely started this tall tale.
1. Sleeping with your head pointed north
Photo: iStock: DemaerreShould have checked your compass.
Traditional Japanese Buddhist funeral customs position a body so that the deceased’s head points north. North is not only the direction spirits travel in the afterlife, but it is also the direction Buddha laid his head on his deathbed.
Hence, to mimic the position of corpses by sleeping with your (still living) head pointing north may welcome death to your home or summon bad luck. There is even a term for the superstition—kita mukura, literally “north pillow.”
It is similar to the taboo of sticking chopsticks upright into your rice. This stems from the rice bowl with chopsticks called makura meshi, placed next to the body during a funeral. For this same reason, it’s taboo to wear a kimono with the right side overlapping the left side. Only corpses wear their kimonos right-over-left, so if you’re a living person, be sure to wear a kimono left-over-right!
We hope you have a happy haunted summer in Japan, filled with goosebumps and scares (if that’s your thing). Suppose you want to take a stab at provoking the spirits, whistle and hang your laundry out at night. Please note we are not responsible if you get spirited away.
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