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Lloyds Metals allowed to ready restart of giant Papua New Guinea copper mine
An Indian iron ore producer was authorized to work toward restarting a giant Papua New Guinea copper mine that’s been closed for almost 40 years and was once a flash point in a brutal civil war.
Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd. was given permission on Aug. 7 to carry out “an approved programme of preparatory works and feasibility activities” to “properly assess and plan the future redevelopment of the Panguna mine,” the Autonomous Bougainville Government said in a statement.
While the mining lease containing the shuttered mine belongs to a government-owned firm called Bougainville Minerals Ltd., Lloyds is the “approved development partner” of that company, according to the statement.
The project is part of a global dash for copper as the trend toward electrification is expected to boost demand for the wiring metal in the years ahead. The efforts to revive the dormant asset also reflect the desire for economic development in Bougainville – impoverished islands that are currently an autonomous region within Papua New Guinea but seeking independence.
Lloyds has a fast-growing iron ore business in India and recently invested in two copper mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The firm, which is little-known outside its home country, managed to beat off competition from one of the world’s largest copper producers, China’s CMOC Group Ltd., to emerge as the Bougainville government’s favored partner for the ambitious — and likely costly — venture.
Panguna’s remaining reserves are estimated at 5.3 million tons of copper and 19.3 million ounces of gold, which would be worth about $160 billion at today’s prices. However, the mine was closed down in 1989 under the ownership of Rio Tinto Group due to local protests over environmental damage and revenue distribution, which degenerated into a civil conflict that killed as many as 20,000 people. A decade ago, Rio gave away its majority interest in the firm which then held the license.
Lloyds intends to revalidate the resource base, according to a presentation published by the company on Aug. 10.
Bougainville Minerals – via Lloyds – isn’t yet permitted to begin construction or production, according to the statement. Those phases will require separate approvals and the “redevelopment of Panguna will proceed one step at a time,” it said.
The Panguna project represents a “very positive moment for the company” but is “still under study,” Lloyds Managing Director Rajesh Gupta said on an earnings call on Tuesday. Providing forecasts about probable time frames and expenditure “at this stage is impossible,” he said.
Lloyds didn’t respond to a request for further comment.
The 25-year mining lease was granted to Bougainville Minerals in June after the government revoked an exploration license covering the same area from Australia-listed Bougainville Copper Ltd. The government already controlled almost 74% of Bougainville Copper, with half of that stake held by Bougainville Minerals.
(By William Clowes and Paul-Alain Hunt)
Sweden gives go-ahead to Boliden copper mine project
The Swedish government said on Wednesday it has given Boliden BOL.ST the green light to proceed with the company’s copper mine project in Laver, northern Sweden.
Project still needs approval from Sweden’s Land and Environment Court.
Extraction of the Laver deposit could double Sweden’s production of copper and increase the EU’s total production by 10%, the government said in a statement.
Project will reduce a dangerous import dependence in Europe, it added.
Located near an old mine, the new mineralisations were discovered by Boliden in 2007. Boliden applied in 2014 for a mining concession but this was initially rejected. The group applied again in 2024.
The Mining Inspectorate had given the go-ahead last year, but the decision was appealed and went to the government for a ruling.
(Reporting by Simon Johnson, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Louise Rasmussen)
Codelco’s stalled project in El Teniente to start production in 2029
Chilean state miner Codelco expects to begin production at an expansion project within its flagship El Teniente copper mine in 2029, the mine’s general director Gustavo Reyes said on Wednesday.
Codelco said on August 4 that it had paused the project, which aims to develop the Andes Norte section of the sprawling underground complex, after recent studies showed the mine is under greater seismic risk than initially estimated.
Speaking during a Mining Committee session in the lower house of Congress, Reyes said Codelco is evaluating an expansion of El Teniente’s mining pit to help make up for the delayed production at the site.
Codelco’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Gabriel Mendez, also said during the committee session that the company is no longer expected to reach its previously projected annual production target of 1.7 million metric tons by the end of the decade.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Fabiola Arámburo, Editing by Daina Beth Solomon)
India’s Hindustan Copper plans to sell copper concentrate sourced from Chile to Hindalco, Adani, sources say
India’s Hindustan Copper plans to sell copper concentrate sourced from Chile to Hindalco, Adani, sources say
State-run Hindustan Copper HCPR.NS plans to sell copper concentrate produced by mines it is acquiring from Chile’s Codelco to Hindalco HALC.NS and Adani, aiming to meet India’s growing appetite for the red metal, two sources familiar with the matter said.
It is also in talks to form a joint venture with state-run Codelco to mine and sell copper, three sources said, declining to be identified as the deliberations were confidential.
Hindustan Copper, Coal India COAL.NS and NTPC Mining are in discussions to secure four copper mining blocks from Codelco, India’s mines secretary said in April.
Last year, Hindustan Copper signed a preliminary agreement with Codelco about looking at mutually beneficial opportunities in exploration and mining. In May this year, it signed a non-disclosure agreement with Codelco and appointed a deal advisor.
It did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. It has previously denied that it is in talks about a joint venture.
Codelco, NTPC Mining and Coal India also did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
India, the world’s second-biggest refined copper importer, may have to import 91% to 97% of its copper concentrates by 2047, the government has said.
Hindalco, an Aditya Birla Group-owned firm, is one of India’s biggest aluminium and copper producers. The Adani conglomerate runs Kutch Copper, a $1.2 billion smelter in the western state of Gujarat that it says is the world’s biggest single-location plant of its type.
According to two of the sources, due diligence is ongoing and Hindustan Copper is open to having partners for the JV such as Coal India and NTPC Mining.
Early this year, a technical team from Hindustan Copper and executives from NTPC Mining and Coal India visited Chile, the sources said, adding that it would still take a decade before mining could begin and concentrate is produced.
India plans to include a chapter on copper in free trade pact talks with Chile to secure a fixed quantity of copper concentrate, the government said last year.
India produces an estimated 573,000 metric tons of refined copper annually but demand is much greater at around 1.8 million tons.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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