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)
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Peru’s copper production rises in June backed by Chinese firms
Las Bambas is one of the world’s largest copper mines. Credit: MMG.
Peru’s copper production rose 7.1% year-on-year in June, thanks mostly to higher output from Chinese firms, the country’s Energy and Mines Ministry said on Monday.
The world’s third-largest copper producer said output in the month totaled 228,932 metric tons.
Production at the Las Bambas mines, controlled by MMG, rose 63.5% in June, while output more than doubled at Chinalco, which is ran by Aluminum Corp.
Las Bambas is expected to report lower production in July due to a two-week blockade of a key road the company uses to transport copper, as part of a protest by informal miners.
Peru in the first six months of 2025 produced about 1.34 million tons of copper, up 3.5% year-on-year, according to the government.
(By Marco Aquino and Paolo Laudani; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
South African iron ore mine faces closure as ArcelorMittal crisis weighs
South Africa’s Assmang is weighing the closure of its Beeshoek iron ore mine after failing to secure a contract to supply its sole customer, the ailing steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa.
The closure of the mine could result in the loss of 688 jobs, Assmang – a joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals and international miner Assore – said in a notice to unions seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
ArcelorMittal South Africa had, in what Assmang called “an unexpected turn of events”, confirmed in June that it would not sign a three-year contract with Beeshoek despite earlier indications that it would do so, the miner said.
“Moving forward, Beeshoek proposes to discuss with the unions the potential closure of Beeshoek,” Assmang said in the notice.
“The mine has only one significant customer, ArcelorMittal South Africa. The customer is not willing and has declined concluding any long-term contract with Beeshoek mine,” it said, adding that several alternatives, including exports, had been considered but ultimately deemed unviable.
ArcelorMittal South Africa declined to comment on the matter.
“Given the complexity of the matters under discussion and our cautionary announcements, we are limited in what can be discussed in the public domain at this stage,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed response.
The steelmaker reported a 1 billion rand ($56.75 million) loss in the six months to June 30. It is facing weak local demand, high electricity tariffs, and poor freight logistics as well as competition from Chinese imports and local scrap metal recycling mini-mills.
ArcelorMittal South Africa plans to close its loss-making long steel plants in Newcastle, which is now under care and maintenance, and Vereeniging. It has deferred the closures for two years as it engages with the government, labour representatives and utilities companies but has said those talks have, so far, not produced a solution.
Trade union Solidarity, one of the three recognized unions at Beeshoek, said Assmang had initiated the process to lay off the entire staff at the mine.
“Due to the fact that they do not export, and since their only client can no longer buy from them, the worst possible option is now being considered,” Adele Rossouw, Solidarity’s organizer for the mining sector, said in a statement.
($1 = 17.6209 rand)
(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Joe Bavier and Tomasz Janowski)
South Africa mining lobby gives draft law feedback with concerns
South Africa’s mining lobby group said it submitted proposed changes to draft legislation for the sector, but is concerned about the impact of additional regulation that’s yet to be published.
Minerals Council South Africa reacted angrily to the draft bill when it first appeared in May, complaining that its recommendations had been ignored. The government then partially backtracked when it clarified exploration activities would be exempt from having to meet minimum Black-ownership rules.
The council sent detailed feedback to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, or DMPR, ahead of an Aug 13. deadline, chief executive officer Mzila Mthenjane told reporters on Monday. The body’s members include large miners like Sibanye Stillwater Ltd., Kumba Iron Ore Ltd. and Thungela Resources Ltd.
South Africa is a major producer of gold, iron ore, coal and platinum-group metals, and is the continent’s top exporter of mineral products. The government introduced a mining charter in 2004 to distribute the benefits from mining more widely among citizens to help repair the economic impact of racial discrimination during apartheid.
The nation’s gold output – which for decades was the world’s largest — has shrunk by more than 70% in the past 20 years. PGM production is also expected to decline in the coming years, though more modestly. A collapse in exploration investment, which is the “lifeblood of future mining activity,” is one reason behind the drop-off, according to Mthenjane.
Area of concern
Key sections of the draft bill concerning requirements for local processing and Black economic empowerment depend on ministerial regulations that the council hasn’t yet seen and wasn’t able to comment on, according to the organization’s head of legal, Ursula Brown.
“The uncertainty that emanates from that because of the lack of clarity is obviously of concern,” she said.
The mining sector accounted for about 6% of South Africa’s gross domestic product and 45% of its exports by value last year, and currently employs 465,000 people, according to the Minerals Council.
The Minerals Council said it has “no objection” to the legislation’s plan to formalize so-called artisanal mining “provided it can be done in an environmentally responsible, safe and healthy manner, with clear identifiable obligations and responsibilities.”
South African farm lobby AgriSA has opposed provisions it said would allow small-scale mining operations to access private agricultural land and called for the withdrawal of the bill.
The DMPR is now expected to prepare a revised draft which will require parliamentary approval.
(By William Clowes)
Vulcan Elements signs rare earths supply deal with ReElement Technologies
Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina-based rare earth magnet manufacturer, has agreed to buy a supply of the critical minerals from ReElement Technologies that will be sourced outside of China.
The companies, both of which are privately held, declined to give precise financial terms but said that the price is “significantly below” the floor of $110 per kilogram that the US Department of Defense guaranteed to MP Materials last month for the two most popular rare earths.
The contract was signed in mid-July, Vulcan said.
Rare earth oxides are used to make metal that can then be turned into magnets for use in fighter jets, radar and other military applications, as well as consumer electronics.
“This pricing will enable Vulcan to be competitive in global markets,” Vulcan CEO John Maslin told Reuters. “We wanted to make sure the unit economics made sense.”
Indiana-based ReElement, which licenses its technology from Purdue University, will supply Vulcan with “thousands of metric tons” of rare earth oxides annually for five years beginning in 2026 from outdated electronics or from mine sites, said CEO Mark Jensen.
ReElement says it can supply the rare earths to Vulcan below $110 per kilogram because of its use of a processing technique known as chromatography, which is different than the industry-standard solvent extraction used by many of its peers.
“We are laser focused on cost,” Jensen told Reuters. “We will see where the market goes, but right now we’re focused more on the market price versus that price floor.”
Reuters was first to report last month that the Trump administration is considering extending that price floor to other firms, news that was relayed in a close-door Washington meeting attended by Vulcan, ReElement and others.
There is an upward trend in India-China relations and Beijing has promised to address New Delhi’s needs on rare earths, a top Indian official and a source said on Tuesday, as the neighbours rebuild ties that were damaged by a 2020 border clash.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting India for the 24th round of border talks with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and is also due to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, days before Modi travels to China for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
“There has been an upward trend. Borders have been quiet. There has been peace and tranquility,” Doval told Wang as he opened the talks. “Our bilateral engagements have been more substantial.”
“The new environment that has been created has helped us in moving ahead in the various areas that we are working on,” he said.
Wang told Doval that “the stable and healthy development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries’ people,” according to a readout of the meeting released by China’s foreign ministry.
The two sides “should enhance mutual trust through dialogues and expand cooperation,” Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Indian source said that China had promised to address three key Indian concerns. Wang, the source said, had assured Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that Beijing is addressing India’s need for fertilizers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines.
The Indian foreign and mines ministries did not respond immediately to Reuters requests for comment.
China’s commerce ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear whether China had agreed to approve export licenses faster or grant blanket exemptions for India.
China has previously committed to speeding up export licenses for Europe and the US without actually dismantling the control regime.
China’s exports of rare earths and related magnets jumped in June after these agreements and as the commerce ministry worked through a huge backlog of applications.
However, rare earth magnet exports to India were still down 58% compared to January levels, according to Chinese customs data. June is the last month for which country-level data is available.
India has the world’s fifth-largest rare earth reserves, at 6.9 million metric tons, but has no magnet production and relies on imported magnets, mainly from China.
(By Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Tanvi Mehta and Lewis Jackson; Editing by YP Rajesh and Bernadette Baum)
Glencore trader who led ill-fated battery recycling push to exit
Glencore Plc head of recycling Kunal Sinha is stepping down after unwinding the firm’s unsuccessful investment partnership with battery metals recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp, according to people familiar with the matter.
While better known as a miner and commodity trader, Glencore has long been a major player in recycling metals including copper and lead. It expanded into battery recycling in 2022 with investments in Li-Cycle and UK-based Britishvolt, with Sinha spearheading the effort.
A Glencore spokesperson declined to comment.
Li-Cycle filed for bankruptcy in May, and Glencore — which by then had become a key creditor to the company with $327.5 million in outstanding convertible notes — took over Li-Cycle’s key industrial assets and technology portfolio in August. Li-Cycle co-founder Ajay Kochhar joined Glencore in August as its new head of battery recycling, according to his LinkedIn page.
Li-Cycle was once a high-flying start-up in the nascent battery-recycling industry. Its shares rallied strongly in 2021 as investors bought into the company’s plans to recover lithium, cobalt and nickel from used electric-vehicle batteries, at a time when the EV narrative was particularly hot.
Sinha, who will leave next month, was instrumental in Glencore’s push into the emerging sector, which became fiercely competitive as prospective recyclers sought to position themselves ahead of an anticipated surge in scrap supply from the 2030s onwards.
Li-Cycle planned to build five plants, including a proposal to transform Glencore’s lead smelter in Italy into Europe’s biggest producer of black mass, a shredded form of metals extracted from old batteries. The plan has yet to be approved by the local authority.
Li-Cycle faced setbacks in 2023, when its flagship plant in Rochester, New York was halted due to a surge in construction costs. Its shares started plunging as the company faced a funding crunch.
Glencore’s investment in UK Britishvolt also turned sour, with the UK company filing for bankruptcy in 2023 after becoming an early casualty in Europe’s crowded effort to boost EV-battery production.
(By Julian Luk and Jack Farchy)
World Nuclear News
Malaysia launches nuclear energy feasibility study
The Malaysian government is carrying out an assessment to examine the role of nuclear energy as "one of the clean, stable and competitive electricity sources in the country's future energy mix".
(Image: Engin_Akyurt / Pixabay)
Following the tabling of the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026-2030) by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on 31 July, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) announced on 2 August the launch of a feasibility study on the use of nuclear energy.
"This initiative takes into account the need to diversify energy sources, strengthen long-term energy security, support carbon emission reduction targets, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, in line with the country's climate change commitment and increasing energy demand," the ministry said.
MyPOWER Corporation, a special purpose agency under PETRA, has been given the responsibility to coordinate the preparation efforts based on guidelines recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This preparatory phase is being implemented through a coordinated framework, through a technical committee mechanism across ministries and departments/agencies, to "ensure an integrated and comprehensive approach at the national level", the ministry said. Its implementation will be guided by the IAEA Milestones Approach, including aspects of the country's position, legal and regulatory framework, stakeholder engagement and human resource development.
"At this time, no decision has been made on the implementation, type of technology or capacity of the nuclear reactor to be developed," PETRA stressed. "The government's priority at this time is to ensure that any future considerations are based on comprehensive technical analysis and in line with national development priorities and comply with international obligations."
Speaking at the 5th International Green Build Conference in Petaling Jaya today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Transition and Water Transformation Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the feasibility study will focus on regions where renewable energy deployment faces unique challenges. He noted that Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah have been identified as potential locations for nuclear power plant development.
"Sabah's energy generation is limited due to its constrained hydro and solar capacities, which must be supplemented with batteries," he was quoted as saying by The Vibes Dotcom. "We also have biomass and biogas sources, but these too are limited. We therefore need to explore other stable energy sources for both Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah."
According to Fadillah, the feasibility study will also focus on regulatory requirements, including the need to amend existing laws and related regulations, as well as on human capital development, the Bernama news agency reported. Additionally, he said the ministry will examine nuclear safety, safeguards and security, alongside efforts to engage with the public to ensure wider acceptance before any further action is taken.
“We are also working together to ensure that human capital development will be one of the area that we focus on, not only in terms of technology but also from the enforcement perspective,” he added.
Companies join forces for possible US HALEU project
Advanced materials company ASP Isotopes, together with its Quantum Leap Energy LLC subsidiary, has signed an agreement with Fermi America to look into the development of a facility to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium using laser-based isotope separation technology in Texas.
ASPI Executive Vice President Donald Ainscow, Chairman and CEO Paul Mann, Fermi America Chief Nuclear Construction Officer Mesut Uzman and Quantum Leap Energy CEO Ryno Pretorius at the signing ceremony in Texas (Image: ASPI)
The non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) contemplates Quantum Leap Energy and Fermi America forming a joint venture for the research and development, and then the construction, of an advanced nuclear fuel enrichment facility capable of producing" large quantities" of high-assay-low enriched uranium (HALEU) - uranium containing 5-20% of the fissile uranium-235 isotope - for small modular reactors. The facility is anticipated to provide for the conversion and deconversion of uranium products, as well as the fabrication of fuel assemblies, ASP Isotopes (ASPI) said. Fermi America is expected to be responsible for obtaining all licences, permits, governmental and regulatory approvals, and other required consents for the HALEU joint venture project.
In addition, the MoU contemplates ASPI entering into a separate lease for the development and construction of a 100% ASPI-owned enrichment research and commercial production facility for stable isotopes and advanced materials other than advanced nuclear fuels.
ASP Isotopes traces its origins back to the South African uranium enrichment programme of the 1980s, and uses two proprietary isotope enrichment processes: the Aerodynamic Separation Process, which uses an aerodynamic technique and is most suitable to separate gases with lower atomic masses; and the Quantum Enrichment advanced isotope enrichment technique, which uses lasers to selectively ionise and separate isotopes with high precision.
The company has previously entered into two supply agreements with TerraPower LLC to supply HALEU from a facility intended to be built at Pelindaba in South Africa: an initial core supply agreement to support the first fuel cores for the initial loading of TerraPower's first-of-a-kind Natrium project which is currently being built in Wyoming; and a 10-year supply agreement for up to a total of 150 tonnes of HALEU starting in 2028.
The construction of an advanced nuclear fuel facility in Texas, USA would become the second facility owned or co-owned by QLE for the production of HALEU, ASPI said. It is also in discussion with the UK government regarding the construction of an advanced nuclear fuel facility in the UK, and has previously announced its intention to spin out Quantum Leap Energy as a public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the fourth quarter of this year.
Quantum Leap Energy CEO Ryno Pretorius said the company was "excited" to enter the US domestic production market. "Our goal is to scale our technologies as quickly as possible to reduce the bottleneck on the nuclear fuel industry and unlock clean American nuclear energy that will provide consistent, base load power, not only for AI but millions of Americans," he said.
Earlier this year, private energy developer Fermi America announced plans for what it describes as the world's largest energy-driven artificial intelligence complex at Amarillo, Texas, in partnership with the Texas Tech University System: an 11 GW private grid campus for next-generation hyperscale AI in collaboration with the Texas Tech University System. Its campus would be anchored by four AP1000 nuclear units using conventional fuel, with the potential to integrate advanced reactor technologies in future phases. The addition of domestic HALEU production capability would position the private grid as both a significant clean energy generator and a strategic nuclear fuel hub, the company said.
"This decision helps ensure that America's next generation of nuclear reactors will be powered by American innovation, technology, and resolve," Fermi America co-founder and CEO Toby Neugebauer said.
Former US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, who is also a co-founder of Fermi America, said the project "will help America control its own destiny in nuclear power, create jobs here in Texas, and send a clear message that the United States intends to lead - not follow - in the race for advanced, carbon-free energy."
Assessment of Asse storage chamber conditions begins
An exploratory borehole is providing the first indications of the condition of the stored drums containing radioactive waste within Storage Chamber 12 at the former Asse II salt mine in the district of Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Waste drums pictured within Storage Chamber 12 (Image: BGE)
Between 1967 and 1978, thousands of barrels of mostly low-level radioactive waste were emplaced in a total of 13 former mining chambers at the Asse II mine on behalf of the federal government. However, the facility has proven unstable and retrieval of the waste has been legally mandated since 2013.
Germany's Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) has announced it "made significant progress" in its preparations for the retrieval of radioactive waste from the Asse II mine at the beginning of August.
"Through a tennis ball-sized hole, we were able to take a look into Storage Chamber 12 for the first time in decades," said Iris Graffunder, Chair of the Management Board of BGE. "Our first impression is that at least the visible barrels are in good condition. Now we will find out the exact composition of the chamber atmosphere and measure the activity levels in the chamber. For this, we need more space and will have to expand the borehole."
Storage Chamber 12 contains 7,464 containers, including 6,747 drums and 717 so-called 'lost concrete shields' (drums encased in concrete). The containers were stacked horizontally. Storage took place in 1973 and 1974. The eventual formation of a sump containing contaminated solution in the access area to this storage chamber led, among other things, to the Asse II mine being placed under nuclear law in 2009.
Storage Chamber 12 is one of the highest radon emitters in the Asse II mine. At the end of May 2024, miners began the targeted drilling into the chamber under the highest radiation protection standards. At a depth of 750 metres, a borehole about 117 metres long was drilled to access the chamber. On 6 August, radiation protection measurements during drilling showed elevated radon levels, indicating that the chamber had been reached.
A planned gas measurement will reveal the composition of the chamber atmosphere and the factors that influence it. Further geological exploration is also underway. Preliminary investigations revealed that the chamber ceiling was deeper than expected. The first images from the chamber confirm these radar and magnetic measurements. A planned 3D scan is intended to provide a more complete picture of the emplacement chamber.
All of the measured values obtained will be utilised in the further planning of retrieval and in future licensing procedures. Among other things, they will allow BGE to determine which recovery technologies can be used in Storage Chamber 12.
BGE - a federally owned company within the remit of the Federal Environment Ministry - took over responsibility as operator of the Asse II mine and the Konrad and Morsleben repositories from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection in April 2017. It is also tasked with searching for a repository site to dispose of the high-level radioactive waste generated in Germany on the basis of the Site Selection Act that came into force in May 2017.
According to current planning, retrieval of the radioactive waste stored in Asse II is scheduled to begin in 2033. Currently, costs of about EUR4.7 billion (USD5.5 billion) are expected until retrieval begins, including the costs of keeping the mine open and implementing the emergency planning precautions. The costs for retrieval, interim storage, and final disposal after 2033 have not been taken into account.
CORE Energy secures strategic investment
Indian engineering, procurement and construction company Core Energy Systems says the fundraise - equivalent to nearly USD23 million - reinforces its role in shaping India’s civil nuclear future.
(Image: CORE Energy Systems)
The INR200 crore (USD22.86 million - one crore is 10 million) investment was led by Indian investors Pankaj Prasoon, Ashish Kacholia, and "a consortium of like-minded investors aligned with India’s long-term energy sovereignty goals," the company said.
CORE Energy said the funding will allow it to expand precision nuclear engineering and high-tech manufacturing of critical components, while also supporting India’s Small Modular Reactor and Bharat Modular Reactor programmes, both central to the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The company added that the investment will boost its manufacturing, R&D and infrastructure capacity to deliver large-scale nuclear projects to international safety and quality standards, in line with India’s goal of achieving 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047.
CORE Energy holds ISO 19443 nuclear-quality certification and is currently carrying out refurbishment work at the Tarapur nuclear power plant, having been contracted by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to carry out the complete replacement of the primary recirculation piping in Tarapur units 1 and 2 - two boiling water reactors which entered commercial operation in 1969. This first-of-its-kind nuclear life-extension project is now nearing completion, the company told World Nuclear News.
Hindustan Zinc to expand into uranium mining if government allows, CEO says
Hindustan Zinc, India’s top refined zinc producer, will aim to expand into uranium mining if the government opens up the sector to private players, its chief executive Arun Misra told Reuters on Tuesday.
Government sources told Reuters last week that India wants to allow private firms to mine, import and process uranium as part of plans to end a decades-old state monopoly over the nuclear sector and bring in billions of dollars in investment.
“If new uranium blocks are put out for private companies, Hindustan Zinc will be the first to bid,” Misra said in an interview.
“We will get into atomic minerals and especially uranium because the country needs it.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to expand nuclear power production capacity 12-fold by 2047. The state has historically maintained tight control over the sector due to concerns about safety, strategic security and the potential misuse of nuclear materials.
Hindustan Zinc is, meanwhile, also looking to begin mining rare earth minerals in India, having won its first such block in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.
It has floated global tenders for companies to explore the potential of the block, where it expects to start extracting neodymium – a rare earth used in magnets for motors and generators – in five to six years, Misra said.
Among other critical minerals, Hindustan Zinc is interested in mining lithium, antimony, germanium, copper, and graphite and is seeking the assistance of firms from Australia, South Africa, Peru, Chile, as well as China for exploration, he said.
China, which controls the bulk of global rare earth mining, suspended exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets in April, upending critical supply chains for automakers, aerospace manufacturers, and semiconductor companies.
Beijing has promised to address New Delhi’s rare earth needs, however, a top Indian official and a source said on Tuesday, as the neighbours rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash.
Misra said Hindustan Zinc will, meanwhile, ramp up its traditional zinc business, doubling its production capacity to 2 million metric tons by 2029.
(By Neha Arora and Sethuraman NR; Editing by Joe Bavier)
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