Green economy may lead to sulfur shortages – study

Staff Writer | August 23, 2022 | 

Sulfur. (Image by Raymond M. Coveney, Wikimedia Commons).

A projected shortage of sulfuric acid could stifle green technology advancement and threaten global food security, according to a paper published in The Geographical Journal.


Sulfuric acid is required for the production of phosphorus fertilizers and for extracting battery metals such as nickel and cobalt from ores.

The recent study points out that global demand for sulfuric acid is set to rise significantly from 246 to 400 million metric tons by 2040—a result of more intensive agriculture and the world moving away from fossil fuels.

The authors estimate that this will result in a shortfall in annual supply of between 100 and 320 million metric tonnes—between 40% and 130% of the current supply—depending on how quickly decarbonization occurs.

Currently, over 80% of the global sulfur supply is in the form of sulfur waste from the desulfurization of crude oil and natural gas, which reduces the sulfur dioxide gas emissions that cause acid rain. However, decarbonization of the global economy to deal with climate change will significantly reduce the production of fossil fuels—and subsequently the supply of sulfur.

The paper, led by researchers at University College London, is the first to identify this issue. The authors suggest that unless action is taken to reduce the need for this chemical, a massive increase in mining will be required to fill the resulting resource demand.

“Sulfur shortages have occurred before, but what makes this different is that the source of the element is shifting away from being a waste product of the fossil fuel industry,” lead researcher Mark Maslin said in a media statement.

“What we’re predicting is that as supplies of this cheap, plentiful, and easily accessible form of sulfur dry up, demand may be met by a massive increase in direct mining of elemental sulfur. This, by contrast, will be dirty, toxic, destructive, and expensive.”

In Maslin’s view, research is urgently needed to develop low-cost, low-environmental impact methods of extracting large quantities of elemental sulfur from the abundant deposits of sulfate minerals in the earth’s crust.

He believes the international community should consider supporting and regulating sulfur mining to minimize the impacts of the transition and also to avoid cheap unethical production from distorting the market.

“Our concern is that the dwindling supply could lead to a transition period when green tech outbids the fertilizer industry for the limited more expensive sulfur supply, creating an issue with food production, particularly in developing countries,” said co-author Simon Day.
How the estimations were made

To determine their findings, the researchers estimated three sulfuric acid demand scenarios from 2021 to 2040, based on historic and forecast demand, with annual growth rates ranging from 1.8% to 2.4%.

The authors also explored several ways in which demand for sulfur could be reduced as part of the transition to post-fossil fuel economies, including recycling phosphorus in wastewater for the fertilizer industry, increasing the recycling of lithium batteries, or using lower energy capacity/weight ratio batteries, as these require less sulfur for their production.

They also prompt crucial questions about whether it would make economic sense to invest in alternative production methods, given it is not currently possible to predict how quickly the supply of sulfur as a waste product from oil and gas desulfurization will decrease as the decarbonization of the global economy is only just starting.

South32 in talks with Appin coal mine workers over pay

Reuters | August 23, 2022

(Image: Illawarra Metallurgical Coal operation in Australia, courtesy of South32.)

South32 Ltd said on Wednesday it was in pay-related negotiations with its Appin coal mine workers following their threat to stage a partial strike for a week.


Australia’s Mining & Energy Union had earlier announced Appin workers’ intention to stop work for five to six hours across all shifts at the metallurgical coal mine starting Wednesday night till Aug. 31.


The union’s plan to take strike action comes as Australian coal miners are seeing a boom in business, thanks to a surge in demand from Europe, which is trying to cut its reliance on Russian coal.

“South32 Illawarra Metallurgical Coal is currently engaged in enterprise bargaining with employees and their representatives in relation to a proposed new Appin Enterprise Agreement,” the Perth-based miner said.

South32 is expected to show a huge jump in underlying profit when it reports its earnings on Thursday, according to Refinitiv data.

“Now that coal prices and profits are booming and inflation is rising, workers are seeking to have these changed conditions reflected in their new Enterprise Agreement,” said Bob Timbs, the union’s South Western District vice president said in a statement.

Inflation in Australia sped to a 21-year high last quarter and is expected to pile more pressure on food and energy costs, prompting the central bank to take an aggressive rate-hike stance to temper its effect on the cost of living.

(By Jaskiran Singh and Indranil Sarkar; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Anil D’Silva)

Boliden declares force majeure on zinc amid Norway strike
Reuters | August 23, 2022 | 8:20 am Europe Zinc

Harjavalta nickel smelter in Finland (Credit: Boliden)

Swedish miner Boliden has declared force majeure on zinc deliveries to Europe due to a strike among Norwegian electrochemical industry workers, although some production is still running, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.


The strike, which started on Monday, is targeting several electrochemical plants, including Boliden’s zinc smelter in Odda and Glencore’s nickel refinery in Kristiansand as well as aluminum output at Norsk Hydro and Alcoa.

“Zinc production is still running to a certain extent but of course we wish for the situation to return to normal, not least to be able to meet demand from our customers,” a Boliden spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“The situation is however out of Boliden’s control and difficult to foresee the development of,” he added.

(By Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Terje Solsvik)

Russian diamonds are quietly flowing again after sanctions chaos

Bloomberg News | August 23, 2022 | 

Sorting diamonds. Image from Alrosa.

The panic that gripped the diamond world this year is starting to unwind as sanctioned Russian mining giant Alrosa PJSC has quietly revived exports to near pre-war levels.


Alrosa accounts for about a third of global rough-diamond supply, and the $80 billion industry was thrown into turmoil as cutters, polishers and traders hunted for ways to keep buying from Russia while their banks couldn’t or wouldn’t finance payments. The sudden shortage of stones sent diamond prices surging, especially for the smaller and cheaper gems that Alrosa specializes in.

Now, after months of paralysis when it was hit with US sanctions, Alrosa is back selling more than $250 million of diamonds a month, with sales currently only about $50 to $100 million a month below pre-war levels, according to people familiar with the matter. The sales have restarted as some Indian banks become more comfortable with how to facilitate transactions in currencies other than US dollars, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

Most of the Russian stones are heading to manufacturers in India — the biggest among a handful of industry hubs, where hundreds of mostly family-owned businesses cut and polish rough stones into the finished products, ready to be used in earrings and engagement rings. Alrosa has been selling diamonds to buyers in India and Europe, mostly in exchange for rupees, the people said.

There is no indication that any sales have breached sanctions or laws. But there is still a widespread unease about the implications of dealing in Russian goods, said the people. The deals are being done quietly — even by the closed-doors standards of the famously secretive diamond world — and Alrosa has stopped publishing any information on its sales or financial performance.

A spokesperson for Alrosa declined to comment.

The return of one of the world’s main sources of precious gems will be a relief to the manufacturers and traders who rely on its stones. However, rough-diamond prices were already showing signs of softening in response to a worsening economic outlook, and the increased supply is adding further weakness.

The restarted sales show how buyers of Russian products, from oil and gas to coal and aluminum, have found ways to keep its raw materials flowing despite the fallout from the war.

For the diamond trade, there is a bigger reputational threat as well. If consumers want to avoid Russian diamonds they may simply stop buying altogether as the nature of the industry means it’s hard to keep track of any specific stone, with millions of interchangeable gems flowing between dozens of traders and manufacturers before eventually ending up in the display window of a jewelry store.

Some parts of the diamond industry have been pushing to exclude Russian production — US jewelers Tiffany & Co. and Signet Jewelers Ltd. have said they will stop buying new diamonds mined in Russia, while countries including the US have sought to have the gems labeled as “conflict diamonds,” the New York Times reported.

Seeking solutions

However, Indian and Belgian buyers and jewelry retailers from key markets such as China and the Middle East remain keen to buy Russian diamonds, and have been seeking solutions after banks became unable or unwilling to process payments once the sanctions hit.

Alrosa is effectively state controlled: the federal government owns 33% and another 25% is held by local authorities. The company competes globally with De Beers, owned by Anglo American Plc, and the two companies produce about the same amount of diamonds annually.

After the initial chaos in the wake of the US sanctions on Alrosa, the fresh flow of Russian gems is quickly easing tightness in the market.

In recent months, accredited De Beers buyers could make a profit of about 10% by trading their purchases to other gem manufacturers facing tight supplies.

Now, prices for some goods in the “secondary” market — where traders and manufacturers sell among themselves — have fallen sharply in the past month and that margin has now disappeared, the people said.

De Beers held prices steady at its latest sale last week, and with the steep correction in market prices that discount has now evaporated, removing most profit margins for its buyers, the people said.

 

Diamonds are Forever ( Live 2022 BAFTA's HD)

Mar 13, 2022

Dame Shirley Bassey Performances

On Sunday the 13th of March 2022, Dame Shirley opened the BAFTA awards with a spine-tingling rendition of one of her most beloved Bond songs, Diamonds Are Forever. This is the first time Dame Shirley had appeared live on the British stage since 2019 (When she last sang with Alfie Boe and Michael Ball). At 85 years young, she proved that she HAS STILL GOT IT! She demonstrated such amazing control over her voice and showed that she still has her upper register intact! This performance is truly such a treat. Please enjoy!

NO MAKING FOSSIL FUELS EXTINCT
New coal-to-product project aims to produce asphalt, building materials
Staff Writer | August 24, 2022 | 

Coal trains in Wyoming. (Image by KimonBerlin, Wikimedia Commons).

The Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion at the University of Wyoming announced a partnership with Wood and Atlas Carbon, LLC to launch a coal-to-product demonstration facility at the Fort Union Industrial Park near Gillette.

The goal of the project is to decompose Wyoming coal, yielding beneficial liquids and solids used to create valuable non-energy products, such as building and construction materials, asphalt products and agricultural soil amendments.

Phase I of the project involves site preparations at Fort Union, making the process demonstration ready.


Phase II entails the installation of the flash pyrolysis process plant, which rapidly subjects coal to extremely high temperatures for very short periods of time.

The byproduct of the pyrolysis process yields coal char. Construction for this phase of the project is anticipated to start in 2023 and will be completed in 2024.

Phase III, on the other hand, involves the setting up of the solvent extraction portion of the process, which yields a high-value coal extract that can be used in the production of asphalts and polymers.

Although this phase will only be realized if additional funding is directed towards the project, it is considered the part of the system that allows to fully integrate the technology.

In a press release, the university pointed out that this recent coal byproduct development project is among several in the US’ top coal-producing region exploring new options to address the entire life cycle of carbon – including the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC), the Wyoming Innovation Center (WyIC) and the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources’ CarbonSAFE project.

Climate disasters risk putting a damper on electric car making

Bloomberg News | August 22, 2022 

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Automakers racing to make more electric vehicles have a problem: climate change is catching up with the industry.


On Monday, authorities in China’s Sichuan province — the source of about a fifth of the country’s lithium production — extended electricity cuts to some industrial users as the most intense heat wave in more than 60 years depletes reservoirs used for hydropower


Volkswagen said last week its factory in the region was affected by the power shortage and that it expected a slight delay in deliveries to customers. Toyota and battery maker CATL have temporarily closed factories. Tesla and China’s SAIC Motor told authorities in Shanghai — roughly 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) to the east of Sichuan’s capital city of Chengdu — that they may have difficulty maintaining production if the power crunch continues to impact suppliers.

In Europe, a drought has threatened to make the Rhine river — a crucial waterway for German, Dutch and Swiss trade for centuries — impassable at a key waypoint. While rainfall over the weekend alleviated risk of disruption to diesel and coal shipments to power stations and industrial plants, Shell already cut production at Germany’s biggest oil-processing complex due to the issue. And in the German states of Brandenburg and Saxony, where Tesla and BMW operate car factories, authorities had to ask the military for help fighting several forest fires this summer.

Many carmakers list climate change as business risk factors. Tesla, for instance, warns that if climate-related disasters occur, its headquarters and production facilities “may be seriously damaged, or we may have to stop or delay production and shipment of our products.”

While manufacturers clearly realize climate change may hit their production networks, their actions don’t always line up with the severity of the threats. Companies continue to set up water-intensive manufacturing sites in regions where supply is increasingly scarce.

Tesla ran into opposition in Germany when building its factory in a region dealing with falling groundwater levels and prolonged droughts. Fremont, California, where Tesla has been producing electric cars for more than a decade, gets around 16 inches of rain per year, less than half the US average. The battery plant Tesla runs with Panasonic in Reno, Nevada, and Lucid Motors’ factory south of Phoenix are located in even drier regions.

Lucid, which is part-owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to build an EV factory in the kingdom near the city of Jeddah, where temperatures can top 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) in the summer.

Several carmakers including Tesla are equipping factories with renewable-energy generators and say they’re working to make their sites more resource-efficient, including by reducing water consumption. At its plant in Chennai, India, BMW collects rainwater in basins during the monsoon season, covering 60% to 90% of the plant’s annual water requirement. To further increase this share, more reservoirs for the retention of rainwater are under construction, a BMW spokesperson said.

While the surge in demand for EVs is poised to reduce carbon emissions from transport, it’s sparked a mining boom for battery metals, including lithium. The silvery-white metal generally comes from open-pit mines in Australia or from South America, where there are concerns about water waste and toxic materials released from massive evaporation pools. The raw materials are then shipped to Asia for processing. By the time the lithium ends up in European or American EVs, a lot of CO2 has been released into the atmosphere. There are efforts underway to mine lithium without emitting greenhouse gases, but those are still in their infancy.

Volkswagen has set up a facility in Germany to eventually reuse 90% of battery components. It was also an early backer of QuantumScape, the US-listed firm working on solid-state batteries, a potential alternative to widely used lithium-ion technology. The automaker is expected to sign an agreement with Canada to secure access to raw materials including nickel, cobalt and lithium for vehicle and battery production as part of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to the country this week.

VW said the Rhine’s low water levels haven’t impacted its production, and that its crisis management team has proven itself during extreme weather events and challenges including the Suez canal blockage and the war in Ukraine. The company has also set up a supplier management system to spot signs of disruptions early and work with parts makers to defuse them.

One thing is clear, a spokesperson said: new challenges within its supply chain can only be mastered together.

(By Stefan Nicola)

Volkswagen and Mercedes line up tariff-friendly battery supplies in deals with Canada

Bloomberg News | August 22, 2022 | 

Factory site for Volkswagen parts in Braunschweig. (Image courtesy of Volkswagen Group).

Volkswagen AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have sealed agreements with Canada to secure access to raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium for battery production, according to people familiar with the accords.


The memorandums of understanding will be signed Tuesday in Toronto, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in attendance said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

VW’s agreement is designed to shorten supply chains for its facilities in the US and avoid difficulties linked to tariffs and tax regulations, said one of the people. The move has partly been prompted by new rules that US President Joe Biden signed into law last week, the person added.

A spokesperson for VW said the carmaker and its dedicated unit for its battery business, called PowerCo, are working on ramping up their battery activities, “especially reliable and sustainable supply chains.”

“This holds true for the very promising North American market as well,” the spokesperson said by email. A spokesperson for Mercedes declined to comment.

The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act allows consumers to continue getting as much as $7,500 in tax credits for electric vehicles if manufacturers meet new content requirements. Minerals must be extracted from or processed in countries the US has a free trade agreement with, and a large percentage of battery components need to be manufactured or assembled in North America.

Automakers including VW, Mercedes and Stellantis NV have embarked on ambitious plans to make batteries. VW is planning six facilities in Europe alone, while Mercedes has joined Stellantis in a 7 billion-euro ($7 billion) battery venture and is pursuing a total of eight facilities globally.

VW is also considering setting up an in-house battery cell manufacturing operation in North America, Johan De Nysschen, chief operating officer of Volkswagen of America, said in June.

The goal would be to ease a coming battery shortage by supplementing suppliers with its own production, De Nysschen said in an interview at the company’s new battery testing lab in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The board was still weighing the idea, and no final decision had been made, he added.

A business delegation including VW Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess is traveling with Scholz on his Canada trip, his first there since he took office at the end of last year. Diess, who will be replaced as CEO on Sept. 1, said last month that the company was looking at sites for a US battery facility that would supply packs to its auto plant in Chattanooga.


Scholz will hold several meetings with Trudeau as the Group of Seven and NATO partners move to deepen cooperation in areas including energy and security.

The German leader, who is also accompanied by Economy Minister Robert Habeck, wants to enlist Canada to help Europe’s biggest economy reduce its reliance on Russia for energy and raw materials.

Canada “has similar rich natural resources as Russia — with the difference that it is a reliable democracy,” Scholz told reporters during the flight over.

“This opens up new fields of cooperation,” he added. “We want to cooperate closely, especially when it comes to building a hydrogen economy.”

(By Michael Nienaber, with assistance from Craig Trudell, Eric Pfanner and Stefan Nicola)

Samarco mine disaster settlement talks irk Brazil officials as deadline approaches

Bloomberg News | August 24, 2022 |

Reconstruction efforts at Samarco’s Fundão tailings dam in 2017. (Image courtesy of BHP)

The latest talks over a multibillion-dollar settlement for a 2015 mining disaster failed to yield a deal, with Brazilian officials signaling the two sides are still far apart with time running out.


“We don’t have an agreement and no perspective that we’ll have one,” Minas Gerais State Planning Secretary Luisa Barreto said in an interview Wednesday after a new round of conversations in Brasilia with representatives of the Samarco iron ore mine and its owners Vale SA and BHP Group.

Without saying how much the companies are offering, Barreto said their proposal falls short of the required environmental and social compensation for a tailings dam collapse that killed as many as 19 people and contaminated waterways in two states. Minas Gerais Attorney General Jarbas Soares Jr. said on Twitter that authorities won’t return to the negotiating table unless there’s a “minimally worthy” new offer.

The companies previously offered 52 billion reais ($10 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. That compares with a 155 billion-real public civil action for reparation.

Brazil’s Supreme Court President Luiz Fux has been acting as mediator in the renegotiation process after an initial arrangement failed to address many of the needs, with allegations of shortfalls in the foundation created to manage payments.

Fux has committed to resolving the case before stepping down on Sept. 9 in an attempt to give affected communities a clear framework for reparations and replace other lawsuits. After that, authorities would undertake the necessary measures to obtain reparations, Barreto said, without elaborating.

Samarco, Vale and BHP said they remain committed to repairing the damage caused by the dam collapse, and to the negotiation process. BHP said the Renova Foundation, which was created to compensate for and repair damages, has disbursed 23 billion reais and provided aid for more than 389,000 people.

Samarco has been under bankruptcy protection since April 2021 as it seeks an agreement with creditors.

(By Mariana Durao)

Related: Damage from Brazil’s Samarco disaster at least $6.7bn, study says

Mexico creates state-run lithium company, to go live within 6 months

Reuters | August 23, 2022 

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (Image by Gobierno Danilo Medina, Flickr).

Mexico, which nationalized lithium resources in April, has created a state-run company to mine the metal, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a decree issued in the national gazette Tuesday afternoon.


The company will be called Litio para Mexico, or Lithium for Mexico, the decree read, and will begin operations within the next six months.

Lopez Obrador vowed to keep lithium resources in the state’s hands after suffering a blow earlier this year with the rejection of an electricity reform proposal, which would have given more preferences to Mexico’s state-run energy company.

Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries.

Related: Business group blasts Mexico’s new lithium law as violating trade deal

Litio para Mexico’s new head will be proposed by the energy minister and appointed by the president, according to the decree.

The country’s energy minister, as well as the finance minister, economy minister, interior minister and environment minister will sit on the company’s board.

Mexico does not yet have commercial lithium production, though a handful of foreign companies hold contracts to explore potential lithium deposits. Lopez Obrador had said in April that all contracts would be reviewed.

The decree said that Litio para Mexico may work with either public or private institutions to mine for what has become known as “white gold.”

Business groups blasted the nationalization of lithium after it was announced, while some have said it could trigger a constitutional dispute.

(By Kylie Madry; Editing by Leslie Adler)

India Revives Oilfield After 15 Years Of Slumber

By Charles Kennedy - Aug 22, 2022

Production has restarted at the Khagorijan field in the Indian state of Assam after a 15-year pause, Indian media have reported, adding that production was suspended in 2007 due to environmental and regulatory issues.

The Khagorijan field was discovered in 1998, and first oil was extracted in 2004. However, severe erosion at the nearby Brahmaputra River caused local communities to start protesting against oil production in the area and interfering with the production process.

Things came to a head in 2007 when Oil India Limited decided to suspend production at the field. Now, according to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, measures have been taken to secure the river and prevent further erosion and the consequent adverse effects on local communities.

India is overwhelmingly dependent on imports to satisfy its oil demand and has been desperately trying to boost local production to alleviate the import load as much as possible.

Besides the restart of the Khagorijan field in Assam, India’s state-owned ONGC recently signed a preliminary deal with Exxon for deepwater exploration off India’s east and west coasts.

Meanwhile, India’s oil production is declining, averaging 600,000 barrels daily in June, down 4 percent from May and 1.6 percent from June 2021, Reuters reported earlier this month. The number was also 3 percent lower than expectations.

The latest import figures, for July, pegged the average at 4.63 million barrels daily, down 3.2 percent from June as refiners prepared for scheduled maintenance. Of this, some 877,000 bpd came from Russia and 825,000 bpd came from Saudi Arabia.

Because of its deep dependence on imports, India has become a top buyer of Russian oil after European sanctions reduced flows to Russia’s largest oil market. Discounts also helped, although these have been shrinking since spring. Earlier this year, Russia even overtook Saudi Arabia as India’s largest supplier of crude oil.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com