American Resources, Novare partner to develop Africa’s first critical elements refinery

The refining facility development is expected to begin by H2 2025.

February 11, 2025

The facility will be used to produce high-purity lithium carbonate, rare earth oxides and other essential minerals. 

Credit: Arynyster Can/Shutterstock.

ReElement Technologies, a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation, has entered into a partnership with Novare Holdings, a South African investment holding company, to develop integrated refining facilities across Africa with an investment of $100m.

The collaboration marks progress towards establishing the continent’s “inaugural” critical and rare earth element refining facility, which will use ReElement’s exclusive refining technology.

The facility will produce high-purity lithium carbonate, rare earth oxides and other essential minerals.

It will be supplied with locally and regionally sourced raw materials to support growing demand in the battery and defence industries within both Africa and North America.

ReElement Technologies will contribute its advanced chromatographic separation and purification platform technology along with project management expertise, under the partnership.

According to the company, its multi-mineral, multi-feedstock critical mineral technology provides a “scalable” and “cost-effective” solution for separating, purifying and refining rare earth and critical elements through an environmentally sustainable process.

ReElement Technologies Africa CEO Ben Kincaid said: “This partnership reflects our commitment to innovation in the critical minerals sector. Together with Novare, we are bringing innovative refining technology to the region, enabling nations to enhance and capture the value of their natural resources and catalyse industrial economic development on the continent.

“South Africa-based Novare will lead the way forward, modelling how African nations can and must serve as primary stakeholders in the global supply chain for critical minerals.” second half of 2025 (H2 2025). Novare will provide the necessary capital investment along

ReElement Technologies aims to begin the development of the refining facility by the with operational management.

The project will be managed by an existing operating entity based in Africa.

Novare Group CEO Ola Leepile said: “Novare is excited about this collaboration’s potential for securing reliable and quality critical mineral supplies. It aligns seamlessly with our vision of being an impactful investor by establishing sub-Saharan Africa’s first battery and critical minerals manufacturing facility.

“Through this partnership, we are confident that value addition and resource beneficiation can be achieved locally.”

As American Resources expands and scales production across its own and partner facilities, it will play a “key role” in reducing US dependence on foreign sources of critical raw materials, while also fostering a circular life cycle solution, according to the company.

Vale, Caterpillar strengthen partnership

Metal Tech News - February 12, 2025
Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News X

Ricardo Teles / Vale 
A Cat 793 haul truck at Vale's Brucutu iron ore mine in Brazil.


Global company to collaborate on innovations that improve efficiency and lower carbon emissions.

Toward the goal of shrinking the operating costs and carbon footprint at its global operations, Brazil-based mining giant Vale has signed a new, five-year global framework agreement with Caterpillar Inc.

“The framework agreement represents an evolution in our relationship with Caterpillar, amplifying our focus on maximizing the performance of Vale’s assets and allowing us to advance on our decarbonization path in an economically responsible way,” said Marco Braga, procurement director at Vale.

Considering that diesel fuels its enormous haul trucks and other heavy equipment, and accounts for roughly 15% of Vale’s direct CO2-equivalent emissions, the company could take a major stride on the path to decarbonization by shifting to a zero-carbon energy source for these earthmoving machines.

“The agreement with Vale reflects our commitment to developing solutions that support our customers’ operational and sustainability goals,” said Denise Johnson, group president of Caterpillar Resource Industries.

Toward the goal of developing and implementing new technologies that will push down the carbon footprint of moving ore and waste rock, Vale and Caterpillar have reaffirmed their 2024 commitment to developing a dual-fuel haul truck powered by diesel and ethanol.

Previous work in this area has shown that a mixture of ethanol and diesel would reduce direct CO2 emissions by up to 70% compared to straight diesel engines.

Caterpillar is currently developing a dual-fuel mining truck capable of carrying 240 tons of ore. In the future, the technology may be extended to trucks with a capacity of 320 tons.

Vale currently has 150 of both sizes of Cat trucks at its mining operations.

Initial testing of these diesel and ethanol-burning Cat trucks will be completed at Caterpillar’s facilities in the United States, followed by on-the-job validation and testing at Vale mines.

“Decarbonization is a major challenge today, which will only be overcome by investing in solutions such as alternative fuels and electrification to reduce emissions without compromising efficiency and safety,” explains João Turchetti, director of decarbonization engineering at Vale.

Shane Lasley
A Cat 798 haul truck and Dynamic Energy Transfer System on display during MINExpo 2024.

On the electrification front, Vale plans to test a battery electric haul truck and the new Cat Dynamic Energy Transfer System (DET) charging system.

Unveiled at MINExpo 2024, the Cat DET is an energy delivery system designed by Caterpillar engineers to lower the operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions at new and already operating mines.

Cat DET has three primary parts – a power module that converts energy from a mine site’s power source, an electrified rail system to transmit the energy, and a machine system to transfer electricity to the truck’s powertrain.

Caterpillar has designed the rail system to be highly deployable and customizable to mine site layouts, including high-speed and curved haul roads, enabling higher productivity.

This innovative and dynamic energy-delivering system can be installed at already operational mines that are adding electrified models, as well as new mines coming online during the energy transition.

Vale’s installation of Cat DET and electric battery-electric haul trucks will provide further insights into how this CO2-reduction and productivity-enhancing solution integrates into an already established mine site.

“As global industry leaders, Vale and Caterpillar are seeking not only to meet the demands of the mining sector but also to anticipate technological and environmental trends,” says Marc Cameron, senior vice president of resource industries sales, services and technology at Caterpillar.

By working together, the global mining and heavy equipment manufacturing companies are developing technologies that not only help Vale meet its carbon reduction targets but also provide solutions for an entire mining sector seeking to more efficiently and sustainably produce the metals needed by a world transitioning to cleaner energy.

 

Australia’s St Barbara to part ways with Canada gold operations

Reuters | February 11, 2025 | 

Touquoy gold mine, Nova Scotia: Credit: St Barbara

Australian gold miner St Barbara said on Wednesday it was planning to separate its Atlantic gold operations in Nova Scotia, Canada via a sale or vend-in of its assets to another party, or a demerger into a separate Canada-listed firm.

The Atlantic gold operations include the miner’s 15-Mile, Beaver Dam and Cochrane Hill projects, along with its Touquoy processing plant.

In 2019, St Barbara had bought the then Toronto-listed Atlantic Gold Corp for C$722 million ($505.35 million).

After the divestment, the miner will focus on its Simberi gold operations and the expansion of its Simberi sulphide project in Papua New Guinea, it said in a statement.

“The decision to separate Atlantic from St Barbara is underpinned by the… potential of the Atlantic projects under a Canadian-listed company with a local leadership team… to benefit from being closer to regulators,” CEO Andrew Strelein said.

St Barbara had to close the Touquoy mine and put the processing plant into care and maintenance in October 2023, following a failure to obtain permits in time.

Proceeds from the divestment could be distributed among shareholders or used for the Simberi sulphide expansion, or a combination of both, the Perth-based miner said.

St Barbara’s shares dropped 7.3%, as of 0005 GMT, compared with a 1.4% decline in the broader gold miners’ sub-index.

The company expects to complete the divestment by the first half of fiscal 2026.

($1 = 1.4287 Canadian dollars)

(By Aaditya Govind Rao; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Rashmi Aich)

Australia passes tax incentives law for critical minerals

Reuters | February 11, 2025

Parliament building in Canberra. Stock image.


Australia’s parliament has passed laws that would give production tax breaks for critical minerals and renewable hydrogen, in a boost for energy transition plans as it aims to hit net zero emissions by 2050, and reduce dependence on China.


The law, passed on Tuesday, will create tax incentives worth 10% of processing and refining costs for 31 critical minerals from the fiscal year ending June 2028 to 2040, for up to 10 years per project, the centre-left Labor government said.

For renewable hydrogen, a tax incentive worth A$2 ($1.26) per kg of renewable hydrogen produced will be offered.

“By processing more of these minerals here in Australia, we will create jobs and diversify global supply chains,” Resources Minister Madeleine King said in a statement.

Major economies are seeking to invest billions to support critical minerals projects and compete with China, the world’s largest producer of rare earths.

Critical minerals and rare earths are used in solar panels and batteries needed to lower carbon emissions, and are required for the construction of submarines and aircraft.

The opposition Liberal-National coalition voted against the legislation after its amendments that would require companies to undertake fewer environmental or Indigenous consultations were blocked by Labor and the Greens party.

“Labor’s tax credits come with additional and unnecessary red and green tape,” the opposition said in a statement.

The Anthony Albanese-led Labor government is seeking to showcase the tax breaks in some electorates in the resource-rich states of Western Australia and Queensland ahead of a national election due by May.

The Australian government in its May budget had pledged to introduce tax incentives worth A$7 billion for the processing and refining of critical minerals and A$6.7 billion for renewable hydrogen production from 2028 to 2040.

($1 = 1.5886 Australian dollars)

(By Renju Jose; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Ukrainian graphite mine hopes for Trump deal, but say returns won’t be instant

Reuters | February 12, 2025 

Credit: Zavallivsky Graphite


At the 90-year-old Zavallivsky graphite mine in central Ukraine, CEO Ostap Kostyuk dreams of making graphite pure enough to use for lithium batteries, something he compares to trying to “make a Rolls-Royce inside a garage”, given the lack of investment.


As US President Donald Trump eyes a major deal on Ukraine’s rare earths and critical minerals in return for Washington’s continuing support in the war against Russia, operators such as Kostyuk, sitting on one of Europe’s largest graphite deposits, see an opportunity – but acknowledge profits will not come quickly for any American investors.

“No matter what, it’s a long-term investment,” said Kostyuk of the challenges extracting minerals in Ukraine.

During a recent visit, he showed Reuters the sprawling facility in the Kirovohrad region, standing among ageing heavy machinery where every surface was coated in a thin layer of graphite that rubbed off to the touch.

Ukraine’s vast undersoil mineral wealth is at the heart of a joint partnership pitch made to Trump by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who wants security guarantees as part of a deal to end the war.

Trump, in response, has said he wants $500 billion worth of Ukrainian critical resources and dispatched his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Kyiv to meet Zelenskiy this week.
Vast mineral wealth

In an interview last week, Zelenskiy unfurled a map of Ukrainian minerals, including lithium, graphite, titanium and rare earths, which are important for the manufacture of high-performance magnets, electric motors and consumer electronics.

He said less than 20% of the country’s resources – including about half its rare earth deposits – were under Russian occupation and emphasized the need to help Ukraine protect what remains.


But despite what Kyiv says is trillions of dollars of untapped mineral wealth, industry experts say it could take years for investors to make significant profits from a sector reeling from war and chronic underinvestment.

Volodymyr Landa, a senior economist at the Centre for Economic Strategy, said it was important to understand what specifically the United States was interested in gaining access to.

Ksenia Orynchak, head of Kyiv’s National Extractive Industries Association, said the mining industry had “stagnated” and lacked inflows of money for all the nine years she has worked in it.

At the State Service of Geology, where she worked from 2017 to 2019, she said the government allocated just a few million hryvnia for all the body’s activities, at a time when simple geological exploration would cost 2 billion hryvnias ($48 million).

Orynchak said another problem was that the country’s mineral reserves have been classified for more than two decades, making it impossible to accurately assess what Ukraine has.
Soviet-era machinery

The Soviet-era Zavallivsky complex, whose equipment was last modernized in 1965, illustrates the scale of the challenge.

Though the mine is hundreds of miles from the front, it has been scrambling for resources since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion prompted its Australian partner to pull its financing.

A number of Kostyuk’s workers are also either serving in the military or were killed fighting for Ukraine.

Despite the setbacks, he said his plant is already making a product good enough to be later purified into battery-ready spherical graphite (SPG).

“We are ready for this technology,” said Kostyuk, adding that his facility’s goal was to eventually produce its own SPG.

Ukraine’s reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20% of global resources.

More immediately, he added, his company was ready to offer US consumers a supply of natural flake graphite, in part to establish a Ukrainian brand on US markets, while US firms probe for new deposits in Ukraine.

New digging projects – whether for graphite or other critical minerals – could take at least five to seven years before they begin to produce, he added.

While his factory badly needs an upgrade, Kostyuk said his workforce has the know-how to leap forward if given the resources.

“I believe in this factory, I believe in these people,” he said. “Everybody here wants to work.”

($1 = 41.8330 hryvnias)

(By Thomas Peter, Vladyslav Smilianets, Dan Peleschuk and Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Alex Richardson)


Trump official says minerals deal will give Kyiv post-war ‘security shield’

Reuters | February 13, 2025 | 


Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meet in Kyiv on Feb. 12. Image source: Office of the President of Ukraine


US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a minerals deal between Kyiv and Washington would provide Ukraine with a post-war “security shield”, and President Volodmyr Zelenskiy said he hoped to reach an agreement within days.


Bessent, the first cabinet-level official on Donald Trump’s team to visit Kyiv, spoke after Zelenskiy said he was ready to do a deal to open mineral resources to US investment, as he vies for the US president’s backing in the war against Russia.


Trump, who wants a rapid end to the war but has not made clear if he will continue vital military aid to Kyiv, has said he wants $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Ukraine and that Washington’s support needs to be “secured”.

Zelenskiy told reporters that the United States had on Wednesday presented Ukraine with a first draft agreement, which Kyiv would now study, and that he hoped they could seal a deal at the February 14-16 Munich Security Conference.

“We had a productive, constructive conversation. For me, the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine is very important, and we talked about minerals in general,” said Zelenskiy, who is expected to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Munich.

Bessent said the minerals deal was part of a “larger peace deal that Trump has in mind”, adding that his first visit to Ukraine showed that the war was a top priority for the Trump administration.

“By increasing our economic commitment through a partnership with the government and people of Ukraine, that will provide – once this conflict is over – it will provide a long-term security shield for all Ukrainians,” Bessent said.

Though firm details are still unclear, that message will be welcomed by anxious Ukrainians watching nervously at how the Trump team has been engaging with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Not long after the conclusion of the joint news conference, Trump wrote on social media that he had had a “lengthy and productive phone call” with Putin to discuss ending the war.

Zelenskiy has emphasized throughout the war that Ukraine needs its Western allies to provide it with security guarantees that would prevent Russia using any break in the fighting to regroup and launch another invasion later on.

Zelenskiy said at the news conference that he could only discuss the subject of US security guarantees for Ukraine with Trump directly.

Pre-dawn missile strike

Bessent’s visit came hours after Kyiv’s residents were awoken by a pre-dawn Russian ballistic missile attack that killed one person in the city as the sound of explosions rang out.

The prospective minerals deal shows how Ukraine has rapidly reset its foreign policy approach to align with the transactional world view set out by the new occupant of the White House, Ukraine’s most important wartime ally.

Trump’s decision to send his treasury secretary before any other official was striking in a wartime capital that has been a revolving door for Western security, defence and political officials over almost three years of war.

Bessent has said he supports ratcheting up sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, a move begun by the Biden administration shortly before leaving office.

As fighting rages in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has been advancing for many months, the visit is the first in a series of important diplomatic tests for Ukraine, including at the Munich Security Conference which Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, is due to attend.

On Monday, Russia’s point man for relations with the United States said that all of Putin’s conditions must be met in full before the war in Ukraine could end, suggesting Moscow is playing hardball with Trump.

Those conditions include Ukraine dropping its NATO ambitions and withdrawing its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia, something Kyiv has likened to capitulation.

(By Tom Balmforth, Max Hunder, Yuliia Dysa, Gram Slattery and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Gareth Jones and Mike Collett-White)

Taseko projects $30B economic impact from Gibraltar mine in BC

Cecilia Jamasmie | February 12, 2025 | 

Gibraltar is Canada’s second-largest open pit copper-molybdenum mine. 

(Image courtesy of Taseko Mines.)


Canada’s Taseko Mines (TSX: TKO) (NYSE: TGB)(LON: TKO) has unveiled the results of an economic impact study on its Gibraltar copper mine in British Columbia, which reveals the operation is set to generate nearly C$42 billion ($30 billion) in economic output by 2044.


The analysis, conducted by accounting and consulting firm MNP, outlines Gibraltar’s contribution to the economies of the Cariboo Region in B.C. and Canada. It also forecasts the operation’s economic impacts for the next 20 years, through its current remaining reserve life to 2044.

After acquiring Gibraltar in 1999, Taseko restarted operations at what is now Canada’s second-largest open pit copper-molybdenum mine in 2004. Since then, Gibraltar has contributed C$16.3 billion to Canada’s economy, including C$8.3 billion in GDP, with more than half of that impact concentrated in the Cariboo region.

The mine currently supports 2,860 jobs, directly employing 700 workers, and has delivered more than $4 billion in wages over the past two decades.

Source: Report: The Economic Impact of Gibraltar Mine: Reflecting on 20 Years, Envisioning the Next 20.

The mine’s economic footprint extends beyond production. Government revenues from Gibraltar have already reached $2 billion since 2005 and are expected to climb by another $3.1 billion over the next two decades.

Taseko chief executive officer Stuart McDonald emphasized the mine’s enduring role in B.C.’s economy, calling it a “cornerstone of economic growth, prosperity, and community development in the Cariboo for more than 20 years.”
25 million EVs

Taseko projects that Gibraltar will produce an additional 2.7 billion pounds of copper through 2044, adding to the 1.9 billion pounds already extracted.

The total 4.6 billion pounds of copper could supply material for roughly 25 million electric vehicles (EVs) — critical at a time when global demand for copper is accelerating due to the clean energy transition.

The study’s findings come as Taseko eyes expansion beyond Gibraltar, with its Florence copper project in Arizona set to begin production in late 2025 and its Yellowhead copper project in BC in development.

Qatari royal loses UK lawsuit over ‘Idol’s Eye’ diamond

Reuters | February 13, 2025 | 

Stock image.


A cousin of Qatar’s ruler lost his fight at London’s High Court on Thursday against another branch of the Gulf nation’s royal family over a 17th century diamond worth millions.


The dispute over the “Idol’s Eye” diamond pitted art collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, cousin of Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, against the relatives of former culture minister Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani.

Sheikh Saud, Qatar’s minister of culture between 1997 and 2005, was one of the world’s most prolific art collectors and bought the 70-carat Idol’s Eye diamond in the early 2000s.

He lent the diamond to QIPCO, whose chief executive is Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah, shortly before his death in 2014.

The agreement gave QIPCO the option to buy the diamond with the consent of Elanus Holdings, a company linked to Sheikh Saud’s relatives.

Elanus is ultimately owned by the Liechtenstein-based Al Thani Foundation, whose beneficiaries are Sheikh Saud’s widow and three children.

QIPCO’s lawyers say that a 2020 letter sent by the Al Thani Foundation’s lawyer amounted to an agreement to sell the diamond for $10 million, but Elanus said the letter was sent by mistake.

QIPCO asked the High Court to order Elanus to sell the gem to it but Judge Simon Birt dismissed its case on Thursday.

QIPCO and lawyers representing Elanus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two sides had disagreed over how much the gem is worth, with Elanus’ lawyers saying in court filings that an expert had valued the diamond at around $27 million.

Birt said in his ruling that the diamond is “said to have been discovered in a mine at Golconda in Southern India, though that history is not complete or certain”. He added that the gem is also said to have been owned at one point by Sultan Abdulhamid II, one of the last rulers of the Ottoman Empire.

(By Sam Tobin; Editing by Ros Russell)

CONFRONTING NEO-COLONIALISM

Malawi temporarily bans all mineral exports to revamp rules

Bloomberg News | February 13, 2025 | 

Malawi, Zambia. Stock image.


Malawi’s government placed a temporary ban the exports of all minerals to allow the country’s Ministry of Mining to streamline procedures.


The ministry wants to enhance “regulatory frameworks that benefit both the industry and the country’s economic growth,” it said in a notice in the Daily Times newspaper.

Malawi is one of the world’s poorest nations and relies mainly on agriculture, with tobacco its biggest source of foreign exchange. Rio Tinto Group-backed Sovereign Metals Ltd. is developing the Kasiya asset in the west of the country which – if built – will produce graphite as a co-product of rutile.

(By Frank Jomo)

Severe cyclone makes landfall near Australia’s iron ore hub

Bloomberg News | February 14, 2025 |

Australia’s Port Hedland, the world’s largest bulk-export terminal, handles cargoes for BHP, Fortescue Metals and Hancock Prospecting. (Image courtesy of The Western Australian Land Information Authority)


Severe Cyclone Zelia has made landfall near Australia’s iron ore export hub, bringing heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts, with the system threatening big mines and crucial rail links as it tracks inland.


The powerful cyclone crossed the coast to the east of Port Hedland, the nation’s biggest iron ore export harbor, packing very destructive wind gusts of up to 290 kilometers (180 miles) per hour near its center, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Winds that strong flatten structures and buckle power lines.

Port Hedland avoided the destructive core of the storm, the bureau said, which made landfall as a Category 5, the strongest on the Australian scale. The system will weaken as it moves inland, but will still have cyclone strength as it tracks through the major iron ore mining region of the Pilbara, which hosts global miners including Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group.

Intense rainfall threatens to flood massive open-cut mines and swamp rail lines to ports, potentially disrupting shipments. Iron ore prices in Singapore spiked above $108 a ton on Friday to a four-month high, before easing.

“Category 5 is top of the scale, it does not get any worse than that,” said Angus Hines, a meteorologist at the bureau. “Extremely damaging and destructive winds, widespread rain, flooding and storm surge are all expected.”

While the Pilbara region is a sparsely populated area, the coastal town of Port Hedland has around 16,000 residents. The harbor was shuttered earlier this week along with other regional ports, which also export natural gas.

Western Australia’s state emergency organizer said on Friday that the storm was creating a threat to lives and homes, urging residents to shelter indoors and warning it was too late to leave buildings.

Australia is the biggest shipper of iron ore, with the steelmaking material accounting for 21% of total goods and services exports in the year to June 2024, worth A$138 billion ($87.2 billion). Zelia is the first Category 5 cyclone to cross near Port Hedland since George in 2007, according to the bureau.

While export ports have been lashed by heavy rain this year from a series of storms, this is the first cyclone of the season to make landfall and threaten mining operations and their rail links. Cyclone Sean damaged a port facility owned by Rio last month, but the storm stayed offshore.

Fortescue Ltd. has shut its Iron Bridge mine 145 kilometers south of Port Hedland, according to a spokesperson. The operation produces a high-grade, wet concentrate product that’s sent via pipeline to the harbor for export.
Ports reopen

BHP and Rio said Thursday they were putting their cyclone preparations in place, which includes suspending non-essential travel. Liquefied natural gas export terminals are also located throughout the region, mainly operated by Woodside Energy Group Ltd. and Chevron Corp.

Dampier — which exports iron ore and LNG — and Varanus Island have been reopened after inspections of channels and berths, according to Pilbara Ports. Assets operated by Woodside are returning to normal, a spokesperson said.

(By Keira Wright and Paul-Alain Hunt)

Tropical cyclone forces closure of ports in Western Australia’s Pilbara region

Reuters | February 13, 2025 |

The Cape Lambert port is one of two terminals Rio Tinto uses to ship iron ore from Australia’s Pilbara mining region. (Image courtesy of BigLift)


Western Australia’s ports of Dampier and Varanus Island will be closed at 6 p.m. on Thursday due to Tropical Cyclone Zelia, the ports’ operator said, with emergency services in the state warning of the potential for significant damage.


Zelia, which has been upgraded to the strongest possible Category 5 storm, is due to make landfall on Friday in the remote Pilbara region, home to major ports used for commodities exports, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.

“The intensity of Tropical Cyclone Zelia means there is significant threat to lives and property and I urge people to follow the directions of emergency services in the Pilbara,” Darren Klemm, head of Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services, told a news conference on Thursday.

The Port of Dampier, which mostly ships iron ore from Rio Tinto, and Varanus Island, a gathering and processing hub for oil and gas, have started clearing vessels, Pilbara Ports said in a statement.

On liquefied natural gas facilities in the region, a Shell spokesperson said on Thursday that challenging conditions are forecast until February 16, and offtakes have been postponed from its Prelude floating LNG production facility off Western Australia until then.

Woodside Energy, which operates Pluto LNG and the North West Shelf LNG plant in western Australia, said it is taking the necessary precautions to safeguard its people and assets.

The closures come after Pilbara Ports on Wednesday shut Port Hedland, the world’s biggest export point for iron ore and used by BHP Group, Fortescue and billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

Port Hedland is at particular risk from the cyclone because its buildings are older, Klemm said.

“If the track was to shift more to the east and we would see a significant impact on Port Hedland,” he said.

Category 5 storms have a maximum wind speed of more than 280 kph (174mph) the BOM’s Western Australia manager James Ashley told the news conference.

Storms of Zelia’s magnitude are rare, with the last hitting in April 2023, he added.

(By Renju Jose, Alasdair Pal and Emily Chow; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kate Mayberry)

Barrick weighs US relocation, says CEO Bristow

Staff Writer | February 14, 2025 | 

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow. (Image courtesy of Future Mineral TV.)


Toronto-headquartered Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD; TSX: ABX) is considering relocating its corporate domicile from Canada to the United States, CEO Mark Bristow told The Globe and Mail.


According to Bristow, moving south could result in a more efficient marketplace and attract a broader base of investors.

The relocation could also position Barrick for inclusion in the S&P 500 index, which would trigger automatic purchases from numerous mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that track the index.

Currently, Colorado-based Newmont Corp. is the only gold mining company in the S&P 500.

Presence in US and Canada

The Nevada Gold Mines joint venture — 61.5% owned by Barrick and 38.5% by Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE, ASX: NEM) — is the company’s largest operation, and the world’s biggest gold-producing complex. It is expected to produce between 1.54 and 1.7 million oz. of attributable gold this year, accounting for nearly half of Barrick’s total output.

Barrick is also developing the Goldrush project in Nevada, which is anticipated to produce over 400,000 oz. per year by 2028. In addition, the company owns the Fourmile gold project in the state.

In Canada, Barrick runs the Hemlo mine in Ontario, which has produced more than 21 million oz. of gold and has been in continuous operation for over 30 years. The mine’s 2025 attributable production forecast is between 140,000 and 160,000 oz.

Bristow told The Globe and Mail that a second Trump administration could facilitate the move to the United States under its “America First” agenda.

Relocating to the US is a “complex, costly, and time-consuming process” due to intricate tax regulations. One faster alternative would be acquiring a major US company, but according to Bristow, there are currently few attractive acquisition targets.

Since taking over as Barrick’s CEO, Bristow has significantly reduced headcount at its Toronto headquarters, cutting staff from 130 to 65. The company also shifted its corporate domicile to British Columbia.

Currently, Bristow resides in Mauritius. Meanwhile, Barrick chairman John Thornton, who joined the company in 2012, lives in Palm Beach, Florida.

COMMENT

Concerns Canadian

February 14, 2025 at 8:13 pm

Move to the US, and every subsidy, grant or any financial benefit needs to be paid back to Canadian Taxpayers + 45% interest. Any mineral rights granted in Canada must be forfeited.
Canada First.

PATERNALISTIC NEO-COLONIALISM

Barrick considers Mali care and maintenance: Bristow

Staff Writer | February 12, 2025 | 

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow. (Image: Barrick Gold)


Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX) is considering care and maintenance for its suspended Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali, where its gold stockpiles have been seized and four employees remain under detention, CEO Mark Bristow said on Wednesday.


“We are actively engaged with the administration to secure their release on a sustainable solution moving forward so that we can restart the mine,” Bristow stated in a conference call. “This situation has led us to file for exit arbitration to assert our rights, but at the same time, as usual, we remain engaged and are hoping to continue to make progress, albeit slowly.”


Bristow said a “difficult decision” would come in a month or so on whether to put the operation on care and maintenance, likely a cost of around $10 million per month. The Toronto-based miner applied to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes for arbitration in December.

For the time being, the Loulo-Gounkoto mine is excluded from company guidance, and returns to forecasts from 2027.

“It would not be a good thing to lose Loulo, not for anyone’s sake, and particularly not for Mali’s,” the CEO said. “But equally for us, we are longstanding partners in Mali. Every one of our operations are independently viable, and Barrick’s balance sheet is very solid and and so with or without, Loulo will not change our long term plan, our five-year plan.”

Shares in Barrick Gold shot up 6% on Tuesday in Toronto to $25.88 apiece after the company beat fourth-quarter estimates and said it would double its share buyback program to $1 billion. The company’s market capitalization is $44.7 billion.
Beats estimates

On Wednesday, Barrick reported a strong performance in the fourth quarter with gold production rising 15% and copper production increasing 33% over the previous three months, allowing the company to meet its annual production guidance.

The miner stated that its North America and Africa & Middle East operations met their production targets for the year. However, in the Latin America and Asia Pacific region, a slower-than-expected ramp-up at Pueblo Viejo resulted in production falling below guidance.

“We are targeting 30% growth on a gold-equivalent oz. basis towards the end of the decade, built on our current reserves,” Bristow said. “We will continue to replace and add to those reserves and resources for further supporting our growth. What’s more, we have the balance sheet strength to fund our growth.”

For 2025, attributable gold production is expected to range between 3.15 million and 3.5 million oz., excluding output from Loulo-Gounkoto while operations remain suspended. Attributable copper production for 2025 is projected to increase from 195,000 tonnes in 2024 to between 200,000 and 230,000 tonnes, driven by higher output at Lumwana in Zambia.

On an adjusted basis, the gold miner reported a profit of $0.46 per share for the quarter ending Dec. 31, surpassing the $0.41 per share estimate compiled by London Stock Exchange Group.

The company also announced plans for a new $1 billion share repurchase program over the next 12 months. Under its 2024 buyback program, Barrick repurchased $498 million worth of common shares.
Turnarounds

In the call, Bristow mentioned how he’s transformed several operations, including the $7 billion Reko Diq copper development in Pakistan that now allocates half of its earnings to federal and local governments. He resolved a dispute over the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea and advanced the company’s holdings in Tanzania which were under lawsuits when Barrick acquired them.

The CEO said Mali is being advised by former Barrick employees and he suggested a stance to increase royalties indiscriminately would only shorten the mine’s lifespan. Third-party independent experts would be welcomed to the negotiating table for a clear presentation of the business, he said.

“We are absolutely clear that if we get down to have an honest, open conversation with people that are giving sound advice and are not conflicted or motivated by the things than just getting what’s good for Mali, we’ll find a solution and that engagement is ongoing.”

Earlier, Bristow told Reuters that Barrick would restart the mine once Malian authorities allow it to restart gold shipments from the country. The Canadian miner has received assurances that gold worth about $245 million seized by authorities remains the company’s property, he told the newswire. The company halted operations at Loulo-Gounkoto last month after authorities raided the stockpile.

Mali is seeking a settlement payment of 125 billion CFA francs ($197 million) from Barrick, according to Bloomberg News, citing local sources. The government is also demanding compliance with a new mining code that increased the state’s share of mining revenues and eliminated tax exemptions.