Canada cuts red tape to boost wind off Atlantic Coast

By Bloomberg
06/12/2023
© Supplied by BP

Cape Spear Lighthouse. Canada.

Canada is dismantling regulatory hurdles for offshore wind projects along its Atlantic coast, aiming to transform one of the world’s longest and gustiest shorelines into a renewable energy leader despite the industry’s current slump.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government agreed Wednesday to hand over control of land tenure and regulation for projects within Newfoundland and Labrador’s inland bays to the provincial government.

The move will create stability for investors and streamline permitting processes that can be plagued by “way too much duplication” between levels of government, Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan said in an interview.

O’Regan, who represents a Newfoundland district in Parliament and is a former natural resources minister, said the current moment – and potential for wind energy to deliver generational benefits to Atlantic Canadians — is akin to the first major discovery of oil off the province’s coast several decades ago.

“We’ve got lots of wind and we’ve got a workforce that really knows how to work in the energy industry,” he said. “We’ve got huge assets.”

Yet Canada lacks a single offshore turbine. The nation is not only starting from behind, but also as the offshore wind industry grapples with rising costs, supply chain kinks and higher interest rates. The neighboring US has seen multiple offshore wind project derailed, endangering President Joe Biden’s ambitious target of having 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

O’Regan is unfazed. “It’s a medium-long term play,” he said, comparing the slump in wind energy to fluctuations in oil prices that Canadians are used to. “There’ll be hiccups because of commodities.”

Allowing Newfoundland to take the lead on regulating projects is possible because of the Atlantic Accord, an agreement signed in 1985 between Canada and the province on managing offshore oil.

The federal government introduced amendments to the accord in May to allow the province’s offshore oil regulator to also oversee wind energy.

Furey signs agreement to put development of offshore wind energy in N.L. hands

Change relies on Bill C-49 passing in Parliament

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News · Posted: Dec 07, 2023 

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Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says a memorandum of understanding signed by the province and the federal government will provide clarity for investors and the world market looking for renewable energy. (Government of Canada)

Newfoundland and Labrador is positioning itself as the primary benefactor and regulator when it comes to offshore wind developments in the province — but the deal hinges on federal legislation passing in Ottawa.

The memorandum of understanding with the federal government identifies 16 bays as exclusive provincial jurisdiction, allowing the province to develop wind farms as though they were on land.

"This crucial federal-provincial agreement puts us in the driver's seat and will allow us to reap the majority benefit from the endless possibilities of the new green economy," Premier Andrew Furey said Wednesday.

The deal will ensure N.L. is the one to regulate its renewable energy developments within the province's waters while clearly signalling to investors that the bays will be under N.L. control, he said. It will also guarantee the province will benefit from its resources.

"These changes will ensure a fiscal framework that provides the maximum economic returns to Newfoundland and Labrador," said Furey.

Provide certainty

Offshore wind development is tied up with the passing of Bill C-49, which would enable offshore boards to regulate renewable energy as if it were oil.

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the bill is being filibustered, getting in a dig in at federal Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.

"To be honest, I just do not understand Mr. Poilievre and why his Atlantic MPs would decide to oppose and to stall a bill that is supported by Premier Furey and [Nova Scotia] Premier [Tim] Houston and is intended to enable the development of … a huge economic opportunity for Atlantic Canada," he said.

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When asked if the memorandum of understanding will still take effect if Bill C-49 doesn't pass, Wilkinson didn't provide a clear answer. Furey also didn't directly answer but reiterated that the memorandum will provide certainty for the province and investors.

CBC News asked provincial Industry, Energy and Technology Department spokesperson Tansy Mundon the same question but she referred all questions to Natural Resources Canada.

Federal Energy and Natural Resources spokesperson Carolyn Svonkin told CBC News Thursday that the MOU gives certainty for investors and stakeholders on how the wind energy off Newfoundland's coast will be regulated.

"These co-ordinates will then be set out in regulations under the Accord Acts, once Bill C-49 is enacted. This is how the offshore area is defined in the Canada-Nova Scotia Atlantic Accord Implementation Act," she said in an emailed statement.

As a result, Bill C-49 has to pass before the MOU can come into full effect, she added.

Message to world market

Wilkinson said there are economic opportunities in the move to low-carbon emissions and Canada is well positioned to enter the market with a skilled workforce, technology and resources.

"With world-class wind resources and considerable geographic advantages, Newfoundland and Labrador has the potential to build a thriving offshore wind sector that will be well positioned to support both the growing demand for clean electricity and a globally competitive hydrogen export industry," said Wilkinson.

He said Canada and N.L. are sending the global markets a clear signal that the country wants to be a trusted supplier of clean energy.

Furey signed an memorandum of understanding with the federal government, identifying 16 bays for offshore wind development under the province's control.

---

There is a choice when it comes to navigating the future and Canada might be left behind if it fails to act, he warned.

"We can choose to lead by recognizing where the world is heading and aggressively pursuing those opportunities that will be enabled through a transition to a low carbon future," he said.

The other option is to ignore the green economy shift and fall behind.

Furey also said the provincial government is currently assessing four proposals for onshore wind hydrogen projects that will have an estimated 35 to 40 years of work, an estimated $206.2 billion in gross domestic product and bring in an additional $11.7 billion in revenue, $60 billion in total capital spent, and 12,000 jobs.

"And that is just on land. Now we look to the ocean."

Furey on fishing concerns

Furey said Wednesday's announcement was about ensuring the province will be in control of its offshore wind developments but added there are many more conversations to be had.

"Today is … recognition that these will be exclusively ours. I never said that we would develop all of them. I never said how the consultation process will go with fishermen or indigenous partners alike," he said.

There will be efforts to protect the fishery and a consultation process with Indigenous partners, he said.

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the world is moving toward a green economy and Canada should seize the initiative. (Government of Canda)

Prior to the MOU, said Furey, the government couldn't move forward with offshore wind development because it was unclear who would govern it.

"Now we have clarity on the inshore piece and the offshore piece and we will work together, of course, with the [Fish, Food & Allied Workers], with fish harvesters and processors alike," said Furey.

Furey also announced the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board's name will change to the Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator, while also expanding its mandate to become the lead regulatory body for offshore energy outside provincial jurisdiction.

These offshore developments will be jointly managed by the province and federal government.

Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Advance Offshore Wind Power and Good Jobs 


NEWS PROVIDED BY Natural Resources Canada

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Energy systems across the world are rapidly transforming, and offshore wind development will create sustainable jobs and help power Canada's economy. With the longest coastlines in the world, Canada is well positioned to become a global leader in the $1-trillion global offshore wind energy market, particularly in Atlantic Canada.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on offshore wind to enable Newfoundland and Labrador to take the regulatory lead on offshore wind projects within its inland bays to enable the development of offshore wind projects in Newfoundland that will power Newfoundland's economy forward. They were joined by the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Rural Economic Development, and the Honourable Seamus O'Regan, Minister responsible for Labour and Seniors.

The MOU establishes a clear process for Newfoundland and Labrador to administer land tenure and life-cycle regulation. Recognizing that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has ambitious growth plans and wants to move ahead quickly, this agreement will allow the province to dictate the speed and pace of development in the bays. With the predictable and efficient approach presented by the MOU, our governments are sending a direct signal to investors, workers and communities that Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador are collaborating to unlock offshore renewable energy development within provincial bays while affirming our shared commitment to joint management under the Atlantic Accord Acts as part of a thriving and sustainable offshore energy sector in the province.

The MOU outlines the framework for Newfoundland and Labrador to administer land tenure and life-cycle regulation, including revenues for offshore renewable energy projects within provincial bays. The MOU announced today is made possible by Bill C-49, which establishes the legislative framework for offshore wind in the joint-management areas. Land tenure and life-cycle regulation of existing offshore energy activity, as well as offshore renewable energy projects located beyond the bays, will be regulated by the Offshore Energy Regulator, according to the authorities set out under the Atlantic Accord Acts and as amended by Bill C-49. This approach builds on our long-standing commitment to collaboration with our joint management partners, including through Bill C-49 and the Regional Assessments for Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.

Together, Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador are taking another important step forward to ensure a thriving offshore energy sector in Newfoundland and Labrador, while contributing to our shared goal of creating sustainable jobs, developing a net-zero electricity system by 2035 and developing a net-zero economy in 2050.
Quotes

"Newfoundland and Labrador is rich in renewable energy resources that make us well positioned to meet our net-zero targets, mitigate the impacts of climate change and grow clean energy jobs and economic development. Our government will continue to ensure Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are the principal beneficiaries of our valuable resources. This MOU recognizes waters within provincial bays and will expedite the development of renewable energy in our province."

The Honourable Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

"Newfoundland and Labrador have incredible offshore wind potential, and Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador are seizing this economic opportunity. Today's agreement with the province furthers our ability to attract investments and create good-paying jobs in Newfoundland's offshore by establishing a framework to enable the province to move ahead with its ambitious renewable energy development plans. Combined with significant federal investments in renewable energy and our work to strengthen the Accord Acts, we are furthering Canada's commitment to build a strong and attractive renewable energy sector in Newfoundland and Labrador for decades to come."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson 
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"This MOU allows the province to continue to move forward with the development of renewable energy while providing clarity and certainty around the land that is jointly managed and that is within provincial bays."

The Honourable Andrew Parsons
Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

"The world has taken notice of Newfoundland and Labrador's incredible natural resources and our dedicated workforce. This agreement positions our province as a supplier of choice for the net-zero future and secures good jobs for workers across our province."

The Honourable Gudie Hutchings
Minister of Rural Economic Development
Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

"Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are the principal beneficiary of our resources in the Offshore oil and gas industry. We want to do the same for Offshore wind. This MOU and amendments to the Atlantic Accords will help our Province lead the world in offshore renewable energy."

The Honourable Seamus O'Regan,
Minister of Labour and Seniors

"This MOU between the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador marks an important step toward catalyzing an offshore wind industry in the province. With a Regional Assessment of offshore wind underway, green hydrogen facilities under development and now this MOU, Newfoundland is laying a strong foundation for a locally driven offshore wind sector. Marine Renewables Canada looks forward to working with both governments and its members throughout the offshore wind supply chain to advance this promising industry."

Elisa Obermann
Executive Director, Marine Renewables Canada
Associated links If you would like a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, please contact media@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

Budget 2023
Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador Announce Intent to Expand the Mandate of Offshore Energy Regime to Support the Transition to a Clean Economy and Create Sustainable Jobs
Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador launch regional assessment to support future decisions on offshore wind projects in the province
The Accord Acts and the Joint Management Regimes in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

California wants offshore wind power. But what of East Coast woes?

 by Kathy D. Woodward

Wind turbines at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, off the coast of the Guerande peninsula in western France. The Saint-Nazaire facility is France’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm
(Stephane Mahe / Associated Press)

Although multiple offshore wind energy projects on the East Coast have been jeopardized or pulled off the table, California policymakers say they remain confident that a veritable bonanza of electrical power will be captured off the coast of the Golden State.

“I see it as a fundamental piece of our energy policy over the next 30 years in California,” said David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission.

To help meet the state’s target of deriving 100% of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045, California energy officials have set goals for offshore wind to generate as much as 5 gigawatts of power by 2030 and 25 gigawatts by 2045. For perspective, the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo produces 2.2 gigawatts of capacity, which accounts for about 9% of the state’s power mix each year.

Creating a California offshore wind industry from scratch will be a major technological, logistical and financial challenge, but it’s a crucial component to a state electric grid that looks to increasingly rely on renewable energy sources.

Solar power generation is abundant during the daylight hours, but as the sun goes down, the grid comes under strain, especially on hot days when customers across the state crank up their air conditioners. Megawatts of power from natural gas plants help fill in the gaps, but natural gas is a fossil fuel.

Offshore wind, on the other hand, does not emit greenhouse gases. Plus, the California Energy Commission says studies indicate that production from offshore wind is strong between the crucial hours of 4 and 9 p.m., when the grid needs it the most.

“The characteristics of this clean energy resource that we have right off our coast complements the onshore wind and solar that we already have,” said Adam Stern, executive director of Offshore Wind California, an industry trade group.

But problems have cropped up in recent months in the Northeast.

Orsted, a Danish multinational energy company and major player in the wind energy industry, recently canceled two wind farms along the coast of New Jersey. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company may need to cancel more projects to shore up its balance sheet.

BP and Equinor have threatened to pull out of offshore projects in New York, leading state officials to reopen the bidding process.

The trouble stems from higher interest rates that have increased financial costs, plus inflation that has driven up prices for turbines, steel and labor costs.

But at a two-day offshore wind conference in San Diego recently, developers said they’re still bullish on building projects in California and on the West Coast.

“We are here for the long term,” Martin Goff, Equinor’s project director for offshore wind in California, said during a break at the conference, sponsored by Reuters. “We want to develop an industry out here — it’s not just one project.”

Equinor is one of five companies that collectively bid $751.1 million last year to lease tens of thousands of acres off the coast of California in an auction overseen by the federal government.

Goff said the company’s Hywind Tampen facility that supplies electricity to Equinor’s oil and gas fields in the Norwegian North Sea is the largest floating wind farm in the world.

“It’s proven technology,” Goff said.

Unlike on the East Coast, where turbines can be bolted into the seabed, the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges steeply.

That means offshore wind farms in California must float on the water’s surface, tethered or moored by cables to the ocean floor. Electricity generated by turbines will be transmitted to a floating substation and carried to a power plant onshore via buried cables, adding layers of complexity and expense.

California will be the first region in the U.S. to use floating wind turbines.

The potential technical challenges, combined with the recent financial headlines out of the Northeast, have fueled arguments from skeptics.

“If it’s not going to work on the East Coast, it’s not going to work in California,” said Robert Bryce, author of several books on energy and a vocal wind industry critic. “Anytime you put anything in saltwater, the cost goes up by a factor of 2, 3, 4 times. It’s a hostile environment. … It’s expensive, it’s intermittent, it’s not durable.”

Hochschild, of the California Energy Commission, said, “I wouldn’t lose the forest for the trees.”

“With all clean energy technologies in the market today, the long-term price trend is downward,” he said. “But it’s marked by periodic departures from that and upward ticks, which we’re seeing now in offshore wind for the moment because of emerging issues.”

Although final designs are still to be submitted, the turbines will soar hundreds of feet high, with blades larger than a football field to harvest the maximum amount of wind. Hochschild said the offshore leases in California are located on sites 20 to 60 miles from the mainland.

The wind farms are proposed to be built off the coasts of Morro Bay in Central California and Humboldt County in Northern California.

There are no plans to build offshore wind projects off the Southern California coast.

Wind speeds in the south are not as steady and strong as the breezes in Central and Northern California. Plus, military officials, in discussions with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, designated Southern California a “wind exclusion” area because they worry that offshore wind facilities would interfere with training missions.

That said, San Diego’s General Dynamics NASSCO announced earlier this year that it will compete for contracts to build the installation and support ships that will be needed to create the turbines for West Coast offshore projects, with a focus on California.

The company will do so in a partnership with Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilder that already has experience in the offshore wind energy market.

Nikolewski writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Union-Tribune staff writer Gary Robbins contributed to this report.

Detoxifying Artisanal Gold Mining

by Michigan State University

A miner's hand holds a pebble-sized bit of mercury-covered gold ore over a bowl of water. The picture was taken at a small-scale gold mine in Senegal. 

Credit: Jacqueline Gerson

Jacqueline "Jackie" Gerson knows very well how "artisanal gold mining" sounds to people who haven't heard the phrase before

"It sounds quaint, right?" asked the assistant professor of Earth and environmental sciences in Michigan State University's College of Natural Science.

But that innocuous name belies the dangers of a practice that exposes miners and their communities to a poisonous chemical that's been banned by an international treaty. So, when Gerson thinks of artisanal gold mining, her mental image is anything but quaint.

"I think of it like the Wild West days in the United States," said Gerson. "During the gold rush here, people were using mercury to extract gold. That's exactly what's happening now in these artisanal and small-scale gold mines."

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, abbreviated ASGM, supplies about 20% of the gold bought and sold around the world, said Gerson. Gerson is also a faculty member with the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and the Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, or EEB, program at MSU.

At the same time, ASGM accounts for 40% of the global emissions of mercury—a neurotoxic metal—into the atmosphere. That's more than any other source, including the burning of fossil fuels, which are naturally laced with trace amounts of mercury.

What becomes of that atmospheric mercury largely remains a mystery. To better understand the fate of this heavy, unhealthy metal, Gerson, her lab and her colleagues have been awarded a grant.

In the meantime, she's also part of a team that's been working with miners and their communities to reduce mercury emissions. And they have piloted an approach that can do just that, which they have now reported in the journal Cleaner Production Letters.

Assistant Professor Jacqueline "Jackie" Gerson of Michigan State University is working with artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities in Senegal and other countries to better understand and reduce the mining's health risks. 

Credit: Jacqueline Gerson

What is artisanal mining?

In the context of mining, "artisanal" is all about the word's denotation, rather than its charming connotations that we tend to associate with things like cheese, chocolate and coffee.

"Artisanal means the miners are using very rudimentary approaches, without modern technology," Gerson said. "And they're small-scale, meaning small groups of people, but in a given community, there can be hundreds or thousands of people mining."

Miners dig up ore and sediment containing gold, then add mercury to help extract the precious metal. They then burn the mercury off—often in huts where miners and their families live—leaving the gold behind.

The process is cheap, easy and accessible. That's why miners used it over a century ago during the gold rush in the U.S. What's different today is that mercury is outlawed.

"Artisanal mines are almost always illegal," Gerson said. "But miners can buy mercury on the black market."

In 2013, more than 140 countries signed a United Nations treaty called the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which went into effect in 2017 to curb mercury emissions, including those from ASGM.

The treaty is named after the Japanese city of Minamata, where, in the mid-20th century, thousands of residents were poisoned by mercury from industrial pollution. The exposure led to many adverse health outcomes including death, paralysis and neurological disease.

Today, mercury poisoning typically isn't something people in the U.S. or other developed and densely populated countries worry about (a notable exception is people who are pregnant and must avoid certain types of seafood that can have elevated levels of mercury, which disrupts fetal development).

In developing nations and remote areas, however, ASGM operations can thrive because of lax or nonexistent regulatory enforcement. Artisanal gold mines are operating in more than 70 countries worldwide, mostly in the southern hemisphere.

Artisanal and small-scale miners sell their gold to dealers who introduce it into the global supply, where it's indistinguishable from gold mined in accordance with the Minamata Convention. That means, if you own gold jewelry, some of that metal probably came from artisanal gold mines.

"They are a major source of gold," Gerson said. "It's a global issue, and we're all part of it, whether we want to admit it or not."

Research from Michigan State University shows that education provided by trusted sources in a community can be a potent intervention strategy for reducing mercury usage in and emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining. 

Credit: Falaye Danfakha

Miners pose for a photo near a dug-out mining pit under a blue tarp held up by a frame made from logs and branches. Credit: Jacqueline Gerson

Research from Michigan State University shows that education provided by trusted sources in a community can be a potent intervention strategy for reducing mercury usage in and emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining. 

Credit: Falaye Danfakha

Miners pose for a photo near a dug-out mining pit under a blue tarp held up by a frame made from logs and branches. 

Credit: Jacqueline Gerson


Making mining safer

Although most artisanal miners understand that the mercury they work with is dangerous, they accept that risk to support themselves and their families.

Researchers have been working to try and help these miners keep their livelihoods while reducing its associated health risks. Most new approaches, however, focus on replacing mercury with techniques or technologies that are more expensive or harder to use than the toxic metal.

"Getting rid of the mercury is the most ideal solution," Gerson said. "But studies show these approaches just aren't being picked up."

So, Gerson decided to try a different approach working with collaborators at Colorado State University, the Peace Corps and Duke University. Gerson started this work while she was a doctoral student at Duke, and the project was supported by the Duke University Global Health Institute and World Connect.

The researchers' approach started with talking with miners in Senegal to identify emission-reducing opportunities that would stick. Using what they learned, the team developed an approach based on two pillars.

The first was an educational program, delivered by trusted, local community members about the dangers of mercury, the symptoms of exposure and ways miners could protect themselves.

The instructors also shared information about the second pillar, devices known as retorts.

Retorts are metal enclosures that allow miners to burn the mercury off from gold without releasing vapors into the atmosphere. Instead, the vapors are collected and exhausted into a bucket of water, where the mercury condenses and can be retrieved.

Local metal workers built the retorts for the study using readily available materials and a design provided by the research team that also incorporated tweaks from the miners.

The team worked with nine mining communities to measure the effects of these interventions. Three of the communities received both the education and retorts, three received education only and three provided a control group—that is, they received neither the education nor the retorts.

This enabled the team to conclusively demonstrate that providing education and retorts worked. Miners were more aware of the dangers of mercury and how they could limit their exposure. They used mercury less and, when they did, they used retorts more.

And that wasn't all.

"These effects permeated into the control villages," Gerson said. "There was this sort of social spillover where people were sharing the education and the retorts."

Based on the project's success in Senegal, Gerson believes the approach could be extended to mining operations in other countries to further curb emissions. But she stressed that it has to be the entire approach, not just the solutions they found in Senegal.

"Miners have to be involved from the beginning to identify specific solutions that will work in their unique physical and social environments," Gerson said.

Artisanal mining in Senegal is different from artisanal mining in Peru, for example. So the specific techniques that worked in Senegal may not work in Peru, but the approach of working with miners and their neighbors to find trustworthy solutions will translate.

"That's a theme in my work," Gerson said. "We have to collaborate with the people who are living and working in these places if we're going to be successful."

Artisanal gold miners work with a retort constructed out of metal. Credit: Falaye Danfakha

Miners pose for a photo while one pours an earth-toned liquid through a strainer and down a sluice to separate out the fine-scale gold-laden sediment from larger soil particles. By collaborating with mining communities in Senegal, Michigan State University researchers were part of a team that found practical solutions to reduce mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Credit: Jacqueline Gerson

An artisanal gold miner burns mercury off a gold-mercury amalgam using a blow torch on the floor of a hut. Credit: Jacqueline Gerson

'That's what we hope, but we don't know'

That theme is also evident in Gerson's grant, which is a collaboration led by Gerson, Associate Professor Heidi Hausermann at Colorado State University and Professor Richard Amankwah, who is the vice chancellor at the University of Mines and Technology in Ghana.

Hausermann, who was also an author on the new Cleaner Production Letters report, has been working with Ghanaian collaborators on ASGM research for a dozen years. Amankwah is a mining engineering and ASGM expert who also has served as a consultant for the World Bank, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

Together, they're trying to answer large, looming questions about where mercury emissions from ASGM go and how and whether these mercury emissions can enter the food web through crops.

This knowledge could help create policies and practices to better protect miners, their neighbors and nearby communities.

"Locally and regionally, we don't know where a lot of that mercury goes once it's emitted," Gerson said. "The question is whether crops are taking it up in their leaves or through their roots, and it could be that they don't. That'd be great. In fact, that's what we hope, but we don't know."

To date, most research on mercury emissions has focused on what happens to it in aquatic environments, which makes sense, Gerson said.

There are microbes living in ecosystems without a lot of oxygen—underwater, for example—that are very efficient at converting mercury into a compound called methyl mercury, which is the form of mercury that causes neurotoxic impacts.

In aquatic environments, then, methyl mercury gets in on the ground floor of the food chain. The chemical accumulates in larger fish and sea life preying on smaller organisms, which is why certain seafoods present mercury concerns for humans. Young children and developing fetuses are especially vulnerable.

With an abundance of oxygen above water, however, research on the fate of methyl mercury on land has been scant.

"We know terrestrial conversion of mercury to methyl mercury is less efficient, but there's a lot of mercury entering the terrestrial ecosystems near artisanal gold mining," Gerson said. "So, it is a concern."

Underscoring that concern is the fact that, during earlier work in Peru, Gerson observed evidence that songbirds in forests near ASGM activity had been exposed to mercury, likely through their diet of fruit and bugs.

Now, with the grant, Gerson and her teammates will track how mercury moves through terrestrial environments and where it ultimately ends up to paint a much more comprehensive picture of its effect on public health.

Also joining the research team are Edith Parker, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa; Elsie Sunderland, a professor at Harvard University; and Emmanuel Effah, a lecturer at the University of Mines and Technology.

The project will begin Jan. 1, 2024.


More information: Arabella Chen et al, Education and equipment distribution lead to increased mercury knowledge and retort use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities in Senegal, Cleaner Production Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.clpl.2023.100050


Provided by Michigan State University


Explore further Small gold mines in Senegal create high mercury contamination

Researchgate.net

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359333723_Formalizing_artisanal_and_small-scale_gold_mining_A_grand_challenge_of_the_Minamata_Convention

(PDF) Formalizing artisanal and small-scale gold mining: A g... 

Our perspective argues that signatories to the Convention will only succeed in reducing ASGM mercury emissions and releases with comprehensive bottom-up ...

Minamataconvention.org

https://minamataconvention.org/en/news/empowering-communities-mercury-free-artisanal-gold-mining-takes-stand-against-biodiversity

mercury-free artisanal gold mining takes a stand against bio... 

Aug 16, 2023 ... This goal was pursued by strengthening institutions, increasing mining communities' access to the financing needed to purchase mercury-free ...

Sciencedirect.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301420721003998

Formalization is just the beginning - ScienceDirect.com 

In recent years, the formalization of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities has become a key strategy for governments to better govern and ...

SOUTH AFRICA

Anglo American Plunges as It Slashes Production to Cut Costs

December 8, 2023 by Team @uktimenews

(Bloomberg) — Anglo American Plc plunged 18% after unveiling plans to cut drastically the amount of commodities it mines in a bid to reduce costs amid logistical and operational snarls at its operations.

While Anglo has had well-publicized issues with its platinum and iron ore operations in South Africa, the biggest and most surprising cuts came at its copper business in South America. Its mines there are the company’s crown jewels, producing a commodity that many in the industry expect to face growing shortages later this decade.

Anglo lowered its 2024 output target for copper to between 730,000 tons and 790,000 tons, from as much as 1 million tons, essentially removing the equivalent of a large copper mine from global supply. Production will fall even further in 2025, before starting to rise again the following year.

The company’s biggest problem is its Los Bronces mine in Chile. Like many of the industry’s biggest copper mines, the operation is more than 100 years old and Anglo is now struggling with hard ore that contains low grades of metal. Rather than mine this expensive-to-process ore, the company has decided to wait until it can blend it with higher grade material. Unfortunately for Anglo, that will take several years.

The miner’s shares tumbled the most since March 12, 2020, the day after Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic. The stock has lost more than 40% of its value this year, weighed down by struggles in its diamond business and slumping prices for key commodities such as palladium.

While most of the commodities Anglo mines are currently in surplus amid weak demand from China and sluggish economies elsewhere, the scale of the company’s production cuts will likely add to expected shortages of some materials going forward.

Copper is an essential material needed to decarbonize the global economy, and most analysts and mining executives see a looming shortage of the metal, with few new mines on the horizon.

The slump will also add another headache for Anglo’s relatively new chief executive officer, Duncan Wanblad, who has already faced a tough start to his tenure. He stepped into the role with most commodity prices at a record, but they have declined since then. The company’s portfolio also has been hampered by issues from extreme weather to a breakdown in crucial infrastructure in South Africa.

The miner will reduce expenditure by another $500 million next year, on top of a $500 million reduction already announced. It plans to cut its capital spending by $1.8 billion though to 2026.

“Given continuing elevated macro volatility, we are being deliberate in reducing our costs and prioritizing our capital to drive more profitable production on a sustainable basis,” Wanblad said.

Lower Output

Overall, Anglo’s production will be about 4% lower next year, before falling another 3% in 2025, it said. It also lowered forecasts for platinum-group metals, iron ore, nickel and coal.

The company has been battling challenges in its South African operations, tackling slumping prices for PGMs and the poor performance of rail and port infrastructure that’s stymieing iron ore exports. Anglo said its PGM output could fall to as low as 3.3 million ounces next year, from 3.8 million ounces this year.

Returns for PGM miners are “at the lowest point seen in this industry in the past 30 years,” Wanblad said. The prices of palladium and rhodium have fallen fast this year, decreasing 46% and 65%. Platinum has fared better, slumping about 14%. Anglo American Platinum Ltd. will postpone plans to build a third concentrator at its flagship Mogalakwena mine and to expand production at its Amandelbult complex, according to Wanblad.

“Whilst it is clearly not positive that Anglo has come to this situation where it needs to shrink its footprint, we think this new streamlined Anglo American should allow it to shed some of the recently more challenging aspects of the business,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Tyler Broda said.

Bloomberg News reported last month that the company was also considering cutting jobs at two units in South Africa because of declining PGM prices and bottlenecks curbing iron ore exports.

Anglo Consults South Africa as It Weighs Platinum, Iron Job Cuts

The miner has held talks with the government over the potential reduction in its workforce. Senior government officials had asked the company to consider delaying the cuts until after elections likely to take place around May.

Constraints on the South African state-run railway that moves material extracted by Anglo unit Kumba Iron Ore Ltd. to a port north of Cape Town are unlikely to be fixed until at least 2025, according to Wanblad. The company is unable to stockpile any more iron ore on-site, so has begun to lower the volumes it’s mining, he said. “Unfortunately, the logistics just haven’t been there.”

(Updates with details throughout)

Bloomberg Businessweek

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Anglo American is preparing sweeping cost cuts, say sources

Miner may confirm plans on Friday, including shelving ambitions to boost output at Mogalakwena

07 DECEMBER 2023 - 
by FELIX NJINI AND CLARA DENINA

Picture: UNSPLASH/DEON HUA


Johannesburg/London — Anglo American is preparing to freeze spending on growth and widen job cuts in SA going far beyond its initial savings target and paving the way to mothballing some higher-cost platinum mines, say informed sources.

Anglo’s sweeping spending cuts could be announced as soon as Friday, when the miner updates investors on its three-year outlook, five sources said.


The sources said measures include shelving an ambitious plan to boost output at Anglo American Platinum’s key Mogalakwena mine, and, if metal prices remain depressed, placing on care and maintenance some shafts at the Amandelbult complex in the longer term, which had been initially targeted for mechanisation and output expansion.

A concentrator plant at Amandelbult could also be placed on care and maintenance, said one of the sources.

The moves are likely to result in further job cuts at the operations and lower output guidance, they said.

The global miner had initially targeted saving $500m by cutting corporate jobs and some costs at head offices in Johannesburg, London and other locations.

Scaling down on spending could save an additional $1bn by the end of 2024, with most expected from its platinum operations, one of the sources said, as the company becomes the latest to feel the impact of the price rout ripping through the world’s top platinum producer, SA.

Anglo American declined to comment.

SA’s platinum mining output has been declining gradually over the past decades as investors baulk at investing in new mines amid threats to the metal’s future demand from a rapidly growing battery electric vehicle (EV) sector. Platinum, palladium and rhodium are used in devices that curb exhaust emissions from diesel and petrol engines.

A rapid and precipitous plunge in the prices of palladium and rhodium has already forced other SA producers, including Sibanye-Stillwater and Impala Platinum (Implats), to swiftly move to cut jobs in a bid to preserve margins.

Anglo is also expected to cut jobs and costs at its other SA unit, Kumba Iron Ore, where stockpiles had grown to 9-million tonnes by September on worsening rail bottlenecks.

Anglo Platinum is expected by a group of 11 analysts to account for 12% of the group’s net earnings at $1.3bn this year, down from 30%, or $4.4bn, in 2022.

The plans come as Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad seeks to develop a $9bn Woodsmith fertiliser project in Britain, on which the company announced a $1.7bn writedown in February.

“Higher-cost assets have been under pressure for some time now, particularly at older, labour-intensive mines. As the industry transitions to newer, mechanised mines, older, higher cost mines will be rationalised,” said BofA Securities analysts.

Palladium prices have plunged to a five-year low ,while rhodium, which soared to record highs of almost $30,000 an ounce in 2021, has since fallen to about $4,400/oz. Platinum prices have fallen 16% in 2023.

The sector’s cost-cutting measures, also taken by junior platinum miners, come as Africa’s most industrialised economy grew only 0.3% in the first nine months of this year.

Platinum mines earned the country about R275bn in export receipts in 2022, according to Minerals Council SA data. The mines, some of which are among the world’s deepest, employ about 175,000 workers.

Some of those jobs are now evaporating. Sibanye, the biggest mining employer in SA, in October said it plans to cut about 4,000 jobs and close some shafts. Rival Implats has a voluntary job cut process up to the end of the year, a spokesperson said.

“If the numbers are low then we may need to do more capital rationalisation. More cost savings could include deeper labour initiatives such as consulting with the unions [on section 189 process] or extending the voluntary separation process,” the spokesperson said.

The sector’s woes may get even worse as penetration of EVs increases in coming years.

“There will be significant demand destruction for PGMs [platinum group metals], especially palladium and rhodium, though limited for platinum, starting 2028 due to battery electric vehicle penetration, and as PGM demand for autocatalysts decline,” said Citigroup analysts.

Reuters

Green Technology targets FID for Ontario lithium project in 2024

by Gordon Barratt | Dec 7, 2023 | News | 0 comments

Canada-focused lithium company Green Technology Metals (GT1) has progressed its Seymour mine development, in Ontario, to a definitive feasibility study (DFS), targeting a financial investment decision (FID) for the Seymour mine ahead of planned construction activities next year.

This comes as the preliminary economic assessment (PEA), which considers two development options, confirmed “excellent” economics with a combined mine and concentrator development delivering an aftertax net present value of C$1.19-billion and an internal rate of return of 54%.

The combined Seymour and Root mine and spodumene concentrators development will culminate in 15 years of mine production, with phased capital expenditure (capex) and life-of-mine concentrate production of 207 000 t/y at 5.5% lithium oxide (Li2O).

Initial startup capex of C$216-million and second phase capex of C$267-million will be required.

The second part of the PEA includes the conversion of lithium concentrates to lithium chemicals, which are currently unavailable in North America. “It will play a critical role in closing the supply chain from mine to electric vehicle, all Ontario made,” says GT1 CEO Luke Cox.

Both development options are independently feasible, reports ASX-listed GT1.

The projects have been strategically divided into three distinct stages of development designed to lower the capital barrier for entering production. This not only positions the company as a producer, but also establishes project cash flow,

aligning with GT1’s overarching strategy of being the “first producer in Ontario”.

The PEA draws on the mineral resource estimate of the Seymour lithium project, amounting to 10.3-million metric tons at 1.03% Li2O and the Root lithium project, with a mineral resource estimate of 14.6-million metric tons at 1.21% .

Northwestern Ontario lithium miner paints a picture to production

Green Technology Metals meets with strategic investors to fund $1.2-billion lithium development

Ian Ross1 d

(Green Technology Metals photo)

A key economic study posted this week by Australia’s Green Technology Metals “validates” their potential to become a large-scale lithium player in northwestern Ontario and Canada.

With a proposed two-mine lithium operation valued at $1.2 billion in the works, the hunt is on to secure both private and government funding to make the mines and a Thunder Bay lithium refinery a reality.

Green Tech gave investors and stakeholders a better idea of what their mining and processing operations could look like with the release of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), Dec. 7.

The company has two lithium deposits in the region. The most advanced is its flagship Seymour Project at the north end of Lake Nipigon, slated for production in late 2025, followed by its Root Project, northeast of Sioux Lookout, which could go into production by 2029.

Combined, the two mine projects contain a resource of 24.9 million tonnes of high-grade lithium-enriched spodumene rock at an average grade of 1.13 per cent of lithium oxide. From that resource, the company would annually produce 207,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate for an initial 15-year period.

However, the company has much longer range hopes in mind as the lithium resources at both project sites are expected to grow in size as exploration continues.

Green Tech already has a customer in waiting. They’ve signed an offtake – supply – agreement earlier this year with South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution to take 25 per cent of the concentrate produced from Seymour’s first five years of production.

While there’s plenty of construction underway in southern Ontario in building battery manufacturing plants for the electric vehicle industry, upstream there are no lithium mines and processing plants in operation to close the loop in a made-in-Ontario supply chain.

Green Tech aims to be the first. 

The company wants to be a vertically integrated producer that mines lithium, creates the concentrate material at the mine, then feeds it into a Thunder Bay chemical refinery for conversion into a value-added product – lithium hydroxide – that’s shipped to the battery plants in the south. The tentative date to begin refining is mid-2028.

To advance the Seymour Project, Green Tech has started a more in-depth feasibility study, which will the basis to make a final decision to start preparatory work in 2024. That study should be out by the second quarter of next year. 

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To build the Seymour Mine and an on-site concentrator requires an upfront investment of $282 million. 

Since there’s substantial North American demand for lithium, Green Tech said it’s had confidential discussions with “strategic groups” connected to the battery materials supply chain in Ontario about investing in Seymour. 

There’s also government funding schemes available, on the federal and provincial levels to help with critical minerals development.

The cost to begin carving out the open pit will be $69 million as the project moves into development stage in mid-2025. Reaching full mining production could be achieved within six months by late 2025.

For the Thunder Bay lithium refinery, Green Tech’s preference is to find an experienced plant operator – someone who’s already making lithium hydroxide and other battery chemicals – and form a joint venture where Green Tech would take a minority ownership stake. 

Discussions with potential partners are “at a concept level only at this stage,” the company said in its PEA report.

Financing the plant will be completed over a three-year period and, again, there’s opportunity to access government funding through programs like the Strategic Innovation Fund. News on that front will come out next year, the company said.

“We are pleased to deliver our PEA which initially includes the mines and concentrators in North Western Ontario, confirming a strong NPV (net present value) and robust project delivery strategy with low capital hurdles to get GT1 first into production within the province of Ontario,” said CEO Luke Cox in a statement.

“The success of GT1’s Strategy includes collaboration between Indigenous partners, communities, government, industry, and all stakeholders. Working together, the actions in this strategy will build a stronger, more resilient business and promote local communities."

Atha to buy uranium explorers 92 Energy, Latitude Uranium

The combination is expected to create a company with up to 7.1 million acres of exploration acreage in Canada.

December 8, 2023

The combined company is expected to have a cash balance of C$55m without any debt. Credit: RHJPhtotos/Shutterstock.com.

Atha Energy has reached two separate agreements to acquire 92 Energy and Latitude Uranium, two Canadian uranium-exploring companies.

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The company is also planning to raise around C$14m ($10.3m) in concurrent financing to fund the two transactions.

Under the terms of the definitive arrangement agreement with Latitude, Atha shareholders are entitled to receive 0.2769 shares of Atha for each share held.

This is a 68% premium to the stock’s closing price on 6 December 2023.

The swap ratio offered under the binding scheme implementation deed with 92 Energy is 0.5834 shares of Atha for each share of 92 Energy.

This marks a 78% premium to 92 Energy’s stock close on 7 December 2023.

Atha stated that the combined company could provide its shareholders with exposure to 7.1 million acres of exploration area in some of the top three uranium jurisdictions in Canada.

The overall mineral estimate is expected to be 2.8 million tonnes at 0.69% triuranium octoxide (U3O8) containing 43.3 million pounds of U3O8 at the Angilak deposit.

Furthermore, it estimates 14.7 million tonnes at 0.03% U3O8 containing 5.2 million pounds of U3O8 indicated and 28.3 million tonnes at 0.03% U3O8 containing 4.4 million pounds of U3O8 inferred at Moran Lake.

It also estimates 5.1 million tonnes at 0.04% U3O8 containing 4.9 million pounds of U3O8 inferred at Anna Lake, within the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador.

The combined company is expected to benefit from improved liquidity and draw the interest of more institutional investors.

The merged business is forecast to have a cash balance of more than C$55m with no debt.

Assuming that Atha secures the concurrent financing, the company will be able to support its exploration activities well into 2025.

Atha CEO Troy Boisjoli said: “We are thrilled for ATHA to have such an incredible opportunity to create Canada’s premier exploration company during a period where the world’s increasing adoption of nuclear energy is calling for new supplies of uranium.

“By combining highly complementary exploration assets from across the exploration risk curve in top-tier Canadian mining jurisdictions, we believe the combined entity will own one of the most complete portfolios of uranium assets in the entire sector and are thrilled to be able to leverage the combined team’s technical and financial resources to maximise the value of this opportunity.”

As part of the concurrent financing, Atha entered an agreement with Eight Capital to act as co-lead agent and joint bookrunner with Canaccord Genuity.

It agreed to issue up to 6.4 million charitable flow-through shares and four million subscription receipts, for total gross proceeds of C$14m.

92 Energy sizing up three-way uranium merger with Canada’s ATHA Energy

ASX News, 
Jonathon Davidsonjonathon.davidson@themarketherald.com.au

08 December 2023 

The Gemini project, Canada. Source: 92 Energy

92 Energy (ASX:92E) is looking at a three-way merger with a Canadian company
ATHA Energy wants to buy 100 per cent of 92 Energy

It also intends to acquire a third company called Latitude Uranium

The merger would see the company cashed up with $70 million and more than 7 million acres of landholding

92 Energy is ultimately hopeful the merger will ATHA develop its Gemini discovery
92E shares are up 32.9 per cent, trading at 48.5 cents at 11:10 am AEDT

Uranium miner 92 Energy (ASX:92E) has confirmed it’s sizing up a three-way merger between itself and Canada-listed ATHA Energy Corp.

At the same time, ATHA wants to buy up a second company called Latitude Uranium. Canadian courts have approved that deal.

That would see 92 Energy taking part in a three-way merger calculated to deliver a 78 per cent premium to 92E’s existing shareholders.

92 Energy shareholders are to receive 0.58 ATHA shares for every 92E share held – equalling roughly 65 cents per share. 92E’s Board is recommending shareholders greenback the merger.

“The deal will deliver a significant premium to 92E shareholders while also giving them the opportunity to be part of the premier Canadian uranium explorer with outstanding growth potential underpinned by a significant discovery,” 92 Energy Managing Director Siobhan Lancaster said.

ATHA wants 100 per cent of 92 Energy and so in that regard domestic shareholders don’t need to look at the complexity of the full deal.

What 92 Energy sees as valuable in the proposal is the consequent establishment of a Canada-based uranium exploration company beefed up enough to develop 92E’s Gemini discovery.

All three companies together would have more than C$64 million (A$71.3 million).

“We are thrilled for ATHA to have such an incredible opportunity to create Canada’s premier exploration company during a period where the world’s increasing adoption of nuclear energy is calling for new supplies of uranium,” ATHA CEO Troy Boisjoli.

But the merger would see 92 Energy “maintaining exposure to Gemini through a Canadian-listed vehicle,” it announced today.

It would also put 92 Energy in a corporate club with more than 7 million acres of exploration tenure.

92E shares were up 32.9 per cent, trading at 48.5 cents at 11:10 am AEDT.