SMR completes Canadian design review milestones

18 January 2024

Canadian regulators have concluded that there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the Xe-100 small modular reactor, X-Energy Reactor Company has announced.

The Xe-100 (Image: X-energy)

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) vendor design review (VDR) of the Xe-100 began in 2020, combining the first two phases of the VDR process. A VDR takes place during the design process, while the design is still evolving, to provide early feedback, so that potential regulatory or technical issues can be identified and resolved, particularly those that could result in significant changes to the design.

The CNSC has now concluded that there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the Xe-100, an outcome that X-energy says increases confidence in proceeding with formal licence applications in Canada.

"The completion of the pre-licensing milestone underscores the regulatory and commercial readiness of the Xe-100 and demonstrates the opportunity to bring our advanced high-temperature gas reactor technology to the Canadian market," said X-energy CEO Clay Sell.

The VDR process has seen the submission of more than 400 technical documents and white papers across 19 focus areas and provides an opportunity for the reactor developer to demonstrate understanding and compliance with Canadian licensing requirements and seek detailed feedback ahead of a formal licence application.

The CNSC said in its summary of the review it had concluded that X-energy "understands and has correctly interpreted the intent of regulatory requirements for the design of nuclear power plants in Canada". The review did identify some technical areas requiring further development "in order for X-energy to better demonstrate adherence to CNSC requirements", it said.

Some of these will be addressed in a Phase 3 VDR, which allows the vendor to follow up on certain aspects of Phase 2 findings, the regulator said. In this phase, a vendor may seek further information from the CNSC about Phase 2 topics and it may also ask the regulator to review activities taken by the vendor towards the reactor's design readiness, following the completion of Phase 2. X-energy said it plans to proactively continue working with CNSC in pursuit of Phase 3 VDR in the future.

The Xe-100 is an 80 MWe high-temperature reactor that can be scaled into a 'four-pack' 320 MWe power plant, fuelled by the company's proprietary TRISO-X tri-structural isotropic particle fuel. Initial deployment of the Xe-100 at US chemical company Dow's Seadrift facility in Texas and a new commercial facility to manufacture TRISO-X is receiving support from the US Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. X-Energy has also signed a joint development agreement with utility Energy Northwest for the deployment of up to 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors in central Washington State.

Agreement to advance SMRs in Alberta

16 January 2024

The agreement between North American power producer Capital Power Corporation and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will see the two companies work together to examine the feasibility of developing grid-scale small modular reactors (SMRs) in the province, including possible ownership and operating structures.

Dey (standing), Hartwick, Neudorf, Smith and Jean at the announcement in Edmonton (Image: X/@CapitalPower)

The feasibility assessment will be completed within two years. At the same time, work will continue on the next stages of SMR development, the companies said. The commitment agreement advances the joint strategic plan for the deployment of SMRs released in 2022 by the governments of Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Capital Power President and CEO Avik Dey said SMR technology would provide an important source of safe, reliable, flexible, affordable and clean base load electricity for the province. The agreement lays the foundation for a long-term strategic partnership, he said at the livestreamed announcement. The company is looking to deploy its first SMR unit between 2030 and 2035.

Capital Power operates some 7600 MWe of generating capacity at 30 operations in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario and 10 US states, including fossil fuel, solar, wind, waste heat and landfill gas facilities.

OPG is building what it describes as North America's first fleet of SMRs at its Darlington New Nuclear site in Ontario, where the construction of the first of four GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 SMRs is expected to be completed by the end of 2028 with the unit online by the end of 2029. A 300 MWe SMR unit would be "right-sized" for Alberta's electricity market, Dey said, and leveraging Ontario's experience in nuclear will help to accelerate opportunity in Alberta.

OPG CEO Ken Hartwick said the company expects to complete the regulatory process to obtain the licence to construct the new plants at Darlington, giving it sufficient information to be able release cost numbers for all four Darlington SMR units, by early 2025. The first Darlington unit will be "a little more expensive" but subsequent units are expected to be less expensive, he said: "We anticipate someone like Capital being able to utilise our learnings so they get the benefit of a lower cost to build."

Alberta's Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf said SMRs "have the potential to play a major role in the province’s search for the right energy mix to supply clean, reliable and affordable electricity" and the partnership is "an exciting and important step forward in our efforts to decarbonise the grid while maintaining on-demand baseload power".

Whether SMR units would be located at one location, or several, would the considered during the feasibility stage, Neudorf said, but an "attractive" quality of SMR technology is the ability to do both, with units grouped together or deployed singly in more remote locations.

Last year, Alberta announced a CAD7 million (USD5 million) investment in a multi-year study of the deployment of SMRs for the province's oil sands operations. Alberta Minister of Energy and Minerals said SMRs "are a critical component of the clean power generation supply mix and hold promise for the oil sands".

The announcement came two days after extreme cold resulting in high power demand put the Alberta grid at a high risk of rotating power outages, prompting the Alberta Emergency Management Agency to ask residents to limit their electricity use to essential needs only.

Ahead of the announcement, Ontario Minister of Energy took to social media from Alberta's capital city, Edmonton. "With temperatures near minus 45 over the weekend - even colder in some parts of Alberta - and virtually no wind or solar showing up on the grid, Alberta issued electricity advisory asking its residents to conserve electricity to avoid brownouts," he said in a video on X. "I look forward to exporting Ontario's nuclear expertise to provinces and states and jurisdictions around the world looking for energy autonomy and energy security, and that includes our friends here in Alberta."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

China’s CBC increases stake in Bolivia lithium mining

Reuters | January 17, 2024 

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Stock image.

The Chinese consortium CBC, which includes battery giant CATL, and Bolivia signed a deal on Wednesday, deepening their cooperation in one of the world’s largest lithium reserves.


As Bolivia seeks with China to increase its contribution to the battery production chain, the country’s President Luiz Arce also said Bolivia this month could launch a new international tender.

“As a country, we want to participate in the entire production chain, not just in mining,” he said.

The latest agreement adds to a previous deal with Bolivian state-owned lithium company in January 2023, when CBC agreed to invest more than $1 billion to start processing Bolivian lithium with the installation of two industrial direct lithium extraction (DLE) plants.

The second agreement provides for a further $90 million investment and expands CBC’s participation in the emerging lithium industry in Bolivia, which is home to the Uyuni salt flat, one of the largest lithium reserves.

Speaking at the government palace in La Paz, Karla Calderon, president of YLB, said the agreements covered development of a pilot plant with initial production capacity of 2,500 metric tons per year. The plan was for “a future industrial plant with a capacity of 25,000 metric tons per year,” he said, without giving a date for the expansion.

CBC representative Qinghua Zhou said the pilot had “important strategic significance for both parties”.

“CBC will use its advanced technology and experience to carry out the pilot tests, making Bolivia an important global centre of the lithium battery industry chain,” he said.

Bolivia has also signed agreements with two Chinese companies, CBC and Citic Guoan, and one Russian company, Uranium One Group, to build industrial facilities for the production of lithium carbonate.

An agreement has also been signed with India’s Altmin to develop the technology of cathode materials for lithium batteries.

(By Daniel Ramos and Steven Grattan; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

First Quantum submits copper mine preservation plan to Panama government

Reuters | January 17, 2024 | 

Aerial view of Cobre Panama mine. (Screenshot from First Quantum video | YouTube.)

Canadian miner First Quantum has delivered an initial preservation and management plan to the Panamanian trade ministry regarding its lucrative copper mine in the country, the miner’s Panamanian unit said on Wednesday.


The plan takes into account the “abrupt and unusual” cessation of operations before the end of the Cobre Panama mine’s useful life, it said in a statement, noting that the plan will be updated as conditions evolve.

The miner’s Toronto-listed shares slid after the announcement, falling 4.2% in morning trading.

First Quantum is dealing with the fallout of the Panamanian government’s decision in December to halt production at the mine following public protests, which accounted for more than 40% of the company’s annual revenue and is considered one of the biggest and newest copper mines in the world.

The month before, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that First Quantum’s contract to operate in Panama was unconstitutional.

Since the blow to its revenue, First Quantum has been looking at ways to shore up its finances. The company has said that it is exploring sales of smaller mines and looking to bring strategic equity partners for its large mines.

First Quantum on Wednesday said the preservation plan at the mine in Panama entailed costs estimated at “tens of millions of dollars a month.”

It added that it would retain around 1,400 employees at the site to carry out the preservation plan, but that “later there would inevitably be other reductions in the number of workers.”

Cobre Panama had previously requested to lay off thousands of workers at the site and on Tuesday offered voluntary retirement to more than 1,500 staff.

First Quantum said that the plan required “free and uninterrupted transit” by road and at a nearby port to deliver supplies to the site. Access to the mine has been strangled by protests and blockades in recent months.

(By Elida Moreno, Mrinalika Roy and Kylie Madry; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Mark Porter)


First Quantum offers voluntary retirement to over 1,500 Panama mine staff

Reuters | January 16, 2024 

A Cobre Panama worker. (Image by Cobre Panama).

First Quantum Minerals, opens new tab on Tuesday offered voluntary retirement to more than 1,500 employees at its key Panama mine, a day after announcing a major restructuring to conserve cash, which included suspension of dividends.


The Canadian miner is dealing with the fallout of the Panama government’s decision in December to halt production at Cobre Panama mine following public protests, which accounted for more than 40% of the company’s annual revenue and is considered one of the biggest and newest copper mines in the world.

Because of the closure of the mine, Cobre Panama in December requested government authorization to lay off more than 4,000 of its employees.

Tuesday’s retirement offer is the second such plan announced by the company in Panama, and a total of 2,900 employees have now accepted the scheme, the company said.

The copper-gold miner had also announced job cuts in its nickel mine in Ravensthorpe at western Australia on Monday.

Since the big blow in Panama, First Quantum has been looking at ways to shore up its finances. The company has said it is exploring sale of smaller mines and looking to bring strategic equity partners for its large mines.

Reuters reported this month that First Quantum is in talks with it biggest shareholder Jiangxi Copper Co, opens new tab about selling stakes in its Zambian mines.

Scotiabank Global Equity Research said in note that First Quantum’s guidance on its restructuring and production remains neutral for the shares and it counts elevated geopolitical risks in Panama and Zambia as key risks for the company.

First Quantum shares closed with 1.27% gain at the end of trading at the Toronto Stock Exchange, while the benchmark index closed down by 0.54%.

(By Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Foreign-backed nickel hub in Indonesia causing mass deforestation – report

Reuters | January 17, 2024 

Weda Bay nickel operations. Credit: Eramet

Mining activity at a nickel industrial park linked to mainly Chinese companies has contributed to mass deforestation in Indonesia, a non-governmental group said in a report.


The report of ecological damage in the nickel industry comes as Indonesia, home to the world’s largest nickel ore reserves, seeks to extract more value from the mineral by attracting investment into its processing and in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries

The country has also set a production target of some 600,000 electric vehicles (EV) by 2030 – more than 100 times the number of EVs sold in Indonesia in the first half of 2023.

In the report released on Wednesday, US-based Climate Rights International (CRI) documented activity at the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), one of the country’s largest nickel processing hubs, whose investors include China’s Tsingshan Holding Group and France’s Eramet.

The operator of the park, on Halmahera island in the Maluku region, is a joint venture between China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Zhenshi Holding Group and Tsingshan.

IWIP, Tsingshan, Eramet, Huayou, Zhenshi and the forestry ministry did not respond to Reuters‘ requests for comment.

CRI said companies, which had permits, have cut down more than 5,300 hectares of tropical forest within the park’s concession since 2018, citing geospatial analysis of satellite imagery conducted by the group and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.

That is roughly the size of over 6,000 soccer pitches.

Experts have raised concerns the nickel industry could worsen deforestation in Indonesia, a resource-rich country that is also home to massive rainforests.

After years of rampant deforestation, Indonesia has had success in slowing the rate at which forests are cleared for plantations and other industrial activity.

From 2020 through 2022, Indonesia reduced its average primary forest loss by 64% compared with 2015-2017, showed data from research group World Resources Institute.

CRI also estimated carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation were “roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of 450,000 cars.”

President Joko Widodo told Reuters last year Indonesia would increase scrutiny of miners and order companies to manage nurseries and reforest depleted mines.

(By Stanley Widianto, Fransiska Nangoy and Siyi Liu; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Major miners pledge no exploration-related activities at world heritage sites

Reuters | January 18, 2024 | 

Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of ICMM. (Image: ICMM.)

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) said on Wednesday that its members would stay away from exploration-related activities at world heritage sites and focus on ensuring no net loss of biodiversity at any mining sites.


At the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, major mining companies, including Freeport-McMoRan, Teck, and Newmont, committed to taking urgent action to support a “nature-positive future” by 2030.

ICMM members, representing around 30% of the global metals market, said meeting demand for critical materials to drive sustainable development should not come at the expense of nature.

“In addition, we have committed to take steps in our value chains, landscapes, and the wider systems in which we operate so that the total impact of our actions contribute to a nature positive future,” said Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of ICMM.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar)

Serbia wants talks with Rio Tinto over Jadar lithium project

Reuters | January 17, 2024 |

Rio’s Jadar project has an estimated production capacity of 55,000 tonnes per year. (Image courtesy of Rio Tinto.)

Serbia wants to hold further talks with Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto about its lithium project in the country, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday, adding that there should also be more public discussion over whether it should go ahead.


Belgrade revoked licences for Rio’s $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project in Western Serbia in January 2022 after massive environmental protests. If completed, the project could supply 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs and help to make the company a leading lithium producer.

Regarded as a critical material by the European Union and the United States, lithium is largely used in batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and mobile devices.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Vucic said he had “a difficult conversation” with representatives of Rio Tinto earlier on Wednesday.

“We are facing the question of whether the company will file a lawsuit against us or not,” Vucic told Serbian reporters. “I asked them not to take measures to protect their interests.”

In 2021 and 2022 Serbian environmentalists collected 30,000 signatures in a petition demanding that parliament enact legislation to halt lithium exploration in the country.

Green activists have repeatedly warned that the mining projects will cause more pollution in Serbia, already one of Europe’s most polluted countries.

Vucic said he had sought Rio’s assurances about environmental standards and said that the next government – expected to be formed by May following December elections – should address the issue.

“(Rio) must offer the cleanest solutions, which could be satisfactory to our people, the highest standards in the world for the nature and the people who will work there,” he said.

In an emailed response, a Rio Tinto spokesman said: “We continue to believe the Jadar project … could act as a catalyst for the development of other industries and tens of thousands of jobs for current and future generations in Serbia.”

The company is focused on consultation with all stakeholders to explore options related to the project’s future, the email added.

To bolster economic growth and revenue, the Serbian government has offered mineral resources to foreign investors including China’s Zijin copper miner and Rio Tinto.

(By Aleksandar Vasovic and Clara Denina; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman)

Albemarle to cut jobs, halt expansions and sell stake in Liontown

Cecilia Jamasmie | January 17, 2024 |
Albemarle’s Silver Peak operation in the US. (Image: Wikipedia.)

Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) said on Wednesday it would cut jobs and defer spending on projects, including a massive refinery project in South Carolina, as part of a wide-ranging plan to slash costs in light of falling lithium prices.


The world’s top producer of the battery metal said it plans to spend $1.6 billion to $1.8  billion in 2024, down from about $2.1 billion it invested last year.

“The actions we are taking allow us to advance near-term growth and preserve future opportunities as we navigate the dynamics of our key end-markets,” chief executive Kent Masters said in the statement. “The long-term fundamentals for our business are strong and we remain committed to operating in a safe and sustainable manner.” 

The US-based lithium producer noted it would finish the commissioning of several lithium refineries in China and Australia, which are almost fully built. The company also said it would focused on securing the necessary permits to reopen its Kings Mountain lithium mine in North Carolina.

The asset contains one of the few known hard rock lithium deposits in the US. According to Albemarle, the operation would feed sufficient material for 50 kt LCE of conversion capacity and support the manufacturing about 1.2 million electric vehicles a year initially.

In all, Albemarle expects to save $95 million annually with the measures announced today, of which $50 million will come this year.

The number of people expected to be laid off because of these measures was not disclosed.

Supply of the battery metal over the past year outpaced demand, causing an oversupply that caused a collapse in prices last year.

While lithium prices vary by region and type, most indexes, including the one tracked by Fastmarkets and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, have dropped by more than 80% over the past year.

Experts expect prices for the lightweight material, key for making the batteries that power EVs and high-tech devices, to keep dropping.

Lithium carbonate fell by 1.05% on Wednesday on the Shangai Metals Market, closing at 103,800 yuan per tonne or about $14,556 per tonne. This represents a nearly 11% price plunge over the past month alone.
Sale of Liontown’s stake

The lithium giant is also seeking to sell its stake in Australia’s Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) after billionaire Gina Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting blocked in October its A$6.6 billion ($4.3bn at today’s rates) takeover bid.

Albemarle has priced the roughly 96 million shares it holds in the Australian lithium developer at around A$121 million in a block trade run by JPMorgan, a term sheet showed on Wednesday

.

Kathleen Valley, one of the most promising early-stage lithium projects in Australia. (Image courtesy of Liontown.)

The offer price of A$1.26 to A$1.32 per share is a discount of 7.4%-2.9% to Liontown’s last traded price of A$1.36 on Wednesday. Shares had closed as high as A$3 in the days prior to Albemarle’s bid withdrawal.

Perth-based Liontown confirmed Albemarle’s intentions to local media. The company owns one of the most promising early-stage lithium projects in Australia, Kathleen Valley, located 680 km north-east of Perth in Western Australia’s premier mining district.

Kathleen Valley is considered one of the world’s largest and highest-grade hard rock lithium deposits with a mineral resource estimated at 156 million tonnes at 1.4% lithium oxide and 130ppm tantalum oxide.

The project, on track to begin commercial production in mid-2024, is forecast to initially produce around 500,000 tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate expanding to 700,000 tonnes annually in six years.

Liontown already has supply agreements with Tesla and Ford Motor, as well as with South Korean-based LG Energy Solution.

Hancock Prospecting is now the lithium junior’s largest shareholder with a 19.9% stake.

Rinehart owns shares in other lithium producers such as Patriot Battery Metals (ASX, TSX: PMT) and Delta Lithium (ASX: DLI), but the main focus of her

 

Alberta oil output hits new record as producers ramp up for Trans Mountain completion

The Canadian Press

Alberta oil production hit an all-time record in November, as oilsands companies ramped up output to prepare for the imminent completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The Alberta Energy Regulator says crude oil production in the province rose by 8.8 per cent in November to a new historic high of 4.2 million barrels per day.

Alberta averaged 3.8 million barrels per day of oil production in the first eleven months of 2023, up 1.6 per cent from 2022 and five per cent higher than the same period in 2021.

Eight Capital analyst Phil Skolnick noted the November production figures put Canada ahead of China's 2022 production levels and just behind Iraq, making Canada the fourth-largest oil producer globally.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which is more than 98 per cent complete, will give Canada's oil industry an additional 590,000 barrels per day of export capacity.

Skolnick said without the addition of the Trans Mountain project, Canadian oil production volume would likely exceed this country's current total pipeline capacity in the second half of this year.

 

Canada's largest sugar refinery planned to open in Hamilton in 2025

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

Grains of sugar , Bloomberg

A U.S.-based sugar producer announced plans to build Canada’s largest sugar refinery in Hamilton.

Sucro Can Sourcing, a subsidiary of Florida-based Sucro Sourcing, announced construction plans for the plant in a press release Tuesday, which would see the facility open in 2025. The sugar producer said it will invest $135 million into the facility that will be located on land owned by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA). 

"The sugar markets in both Canada and the United States are experiencing steady, long-term, sustainable growth, and Sucro is investing to supply these growing market demands," Jonathan Taylor, the founder and CEO of Sucro Sourcing, said in the release. 

"Despite steady demand from an expanding food processing sector, overall refining capacity in both Canada and the United States has been stagnant for years,” he said, adding that demand for sugar in Ontario is growing among the fastest in North America. 

Ontario’s manufacturing sector for food and beverages is the third largest in North America, the release said. 

According to Sucro Can Sourcing, the facility would have a refining capacity of one million metric tonnes per year. 

Ian Hamilton, president and CEO of HOPA Ports, said in the release that his organization “worked closely with Sucro Can” in order to understand its logistical needs. 

“The facility's new capacity and reliability will give Ontario food processors the confidence to invest in their own operations,” he said. 

Sucro Can said in the release that it chose the Port of Hamilton as part of its focus on enhancing supply chains for its customers. 

“I look forward to working with Sucro Can Sourcing and HOPA on this important new facility and ensuring this $135-million investment helps Hamilton continue to shine as the centre of Ontario's vital food cluster,” Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said in the release. 

 

Federal dental care program will exclude 4.4M uninsured Canadians: report

The Canadian Press

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says millions of uninsured Canadians will be left out of the new federal dental program because their family income is too high.

Enrolment began last month for a new federal benefits program, which was developed as a condition of a political pact between the Liberal government and the NDP.

It will see the federal government offer dental benefits to uninsured families with a household income under $90,000 per year, starting with seniors, children under the age of 18 and people with disabilities.

The report's author David Macdonald says when the program is fully implemented in 2025, 4.4 million people who don't have dental benefits of their own will be excluded because of the income cap.

Macdonald estimates it would cost $1.45 billion to extend the coverage to people whose income exceeds the cap in 2025, on top of the $3.3 billion already budgeted for the program that year.

He argues that $45,000 per adult is not a particularly large income for a family with two parents and children, but those salaries would bar the family from accessing the government program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2024.