May Newsletter – 09.05.2022
- India’s Energy Crisis Has Power Giant Rushing Back to Coal
- Nickel, Platinum, Iridium price to have upside implications on green hydrogen electrolyser costs: Rohit Ahuja, ICRA
- Chile’s Proposed Mining Shakeup Falls Short in Convention Vote
- British gold mining firm to list on Nairobi bourse’s SME segment
- Sumitomo abandons Pomalaa nickel project in Indonesia
- Chinese mining giant Zijin to acquire lithium mine in Tibet for $741 million
- Saudi Arabia to attract investments worth $32 billion in mining, minerals sector
- Vedanta offers Zambia investment commitments if handed back KCM
India’s Energy Crisis Has Power Giant Rushing Back to Coal
- NTPC plans to push ahead with power plant expansion plans
- Company previously slowed projects and emphasized renewables
India’s state-run electricity giant NTPC Ltd. plans to expand its coal-fired power fleet with a first new project in six years, a policy shift that reflects alarm over the nation’s worsening power crisis.
New Delhi-based NTPC will this month award a contract to construct a 1,320-megawatt plant in Odisha, according to a company official with knowledge of the plans.
The company will also consider awarding contracts for two previously stalled expansion projects at its Lara and Singrauli sites in central India, the official said, requesting anonymity as the plans are still private.
NTPC didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday, which is a public holiday in India.
Several states across India are suffering prolonged blackouts as scorching heat waves boost energy demand at a time when coal stockpiles are dwindling and nations globally are contending with tight fuel markets. Disruptions to electricity supply are lasting as long as eight hours a day in some areas.
Nickel, Platinum, Iridium price to have upside implications on green hydrogen electrolyser costs: Rohit Ahuja, ICRA
He said that the prices of nickel, used in elctrodes, have risen 1.7 times in the past six months.
New Delhi: Ratings and research agency ICRA recently came out with a research in which it analysed the economics and viability of India’s green hydrogen production plans. In an exclusive interview with ETEnergyWorld, ICRA’s head of research and outreach, Rohit Ahuja, shares more insights from the study and tells us about the impact of rising commodity prices on electrolyser costs.
What are your expectations from the government on the PLI scheme for electrolysers? What should it focus on for boosting capacity and reducing costs?
Incentives from the government are critical to spearhead investments for production as well as infrastructure development for storage, transport and distribution of hydrogen. Electrolysers being critical for cost effective production of green hydrogen, government support such as production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme will be a welcoming move.
Chile’s Proposed Mining Shakeup Falls Short in Convention Vote
Proposals to severely restrict private ownership of Chile’s giant copper and lithium deposits will get one more roll of the dice after falling short in a Constitutional Convention vote Saturday.
While a package of proposals passed the two-thirds threshold in the plenary, many individual articles fell short, including those limiting private capital in copper to ventures that are majority owned by the state and replacing concessions with temporary permits.
Saturday’s voting will come as somewhat of a relief to mining companies and global metal markets, although many items have one more chance to be modified in committee before going back to the plenary ahead of next week’s deadline. Two prior attempts to get versions of the package through the plenary failed.
A broad item declaring minerals the domain of the state was approved. Others to allow nationalizations and ban mining in glaciers, watersheds and the ocean floor fell short. Articles to ban genetically modified crops and ensure the right to farm exports and equitable energy supply will also return to committee. New rules on water rights, greater protection of “natural spaces” and food security guarantees were approved.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/chile-proposed-mining-shakeup-falls-231331201.html
British gold mining firm to list on Nairobi bourse’s SME segment
British gold mining firm Caracal Gold will list in Kenya’s capital market segment for Small and Medium-Sized Companies before July.
In a company update, the firm said it will list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) via introduction at the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (‘GEMS’) in the second quarter of this year.
Caracal Gold formerly Papillon which owns Kilimapesa gold mine in Lolgorian, Trans Mara, Narok County wants to dual list at the London and Nairobi exchanges to fund the growth of its operations.
The company announced the dual listing worth Sh2.1 billion during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s three-day London tour last year but did not give details of the dates it will offer shares to the public.
“The Company intends to list on the NSE via an introduction of the Company’s shares to the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS) of the NSE,” Chief Executive Officer of Caracal Gold Plc, Robbie McCrae, said.
Sumitomo abandons Pomalaa nickel project in Indonesia
Vale’s mining and processing facility near Sorowako on the island of Sulawesi.
Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co (SMM) said on Monday it has decided to discontinue a long-running feasibility study on an Indonesian nickel processing plant project because of a disagreement with its partner PT Vale Indonesia.
The Japanese miner and smelter had been working on the study since 2012 and had expected the project in Pomalaa, Indonesia to help it boost its nickel output to 150,000 tonnes a year, up from about 81,000 tonnes.
A spokesperson for SMM said PT Vale had decided to find another partner and there had been some differences between SMM and PT Vale about construction scheduling and costs.
“We have made the decision as PT Vale had begun to consider moving forward with the project with another company and as we had not been able to continue negotiations with PT Vale,” an SMM spokesperson said.
https://www.mining.com/web/sumitomo-abandons-pomalaa-nickel-project-in-indonesia/
Chinese mining giant Zijin to acquire lithium mine in Tibet for $741 million
China’s Zijin Mining Group announced today that it has agreed to acquire an asset bundle consisting of four assets in Tibet, including a 70% interest in the Lakkor Tso Salt Lake lithium mine.
The company said that the total consideration of the target assets under the transaction is RMB7,682,124,435 (~ $1.2 billion), of which RMB4,897,332,050 (~$741 million) will be paid for 100% equity interest in Jinshi Mining, which holds a 70% interest in the Lakkor Tso Salt Lake lithium mine.
The Lakkor Tso Salt Lake is situated within Mami Township, which is about 60 kilometres south of Gerze County, Ngari, Tibet, and about 38 kilometres west of the centre of Mami Township.
Saudi Arabia to attract investments worth $32 billion in mining, minerals sector
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources said the ministry has a goal to attract investments worth $32 billion to its mining and minerals sector through nine new projects, state news agency SPA reported.
The projects are aimed at supporting supplies of mineral products to local and international markets, according to SPA.
Minister Bandar Alkhorayef added that the ministry is currently studying 145 applications for exploration licenses from foreign companies, SPA said.
Vedanta offers Zambia investment commitments if handed back KCM
KCM’s Nchanga copper mine in Zambia.
Vedanta Resources has offered to step up investment in Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and implement several social responsibility programmes if it resumes control of the local firm, a company letter sent to the government showed.
Zambia’s previous government put KCM into the hands of liquidator Milingo Lungu in May 2019, triggering an ongoing legal dispute with Vedanta Resources, KCM’s parent company.
The government accused Vedanta of failing to honour licence conditions, including promised investment. Vedanta has repeatedly denied KCM broke the terms of its licence.
In a leaked letter addressed to Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe, the authenticity of which was confirmed by a local company executive, Vedanta chief executive Sunil Duggal said the company is committed to investing an additional $1 billion towards capital mine development and other infrastructure to boost KCM’s output.
https://www.mining.com/web/vedanta-offers-zambia-investment-commitments-if-handed-back-kcm/
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