A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

New Caledonia’s Koniambo nickel company says it has serious problems with its furnaces and will therefore produce far less metal this year than scheduled.

The seven-billion US dollar plant was shut for weeks after Christmas after about 500 tonnes of liquid nickel was spilled from one of the furnaces, incurring the company millions of US dollars of damage.

The company now says a design flaw will make it necessary to replace the other furnace, which will almost halve this year’s planned nickel production of 27,000 tonnes.

Its manager has told local media that the setback will force Koniambo to reduce its expenses, which may lead to job cuts.

The plant, which was officially opened by the French president Francois Hollande in November, is widely seen as the key industrial site to advance the economy of the mainly Kanak northern province.

According to Wohlers Report 2014, the worldwide 3D printing industry is now expected to grow from $3.07B in revenue in 2013 to $12.8B by 2018, and exceed $21B in worldwide revenue by 2020.

Source: Why 3D Printing Stocks Could Have a Tremendous Runway for Growth.

Prototyping (24.5%), product development (16.1%) and innovation (11.1%) are the three most common reasons companies are pursuing 3D printing.  Of those surveyed in a recent Gartner study, 37% had just one 3D printer within their organizations, with 18% owning 10 or more. The average number of printers per organization was 5.4.

Source: Gartner Survey Reveals That High Acquisition and Start-Up Costs Are Delaying Investment in 3D Printers. 

Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/03/31/2015-roundup-of-3d-printing-market-forecasts-and-estimates/

Publicly listed nickel mine operator PT Vale Indonesia (INCO) will allocate up to US$185 million in capital expenditures (capex) this year to finance expansion projects, including the construction of new refining facilities.The company’s chief financial officer, Febriany Eddy, said on Tuesday the allocated sum was significantly higher than last year’s capital spending realization of $76.8 million.

See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/01/vale-sets-aside-185m-finance-expansion.html#sthash.bysmksp0.dpuf

http://www.gulf-times.com/mobile//eco.-bus.%20news/256/details/433082/conoco-set-to-invest-$25bn-in-indonesia

The U.S. Energy Department will announce today plans to loan aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. $259 million to expand production of lightweight materials for vehicles at its Tennessee plant, according to  the Detroit News.

The loan will be the first new award in four years from the $25 billion program Congress established for the beleaguered auto industry in 2007.

Read more at: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/mar/26/alcoa-get-259-million-doe-loan-upgrade-tennessee-plant/295350/

XALT Energy, a leading developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, today announced it has signed a global exclusive agreement with Hybrid Kinetic Group of China for the supply of its lithium titanate batteries from its manufacturing facilities in Midland for all-electric buses in China.

XALT has received support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Michigan — including the Legislature, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Michigan Department of Treasury and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality — as well as the city of Midland. XALT said it will continue to work with these agencies on various programs as it moves forward to bring high-quality jobs to Michigan.

Read more at: http://www.ourmidland.com/news/xalt-energy-lands-billion-plus-lithium-battery-contract-with-chinese/article_d86389c8-d254-11e4-be3e-47ac56a3ab68.html

Tuesday, 24 March 2015 05:36

Canadian resource company Sherritt International has achieved 90 per cent of its targeted output from the Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar.

Sodium-Nickel technology batteries (sodium batteries) are proving to be the most flexible ecological solution for numerous applications which go from electric mobility to energy storage in support of renewable sources and even backup systems to guarantee uninterrupted power in data centres or telephone switchboards.

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/services/press-releases/details/beitrag/fiamm–sodium-batteries–applications-and-advantages-of-environmentally-friendly-and-efficient-technology_100018722/#ixzz3VDzRF0cp

JAKARTA, March 23 (Reuters) – Indonesia is looking at easing its mineral export ban for bauxite producers to help promote the building of smelters, a mines ministry official said on Monday.

Early last year Southeast Asia’s largest economy put in place export restrictions aimed at forcing mining firms to develop smelting and processing facilities so that Indonesia could refine all its own raw ores and concentrates.

Read more at: http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL3N0WP30W20150323