Rio Tinto has enlisted a US company to build a $23 million solar plant for its Weipa bauxite mine.
In what is being called a world first in the mining industry, a 6.7 megawatt power station will be built in two stages, with Rio to buy the electricity generated.
Read more at: http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/rio-tinto-to-implement-solar-power-at-qld-mine-sit
A nickel expert says questions need to be asked about Vale’s risk management procedures, workers’ behaviour and the design of its processing plant in New Caledonia to find out why spills keep happening there.
Operations have been suspended at the Goro plant for more than two weeks after 100,000 litres of effluent, containing some acid, ended up in a creek.
Environmentalists and the indigenous population are calling for the plant, which is next to a World Heritage Site and has had five spills in five years, to be shut permanently.
a team of researchers at Tohoku University in Japan has created a new type of Lithium ion conductor for future batteries that could be the basis for a whole new generation of solid-state batteries. It uses rock salt Lithium Borohydride (LiBH4), a well-known agent in organic chemistry laboratories that has been considered for batteries before, but up to now has only worked at high temperatures or pressures.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-05-japanese-team-lithium-battery.html#jCp
Norilsk Nickel will shut down its nickel plant in the city of Norilsk by 2016 as part of a $1.5 billion restructuring of downstream assets, the company has announced.
The Russian nickel producer will also upgrade its Talnakh concentrator, expand its Nadezhda smelter and upgrade its Monchegorsk refinery. All four assets are part of the group’s Polar division.
Read more at: http://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3343900/Base-metals/Norilsk-will-close-aging-plant-in-15bn-assets-restructuring.html
It will not be easy to set up a nickel pig iron (NPI) industry in Indonesia to replace lost production in China, according to Norilsk Nickel’s first deputy ceo and chief operating officer, Sergey Dyachenko.
Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore exports has removed China’s cheap nickel pig iron supply, pushing up costs along the nickel supply chain. The market is split as to whether China’s industry could be moved to Indonesia, where it could be beneficiated. “If you look at the blast furnace, it’s not something people can put in their pocket and bring from China,” Dyachenko told Metal Bulletin. “Before furnaces start being built, necessities must be provided.
MOSCOW, May 16 (Reuters) – Norilsk Nickel , the world’s largest palladium producer, would find ways around sanctions to sell the metal if its operations are targetted by Western governments, an executive at the company said on Friday.
Russia’s seizure of Crimea has resulted in European Union and U.S. sanctions on some Russian individuals and certain companies, but Norilsk has so far escaped unscathed.
Read more at: http://www.metal.com/newscontent/60684_norilsk-would-find-ways-around-sanctions-to-sell-palladium
May 19 (Reuters) – Russia’s Norilsk Nickel , the world’s largest nickel and palladium producer, is in talks with Russian banks on raising $1 billion to finance a copper project, Norilsk’s first deputy chief executive said.
Norilsk, controlled by tycoon Vladimir Potanin and aluminium giant Rusal, recently approved the project to develop Bystrinskoe copper deposit in Russia’s Zabaikalsk region as part of its strategy update.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/19/russia-norilsk-loans-idUSL6N0O51BD20140519
At least two other firms plan to start construction of processing plants by year-end or shortly after, amid fears that China’s nickel-pig iron industry is running out of raw material.
“It’s been a success,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik told Reuters.
Read more at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/05/18/indonesia-nickel-idINL6N0O02WE20140518
Newcrest is one of the world’s largest gold companies. It has a portfolio of first class operating mines with considerable gold reserves and a strong pipeline of growth options, located primarily in the Asia Pacific region. The company’s assets comprise low cost, long life mines and brownfield and greenfield exploration projects. In recent years, Newcrest has placed significant focus on investing in strategic research and development of underground bulk-mining technologies. It has applied its underground mining methods at Telfer, and plans to do likewise at Cadia East and Wafi-Golpu.
Read more at: http://www.fool.com.au/2014/05/19/heres-why-newcrest-mining-limited-has-a-bright-future/
Rio Tinto today launched a new phase of its industry-leading Mine of the Future™ technology and innovation programme that is driving greater value by optimising the performance of key international copper and coal operations.
The Processing Excellence Centre (PEC) in Brisbane, Australia is a world-first, state-of-the-art facility that enhances monitoring and operational performance by examining in real time processing data from seven Rio Tinto operations spread across the globe.
Read more at: http://www.riotinto.com/media/media-releases-237_10054.aspx
A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info 