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#BASF launches biggest overseas project in #China with green-powered mega-site

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Aerial view of an industrial site featuring large oil refinery structures, solar panels in the foreground, and wind turbines in the background, under a bright blue sky.

German chemical giant opens US$10 billion Zhanjiang complex, its largest overseas investment, as Beijing courts foreign capital.

Germany’s chemical giant BASF has launched operations at its China production base – its largest overseas investment to date – with a total outlay of €8.7 billion (US$10 billion), and the country’s first wholly foreign-owned large-scale Verbund site.

The company on Thursday inaugurated the world-scale complex in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, designed to run entirely on renewable electricity.

A Verbund site is an integrated chemical complex where plants, energy use and materials are interconnected to maximise efficiency and minimise waste.

The site has brought 18 plants and 32 production lines into operation, producing more than 70 types of products spanning basic chemicals, intermediates and specialty chemicals for industries including transport, consumer goods, electronics, home care and personal care.

Energy Fuels Produces ‘Heavy’ #RareEarthMetal at #Utah Mill

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A stylized map of the United States filled with the American flag design, featuring an industrial processing facility in Utah with large equipment and a sign that reads 'Energy Fuels'.

Energy Fuels Inc. produced a so-called heavy rare earth element for the first time at its plant in Utah, advancing efforts to build a domestic supply of critical minerals used in electronics and defense technology.

The US company said on 24th March 2026 that it successfully recovered its first kilogram of terbium oxide at the White Mesa Mill as part of a pilot project to scale production at the facility, which predominantly processes uranium.

Terbium — a heavy rare earth element — is essential to building magnets that support consumer electronics, cars and military-grade weaponry. Heavy rare earths are less abundant and typically more valuable than “light” elements such as neodymium-praseodymium. Mining companies like Energy Fuels are pushing to scale production of these metals through facilities in the US as part of the United States effort to create a supply chain that circumvents China.

Two Months of #RareEarths Left – #Reuters / #SCMP

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

“You can’t fight a twenty-first-century war with twentieth-century supply chains”. “Modern weapons rely on materials that are difficult to source, difficult to process, and difficult to replace once inventories begin to tighten.”

Reports from the South China Morning Post and Reuters indicate Washington could have only weeks or months of certain rare-earth inventories available for defense manufacturing if supply disruptions deepen.

Rare earth elements are embedded throughout modern military systems—from missile guidance and drone propulsion to radar systems and fighter aircraft electronics.

Note: War is only necessary for protecting human rights, human lives and the nature.

Ardea – Western #Australian #Nickel project grabs #Japanese – #US attention

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A silhouette of Australia filled with an industrial landscape featuring mining activity, overlaid with the flags of the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan, symbolizing international relationships.

Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) has received a shout-out in the Japan-US Critical Minerals Joint Fact Sheet, a call-to-action to shore up critical mineral supply chains between the two powerful nations and other Western markets.

The company’s nickel-cobalt project, about 70 kilometres north of the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia, comprises its bulk-scale KNP – Goongarrie Hub and hosts a mammoth 854 million tonnes grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for a whopping 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of cobalt.Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) has received a shout-out in the Japan-US Critical Minerals Joint Fact Sheet, a call-to-action to shore up critical mineral supply chains between the two powerful nations and other Western markets.

#China spent $120B to lock down #CriticalMinerals overseas

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Graphic illustrating China's $120 billion investment in critical minerals, featuring a map of China, construction machinery, renewable energy elements, and various mineral resources.

China has invested more than $120 billion in overseas mining and upstream processing since 2023, accelerating a state-backed push to secure the raw materials underpinning the global energy transition, says Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF).

A study published last week reveals that China’s spending targeted a wide range of commodities — including lithium, copper, nickel, rare earths and bauxite — that are essential for electric vehicles, renewable power and industrial decarbonization.

Vertical integration at scale

The CEF research also finds that China’s outbound investment in mining is only one piece of a much larger industrial strategy.

Since early 2023, Chinese firms have also deployed more than $220 billion into downstream sectors such as battery manufacturing, electric vehicles, grids, solar and wind infrastructure, creating what researchers describe as a vertically integrated global cleantech expansion.

#Nd-Fe-B #RareEarth Permanent Magnets Development- Pilot Plant Established at #ARCI #Hyderabad

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Why #Philippines struggles to tap its US$1 trillion #CriticalMineral wealth

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A map of the Philippines showcasing various minerals. The areas are labeled with 'Copper,' 'Gold,' 'Nickel,' and 'Zinc,' surrounded by images of mining activities and mineral deposits.

Without a proper road map to grow its mining sector, the country remains a ‘second-tier mineral economy’.

As the Philippines forms partnerships with several countries to harness its potentially huge wealth of critical minerals, analysts have called for a coherent road map to develop the country’s mining industry to globally competitive standards.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration has signed multiple agreements over the past months, including a memorandum of understanding with the United States to cooperate on diversifying global critical mineral supply chains.

The accord, signed during an inaugural ministerial meeting on critical minerals hosted by Washington last month, is expected to shift Manila’s mining sector from raw mineral ore exports to domestic processing.

Talks on a critical minerals deal between the Philippines and Canada are also in progress. Earlier this month, a delegation from the Philippines took part in the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention in Toronto, a key gathering for the global mining industry.

Philippines could tap huge global opportunities to grow its industry, as it possessed the world’s fifth-largest mineral reserves, with an estimated US$1 trillion in untapped supplies of copper, gold, nickel, zinc and silver.

Only about 5 per cent of these reserves have been explored, and mining contracts cover just 3 per cent of mineralized areas. At the same time, global demand for these resources, driven by climate change mitigation, clean energy and the broader energy transition, is expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future.

#India to invite bids for Rs 7,280 crore #RareEarthMagnet manufacturing scheme on March 20

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A graphic representation of India featuring industrial workers, military equipment, and aircraft, symbolizing the country's manufacturing and defense sectors, alongside the Indian flag.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries is likely to call for bids under the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) Friday. Officials said the Rs 7,280 crore scheme will promote domestic manufacturing of 6,000 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of magnets, strengthening supply chains for the automotive, defense, and aerospace sectors.

BASF announces $27M #Saskatoon innovative #Canola breeding facility expansion

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Burlington startup #NthCycle scores billion-dollar metal recycling deal with #Trafigura

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

An industrial scene featuring a processing facility within a silhouette of the United States, showcasing logos of Nth Cycle and Trafigura, with materials representing nickel and lithium in the foreground.

Metal recycling startup Nth Cycle of Burlington says it’s struck a deal with Singapore-based metals trading company Trafigura to deliver $1.1 billion in recycled nickel and lithium over the next decade.

Nth Cycle, which operates a recycling plant in Ohio, plans to add capacity by building facilities in South Carolina and the Netherlands. The deal was announced at an energy security forum in Tokyo co-hosted by the Japanese and US governments, in an effort to reduce the two nations’ dependence on China for access to critical metals.

Nth Cycle is the second local recycling company to team up with Trafigura, which is scrambling to meet surging global demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other scarce metals that are vital in high-tech manufacturing.