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.gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, "Times New Roman", Arial, sans-serif; color: #333; line-height: 1.6; padding: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 .gtr-main-title { font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; color: #0000FF; margin-bottom: 20px; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 2px solid #0000FF; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 .gtr-section-title { font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: left; color: #333; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 p { font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: left !important; word-break: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 em { font-style: italic; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 strong { font-weight: bold; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 .gtr-source { font-size: 12px; color: #666; margin-top: 24px; text-align: left; } @media (min-width: 768px) { .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 { padding: 24px 40px; max-width: 960px; margin: 0 auto; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 .gtr-main-title { font-size: 22px; margin-bottom: 25px; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 .gtr-section-title { font-size: 18px; margin-top: 30px; margin-bottom: 18px; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 p { margin-bottom: 18px; } .gtr-container-news-d4f7g8h9 .gtr-source { font-size: 13px; margin-top: 30px; } } Panama plans to publish the final audit of First Quantum Minerals’ (TSX: FM) shuttered copper mine on Friday as anti-mining protests re-emerge and expectations grow over the government’s next move on the suspended copper operation. Environment minister Juan Carlos Navarro said the third-party report on Cobre Panama mine would be released publicly “with full transparency” once finalized, according to local newspaper La Estrella de Panamá. The audit entered its final stage of technical analysis and verification last week after six preliminary reports were issued. Commerce and industries minister Julio Moltó said President José Raúl Mulino would decide the mine’s future once the government reviews the findings. “The report will be extensive and will require thorough analysis,” Navarro said. “This report will be public so that everyone can study it.” The audit could shape the future of one of the world’s largest copper mines after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled First Quantum’s concession unconstitutional in late 2023, triggering an indefinite shutdown. The Mulino administration has since signalled openness to restarting mining activity because of the sector’s economic importance, while environmental groups and some civil society organizations continue to oppose any reopening. Protests come back Dozens of demonstrators marched in Panama City last Friday against a potential restart of mining operations, according to Prensa Latina. The protests were organized by Sal de las Redes and Movimiento Independiente Voluntad. Participants criticized the government’s handling of the issue and rejected any attempt to reopen the mine. They urged Mulino to respond to public opposition. The demonstrations revive tensions seen during the mass protests of October and November 2023, when nationwide unrest culminated in the closure of Cobre Panama. Before the shutdown, the mine ranked among the world’s largest copper operations, producing 350,000 tonnes in 2022 and contributing about 5% of Panama’s gross domestic product. First Quantum has said the suspension of its Cobre Panamá copper mine has cost Panama an estimated $3.5 billion in lost economic contribution over the past two years, underscoring the mounting financial toll of the operation’s prolonged shutdown. Moltó said the government had already approved a safe management plan to preserve the site environmentally and remove hazardous materials in coordination with the environment ministry. Meanwhile, an unverified social media post claiming to cite a preliminary audit report has circulated online, alleging irreversible environmental damage and disproportionate economic benefits for the mining company. The government has rejected speculation surrounding unofficial findings and maintains that only the final report will determine the project’s environmental compliance and future. Source:https://www.mining.com/panama-ready-to-unveil-key-audit-on-first-quantum-copper-mine/

.gtr-container-7f8g9h { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, "Times New Roman", Arial, sans-serif; color: #333; line-height: 1.6; padding: 15px; max-width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; } .gtr-container-7f8g9h p { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 14px; text-align: left !important; word-break: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; } .gtr-container-7f8g9h .gtr-7f8g9h-heading { font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; color: #0000FF; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.8em; text-align: left; } @media (min-width: 768px) { .gtr-container-7f8g9h { padding: 25px; max-width: 960px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; } .gtr-container-7f8g9h p { margin-bottom: 1.2em; } .gtr-container-7f8g9h .gtr-7f8g9h-heading { margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em; } } Conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have sent sulphuric acid prices soaring, sharply increasing production costs for lithium, nickel and other critical minerals essential to the energy transition. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said sulphur prices have climbed more than 50% since the start of the Iran war, while sulphuric acid prices have more than doubled in some regions, disrupting supply chains for battery metals and forcing some refiners to curb production amid shortages of physical sulphur supply. “Sulphuric acid is a vital feedstock for many critical minerals, and the disruption to the sulphur market from the ongoing Middle East conflict has had knock-on effects across key markets,” Benchmark raw materials research manager Will Talbot said. “The outstanding risk is that more critical minerals players cut production or even shut down operations entirely.” Lithium squeeze The supply shock is reshaping the economics of battery materials production. Benchmark said sulphuric acid previously represented about 3% of the cost of producing lithium chemicals from hard rock sources but now accounts for 11%, overtaking energy as the largest individual C1 cost component. The consultancy’s special report said sulphuric acid now contributes 22% of total hard-rock lithium conversion costs and has become “the single most volatile and material input” in lithium processing. Nickel production via high-pressure acid leaching has also become heavily exposed to sulphur markets. Benchmark said sulphur now represents 42% of HPAL nickel costs, up from 26% before the conflict. Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, sourced 76% of its sulphur imports from the Middle East last year, while more than 10 tonnes of sulphur are required to produce one tonne of nickel through HPAL processing. Supply risks The report warned that physical availability, not just pricing, has become the industry’s biggest risk because at least half of global seaborne sulphur trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz. More than half of global lithium, cobalt, rare earth and purified phosphoric acid production expected in 2026 is exposed to sulphur and sulphuric acid disruptions, according to Benchmark. High-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate, used in EV batteries, is entirely dependent on sulphuric acid supply. China’s unofficial restriction on sulphuric acid exports has compounded the pressure on refiners outside the country. Benchmark said spot acid prices in Indonesia and Chile have climbed above $380 and $440 per tonne respectively as converters scramble for alternative supplies. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China have already risen about 65% this year in US dollar terms. Wider fallout Copper producers are feeling the impact unevenly. While solvent extraction and electrowinning operations that account for 22% of global mined copper output require large volumes of acid, copper smelters are benefiting because sulphuric acid is a profitable byproduct of the smelting process. Benchmark said treatment and refining charges for copper concentrate have dropped sharply since strikes on Iran as rising acid prices improve smelter economics. The supply squeeze highlights how geopolitical conflict is increasingly colliding with energy transition supply chains. Benchmark said countries with domestic sulphur and acid production capacity, such as the US, are likely to be more insulated than import-reliant jurisdictions including Australia. Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens quickly, the firm warned damaged Gulf refining infrastructure could take significant time and investment to restore, prolonging pressure across global critical minerals markets. Source:https://www.mining.com/charts-how-the-sulphuric-acid-crunch-is-driving-up-critical-minerals-costs/

Simmering tensions between Fortescue (ASX: FMG) and larger peer BHP (ASX: BHP) came to a head on Wednesday when executives from both companies appeared at a mining industry event in Perth. On Monday, the ABC’s Four Corners program aired an investigation into BHP’s decarbonization efforts, claiming the company had deferred billions of dollars worth of green projects. BHP blamed the delays on insufficient technology, a position Fortescue disputed during the program. BHP WA Iron Ore asset president Tim Day told the AFR Mining Summit on Wednesday that battery-electric haul trucks were “not quite ready yet”. During a fireside chat with Fortescue Metals CEO Dino Otranto at the event, the interviewer pointed to advertising commissioned by BHP citing research that its emissions fell 36% over five years while Fortescue’s rose 24%. Otranto conceded the figures were accurate but attributed the increase to Fortescue’s energy-intensive Iron Bridge magnetite operation, adding that emissions across its hematite business had declined. “Our total portfolio will go down over the next couple of years as we bring on these trucks that don’t exist,” Otranto said in a pointed jab at BHP. Otranto also took aim at criticism surrounding Fortescue’s ambitious 2030 target to achieve real zero emissions. “In the mining industry, we have been hammered for deployment of capital,” he said. “We’ve been named as wasting capital, so generally we become ultra conservative (…) So, there’s no way that somebody is going to risk what we’re doing at Fortescue. “Now, we have a very different risk appetite. And over the years, it’s proven to be the best value return for the shareholder.” Otranto defends diesel stance In April, Fortescue launched a national advertising campaign calling for reform of the Australian government’s diesel tax “handout”. Australian miners are major beneficiaries of the Fuel Tax Credit Act 2006, which refunds diesel excise to off-road fuel users. Otranto defended the campaign, saying it cost only “a couple hundred thousand dollars”. “The size of the campaign, in terms of relative media campaigns and support for media outlets, it’s kind of a drop in the ocean,” he said. “To be honest, running a few TV ads — it’s been blown up as this major propaganda campaign. “What are we actually advocating for? I know that I’m bucking the trend, and I’m standing out from the crowd, but we firmly believe that the current disincentives to align with both state and federal government to go green is absolutely not good enough.” Fortescue remains isolated in its position, with miners including BHP and industry lobby groups campaigning against changes to the legislation. Otranto took particular issue with Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia CEO Aaron Morey describing any change to the diesel rebate as “really bad tax policy”. He said the comments left him “a bit hot under the collar” and prompted him to write a letter to the CME, of which Fortescue is a member. “The peak industrial body here in WA, I don’t think adequately consulted, irrespective of the outcome of a position,” Otranto said. “There was no consultation on that. Period. And I thought it was, to be honest, the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King also weighed in, telling ABC Radio the government was not considering changes to the diesel rebate. “What I find concerning is how we have companies wanting to use government policy to create an advantage over their competitors,” she said. “Now, I think competition is a really good thing in any market and the same goes for iron ore, but to see campaigns waged throughout the media is, I think, a bit off when companies should perhaps look in their own backyard and monitor their own behaviour.”