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Global resources news
NEWS
EV METALS GROUP SIGNS FEED AGREEMENT FOR SAUDI LITHIUM CHEMICALS PLANT
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Battery technology company EV Metals Group has announced the signing of a front-end engineering design (FEED) agreement with a subsidiary of Australia’s Wood Group, relating to the development of its flagship Battery Chemicals Complex (BCC) at Yanbu Industrial City in Saudi Arabia.
Under the FEED arrangement, Mustang and Faisal Jameel Al Hejailan Consulting Engineering Company will build the first two processing trains for the production of lithium hydroxide monohydrate in the plant.
Mustang will focus on non-process infrastructure, utilities and port infrastructure, with the rest of the FEED work to be done by parent company Wood in Perth. EV Metals has worked with Wood over the last two years on feasibility studies for the complex.
The BCC will produce high purity chemicals containing lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and other metals needed for high energy density cathode active materials in lithiumion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage.
“EVM has identified a critical gap in supply chains for EV manufacturers and battery cell manufacturers which EVM is addressing through the development of a lithium chemicals plant, a nickel chemicals plant and a cathode active materials plant,” said managing director Michael Naylor.
The BCC requires an initial investment of US$800 million, with construction of the first two LHM trains to be begin in Q1 2023 ahead of commissioning in H2 2024.
SAUDI MINES MINISTRY OPENS NEXT LICENCING STAGE FOR KHNAIGUIYAH SITE
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced the opening of the next steps associated with awarding the licence for an exploration site covering more than 350km2 .
Interested prospective investors in Khnaiguiyah, the Kingdom’s largest exploration site, can submit their expression of interest and complete their Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), the Ministry said.
The announcement follows a first licencing round announcement which commenced during Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, where interested parties were invited to access the ministry’s data room with historical studies by visiting the Ministry’s online portal.
The award process will include three stages
– qualification, proposal and auction, which could feature multiple rounds. The Ministry expects to conclude the award process in the second quarter of 2022.
Qualified bidders are invited to submit their completed PQQ by March 14, 2022. The PQQ requests that prospective bidders submit customary information regarding their technical knowledge and experience, capability, capacity, and organisational and financial standing, mapped to the project’s outlined criteria.
Located in Al Rayn Terrane, Khnaiguiyah forms part of the Arabian Shield – a geological structure which could possess a potential value of US$1.3 trillion across 48 commodities, according to the Saudi government.
NEWS
BARRICK GOLD DOUBLES QUARTERLY EARNINGS DESPITE RISING COSTS
Barrick Gold has announced earnings of US$726 million in Q4 2021 despite seeing costs rise throughout the last 12 months at its gold and copper operations around the world.
Barrick’s earnings in Q4 were more than double the previous quarter and the adjusted earnings per share return of $0.35 beat analyst expectations, allowing the gold giant to institute a share buyback of up to $1 billion.
However, the company witnessed cost inflation in 2021 as the industry endured higher energy costs. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) at Barrick’s gold operations climbed 6.1% on the previous year to $1,026 per ounce, while AISC at its copper assets came in 17.5% higher at $2.62 per pound.
“The gold industry is facing inflation, but that’s good for gold. It is what it is, we have to manage it,” reassured Barrick CEO Mark Bristow in a telephone interview, adding there were “opportunities to mitigate the price increases.”
Nonetheless, the company said it expects AISC to climb again this year to between $1,0401,120 per ounce of gold.
Over the year, Barrick’s gold production fell by 6.8% to 4.437 million ounces of gold from 4.76 million ounces in 2020. Copper production also fell in 2021 to 415 million pounds, compared with 457 million pounds in the 12 months prior.
OIL PASSES $100, GOLD UP AS RUSSIA LAUNCHES FULL-SCALE UKRAINE INVASION
A range of commodities including oil, gold, palladium and nickel have seen sharp price rises following Vladimir Putin’s order of a fullscale Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Brent crude jumped 6.6% to an eight-year high of US$103.21 a barrel following Putin’s announcement of a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. Multiple explosions were heard in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv minutes after the televised speech.
Oil prices have gained more than $20 a barrel since the start of 2022, during which the threat of war in Europe has intensified along with fears of US and EU sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
Russia is the world’s second largest oil producer and sells most of its crude to Europe. It is also Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas, providing about 35% of its supply.
Gold – the long-held safe haven investment – prices were up 1.85% to $1,945 per ounce, while palladium, which is used in catalytic converters, rose 6.6% to $2,600 an ounce.
Nickel, a key ingredient in steel-making, also gained 5.6% to trade at $25,755 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, an 11-year high.
“The market reaction to these developments has been seismic,” said Deutsche Bank’s head of global fundamental credit strategy Jim Reid.
