Skillings Mining Review July 2020

2 0 2 0 J U LY I N R E V I E W

109/07

10

Gold and iron ore are doing equally well

THEIR MINERS ARE NOT 22

5G technology makes mining site safer and more efficient

42

Mines are hotspots for the spread of Covid-19, study reveals

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AMERICA

08 Brazil's Vale gets preliminary license to expand Serra Leste iron ore mine

10 Gold and iron ore are doing equally well. Their miners are not

26 Copper, iron ore prices rise on signs of quick global recovery

27 Northeastern Minnesota iron ore plants listed among beneficiary of Minnesota Power refund

28 Trump campaign for United States coal undermined by industry slump

34 Reedy partners with HIsmelt technology to test

36 U.S. Steel signs long-term iron ore deal with Algoma Steel

37 Australia restores confidence in China's iron ore processing changes

41 Cahoot, AusIMM upskill sector with Mining 4.0 Academy

43 Range business owners“We’ll find a way to stay afloat” as mines idle due to Covid-19

EQUIPMENT

06 Metso launches free 3D online crushing and screening plant configurator

12 SANY launches new range of larger

excavators with three new models applicable to mining

14 Exclusive: Covid-19 pushes Poland to

13 Axora launches smart mining resource

18 Sibanye-Stillwater pledges to put

centre

16 Autonomous robotic refueling solution for mining trucks from Universal Field Robots

22 5G technology makes mining site safer and more efficient

31 Tesla brings in heavy machinery to break ground on foundation at Gigafactory Berlin

GLOBAL

05 Greens seek parliament approval for coal ban

08 Coal India to outsource underground mining operations

13 to help mining companies recover from Covid-19

speed up exit from ailing coal - sources employees before profits during the pandemic

20 Safety concerns raised at AngloAmerican’s underground coal mines after Grosvenor explosion

24 OZ Minerals inks Copper export deal with Whyalla Port

32 Tanzania Finally Grants Export of Mineral Concentrates

33 Miners moving fast and virtuously in response to Covid-19: ICMM

34 Biomass as coal replacement for iron ore smelting

38 Data mining champions to drive resource exploration targets in South Australia

40 New solution for monitoring tailings dams by Inmarsat

42 Mines are hotspots for the spread of Covid-19, study reveals

STATISTICS

46 May 2020 crude steel production 46 worldsteel Short Range Outlook June 2020 www.skillings.net | 3

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Greens seek parliament approval for coal ban

GLOBAL government the tools that are needed for a safe environment.” Executives who ran firms that burned or mined thermal coal, which is used for energy after the ban would face up to seven years in jail.

Miners thrown out of work would be involved in building renewable infrastructure or transition to mining minerals required for renewable energy.

M

ining and burning coal in Australia would be legally prohibited in 2030 as a new authority oversees a shift to renewables, under regulations proposed by the Greens.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has laid out his party’s “Green New Deal” in parliament on Wednesday, saying it would create jobs while protecting the environment. “Mr Bandt stated that these new proposed regulations would give the

Communities whose economies were reliant on the coal mining sector would receive government assistance. “We appreciate these people for helping power our country and keeping the lights on,” Mr Bandt stated. The new authority, Renew Australia, would help the government and the energy sector transition to clean energy.

www.skillings.net | 5

EQUIPMENT

Metso launches free 3D online crushing and screening plant configurator Metso has launched a drag-and-drop 3D crushing and screening plant configurator, which enables users to design more efficient plants on their screens using real-time insights.

T

he design and simulation tool, My Plant Planner, is available on metso.com and is freely available for anyone to use.

" We are excited about My Plant Planner," says Guillaume Lambert, vice president of crushing systems at Metso. "Our goal is to help our customers easily test different configurations and operating conditions to see how they affect process performance. "The tool allows you to either design and simulates a new crushing and 6 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

screening plant in 3D or text how upgrading your current equipment can boost performance."

Metso says My Plant Planner comes with features and insights to help the preparation of crushing as well as screening circuits. According to the company, the

tool is based on Metso software: VPS and Bruno. With My Plant Planner, Users can design and simulate the crushing and screening circuit in the same tool in 3D, the firm adds.

According to Metso, the tool provides a choice of various kinds of crushers, screens, and conveyors to identify bottlenecks to understand where extra capacity is needed. Factors such as capacity, load, and power draw, are updated in real-time as the circuit is designed, and the parameters are updated.

At any point, users can also download a report that gathers all details about the plant being designed, including crushers, screens and conveyors and their parameters.

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AMERICA

Brazil's Vale gets preliminary license to expand Serra Leste iron ore mine Brazilian mining giant Vale has gotten a preliminary license for the expansion of the Serra Leste iron ore mine, in Pará, Brazil.

The Iron mine located 50 kilometers from Curionópolis and 5 km from Serra Pelada, Serra Leste Mine has an estimated reserve of 307.4 million metric tonnes, with an average iron content of 65.4%.

The firm plans to increase production from the current 6 million tonnes per year to 10 million tonnes per year. The License was initially requested in 2016 and was later issued on Wednesday by the Environmental Department of Pará.

"This represents about 1,300 new jobs on the construction site and approximately 1,100 jobs when the projects commence," stated Governor of Pará Helder Barbalho. Vale anticipates the extraction and processing of 107 million tonnes of iron ore in the Serra Leste Project in the next 11 years.

"They waited for about four years for this preliminary license that will allow that, in three months from now, when there is an Installation License, works will be carried out to expand the project," Barbalho said.

8 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

GLOBAL

Coal India to outsource underground mining operations

Coal India has announced his decision to outsource underground mine development and operations, company executives said.

A company spokesperson said Coal India subsidiary, Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDIL), will soon invite tenders for assigning such operators for two new underground mines that aim to produce a minimum of 5 million tonnes annually each.

Coal India's underground mines currently employ 44% of its workforce; however, account for only 5% of the output, it has 166 of such mines out of a total of 360. Company executives said many of these mines came to the company after nationalization. They produce better quality coal, but expenses are higher.

Coal India has set up plans to provide underground coal blocks to global mine developers and operators (MDOs) to extract coal effectively and beneficially. Supervision and statutory manpower, nonetheless, would be provided by Coal India. This will enable the firm to increase the current level of production from such mines, hovering around 30 million tonnes over the last two years, to around 100 million tonnes by 2024—almost 10% of the total targeted quantity, company executives said.

Coal India uses MDOs for open cast, but underground mines are run by its own workforce. At a later stage, MDOs are likely to be assigned for existing underground mines.

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AMERICA

Gold and iron ore are doing equally well.

Their miners are not

10 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

Gold and iron ore are the outstanding commodities so far this year, but the performance of their respective miners are far more different - and weighted in favor of the valuable metal.

Spot gold closed at $1,729.67 an ounce on June 12, up 14% since the end of last year. Meanwhile, the benchmark 62% iron ore for delivery to China, as analyzed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, was at $104.45 a tonne, a gain of 14.6%.

I

f the year-to-date performances are very similar, the underlying drivers of iron ore and gold are quite divergent.

The steel-making ingredient is benefiting from China's economic stimulus push as it recovers from the COVID19 pandemic, coupled with number 2 exporter Brazil's battles with the same disease.

While there is also a coronavirus element to gold's rise, what capitalists are buying into is the belief that the weak global economy and anticipated extended recovery period indicate low-interest rates and increased volatility of other asset classes.

Given that iron ore has rallied to a 10-month high and has both bullish stories for both demand and supply, it's perhaps surprising that the top miners are generally not sharing the good news.

Shares in Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), which derives the majority of its profits from its iron ore mines in the state of Western Australia, are down 4.8% so far this year in U.S. dollars and 3.7% in Australian dollars terms.

Stock in BHP Group (BHP.AX), Australia's second-biggest iron ore producer behind Rio, is down 9.6% in U.S. dollars, with some of its underperformance versus Rio likely being explained by the company's greater exposure to crude oil and natural gas. However, both Rio and BHP will be big money generators with iron ore at its current price, provided their expense

to produce a tonne of iron ore is around $14-$15. Australia's third-ranked iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG. AX), is fastly outperforming Rio and BHP, its shares gaining 33% year-to-date in U.S. dollar terms. That's a reflection of the fact that it is a pure iron ore play and also tends to pay out a higher proportion of earnings as dividends to investors.

Brazil's Vale (VALE3.SA) is the laggard, its stock sliding 20% in U.S. dollar terms so far this year. Unlike its Australian competitors, Vale is struggling with mine closures, and a potentially aggravating situation as Brazil's cases of coronavirus continue to rise.

GOLD MINERS OUTPERFORM

While the high iron ore price isn't reflected in the share price of the miners,

Shares in Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), which derives the majority of its profits from its iron ore mines in the state of Western Australia, are down 4.8% so far this year in U.S. dollars and 3.7% in Australian dollars terms.

Fortescue excepted, gold miners have been performing quite well for the main part. Newmont (NEM.N) has seen its stock price rise 27.6% in U.S. dollars so far this year, while Canada's Barrick Gold (ABX. TO)) has gained 29.8% Outside North America, AngloGold Ashanti (ANGJ.J) is up 35.1% while fellow South African producer Gold Fields (GFIJ.J) has gained 13.4%, both in U.S. dollar terms.

But leading Australian producer Newcrest (NCM.AX) is down 4.1% in U.S. dollar terms year-to-date: the firm previously had problems over water supply at its Cadia mine in New South Wales state, but now resolved.

Overall there does seem to be a clear trend, with gold producers generally outperforming while iron ore miners have not benefited as much as the commodity they produce, Fortescue being an exception.

While there are many elements that go into assessing the value of a company - such as reward policy, financial debt levels, and regulatory risks - it appears that iron ore's story isn't as engaging as the story for gold.

There might also be regional and investor bias at play, with the major gold firms more exposed to retail investors in the United States, while the iron ore miners are more heavily held by institutional investors. www.skillings.net | 11

EQUIPMENT

SANY launches new range of larger excavators WITH THREE NEW MODELS APPLICABLE TO MINING

SANY, the China-headquartered international manufacturer of mining and construction equipment, has introduced an expanded product portfolio in what it calls its "ultra-large excavator" range – the new models being the SY870H at 78.6 t, SY980H at 95.8 t and SY1250H at 125 t.

The models are produced at Sany Kunshan Industrial Park, China. The firm said: "the release of SANY's latest equipment marks the Company's new milestone in delivering technological breakthroughs.

Four units of SY870H have been sold before coming out of the production line."

Cao Donghui, President of SANY Heavy Machinery R&D institute, said, "Since the launch of the SY750H and SY950H excavators, SANY's large excavator market share has experienced steady growth over the last few years."

"Riding on this energy, we hope that the newly introduced SY870H, SY980H, and SY1250H models will further strengthen our competitiveness in the field of the ultra-large excavator and our market position in the global market."

The new product lineup for ultra-large excavators will "highlight outstanding performance, superb quality, reliability, and intelligence, SANY says."

The SY1250H excavator "features the most recent technological upgrades and outstanding performance as a result of 12 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

Axora launches smart mining resource centre to help mining companies recover from Covid-19

A

xora, a technology hub for digital solutions, has launched an online smart mining resource center to help mining firms recover after the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The smart mining resource center provides industry insights and access to digital solutions and technologies which mining companies can adopt to increase their business growth, cut-down unnecessary spending, and avoid duplication.

"The downtime caused by Covid-19 provides mining firms a unique opportunity

to improve their digital solutions, increase their digital transformation roadmaps, and enable 'smart mining,' Axora chief commercial officer, Dr. Nick Mayhew said.

solutions include three types of technology: smart connected devices, smart devices, and IoT, which can assist mining companies in the post-Covid-19 world.

The firms that utilize this moment to push themselves to make their mines smarter are the ones that will recover the quickest and thrive in the future.

The firm also launches a survey targeted at investigating the impact of Covid-19 on digital innovation and home-working practices in the mining sector.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is causing an increase of digital transformation across the mining sector, as the need to be safer, sustainable, and more reliable has never been greater." Axora's smart mining digital

Axora utilizes blockchain technology to currently host more than 120 digital solutions for industry leaders, startups, colleges, and consultants.

SANY's decades of expertise in developing the ultra-large excavators." The excavator "uses a fuel-efficient, trustworthy and intelligent solution for large scale earthworks including earth excavation and open-pit ore mining."

Developed for meeting market demand for 70-80 t excavators, the SY870H excavator is "designed to ensure high efficiency and reduced fuel consumption without compromising on digging power.

Its bucket capacity, digging force, and running performance all exceed current industry standards for excavators at the same level."

The SY980H excavator is powered by a high-pressure, large-flow electrically controlled hydraulic system with low fuel consumption and dynamic response engine (supplied

by Scania), "offering stable operations for various heavy-load excavation missions such as coal, stone, metal and more. The machine improves the exceptional matching control technology that is designed to adequately boost efficiency by 30% compared to the previous generation." SANY's excavator lineup now covers a full range of models from 1.6 to 200 t. SANY says it plans to continue to provide world-class heavy equipment for global consumers.

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GLOBAL

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Covid-19 pushes Poland to speed up exit from ailing coal - sources Poland, the European Union's leading hard coal producer, is considering shutting at least three mines in the coming months as the coronavirus pandemic forces it to accelerate its exit from the field, according to sources aware of the issue.

P

oland, the only EU member to refuse to pledge to become climate neutral by 2050, has long had a close relationship with coal. The upstream sector has been the main pillar of Poland's economy for decades. Nonetheless, the industry has often been loss-making in recent years, even as the state has sought to prop it up financially.

The closures being looked by the government include the Wujek mine, three industry sources told Reuters, refusing to 14 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

be named. Wujek was the site of one of the dangerous protests during communist rule and is a symbol of the nation's connections to coal.

The State Assets Ministry, which oversees the coal industry, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

in the past. But the sources claimed the COVID-19 outbreak had changed the strategic reasoning within the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government as it battles to allocate state funds to support an economy reeling from lockdown.

"The crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic will cost substantial amounts of money. From the point of view of public finances, we cannot afford further financing of coal mining," a government source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

RESCUE PACKAGE

In the last five years, the federal government has combined several mines and gradually closed some. It has been reluctant to move fast, mindful of violent protests by miners that have happened

According to the three industry sources, the closures being considered would affect at least two mines owned by PGG, Poland's largest coal group, including Wujek. They would also influence several

other mines owned by state-run utility Tauron, two of the sources said.

Overall, the closures could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs, two sources stated. It is likely to be announced after a presidential election, anticipated to take place in late June, they added.

PGG refused to comment while Tauron did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. PGG said in April that it could incur a quarterly loss of 700 million zlotys ($178.25 million) if it does not take any action to relieve the effect of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the sources, the PGG mines would likely be taken over in the third quarter by state company SRK, which

would gradually wind them down if the plan goes ahead. Poland might try to partially fund the restructuring with money from the new EU Just Transition Fund, which is aimed at helping wean the bloc off fossil fuels, the sources stated.

PGG currently has eight mines in total, and Tauron has three, while other companies own a handful.

Poland has announced one of the biggest rescue packages in Europe, in terms of direct government spending versus gross domestic product, in the hope of resuscitating industries such as trade and manufacturing, which PiS thinks are needed to prop up the economy in the long run. ($1 = 3.9270 zlotys).

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EQUIPMENT

T

he robot it says was designed to improve the safety of work environments, and significantly increase accountability and productivity. The AutoFuel autonomous truck refueling robot will be located next to the haul road where trucks will park.

"The robot will be electronically notified that the truck is ready for fuel. It will then position itself and connect the nozzle to the truck. In about 5 minutes, the robot will transfer a full tank of fuel to the truck and disconnect, so the truck can continue hauling."

UFR says the robot is self-contained and does not require any external services.

It can be supervised at a remote work area using a GUI and can fully operate without a driver to provide the refueling.

"This UFR product has a vision system that allows the robot to see people and inspect trucks in detail. It has sensors to locate the fuel nozzle and a gripper to remove the fuel cap. Typically, it takes about 30 minutes for drivers to refill fuel tanks currently.

Autonomous robotic refueling solution for mining trucks from Universal Field Robots Following the remarkable success of SCOTT Automation in mining with its Robofuel autonomous refueling system which is currently in use at a variety of sites, including collaborating with an autonomous Komatsu 930E fleet in the Pilbara, there is a new company and design in the sector of robotic refueling in mining in the form of Universal Field Robots (UFR) with a system it calls AutoFuel. The firm has an R&D site near Brisbane airport and a test site near the Port of Brisbane.

16 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

"With the use of our robot, no personnel are required to operate equipment at these fuelling terminals. This directly impacts the workers as they would quickly have a significant decrease in exposure to dangers, impacting work environment safety meaningfully. Our robot will provide the mining sector with increased truck utilization, giving mines the ability to save a substantial amount annually. Together with this, the sensing systems of the robot will allow accurate and consistent data to be collected, which will effectively manage fuel allocation – directly improving the accountability on the overall usage of fuel. Our autonomous truck refueling robot provides employees with an innovative solution to refuel trucks properly and to help keep the mines moving as efficiently as possible."

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GLOBAL

Sibanye-Stillwater pledges to put employees before profits during the pandemic Sibanye-Stillwater may not return to 100% production even as lockdown ease, CEO Neal Froneman said on Tuesday. The mine – which is the country's largest industrial employer – will only ramp-up to full activity when it is satisfied that safety protocols have been completely observed, Froneman told shareholders at the company's Annual General Meeting.

18 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

C

ommercial gain would not be put ahead of worker's wellbeing, he emphasized. Clusters of coronavirus infections have been detected at several mines following the easing of lockdown regulations. In mid-May, Impala Platinum closed down its Marula Mine in Limpopo after finding several positive cases of Covid-19, while AngloGold shut down its Mponeng mine,

confirming 164 positive coronavirus cases. Experts have warned that containing the coronavirus – already challenging– is potentially much more difficult in a mining environment.

On Monday, company representative James Wellsted said Sibanye had thus far registered ten positive coronavirus cases at its local operations, and four have fully recovered.

Froneman's remarks come as the nation gears up for a shift to Level 3 of lockdown, which will bring a further easing of restrictions. "We are not even sure that we will ramp up to 100%, and we will need to evaluate that in the next stage of the ramp-up," he said, adding that the enforcement of safety measures would be difficult at deep operations.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

"What I have assured us is that we are not putting commercial issues ahead of our workers' wellbeing."

Mines in SA are required to adopt the newly published Covid-19 safety guidelines, which outline various measures that must be adhered to by organizations in order to protect workers from the Coronavirus pandemic.

As a top global producer of PGMs, Sibanye-Stillwater also operates a gold business, and Froneman said although the firm had done well in the first quarter, the 2nd quarter is most likely to be affected by the current conditions.

"There is no doubt that the lockdown would adversely impact the 2nd quarter," he said, also noting the effect of weak PGM prices.

"We expect some price weakness in the PGMs, and we need to see how our business is able to perform in addition to circumstances imposed by Covid-19."

Asked if the company was likely to pay dividends in the future, Froneman stated that they had adopted a prudent approach to dividend payment, which the present conditions had led to a "complete reset of business" despite being initially confident at the beginning of the year. Sibanye shares were down 2.72% on the JSE at R33.32, after opening up at R34.85.

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Froneman said, nonetheless, that he was satisfied with the safety measures embraced by the company, including quarantine facilities that have been prepared for employees.

He stated that safety protocols implemented in South Africa were of the same standard as those enforced in the US, where the company runs a PGM mine. Mines in SA are required to adopt the newly published Covid-19 safety guidelines, which outline various measures that must be adhered to by organizations in order to protect workers from the Coronavirus pandemic.

However, more infections were likely, Froneman stated. "We are aware that we have not reached the peak yet. As time goes on, we will likely see an increasing number of cases, so we need to be psychologically prepared for that."

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GLOBAL

photo: skynew.com/au

Safety concerns raised at AngloAmerican’s underground coal mines after Grosvenor explosion Employees in all three AngloAmerican's underground coal mines in central Queensland are concerned about safety, specifically regarding the management of hazardous gases, in the wake of last month's explosion at Grosvenor mine.

3 At Grasstree Mine near Middlemount, workers downed tools on Saturday night after protocols were breached restarting a ventilation fan after a power outage, causing too much gas going into the mine and risking ignition; 3 At Moranbah North mine, workers have been protesting outside the mine over management's refusal to meet workplace delegates to discuss safety issues including gas management; 3 And at the site of the explosion at Grosvenor mine, there are serious concerns that conditions underground have not been effectively managed following the explosion, with continued elevated gas levels and fears of a potential spontaneous combustion event in the obsolete 'goaf' area of the mine.

20 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

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FMEU Mining and Energy Queensland President Stephen Smyth stated that gas management was the most critical safety issue in underground mines and safety protocols should be intensified in the wake of the May explosion.

"It is time for AngloAmerican to override local management at its Queensland underground coal mines and insist that safety comes first before production," he said.

"It is incredible that just weeks after five men were nearly killed at Grosvenor, we are hearing records of corners being cut and management refusing to talk to workers' representatives about safety concerns. "It reflects poorly on the safety culture at Anglo mines.

"At Grasstree, it's likely the relevant supervisors felt pressure to get the followers working swiftly to prevent having to evacuate employees and stop production; however their actions resulted in unacceptable and dangerous shortcuts being taken.

"Site union delegates did the appropriate thing by stopping work due to unsafe conditions as is their right under mine safety laws.

"Regrettably, with the high rates of casualisation across the industry, not every worker feels confident to stop work when conditions are unsafe." The Union has been holding mass meetings with Anglo coal miners over the weekend and will continue to advocate for improved safety and worker consultation at the mines, said Mr Smyth.

"Our message to every worker who feels unsafe underground is that you must stand up and speak out about your concerns, the union has your back."

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Offices: Byron, GA Escanaba, MI Muskegon, MI Coleraine, MN Tulsa, OK Chester, PA Oshkosh, WI Green Bay, WI Rhinelander, WI www.skillings.net | 21

EQUIPMENT

China has built its first 5G intelligent coal mine in Xinyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, with joint efforts by the China Mobile, Huawei and Shanxi Yangquan Coal Industry Group. The 5G network in the 534-meter-deep shaft is the deepest 5G network so far in China. With the network, technicians can control the production from the operating center, through an integrated underground control platform, by easily clicking the computer mouse to operate coal cutters deep underneath the surface. photo: https://news.cgtn.com/

5G technology makes mining site safer and more efficient Subterranean mines, which have traditionally struggled with internet connectivity issues, are becoming safer and more efficient, as Chinese technology companies are exploring how to utilize 5G technologies to rejuvenate the sector.

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n a mine in Qingdao, Shandong district, an automatic electric locomotive loaded with gold ore runs efficiently as workers on the surface, about 500 meters above the vehicle,

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monitor operations using real-time video cameras. This is the first such application of 5G wireless technology in underground mines in China. It is part of the nation's broader push to employ modern

technologies to make the sprawling industry safer.

Liu Pengnan, a service technician at Shandong Gold Mining (Laixi) Co, which runs the Qingdao mine, claimed: "Superfast 5G allows radio signals to pass through a thick wall, ceilings, and floors.

We can access a peak download speed of 800 megabytes per second and an upload speed of 100 Mb/s, making it feasible for us to remotely control underground

equipment, a big improvement in safety for frontline workers such as me." The 5G network covered the mine in late November with the technological support of Huawei Technologies Co and China Mobile. It provides a look into the willingness among traditional sectors to embrace new technologies and upgrade themselves.

Huawei and China Mobile have provided similar solutions to several mines across China, including coal mines in Shanxi province as well as molybdenum mines in Henan province. They are collaborating to enable faster data transmission, remote monitoring of underground equipment, high-definition video calls and other functions inside mines.

Yao Wujiang, a technician at Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co, said the firm had deployed 5G networks inside a 534-meter-deep mine. The superfast wireless technology can help share real-time data from inside the mine, including gas density, humidity, and temperature level. With the help of the 5G network, video calls between employees on the surface and underground also become easier.

tank, said:" 5G networks include two parts, namely core networks, and base terminals. Chinese telecommunications providers are planning to upgrade their 5G core networks into stand-alone architecture by the end of this year."

By then, stand-alone 5G networks, which function better than non-stand-alone networks, will lay down a strong foundation for the broader application of 5G in a variety of industries including mining, Liu said. Nonstand-alone networks differ from stand-alone ones as the former ones still rely on existing 4G infrastructure to realize some functions.

Liu from the Qingdao golden mine said many people are visiting the mine to see how 5G works. "I have received several phone calls to answer questions from our peers. They are all excited to embrace the technology because once properly utilized, 5G can save lives in an emergency," he said.

"But the application of 5G in mines is still in an incipient stage, with the innovation mainly used to monitor mining situations and the health of workers working underground," Yao stated.

He said more initiatives are needed to promote various types of "5G-plus mine" intelligent systems to improve the safety management and control of coal mines.

Yao suggested that relevant government departments can provide technical and financial support to mines that have deployed 5G networks, and there is a pressing demand to draft industry wide standards on how to use 5G in mines, which can also prevent waste of resources.

As China increases the construction of stand-alone 5G networks this year, the use of 5G in mines will also increase, experts said. Liu Duo, head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think www.skillings.net | 23

GLOBAL

OZ Minerals inks Copper export deal with Whyalla Port South Australian copper miner Oz Minerals has signed a three-year contract deal with Sanjeev Gutpa's Whyalla Port to export Copper concentrate from its new Carrapateena mine.

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he contract is the first major deal SIMEC Mining has signed with a third party to export from the port, which services SIMEC's South Australian haematite and magnetite iron ore mines as well as the Liberty steel making facilities in Whyalla.

Under the deal, secured containers of copper concentrate will be shipped 230km south from Carrapateena to Whyalla and trucked out 5-10,000 tonne freights with yearly shipments gradually increased together with the ramp�up of the mine.

The copper-gold mine produced its first concentrate in December. Production for 2020, as the ramp-up progresses, is expected to be in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of copper. Carrapateena is second in size to the state's largest copper mine, BHP's Olympic Dam, and has an expected mine life of about 20 years.

I hope the three-year deal could be extended for the life of the mine, SIMEC Mining Executive Managing Director Matt Reed said.

He stated that the contract followed extensive third party trials in recent years, including wind farm transport and the current ship deconstruction, scrapping and recycling project using the old shipyard slipway.

OZ Minerals' Chief Financial officer Warrick Ranson said the opening of SIMEC's Whyalla port to third parties would significantly reduce transport times. Adelaide-based Oz Minerals also operates the leading Hill copper/gold mine in South Australia's north.

"We will have the ability to ship this material safely, efficiently and with a high standard of environmental care, and expect our performance to result in further long-term agreements in the future."

OZ Minerals' Chief Financial officer Warrick Ranson said the opening of SIMEC's Whyalla port to third parties would significantly reduce transport times.

"We are pleased with the capability SIMEC has managed to develop through

the facility in recent years, and we look forward to partnering with them to deliver our product to the market."

Adelaide-based Oz Minerals also operates the leading Hill copper/gold mine in South Australia's north.

SIMEC Mining is part of British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, which also includes the Whyalla Steelworks and soon-to-be-built Cultana Solar Farm.

"We've specified for a long time that our port is open for business, and the last few years have demonstrated that through the number and range of trials we've carried out," Reed said. " To take that to the next level and secure a continuous contract is a testament to our increased capability, an accomplishing step in the development of the Whyalla Port.

"This contract justifies our investment in the port – especially the installation of our ultra-modern mobile harbor crane – as this would not have been possible with our old facilities," he stated. www.skillings.net | 25

AMERICA

Copper, iron ore prices rise on signs of quick global recovery Iron ore prices stayed clear of double digits on Monday on diminishing stockpiles in China, responsible for more than 70% of the world's seaborne iron ore trade, and continuous fears about supply from Brazil, the world's no. 2 supplier.

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ccording to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were trading for $100.45 a tonne on Monday, just off the 9-month highs last week.

covid-19 outbreak, Steel margins in China continue to trend higher," commodity strategists at ING stated in a note quoted

by Reuters.

According to SteelHome consultancy information, drawdowns have brought port stockpiles to just over 109 million tonnes, as of Friday, the lowest since November 2016.

Dalian launched iron ore futures trading in 2013. On the Dalian commodities exchanges, iron ore futures set a fresh record high of $108.92 a tonne, up more 20% from early April.

COPPER MELT-UP

China produces more than half the world's steel, and plants have been increasing outputs and sucking in imports at a record pace. "While there are concerns over Brazilian supply amid the

Copper trading in New York jumped higher than 2% to $2.4775 a pound ($ 5,460 a tonne) in afternoon trade, bringing the bellwether metal's gains since its mid-March low to more than 25%.

CNBC reports Bank of America analysts

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increased their cost forecast for copper in 2020 by 5.4% to $5,620 per tonne.

Given its extensive use in industry and construction, the expected contraction in the international economy this year could translate into double-digit declines in copper usage according to BofA: Nonetheless, they examined whether falls in purchases to such a level were realistic, and suggested that while Western economies may not totally mirror the rebound seen in China, the easing of lockdown measures would likely cause a rise in raw material purchases across the world.

"We also note that the current economic downturn is different to the usual downturns on various other metrics: the epicenter is in services, not production; governments are gearing up to execute remarkable financial stimulus packages, reflected in China's NPC and Europe's Next Generation EU initiative," the note read.

Northeastern Minnesota iron ore plants listed among beneficiary of Minnesota Power refundw Minnesota Power is refunding $12 million to its customers, including northeastern Minnesota's iron ore industry. Minnesota Power stated that the refund serves as part of a company proposal to resolve a November 2019 rate request sent to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC).

The resolution on Thursday was approved collectively by the MPUC. cient to power two cities the size of Duluth. The six iron ore plants spend roughly $1 million a day to operate taconite mining and iron ore pellet processing equipment. "All customers will get the refund, including the iron mining industry," stated Kelsey Johnson, President of Iron Mining Association of Minnesota. "It's small, but we appreciate Minnesota Power making this consideration for its customers."

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innesota Power is refunding the $12 million from interim rates collected between January 1 to April 30 under the resolution. "We hope the lower rates and refunds we proposed and the commission approved today will assist our consumers in weathering the financial strain caused by COVID-19," stated Bethany Owen, ALLETE president, and chief executive officer in a news release.

"These are challenging times for everybody, and we value the support of many stakeholders and the commission's quick action to approve our proposal. Providing safe, reliable, and affordable power has never ever been more vital to our consumers and communities than it is right now."

The average residential customer can expect a refund of about $20, according to Minnesota Power. Businesses will get a refund of roughly $70. Refunds may vary depending on power usage.

Refunds will be made to customers as quickly as possible, based on receiving written orders from the MPUC, according to Minnesota Power. In April, the MPUC reduced a Minnesota Power interim rate request to an average increase of 4.1% across its customer base from 5.8%. In an initial filing, the proposed rate increase was 10.59%.

Northeastern Minnesota's six iron ore plants will be included in the refund, stated Kelsey Johnson, Iron Mining Association of Minnesota president. Those iron ore plants are Minnesota Power's largest customer. The iron ore sector consumes about 600 megawatts of electricity at any given time. That is suffiwww.skillings.net | 27

GLOBAL

Jobs are being lost from the US coal market at the fastest rate in decades as fuel gets crowded out of an electricity market that is reducing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The number of coal mining jobs went down 12 percent to 43,800 in April, the United States labor department reported.

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Trump campaign for United States coal undermined by industry slump

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he financial picture is dimming in coal districts of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

"We assume that this whole scenario of the pandemic will speed up the decline of the coal industry," said Ben Nelson, a coal industry analyst at Moody's.

For an industry with a workforce the size of a small city, coal punches above its weight politically.

Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia in May 2016. MARK LYONS/GETTY IMAGES

President Donald Trump made reviving coal a central message in his 2016 political election campaign, giving stimulating speeches before miners wearing hard hats. But while the mine employees' union has petitioned the Trump administration for standards to prevent catching Covid19 in confined underground shafts, the government has not acted on the request, a union spokesman stated.

Coal mines have been declared an essential business, allowing them to stay open during stay-at-home orders. Yet United States coal output is on retreat as reduced electrical power use quickens a shift towards cleaner fuel. Last week, the Energy Information Administration projected that the United States coal consumption would drop 23 percent in 2020 to 454m short loads in 2020, well below the 11 percent decrease forecast at the beginning of the year.

Robert Godby, an economist at the University of Wyoming, stated that Coal trains have been hauling away 3.4 m short tons a week from Wyoming, the leading producer of the fuel. A year ago, they carried 5.3 m short tons a week. Taxes connected to coal production have traditionally provided about 15 percent of the state budget, he said.

In the past six weeks, Prof Godby said, 520 workers have been furloughed or dismissed in the Powder River Basin, the main coal area stretching between Wyoming and Montana. They include Peabody Energy's North Antelope Rochelle, the world's largest coal mine. NTEC, owned by the Navajo Nation, dismissed 130 from mines that it acquired last year after their previous owner filed for bankruptcy. www.skillings.net | 29

AMERICA

On Friday, the state government in Cheyenne held its first special session since 2004 to allocate federal coronavirus aid funds. A legislative study forecasted revenue might fall between $556m and $2.8 bn by 2022 as the state deals with the shock of the Coronavirus pandemic and lower tax incomes from coal, oil, and all-natural gas. "The problem we've had is the (economic) data isn't like riding a bike downhill — it's like being in an elevator where the cable snapped," Prof Godby stated.

The US coal sector was already in trouble before coronavirus. A cost-saving joint venture suggested by Peabody and Arch Coal was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission. Peabody had reduced its dividend and share repurchases. Arch Coal renamed itself Arch Resources on Friday to shed its organization with the unloved product. Pennsylvania-based Consol Energy has idled a mine in the state called Enlow Fork. In the east, independently owned Murray Energy is in bankruptcy. "Unless we figure out a means to decrease the cost structure at Enlow or the market demand recovers, I think we'll be very mindful of how that mine is revived online," Mitesh Thakkar, interim chief financial officer, said on a telephone call last week.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, April's decline in coal mining jobs was the largest monthly percentage fall in records going back to 1985. Social distancing is easier in the open-pit mines of the Powder River Basin, where employees can sit alone at the controls of high-volume shovels and dump trucks. from coronavirus. They share lifts as they come down into dark mine shafts, then ride together by rail to the coal seams.

In the Illinois Basin coal region of Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana, Alliance Resource Partners idled some production "as world leaders took actions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, crushing demand for energy", Brian Cantrell, chief financial officer, told analysts.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration, part of Mr. Trump's labor department, has urged miners to take measures such as disinfecting tools, washing their hands, and avoid crowding employee's carriers, in keeping with basic guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Companies have announced their precautions.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, April's decline in coal mining jobs was the largest monthly percentage fall in records going back to 1985.

Social distancing is easier in the open-pit mines of the Powder River Basin, where employees can sit alone at the controls of high-volume shovels and dump trucks.

Underground miners face even more risk

The United Mine Workers of America union wrote to Mr. Trump requesting for a specific emergency standard to address unique disease risks among its employees. "The response was, we don't see mines as a different type of workplace than any other workplace, which is frankly just ridiculous," said Phil Smith, the union spokesperson.

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A group of coal-state senators last week introduced a bill that would require an emergency standard. The EIA forecast that the amount of electricity generated by coal in the US will trail both nuclear and renewable sources for the first time this year, while natural gas will extend its lead in the power mix. Less coal burning will contribute to a record 11 percent fall in energy-related emissions of co2, the most prevalent greenhouse gas warming the earth, the agency stated.

Mr. Nelson from Moody's stated utilities were shutting down coal power plants much faster than scheduled. One example is Great River Energy, a Minnesota co-operative announced in early May that it would retire its 1,151 MW Coal Creek power plant in 2022, and then add 1,100 MW of wind energy the following year.

"And once they're closed down, they're not coming back again," Mr. Nelson said.

EQUIPMENT

Tesla brings in heavy machinery to break ground on foundation at Gigafactory Berlin Tesla appears to have started the new foundation of Gigafactory Berlin with a ton of new heavy machinery operating at the site.

CEO Elon Musk confirmed last year that Tesla would build Gigafactory 4 in the "Berlin area," which will make it "Gigafactory Berlin." The project will sit on a 300-hectare plot of land close to the GVZ Berlin-Ost Freienbrink industrial park, which Tesla has bought for â‚Ź40 million.

Musk claimed that Tesla would build "batteries, powertrains, and automobiles, starting with Model Y" at Gigafactory Berlin in Germany. The CEO has been aiming to have Model Y automobiles roll off the production line at the factory by July 2021.

They are going to have to move swiftly in order to maintain that timeline. With the global pandemic, there have been concerns of delays, especially since Tesla withdrew its US employees working on Gigafactory Berlin over coronavirus concerns and faced issues with the soil at the construction site.

However, local officials recently stated that Tesla should be able to avoid "any major delays to the construction."

We are beginning to see increasingly good signs of Tesla increasing building and construction work at the Gigafactory Berlin site.

In addition to the production of hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year, Tesla also plans to have battery cell production at the facility, and it's going to need miles of roads between the different buildings at the site.

ELECTREK'S TAKE

We are starting to see some good progress; however, I am still somehow doubtful about Tesla starting production

at Gigafactory Berlin by July 2021 – unless we are talking about just some general assembly. It's interesting to follow the progress compared to Gigafactory Shanghai, which came online in record time.

For Gigafactory Berlin, many European Tesla Model Y reservation holders are closely watching since it seems like Tesla will only release the electric SUV in Europe once it is being built at the new factory.

I'm now wondering if Tesla will rather attempt to export Model Y from the Fremont factory to Europe since the demand for the vehicle is slower in North America due to the global economic downturn following the pandemic. www.skillings.net | 31

GLOBAL

Tanzania Finally Grants Export of Mineral Concentrates The federal government has issued an export authorization for all the 277 containers of gold and copper concentrates, which had been kept in Dar es Salaam since 2017. The mineral concentrates had been kept at the Dar es Salaam seaport and Inland Container Depot (ICD) pending settlements between the federal government and the Canada-based Barrick Gold Corp.

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he release comes almost four months after Barrick Gold and Tanzania signed a deal where the government would take stakes in the latter's three gold mines in the country to end a long term tax dispute.

The deal signed in January 2020 by Minerals minister Doto Biteko and Barrick CEO Mark Bristow in Dar es Salaam followed an announcement by the two sides in October 2019 in which they consented to a payment by Barrick Gold of $300 32 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

Both parties also formed a new joint venture, Twiga Minerals Corporation ('Twiga Minerals').

that the export permit was provided to Twiga Minerals after the government received all the taxes due from Barrick Gold totaling Sh21.1 billion. The amount was part of the Sh58.9 billion collected by the Tanzania Minerals Commission (TMC) in April 2020. During the first three weeks of May 2020, TMC has garnered Sh44.7 billion as mineral earnings.

The permanent secretary in the Minerals ministry, Prof Simon Msanjila, told The Citizen's sister paper Mwananchi recently

"In short, an export permit has been issued. All taxes had been paid by April. A decision on when to export the concen-

million to resolve outstanding tax and other disagreements, lifting of the export restriction on mineral concentrates and the sharing of future economic benefits from the Barrick Gold mines.

trates remains purely with the company (Twiga) itself," he stated. Barrick Gold's resident manager, Mr. Hilaire Diarra, wasn't in a position to give information on the matter.

About 55,000 tonnes of the mineral concentrates produced by Bulyanhulu Gold Mines and Buzwagi under the then Acacia Mining Company had been exported for lack of processing capacity in the country.

However, President John Magufuli forbade the exportation of the 277 containers of the concentrates, and the probe committee he formed to look right into the issue came up with a list of minerals worth Sh829.4 billion contrary to earlier figures

by Acacia Mining.

For example, the committee unveiled that the containers had an average of 7.8 tonnes of gold worth Sh676 billion, as opposed to the 1.1 tonnes valuing at Sh97.5 billion provided by the Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA).

The National Union of Mine and Energy Workers of Tanzania (Numet) secretary-general, Mr. Nicomedes Kajungu, said the concentrates exportation benefit would be seen if the generated profits will be the product of standards provided

by Prof Abdulkarim Mruma's probe committee.

"If there is no difference, then the exportation is illogical. However, I applaud the federal government for its initiatives to construct a minerals processing plant in the country because besides creating jobs - it will improve the nation's economy," he stated. According to TMC, revenues generated in mining include inspection fees, royalty, permit lease fees, penalties, and geological services levy.

The commission had collected Sh44.7 billion as of May 22 this year, which Sh58.9 billion was tax collected on the copper concentrates. The amount received in March 2020 totaled up to Sh39.6 billion, while in February, Sh34.6 billion was collected.

Miners moving fast and virtuously in response to Covid-19: ICMM The International Council on Mining and Metals said company members had donated over US$ 315 million to global COVID-19 response efforts, as it outlined the industry's support to nations, communities and supply chains in a briefing this month.

However, it said the figure is one of the many works being done by members and cited in-kind efforts, along with other support for health care, including the donation of health centers. The briefing noted that in South Africa, Anglo American had made it's Highveld Hospital available for treating COVID-19 cases, and AngloGold Ashanti had donated two health centers.

It stated that Gold Fields' South Deep mine is committed to continuing to pay small, medium-sized, and microenterprise service providers and small-scale contractors the equivalent of ZAR22 million (US$ 1.25 million) for the period it was under care and maintenance, as a result of the nation's COVID-19 restrictions. Various other efforts included mental health initiatives, Vale's PPE donations in Brazil, BHP's accelerated payments program to small business partners in Australia, African Rainbow Minerals' education support in South Africa, and Barrick Gold's tailored responses in different territories.

"Building on the values of ICMM's Mining Principles, company members have been proactive in responding to the demands of COVID-19: moving fast to protect and care for workers and surrounding communities, as an overriding concern," ICMM stated. The council had released an updated set of principles and member requirements in February, in an effort to move with rising stakeholder expectations around environmental, social, and governance best practice.

ICMM stated in the briefing, mining and metals are "critically essential" to society, and to prevent inadequate supply in the future, it is important "governments promote policies that allow for a quick return to normal activities." The council said it combined 27 mining and metal companies and over 35 national and regional associations. www.skillings.net | 33

AMERICA

R E E DY PA RT N E R S W I T H H I S M E LT T EC H N O LO GY TO T E ST

Biomass as coal replacement for iron ore smelting Reedy Lagoon is exploring the option of replacing coal with biomass as it looks to "HIsmelt" technology to downstream process it's Wheatbelt magnetite ore from Burracoppin. The innovative move, while no doubt appealing to the unstoppable green movement, may even prove to be more cost-effective than processing coal to smelt the ore – and it could potentially spawn a new fast-growing tree industry in WA's Wheatbelt region.

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in Europe, to create a top-quality pig iron.

Pig iron is an intermediate iron product that can be sold higher than triple the price of iron ore, and it is used to produce high-grade steel.

The firm is exploring the use of feedstock from its Burracoppin magnetite iron ore deposit near Perth, combined with HIsmelt technology that has tested well

The HIsmelt process provides a simpler alternative to standard iron-making as it removes the use of sinter and pellet plants and coking ovens, the firm stated.

HIsmelt technology eliminates emissions of particulates and dioxins and also gets rid of emissions of benzene and toluene.

eedy has hit upon an ingenious blend of green technologies that might allow the firm to produce a lucrative, intermediate stage 'pig iron' product in WA by using biomass as a "reductant" in the process rather than coal, which is more generally used during the HIsmelt process.

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Although it still makes use of coal as a carbon-based reductant in the iron-making process, Reedy Lagoon is looking into a new way of processing the ore.

The company is eager to further develop the HIsmelt process by replacing coal with locally sourced 'biomass' which might simply be carbon-rich locally grown wood.

According to Reedy, management preliminary testing in Europe reveals that it might be feasible to create a HIsmelt process using biomass as the feedstock, and while the primary purpose of the modification would be to save cost, the added "green" benefits are potentially significant according to the firm. The biomass could even be sourced from local forestry providers, generating a 'carbon neutral' solution.

The general belief is that trees sequester carbon when they grow, and while they release that carbon during the HIsmelt

and balanced premium in the market– suitable for the production of clean pig iron. Premium iron ore products are currently trading around US$ 100 per tonne, while pig iron is fetching an impressive US$300 per tonne – a substantial 'value add' to just traditional processing.

Reedy Lagoon has commissioned international iron ore experts Dinsdale Consultants in Perth to carry out a study on the potential feasibility of its innovative biomass fed HIsmelt process, and it expects to deliver the results of the study in about seven weeks.

process, the overall operation should be close to carbon neutral. Creating pig iron would represent an additional business opportunity for Reedy, who would then be both a downstream processor and a magnetite miner.

The possible use of wood or biomass as feedstock for a potential HIsmelt magnetite processor could even spawn a new fast-growing forestry industry in WA. The iron ore feedstock for this plan will be Reedy's fully owned Burracoppin project, located 250 km east of Perth. The huge deposit covers over 3 km of the strike and has an expedition target of 140-200 million tonnes grading around 20-22 percent iron.

sometimes make deposits uneconomic.

The Burracoppin high-grade concentrate is low in contaminants, which makes the product highly attractive to steel manufacturers, potentially garnering a healthy

If Reedy can achieve a concentrate by grinding its product at over 100 microns and then go downstream utilizing cost-effective biomass in a HIsmelt process, it may end up with a considerable advantage when compared to traditional magnetite deposits.

The HIsmelt process provides a simpler alternative to standard iron-making as it removes the use of sinter and pellet plants and coking ovens, the firm stated. HIsmelt technology eliminates emissions of particulates and dioxins and also gets rid of emissions of benzene and toluene.

Burracoppin is located just 2 km south of the Trans-Australian rail line, which connects the deposit with both the port at Esperance to the southeast and the industrial facility at Kwinana to the west. What sets Burracoppin apart is its amenability to standard focus, requiring only a coarse grind at between 100 and 150 microns to produce a high-grade, greater than 65 percent iron concentrate.

This extraordinary quality additionally makes the product ideal for use in the HIsmelt process and delivers significant cost savings compared to many magnetite deposits that need to be ground down to 45 microns, or even less, which can www.skillings.net | 35

AMERICA

U.S. Steel signs long-term iron ore deal with Algoma Steel U.S. Steel, one of Northwest Indiana's largest employers, signed a long-term deal to provide iron ore to Algoma Steel in Ontario, Canada.

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he Pittsburgh-based steelmaker operates two mines in northern Minnesota that provide iron ore — one of the essential resources needed for steelmaking — to Gary Works as well as various other steel mills. U.S. Steel's mines will also provide iron ore pellets to Algoma Steel for four years, from 2021 to 2024.

"As a leading North American iron ore producer, U. S. Steel is pleased to partner with Algoma to ensure they have the enough supply of iron ore pellets they need to run their business," U. S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt stated. "This new supply agreement further confirms the worth of our iron ore 36 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

operations. We are delighted in Algoma's self-confidence in U. S. Steel's quality and reliability in satisfying their important long-term needs."

In March, U.S. Steel idled its Keetac mine in Minnesota's Iron Range, which provides iron ore pellets to the Gary Works and Midwest Plant steel mills, temporarily laying off about 375 steelworkers. In April, the firm announced the sale of an

option to buy a 25% interest in its Minntac iron ore operation for an implied value of $2.4 billion. Burritt stated the steelmaker continues to pursue its "bestof-both" approach.

"The asset revitalization investments we made across our steel making assets over the past few years are resulting in quality, enhanced safety and cost performance as we build on the cost and capability benefits of being an integrated producer," Burritt stated.

"As we complete our electric arc furnace in Alabama and also continue with our investments in unlimited casting and rolling at Mon Valley Works and the upgrades to the hot strip mill at Gary Works, we will have fundamentally repositioned our footprint to be the only 'best of both' steel producer for the multiple stakeholders that count on U. S. Steel."

Australia restores confidence in China's iron ore processing changes On Thursday, the Australian government said an adjustment in China's iron ore inspection procedures should enhance customs clearance of Australian shipments, reassuring markets concerns about deteriorating ties between Beijing and Canberra.

On Wednesday, China said it would streamline customs inspection procedures for iron ore imports from June 1, with quality checks no more mandatory. However, the move triggered some concern in Australia, given it followed closely on the Chinese decision to ban some Australian meat exports and enforce tariffs on barley shipments.

Diplomatic relations were recently stressed by Australia's call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. Iron ore is Australia's most valuable export to China, worth A$63 billion ($41 billion) every year. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the move could streamline the customs clearance of iron ore.

"Such easing of administrative barriers and costs would be a positive example of the further opening of Chinese markets that President Xi has previously dedicated to and reform that can assist with global economic recovery," he stated in an emailed statement.

China's state-owned Global Times, which has attacked Australia over its lobbying for a coronavirus inquiry, claimed the changes were not targeted at Australia. "China has the power to hurt the Australian economy but won't fire the first shot in a trade war," the paper said in an editorial.

Analyst Peter O'Connor at Shaw and Partners stated there was no possibility China would target Australian iron ore in the near term since China has marginal various other sources of supply. Benchmark iron ore prices hit an eight-month high of $98.20 a tonne in Shanghai trade on Thursday. According to China customs data, 65% of China's iron ore imports in 2020 came from Australia. China, the world's leading iron ore customer, brought in 358.4 million tonnes in the first four months of 2020, boosted by robust demand at mills.

China's state-owned Global Times, which has attacked Australia over its lobbying for a coronavirus inquiry, claimed the changes were not targeted at Australia. "China has the power to hurt the Australian economy but won't fire the first shot in a trade war," the paper said in an editorial. www.skillings.net | 37

GLOBAL

Data mining champions to drive resource exploration targets in South Australia South Australia is discovering the first-round winners of its world-first data mining competitions that aim to increase exploration in the resource-rich Gawler Craton region.

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ntroduced last year, the exclusive international competition ExploreSA: The Gawler Challenge partnered with an open innovation platform unearthed in an international call for data scientists and geologists to discover new exploration targets in the state's Gawler Craton region.

South Australia's geological and drilling data in a bid to identify valuable new targets for miners.

About 2000 competitors worldwide have already registered for the challenge to mine masses of the Geological Survey of

The winners include a data analyst and owner of machine learning business Caldera Analytics in Melbourne, a team

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Currently, four early-round data preparation category winners are sharing a $20,000 slice of the competition's $250,000 prize pool.

from data science startup Incerto, a geologist from New Gold in Australia and Canada, with a focus on machine learning, and geospatial developer and software engineer.

South Australia Department of Energy and Mining chief executive Paul Heithersay said the Gawler Craton is one of the world's greatest provinces in terms of mineralization, particularly in copper, however "the prizes there are hard to

with New Gold in Canada and Australia and Michael Rodda of Caldera Analytics in Melbourne, with a focus on big data and machine learning applications to geosciences.

The Incerto Data startup team included Ahmad Saleem from Perth, a research analyst and voice of Exploration Radio and Russell Menezes from Perth, founder and geodata science director of RadixGeo, and Tyler Hall, who is completing a Ph.D. in geoscience at Stanford University in the United States.

"As a team, our objective behind taking part in the Explore SA competitions was to showcase ways of incorporating domain experience in mineral exploration with proven data science techniques," they said.

The other team included Liu Wei, a data scientist from China and software program engineer and geospatial developer Liang Chen and data scientist and business intelligence developer Ouyang Hua from Melbourne, Australia.

find." Heithersay was stunned by just how strong interest in Unearthed had been to date, with competitors coming from Canada, India, Brazil, the United States, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Russia.

"Interest has well exceeded my assumptions and the diversity of people involved.

They are not only from the mining industry, but they are also coming from science or machine learning backgrounds or artificial intelligence, who haven't used their skills in this particular area," he stated.

He said the government was running the innovative data competitions with a robust co-funding program approach to supporting mining in the state, through the $10 million Accelerated Discovery Initiative. Early round data mining champions included Jack Maughan, a geologist

of plans to trigger new thinking and innovative strategies to assess the state's treasure trove of historical records, primary data, and research in a bid to track the discovery of mineral deposits. All data and targets generated by the competition will be publicly shared in September for miners and explorers to analyze and ultimately drive investment and jobs.

As COVID-19 restricts business globally, the state's Minister for Energy and Mining Dan van Holst Pellekan stated South Australia was focused on ensuring the state was prepared to push for prompt economic recovery once "this health emergency is over. " ''The results of the competitions will demonstrate how data-driven geological methods can be applied to mineral exploration and benefit the entire industry due to a more innovative understanding of the geology of the resource-rich Gawler Craton area of the state's Far North, Van Holst Pellekan stated."

"The Gawler Craton is one of the world's most major iron oxide and copper-gold regions, and by applying innovative The competition combines geological analytical methods to geophysical data, expertise with new mathematical, artifiwe are a step cial intelligence, closer to discovand machine ering the next learning by South Australia Department Olympic Dam or using historof Energy and Mining chief Carrapateena." ical records, primary data, executive Paul Heithersay Mining heavyand research said the Gawler Craton is weight BHP is to increase currently setting the number of one of the world's greatest up plans to potential drill provinces in terms of minincrease copper targets across production at its central South eralization, particularly in lucrative Olympic Australia. copper, however "the prizes Dam operations there are hard to find." from 200,000 South Austrato 350,000 lia's resource tonnes annually. sector is one pillar of the state's economy, employing The mine is 560 kilometers north of the about 26,000 local people and generatstate's capital city Adelaide and is one of ing mining income of $2.4 billion over the world's most significant deposits of the past 12 years. ExploreSA: The Gawler gold, silver, copper, and uranium.

Challenge competition is among a suite www.skillings.net | 39

GLOBAL in a release to Mining Weekly. Several miners lacked the reliable site-level connectivity required to enable real-time monitoring and management, although, on some sites, some firms had this. The common need was a platform to help bring all of their data together, Carr added.

This was why Inmarsat had created two propositions, to aid mining firms future-proof themselves and respond to the upcoming modifications to tailings regulation globally. They could also be used in combination with each other at different sites across a global portfolio, and upgrading from one to the other was simple.

New solution for monitoring tailings dams by Inmarsat The tragic tailings dam breach in Brazil that killed over 270 people has turned the attention of the mining world on making tailings dams safe.

E

arlier this year, environmental organization Grid-Arendal introduced the world's first publicly accessible global database of mine tailings storage facilities with assistance from the United Nations Environment Program.

International mobile satellite communications Inmarsat has recently announced the launch of a new Internet of Things service for monitoring mining tailings storage facilities. It allows users to view comprehensive details on over 1900 tailings dams, categorized by location, company, dam type, height, volume, and risk, among other factors.

40 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

Tailings Insight is available in two versions to support mining companies seeking to improve data governance and transparency, removing many of the challenges related to data governance and ensuring that mining companies have visibility across global tailings portfolios in one location.

Commenting on the update, Inmarsat mining innovation director Joe Carr said it was clear that it was not about a onesize-fits-all approach.

"Miners have explained that there are countless different strategies to tailings monitoring happening every day," he said

The global tailings portal of Norway-based environmental organization Grid-Arendal forms part of an initiative backed by a $13-trillion fund and led by the Church of England Pensions Board and the Swedish National Pension Funds' Council on Ethics and gives viewers insight into the area, company, dam type, height, volume, and risk.

Its launch coincided with the first anniversary of the Brumadinho tailings clog collapse, after which a group of institutional investors asked 726 of the world's largest mining companies to disclose details of their trailing dams. The Brumadinho dam disaster occurred on 25 January 2019 when Dam I, a tailings storage facility at an iron-ore mine, in Minas Gerais, failed catastrophically.

Safer tailings storage facilities can be achieved when mine owners, engineering consultants, and contractors work closely together, said SRK Consulting senior geotechnical engineer Linda Spies after a recent Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy conference focusing on tailings dams.

With controls becoming very strict, mining companies require greater assurance that their tailings dams are safe so that they can, consequently, assure their investors.

Cahoot, AusIMM upskill sector with Mining 4.0 Academy

T

he Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) has teamed up with Cahoot Learning to launch the Mining 4.0 Academy, which comprises practical training courses to develop skills and capabilities.

Some of the offered courses include Adaptive Leadership, Resilience at Work, Data Exploration, Get Cybersmart and Storytelling. These courses are focused on certifying industry professionals with digital skills, human capabilities as well as

EQUIPMENT

contemporary working methods, giving them practical insight and the necessary expertise to operate in a fast-changing industry.

to meet the changing skills gap," Durkin stated. "The short course series will definitely encourage and support modern ways of working.

Developed in collaboration with the resources industry, Mining 4.0 Academy identified the major workforce capabilities and digital skills required within organizations.

"AusIMM is delighted to work with Cahoot Learning to deliver this capability. Cahoot's unique and effective model of relationship-based learning has been honed through working closely with world-leading learning organizations."

Based on this, the Academy developed a suite of three-week courses to address gaps within resources industry organizations and assist participants in discovering how to gain skills and lead under challenging new circumstances and help their organizations adjust to the digital age.

AusIMM President Stephen Durkin stated that the organization was dedicated to providing people in the industry with professional development specific to the needs of the sector. "AusIMM remains dedicated to providing resources professionals with opportunities to continue

Cahoot Learning co-founder Anthony Morris also expressed his support for the new venture, continuing on the company's successful ongoing relationship with AusIMM. "Morris stated that long-term impactful learning is an economic imperative for people, organizations and the whole economies." "Delivering strong outcomes for stakeholders is imperative in these new, developing close strategic relationships."

We thrive on challenges golder.com

www.skillings.net | 41

GLOBAL

Mines are hotspots for the spread of Covid-19, study reveals Mining sites in the US, Canada, and all over the world have become hotspots for the spread of coronavirus, and around 4,000 mine workers in 18 countries have tested positive to Covid-19, according to a report by a global union of non-profit groups. The report links mining sites to virus outbreaks in several Indigenous and remote communities.

I

n a separate statement, more than 330 organizations all over the world called mining "one of the most polluting, dangerous, and devastating industries" and accused the sector of ignoring the threats of the pandemic and using it to weaken regulations.

The mining industry pushed governments to declare them "essential," and many continue to operate throughout the pandemic in the US and Canada, stated Kirsten Francescone of MiningWatch Canada, one of the non-profit groups that authored the report.

at great risk." A minimum of 45 infected employees from a fly-in, fly-out work camp housing thousands at Exxon's Imperial Oil Kearl Lake oil sands mine project in northern Alberta flew home in mid-April unknowingly spreading the virus in five Canadian provinces.

"We deny the major claim that mining represents an essential service," it reads.

"Mine employees and members of nearby Indigenous and remote communities are

This triggered an outbreak in a remote northern Saskatchewan Dene village, kill-

42 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

Range business owners

“We’ll find a way to stay afloat� as mines idle due to Covid-19

The Minnesota iron mining industry has recently been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic leading to shutdowns and layoffs.With about 2,000 miners out of work, the economic hit to communities has set in.

I hope the mining sector will rebound later this year and we don't shed a lot of those businesses that are so important to our communities," said Commissioner Phillips. "So we're going to do whatever we can to keep them open."

Lind Industrial Supply is a family-owned company by Art and Roger Lind located just down below Hibbing's main street. "We're a service company and a sales arm for manufacturers on the Iron Range," said Roger who works as Vice President of Lind Industrial Supply. "Our customers are the major producers and suppliers of taconite."

With Minorca, Minntac and United Taconite still operating, the Lind's are still supplying, and that's keeping their business afloat. However, they are preparing for a big hit to their business. "I would say at least one-third of our income would be affected. This year," said Art, who started Lind Industrial Supply and currently the President of the company.

From the concentrator to the crusher to the pellet plant, Lind Industrial supply was built off mining. "Everything from mines up in the Upper Peninsula to Northshore Mining is a big customer of ours, Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite, Minntac, Keetac, Minorca, Minntac" stated Roger.

From the 80s to the 90s, to the 2000s, Art has experienced many shutdowns during his more than 50 years in the industry. He claimed he's learned from each one.

That means mining makes up about 99 percent of their business. So when things are good, the Lind's thrive. But in a time like this when the industry is adversely affected by the pandemic, their goal is to ensure the business they built can survive.

"We were looking forward to a good year," said Roger. "But unfortunately the Covid-19 pandemic affected everything.

On the Iron Range, that's the case for several mining-related businesses. "It drives the economy up here," said Mark Phillips, Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. He said this downturn is different because there's no playbook for COVID-19.

"In past mining recessions we've had the opportunity, some organisations branch out and find other markets in other parts of the country and world, and they adjust. Well,

currently the whole world is in this economic downturn, so this kind is different".

"I used to say when the steel industry got a hiccup; the Iron range would get the flu. In this case, it's a real virus, Minnesota State Senator Dave Tomassoni said."

The senator has served the Iron Range for about 30 years as an elected official. "Five of the six taconite mines are in my senate district."

As a result of that, he's been through several boom and busts, but he said it never gets any easier. Tomassoni said, "the whole Iron Range suffers when the mining industry has a downturn."

According to a study done by UMD's Labovitz School, for every job in the iron ore mining industry, another two jobs are created. For instance, if 1,000 miners are laid off, it's expected that another 2,000 jobs will be affected, many of them coming from the vendor/ supplier industry. "I'm hoping we can get back.

"We do not have a big overhead operation here, and I don't have a high overhead operation at my residence or anything like that. So, we can get by." However, not every business will be able to stay afloat. Commissioner Phillips said there's still much work to be done.

"We need help at all levels. We need business support at the federal and state level, and also we're going to do it regionally and collaborate locally with our communities. Because, if everyone does not pitch in, we do not have the resources to solve this problem."

For the Lind family, the Iron Range is their home, and despite the obstacles, they plan to continue collaborating with the industry that helped build their business. "It's not going to last forever," stated Roger. "We'll make it through it, and there are better days down the line."

The IRRRB will most likely be rolling some new programs to assist the small local business as they try to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Phillips added. The board has a meeting coming up in June.

www.skillings.net | 43

GLOBAL ing two senior elders, and in a long-term care home in British Columbia.

The Kearl Lake outbreak has increased to 107 cases as the mine continues to operate. In mid-May, another Alberta oil sand operation reported an outbreak but Alberta government officials insist mine operations must continue so as to protect the economy, stated Francescone. "These outbreaks are hardly surprising with mine employees cohabiting in camps."

According to the report, at least 25 employees were infected, and one worker has died at the Lac des Iles palladium mine operated by Impala Canada in northern Ontario.

The nearby Indigenous community, Gull Bay First Nation, reported a minimum of eight people infected in connection with the mine outbreak in a community of only 300. Palladium is a precious metal used in automobile pollution-control devices.

The report used field and media reports and company statements to record at least 69 mining sites around the world with major outbreaks. One-third of the firms operating those sites are headquartered in

Canada. Several allegations and comments in the report "grossly misrepresent the facts," said Pierre Gratton, president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC).

"Within our membership in Canada, mines are operating Covid free," Gratton stated in an email. MAC does not represent all mining firms operating in Canada.

Gratton said mining "supports manufacturing, including a number of health care products" and that this is why governments have deemed the industry essential. Mining is considered an "essential service" in the US, and several outbreaks have occurred. New Mexico's Chino copper mine was forced to close indefinitely after a mid-April outbreak when a number of its employees tested positive.

At the same time, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has "waived many enforcement and compliance obligations during the pandemic," said Benjamin Hitchcock Auciello of Earthworks, a US non-profit that co-authored the report. New projects are conducting environmental-impact evaluations despite

the near-impossibility of executing lawfully required public consultations, Auciello stated. Several environmental guidelines have also been waived for Alberta's oil sands industry, one of the world's biggest energy projects, with over C$ 243bn (US$ 180bn) invested.

To reduce infection risks, "non-essential activities have been postponed to significantly reduce the number of people working on-site," including those involved in "low-risk" environmental compliance checks, said Tim McMillan, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

These temporary measures enable "companies to concentrate on important areas of operations," McMillan said in a statement.

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STATISTICS United States Exports to World of All Steel Mill Products in Thousands of Metric Tons

MAY 2020 CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION

W

orld crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 148.8 million tonnes (Mt) in May 2020, an 8.7% decrease compared to May 2019.

Due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, many of this month’s figures are estimates that may be revised with next month’s production update.

China produced 92.3 Mt of crude steel in May 2020, an increase of 4.2% compared to May 2019. Japan produced 5.9 Mt of crude steel in May 2020, down 31.8% on May 2019. India produced 5.8 Mt of crude steel in May 2020, down 39.1% on May 2019. South Korea’s steel production for May 2020 was 5.4 Mt, down by 14.1% on May 2020.

Production in the EU is estimated to be 10.5 Mt in May 2020, down 26.8% on May 2019. The United States produced 4.8 Mt of crude steel in May 2020, a decrease of

36.6% compared to May 2019. Production in the C.I.S. is estimated to be 8.2 Mt in May 2020, down 7.6% on May 2019.

Ukraine produced 1.6 Mt of crude steel in May 2020, down 10.4% on May 2019.

Brazil produced 2.2 Mt of crude steel production in May 2020, down by 22.6% on May 2019. Turkey’s crude steel production for May 2020 was 2.3 Mt, down by 25.8% on May 2019.

WORLDSTEEL SHORT RANGE OUTLOOK JUNE 2020

T

he World Steel Association (worldsteel) released its Short Range Outlook (SRO) for 2020 and 2021. In 2020 worldsteel forecasts that steel demand will contract by 6.4%, dropping to 1,654 Mt due to the COVID-19 crisis. In 2021 steel demand is expected to recover to 1,717 Mt, an increase of 3.8 % over 2020.

This year’s reduction in global steel demand will be mitigated by an expected faster recovery in China than in the rest of the world.

The forecast assumes that most countries’ lockdown measures continue to be eased during June and July, with social distancing controls remaining in place, and that the major steelmaking economies do not suffer from substantial secondary waves of the pandemic.

Commenting on the outlook, Mr Al Remeithi, Chairman of the worldsteel Economics Committee said, “The COVID-19 crisis, with its disastrous consequences for public health, also represents an enormous crisis for the world economy. Our customers have been hit by a general freeze in consumption, by shutdowns and 46 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW June 2020

by disrupted supply chains. We therefore expect steel demand to decline significantly in most countries, especially during the second quarter. With the easing of restrictions that started in May, we expect the situation to gradually improve, but the recovery path will be slow.

However, it is possible that the decline in steel demand in most countries will be less severe than during the global financial crisis as the consumption- and service-related sectors, which have been hit hardest, are less steel-intensive. In many developed economies, steel demand was already at a low level, having still not fully recovered from 2008.

Let me underscore that this forecast is presented at a time of high uncertainty. As economies are reopening without a vaccine or cure in place, significant downside risks exist. If the virus can be contained without second and third peaks, and if government stimulus measures are continued, we could see a relatively quick recovery.”

CRUDE STEEL PRODUCTION, MAY 2020. Source – World Steel Association COUNTRY

MAY 2020

MAY % CHANGE 2019 MAY 20/19

MAY 2020

MAY % CHANGE 2019 MAY 20/19

2020

% CHANGE

-16,4

2 839

-14,7

Mexico

1 450 e

1 670

United States

4 790

North America

Austria

540 e

646

Belgium

600 e

707

-15,1

2 980

-11,6

Bulgaria

50 e

56

-10,7

258

2,5

Croatia

0 e

0

..

0 -100,0

COUNTRY

Argentina

2020

% CHANGE

-13,2

7 256

-12,4

7 553

-36,6

31 330

-15,5

7 113

10 304

-31,0

43 638

-14,6

194

407

-52,2

1 230

-35,5

2 188

2 826

-22,6

12 141

-15,9

Czech Republic

365

401

-9,0

1 939

-5,4

Finland

235

374

-37,2

1 540

-6,7

France

784

1 235

-36,5

4 796

-25,0

Chile

90 e

83

7,9

434

34,7

2 850 e

3 513

-18,9

15 267

-11,8

Colombia

85 e

124

-31,5

480

-13,2

Greece

100 e

130

-23,1

473

-25,6

Ecuador

40 e

51

-21,3

230

-8,8

Hungary

170 e

154

10,6

724

-11,1

Paraguay

2 e

1

54,1

9

32,1

1 250 e

2 217

-43,6

7 653

-26,9

Luxembourg

160 e

201

-20,3

758

-23,5

Peru

70 e

108

-35,2

410

-18,5

Netherlands

487

610

-20,1

2 718

-7,0

Uruguay

5 e

4

16,0

23

-2,4

Poland

700 e

807

-13,2

3 342

-19,2

Venezuela

2 e

3

-37,8

15

-50,9

32

56

-43,5

251

-9,5

2 676

3 608

-25,8

14 972

-17,0

Spain

833

1 256

-33,7

4 716

-24,5

Egypt

628

651

-3,6

3 518

0,7

Sweden

370

452

-18,1

2 025

-7,8

Libya

47

46

1,4

197

-12,9

United Kingdom

700 e

636

10,1

3 130

-1,6

South Africa

25 e

510

-95,1

1 282

-52,2

Other E.U. (28) (e)

260 e

866

-70,0

2 604

-37,9

700

1 207

-42,0

4 997

-21,9

14 315

-26,8

58 013

-17,7

2 350 e

2 158

8,9

11 444

11,1

63

235

-73,3

684

-35,4

Saudi Arabia (1)

565

706

-19,9

3 269

-5,7

UAE

164

291

-43,9

1 135

-16,8

3 142

3 390

-7,3

16 532

2,1

China

92 267

88 565

4,2 411 751

1,9

India

5 767

9 468

-39,1

35 851

-24,6

Japan

5 916

8 674

-31,8

36 604

-13,4

South Korea

5 387

6 275

-14,1

27 407

-8,9

90 e

290

-69,0

1 137

-16,9

1 730 e

1 934

-10,6

8 696

-9,5

350 e

428

-18,1

1 823

5,0

1 949

1 750

11,4

9 016

1,9

113 456

117 384

-3,3

532 285

-2,4

471

494

-4,6

2 232

-0,5

59

57

3,9

193

-30,4

530

550

-3,7

2 425

-3,8

-8,7

728 715

-5,2

Germany

Italy

Slovenia

European Union (28) 10 485 Bosnia-Herzegovina

40 e

73

-45,2

225

-38,8

Macedonia

20 e

22

-9,0

79

-27,5

Norway

55 e

57

-4,0

283

4,8

115

185

-38,0

626

-27,4

Turkey

2 272

3 063

-25,8

13 491

-5,6

Other Europe

2 501

3 401

-26,4

14 704

-7,6

Serbia

Byelorussia

175 e

231

-24,3

1 040

-5,4

Kazakhstan

250 e

398

-37,2

1 434

-12,0

30 e

30

1,0

133

-8,9

Russia

6 000 e

6 302

-4,8

29 850

-1,3

Ukraine

1 638

1 827

-10,4

8 295

-10,5

56

42,9

398

60,5

8 844

-7,6

41 150

-3,5

830 e

1 032

-19,6

4 818

-12,2

15 e

18

-15,2

83

-6,6

El Salvador

8 e

8

0,5

39

-3,6

Guatemala

20 e

24

-17,8

113

-8,6

Moldova

Uzbekistan C.I.S. (6) Canada Cuba

80 e 8 173

Brazil

South America

Africa Iran Qatar

Middle East

Pakistan Taiwan, China Thailand Vietnam Asia Australia New Zealand Oceania

Total 64 countries (2) 148 775

163 003

(1) - HADEED only. (2) - the 64 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 99% of total world crude steel production in 2018. e - estimated

www.skillings.net | 47