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The transition of Anglo American to 100% renewable electricity supply across its South America operations has helped the London- and Johannesburg-listed diversified mining company to reduce its carbon emissions by more than a fifth.

At the end of 2022, Anglo's Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 21% below the peak levels of 2019 - a significant reduction that the full-on renewables advance at its operations in Chile and Peru secured, Anglo reported on Wednesday at its regular sustainability performance update covered by Mining Weekly.

Next in line to follow South America's lead in 2025 are Anglo's operations in Australia.

In Southern Africa, Anglo is working to build a 3 GW to 5 GW renewable energy ecosystem of wind and solar generation capacity through renewables company Envusa Energy, which it owns jointly with EDF Renewables.

Envusa this week lodged an application for a licence to trade electricity in South Africa's Northern Cape, North West, Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces over the Eskom network.

The seven offtakers are located in the Northern Cape, North West and Limpopo and the three generators on the borders of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces.

Anglo's integrated approach to sustainability in project development is securing the ability of the company to deliver responsible long-term growth in future-enabling metals and minerals.

"Our unwavering focus is on driving consistent, competitive performance to deliver our next phase of value creation - at the heart of which is our integrated approach to sustainability," said CE Duncan Wanblad.

"One of our greatest challenges as an industry, though, is to bridge the clear gap between increasing recognition of the need for ever greater volumes of mined materials and society's acceptance of the activity required to produce them.

"Our learned experience in delivering improved sustainability outcomes from successful projects such as Quellaveco is part of the solution and is integral to how we make our strategic and investment choices - across our current operations and projects in design and development - and to unlocking enduring value for all our stakeholders," Wanblad added.

"We have long seen a holistic approach to sustainability as a key driver of commercial and stakeholder value. Sustainability is a core competency that we deploy throughout our business, from strategic portfolio choices to project design and delivery to day-to-day operational decisions, always with value creation in mind," said Anglo strategy and sustainability director Helena Nonka.

"Societal expectations of our industry will continue to increase, as will the need for the essential metals and minerals, and we must build greater trust if we are to provide materials that are required to decarbonise our planet, and that are also the building blocks of modern life - from housing to food - for ever more people," Nonka added.

"For multi-generational assets, such as Woodsmith and Quellaveco before it, it is critical that we embed the latest thinking and technologies into safe and sustainable modern mine designs," said Anglo Crop Nutrients CEO Tom McCulley.

Building on the blueprint for success established at the Quellaveco copper operation in Peru, the company intends to continue to deploy the integration of technology and sustainability at the Woodsmith crop nutrients project in the UK, which is expected to set a new benchmark for modern mining - "out of sight, safe, reliable, and catering to our customers and society's needs".

"Aligning that design at Woodsmith with the highly attractive environmental credentials of our low carbon, organic-certified and high efficacy fertiliser product is a further aspect of the value proposition of our product for customers. We're building the next generation of FutureSmart MiningTM," McCulley added.

Projects and Development director Alison Atkinson expressed the belief that Anglo's abilit...

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The copper production of diversified mining company Anglo American increased by 42% in the third quarter owing to the ramping up of the new Quellaveco copper mine in Peru.

However, this was offset by rough diamond production decreasing by 23% and steelmaking coal production decreasing by 21%.

Moreover, nickel production was down 7% on lower grades and planned plant maintenance at the Minas-Rio iron-ore operation in Brazil put overall iron-ore production at a 4% lower level than the corresponding period of last year.

Now, the focus of the London- and Johannesburg-listed company is on delivering full-year production guidance in line with a planned stronger second half, CE Duncan Wanblad emphasised in a release to Mining Weekly.

Rough diamond production's fall to 7.4-million carats was the result of planned reduction at South Africa's Venetia diamond mine transitioning underground in Limpopo, as well as diamond production in Botswana decreasing by 12% to 5.8-million carats owing to planned maintenance at the Orapa diamond mine.

South Africa's rough output was a 78%-lower 0.4-million carats and Canada's a 9%-lower 0.7-million carats, while production in Namibia remained flat.

Full-year rough diamond production guidance is unchanged at 30-million to 33-million carats at $75/ct at a time when De Beers rough diamond inventory continues to build owing to weaker market sentiment.

The fall of steelmaking coal production to 4.4-million tonnes at the Moranbah longwall operation and the ramping-up Grosvenor in Australia was partially offset by higher production from the opencast Capcoal and Aquila longwall.

Production guidance for 2023 is 16-million to 19-million tonnes at $105/t.

Manganese ore production in South Africa was 4% higher 1 012 100 t on improved mining equipment reliability.

Third-quarter exploration and evaluation expenditure was broadly flat at $90-million. Exploration expenditure was a 5%-lower $38-million and evaluation expenditure was up 11% at $52-million, mainly on higher evaluation expenditure on platinum group metals and steelmaking coal.

Amid copper production's third-quarter rise to 209 100 t with the help of the 42% rise at Quellaveco was a 9% rise at Collahuasi, a 5% rise at El Soldado, both in Chile, where recent heavy rainfall will reduce the need for alternative sources of water over the next couple of quarters. Towards the end of 2025, more than 45% of Los Bronces' needs will be met through a desalinated water supply.

Production guidance for 2023 is revised to a lower 830 000 t and 870 000 t with unit cost guidance for 2023 is unchanged at 166 c/lb.

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South Africa Manganese continued its strong performance in the three months to September 30, when it increased saleable production by 7% to a record 628 000 wet metric tonnes (wmt), South32 reported on Monday.

Moreover, the realised price for optimise mix South Africa Manganese ore sales was a premium of 6%, the Sydney-, Johannesburg- and London-listed diversified mining and metals South32 stated in its release to Mining Weekly.

Owing, however, to third-party port congestion impacting the timing of shipments, sales decreased by 4%. During the current December quarter, additional shipments and drawdown inventories are expected to be completed.

Importantly, South African Manganese's full-year production guidance of remains unchanged at 2 000 000 wmt, with planned maintenance scheduled for the December 2023 and March 2024 quarters.

Meanwhile, saleable production from South Africa's Hillside Aluminium in KwaZulu-Natal remained unchanged at 180 000 t in the September quarter, with the smelter continuing to test its maximum technical capacity despite the impact of elevated loadshedding. As a shipment slipped to the December quarter, September quarter sales decreased by 8%. Remaining unchanged is the full-year Hillside production guidance at 720 000 t.

Saleable production from Mozal Aluminium in Mozambique increased by 2% to 84 000 t in the quarter as the smelter, while managing the impact of elevated loadshedding, continued to implement initiatives to achieve planned equipment utilisation and pot stability.

However, Mozal sales decreased by 32% in the three months to September 30 owing to inventory being built following the planned drawdown in the prior quarter. The inventory position is expected to be lowered to normalised levels during the current quarter, with full-year guidance remaining unchanged at 365 000 t.

"We have maintained annual production guidance for all of our operations with a strong start to the year at our manganese operations," South32 CEO Graham Kerr stated. There has also been a 34% increase in production at Brazil Alumina and continued growth in low-carbon aluminium volumes.

"With macroeconomic conditions creating headwinds for many of our commodities, we remain focused on driving operating performance and cost efficiencies," Kerr added.

That focus, along with production growth in commodities for a low-carbon future, positions South32 to potentially capture higher margins as market conditions improve.

At the Hermosa growth project in the US, feasibility study for the Taylor zinc-lead-silver project is on track to be completed in the current quarter, with federal permitting having commenced for both the Taylor and the Clark battery-grade manganese deposits. The Clark exploration decline is on track to begin during the current quarter.

EXPLORATION

South32 invested $9-million in greenfield exploration opportunities in the quarter, including an exploration drilling programme first at the 100%-owned Roosevelt project in Alaska.

An additional 4.9% equity interest in Aldebaran Resources was acquired for $8-million, taking ownership to 14.8%. Aldebaran has an earn-in to acquire an 80% interest in the Altar copper project in San Juan, Argentina.

Investment in exploration programmes at existing operations and development options totalled $15-million, including $6-million at Hermosa, $1-million at Ambler Metals and $2-million for at Sierra Gorda copper mine in northern Chile.

At Worsley Alumina in Australia, saleable production decreased by 4% to 972 000 t as planned calciner maintenance was completed and at Brazil Aluminium, saleable production was largely unchanged at 24 000 t.

At Cerro Matoso in Colombia, payable nickel production decreased by 19% to 8 300 t owing to plant availability being impacted by planned maintenance and a temporary reduction in third-party gas supply.

At Illawarra Metallurgical Coal in Australia, saleable produc...

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Diversified natural resources group Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has signed an agreement with China's BGRIMM Technology Group for the construction of cobalt beneficiation facility, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This facility, which will process material provided from ERG's Metalkol mine in the DRC, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2024.

The agreement with BGRIMM was signed on October 17 during the third Belt and Road Summit Cooperation Forum, in Beijing.

"ERG's agreement with BGRIMM to build a high-quality cobalt beneficiation facility is much-needed for the critical mineral mining and processing industry and for the green energy transition.

"It is very exciting to help increase the overall investment in cobalt beneficiation in the DRC. This will also lead to further improvement of infrastructure and bring many benefits for local communities in the country, which is a vital region for metals and mining and a key building block for the cobalt industry," says ERG CEO Benedikt Sobotka.

At Metalkol, ERG's flagship operation, the group has expanded the production capacity ten-fold in the last four years.

ERG is also developing its another key asset in the DRC, Comide, which it says has some of the world's largest known copper and cobalt resources.

In this vein, the cobalt beneficiation facility, which ERG is building up with BGRIMM, is expected to be an important addition to its portfolio of assets producing key battery materials as it should deliver high-purity cobalt hydroxide tailored for the battery market.

It should also further strengthen the group's position as a strategic supplier of traceable materials for the electric vehicle industry.

ERG plans to invest a further $2-billion in the DRC over the next two years.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Anglo-linked Envusa Energy’s application to trade sun and wind energy in seven mines; the green hydrogen collaboration between Anglo American Platinum, BMW and Sasol; and the R1-billion solar project that will see Tharisa Minerals carbon emissions cut by 30%.

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Renewables company Envusa Energy, which is owned jointly by Anglo American in partnership with EDF Renewables, this week lodged an application for a licence to trade electricity in South Africa's Northern Cape, North West, Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces over the Eskom network.

The seven offtakers are located in the Northern Cape, North West and Limpopo and the three generators on the borders of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. (See map.)

Mining Weekly can report that the desired date for the licence to take effect is Tuesday, October 31, with the offtakers of the sun and wind energy being a combination of mines, smelters, and other large mining-related electricity users.

The operations to be served are Anglo Platinum's Amandelbult underground platinum group metals (PGMs) mine in Limpopo, Kumba Iron Ore's Kolomela mine in the Northern Cape, Anglo Platinum's Mortimer smelter operation that straddles Limpopo and North West, Anglo Platinum's Mototolo PGMs mine in Limpopo, Anglo Platinum's Polokwane smelter in Limpopo, Rustenburg PGMs mine in North West, and De Beers' Venetia diamond mine near the Zimbabwe border and also in Limpopo.

Amandelbult and Rustenburg are described in the application as collocated mines that house a combination of furnaces, compressors, and smelters.

A map of the trading area being sought shows three generation plants clustered on the borders of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape as having a combined capacity of 520 MW of alternating current (ac).

These are the 240 MWac Mooi Plaats solar photovoltaic plant, the 140 MWac Hartebeeshoek wind plant, and the 140 MWac Umsobomvu wind plant. All three have been awarded Strategic Infrastructure Project status.

The durations of the power purchase agreements and the tariffs to be charged per megawatt hour have not been disclosed, but the total price charged to the respective offtakers will be a combination of a blended wind tariff between Umsobomvu and Hartebeesthoek, Mooi Plaats' solar tariff and the wheeling cost.

The energy reconciliation for wheeling will be based on the energy supply agreements already in place between Eskom and the offtaker entities.

Regarding metering arrangements, Envusa has been granted monthly access to the meters on the premises of the generators and the offtakers to perform the reconciliation process with Eskom.

This process involves matching the energy delivered to the offtaker by any of the three generators and setting this off against the offtakers' actual consumption, carried out in terms of the energy supply agreements that Eskom has in place with the respective offtakers.

Total trading revenues are calculated by applying the electricity price charged by the respective generators to Envusa adding the cost of wheeling.

Regarding human resources, Anglo American Energy Solutions Limited and EDF Renewables South Africa personnel will be seconded to the trading entity.

Envusa's business model involves purchasing energy from generators and selling it to offtakers. It allows for multiple generators of various technologies to sell energy to Envusa, and then Envusa to on-sell that energy to multiple offtakers across South Africa.

As has been reported by Mining Weekly, Anglo envisages that the partnership will ber generating 3 GW to 5GW of clean electricity across Southern Africa.

Not listed in the application is Anglo Platinum's large opencast Mogalakwena mine in Limpopo, which is where Anglo's nuGen™ zero emission haulage solution is giving rise to far-reaching emission-free mine haulage vision.

In October 2022, Anglo and EDF agreed to a first-phase launch of 600 MW by Envusa. The implementation of the regional renewable energy ecosystem through the partnership would also serve as a clean energy source for the production of green hydrogen for the increased rollout of hydrogen-powered ultra-class mine haul trucks while also supporting the dev...

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The UK will make R20-million in funding available to help identify the most bankable opportunities for African countries to attract investment into the processing of critical minerals.

Boston Consulting Group will be carrying out the study, which should be completed by year-end.

The study will assess specific opportunities for in-country processing and mid-stream value addition and will focus on South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Morocco, Guinea, Ghana, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

Besides outlining high-potential prospects, the report could also identify the key constraints to the projects proceeding and provide recommendations on how these could be addressed.

British High Commissioner to South Africa Antony Phillipson announced the commitment at the Critical Minerals Africa conference, taking place in Cape Town, where he reiterated the growing importance of cooperation on critical minerals for the economic partnership between South Africa and the UK.

In 2022, the two countries pledged to deepen their partnership on critical minerals during President Cyril Ramaphosa's State Visit to the UK, where it was agreed more should be done to promote the responsible exploration, development, production and processing of minerals in South Africa.

"African countries rightly have a high level of ambition for unlocking the value of their natural resources; and the UK will work with them in partnership to support delivery of their ambitions.

"We are committed to increasing our investment in the continent and strengthening the transparency and resilience of the supply chain for critical minerals - creating green jobs in Africa, while taking action on climate change," Phillipson said.

He added that demand for critical minerals was expected to more than triple by 2030, reaching over 30-million tonnes as countries sought to meet net-zero commitments, while demand for certain categories of minerals, such as lithium used in battery electric vehicles, would grow at an even faster pace.

The announcement came ahead of the second UK-hosted African Investment Summit, which will take place in April 2024, and which is expected to deliver new investments in line the first Summit of 2020, where R150-billion-worth of new investments were announced.

Work on the study is scheduled to take place as from the week beginning on October 23 and a decision will be made early in the new year regarding the best way to communicate the results and potentially advance the prospects further.

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The continued weakening of platinum group metal (PGM) prices and macroeconomics have resulted in the Karo Platinum Project timeline for commissioning being extended out by 12 months to June 2025, with the opportunity to accelerate the timeline as markets become more favourable.

The Karo platinum project, an openpit PGM project under construction in Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, is a long-life asset with an initial 17-year life of mine.

The principal operating asset of Tharisa, the Johannesburg- and London-listed platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome mining company, is its mechanised Tharisa mine in the south-western limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex, which has an 18-year pit life and can extend operations underground by at least 40 years.

The revised timeline provides flexibility to navigate volatile market conditions, Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis stated in the company's production report for the fourth quarter and the year ended September 30.

"Our growth strategy remains firmly intact, with continuous optimisation at the Tharisa Mine, investment in downstream beneficiation, and our commitment to the development of the multi-generational Tier 1 Karo Platinum Project," Pouroulis added.

"While current markets are volatile and unpredictable, we believe in the medium term outlook for PGMs underpinned by a supply side constrained economy, this supported by a robust chrome market driven by stable demand," he said.

Tharisa's co-product model was supported by a strong recovery in chrome production in the second half of the year and benefiting from a 26% increase in price.

Chrome production for the financial year was 1 580.1 kt compared with 1 582.7 kt in the previous financial year and annual PGM production was 144.7 koz, down on the 179.2 koz of the 2022 financial year.

The average annual metallurgical grade chrome concentrate price was up 26.2% at $263/t and the average annual PGM price was down 26.1% at $1 893/oz.

Group cash on hand of $268.8-million and debt of $142.2-million has the company in a net cash position of $126.6-million.

Production guidance for the 2024 financial year is between 145 koz and 155 koz of PGMs and 1.7 Mt to 1.8 Mt of chrome concentrates.

"Our margins remain strong due to our mechanised low cost operations, with a continued disciplined capital allocation strategy, ensuring investment in our existing businesses, providing sustainable growth and return to shareholders," said Pouroulis.

MARKET UPDATE

Tharisa reports that the chrome market continues to support sustainable pricing, with reduced port inventory in China highlighting the tight market balance underpinned by the growth in Chinese domestic ferrochrome and stainless steel industries.

Supply chain complexities are exacerbated by constrained rail and port logistics in South Africa together with the effect of erratic electricity supply from Eskom.

The PGM market remains under continued pricing pressure with uncertainty of the macro global economic outlook having a direct effect on the demand for the precious metals. This is overlain by further indecisiveness on the future of the internal combustion engine.

With the steep decline in PGM prices, analysts have cautioned that higher cost producers within the PGM industry are not profitable at these commodity prices. The 'higher for longer' concerns of the global interest rate market have impacted prices for now and Tharisa sees muted upside in the short term for PGM prices.

In the medium to longer term demand drivers including the hydrogen economy, possible supply cuts at unprofitable PGM producers, project delays and capital discipline versus demand for the internal combustion engine, will require a recovery in PGM prices to ensure demand is met by supply.

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The world over, green hydrogen is being recognised as the most effective route towards combating the climate crisis in the most holistic way possible, with Minerals Council South Africa highlighting the collaboration of South Africa's leading platinum mining company with a local grey hydrogen producer and a car company with 30 global production site and a 140-country sales network.

Collaborating in the trialling of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are Anglo American Platinum, BMW Group South Africa and Sasol South Africa in the trialing of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in which the green hydrogen is converted into clean electricity by platinum catalysts.

"As countries around the world reduce their environmental footprint by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change concerns, green hydrogen is a vital component in the shift towards green energy sources," the Minerals Council stated in its release to Mining Weekly.

For South Africa, which is the largest supplier of platinum group metals (PGMs), the use of green hydrogen in the auto sector is an important development that could generate demand of up to five-million ounces of platinum group metals (PGMs) a year if hydrogen fuel cells are used in 10% of the global car market. This will underpin job security for the 175 000 people employed in the PGM mining sector.

Coinciding with the Minerals Council media release were several other local releases and many global newsbreaks emphasising green hydrogen's far-reaching momentum.

As reported by Engineering News at the weekend, South Africa's Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces have agreed to team up in a bid to position South Africa as a global hub for the production of green hydrogen and derivative products, as well as to produce the components required in the green hydrogen value chain, ahead of the finalisation of South Africa's Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy.

In addition, steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa is moving ahead with a study into the production of green hydrogen directly reduced iron (gHDRI) at its mothballed Saldanha Steel Works, in the Western Cape. The JSE-listed group has signed a memorandum of understanding with an as yet unnamed "developer of transformational energy solutions" to advance the production of gHDRI at the plant.

On Monday, Charbone Hydrogen of Canada announced the launching of the construction of the first phase of Toronto-listed company's green hydrogen production facility in Quebec

This followed the energy company with Australia's iron-ore mining group Fortescue has announced plans to build a 550 MW electrolyser at its Gibson Island Project in Brisbane, a platinum-based proton exchange membrane electrolyser as well as European company Lhyfe, a world pioneer in the production of green and renewable hydrogen for transport and industrial applications, turning the first sod for the construction of a hydrogen production plant in the German city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. This plant will be the first to supply hydrogen directly to an industrial park. It is also the first in a network of many plants that will be operated by Lhyfe, which is setting out to deliver green hydrogen in bulk in Germany and France by 2025.

In addition, Fortescue and Plug of the US have started the initial diligence process for Fortescue to take up to a 40% equity stake in Plug's Texas green hydrogen plant and for Plug to take up to a 25% equity stake in Fortescue's proposed Phoenix green hydrogen plant.

The World Platinum Investment Council, with its eye on the demand for platinum that the green hydrogen rollout will generate, expects one-million FCEVs to be on China's roads by 2035 and that one in eight newly registered commercial vehicles worldwide will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells by 2030. The broad-based commercial adoption of FCEVs could add more than three-million ounces to yearly platinum...

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The R1-billion solar project being developed by Chariot Transitional Power and Total Eren in North West province is on track as planned to be completed end 2024.

In doing so, it will contribute to Tharisa Minerals' planned reduction of 30% of carbon emissions in 2030, Tharisa investor relations and communications head Ilja Graulich stated in response to Mining Weekly on Friday.

Construction of the Buffelspoort Project solar energy facility, which is set to start in the second quarter of 2024, is expected to create jobs for about 200 people, mainly drawn from the local communities.

The project will generate up to 40 MW of photovoltaic (PV) electricity to the London- and Johannesburg-listed Tharisa's platinum group metals (PGM) and chrome mine in Rustenburg.

The PV project will supply electricity to the South African PGM mine on a minimum 15-year power purchase agreement.

"As an Africa-focused developer and an independent power producer, our core mandate is to develop, finance and operate renewable projects in Africa to sell renewable energy to private off-takers," Chariot CEO Benoit Garrivier stated in a release put out by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, which highlighted Chariot's momentum towards fulfilling its investment pledge, made at the fifth South African Investment Conference hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg in April this year.

"South Africa is an important market for Chariot because of its size in Sub-Saharan Africa, the abundance of renewable solar resources, the existence of various strong corporate off-takers and a supportive government.

"Various government initiatives over the last few years have made the South African market ideal.

"We're delighted to be working on this project, alongside our partner Total Energies, helping to reduce Tharisa's carbon footprint by developing this independent source of power for their mining operations," Garrivier added.

Chariot will also supply solar power to 70% Tharisa-owned Karo PGM mine in Zimbabwe at the initial installed capacity of 30 MW, as part of a broader project of 300 MW to be developed over the mine's evolution.