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Gemstone miner Gemfields, which has operations in Mozambique and Zambia, has reiterated the emphasis it places on operational personnel's safety in Mozambique following a series of insurgent attacks in the country, with a current hotspot in the Cabo Delgado province.

It has been alleged that the insurgent attacks are fuelled by members of a jihadist group affiliated with the Islamic State and a desire to expand its influence, with increasingly violent attacks having taken place in Mocímboa da Praia in 2017 and a siege of the town of Palma in 2021.

Gemfields has a 75% stake in the Montepuez ruby mine (MRM) in Mozambique that covers 33 600 ha in Cabo Delgado.

The mine employs about 1 400 people, with 95% comprising Mozambican nationals, and plays an important role in Cabo Delgado, providing training, and supporting education and healthcare in local communities, Gemfields explains to Mining Weekly.

However, the mine elected to evacuate its nearby 75%-owned Nairoto gold exploration camp and MRM on separate occasions in the past five months for the safety of mining and prospecting personnel as a result of insurgent attacks in the province.

The Nairoto exploration camp is 83 km north of MRM and about 15 km southwest of the village of Nairoto, where an attack attributed to insurgents took place shortly before midnight on February 12.

This event prompted Gemfields to evacuate operational employees and contractors, ceasing operations at the site. Its MRM operations were, however, not affected.

On June 6, 2022, several attacks attributed to insurgent activity occurred in the vicinity of Ancuabe, in Cabo Delgado, which is about 65 km east-northeast of MRM. At the time, the majority of insurgent activity occurred more than 150 km to the northeast of MRM.

At that time, Gemfields issued travel restrictions to MRM personnel owing to the incidents occurring between 15 km and 40 km north of the N1 and N14 roads – the principal route used by MRM to travel to and from the coastal town of Pemba, the provincial capital.

A subsequent closer attack on June 13, 2022, in the Muaja village area, lying about 30 km by road from MRM, saw Gemfields electing to continue the MRM operations after conducting a security review but with increased vigilance.

An even closer attack on October 20, 2022, at a ruby mine neighbouring MRM saw Gemfields evacuating operational employees and contractors from MRM. This time, MRM operations were suspended, with mine security personnel and Mozambique police being complemented on site by members of Mozambique’s military forces.

MRM personnel returned to site on October 24, 2022, accompanied by Mozambique military members, for safety reasons.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN

The two most recent evacuations of MRM and Nairoto present “a cause for considerable concern” to everyone at Gemfields, particularly to those in Mozambique, Gemfields tells Mining Weekly.

The miner stresses that the health and safety of its employees and contractors is “clearly our highest priority”.

Gemfields explains that it actively monitors insurgency activity in the Cabo Delgado province, with risk levels varying at different times. “Gemfields has emergency planning in place to prioritise the protection of our people and operations. We remain in close communications with the police, military and government.”

In the last 18 months, the miner points out that incidents involving the insurgents have occurred closer to Gemfields’ operations than previously, partly because the insurgents have been pushed out of areas where natural gas developments are under way in the northeast of the province and have therefore migrated to the south, southwest and west.

MRM has been Cabo Delgado’s highest taxpayer since 2014, with 23% of MRM’s revenue going to the Mozambican government in taxes and mineral royalties, currently exceeding $200-million to the government, in aggregate.

“We believe MRM to be a ‘lighthouse’ project in a province that desperately needs jobs and economic growt...

South Africa’s Kumba Iron Ore sees itself as a critical player in the decarbonisation journey.

Regarding tricky Scope 3 emission reduction, the Anglo American company is partnering with top steelmakers Salzgitter, ThyssenKrupp and Nippon to cut its Scope 3 emissions; advancing fast towards generating its own solar power from the hot Northern Cape to lower its Scope 2 emissions; and looking to green hydrogen to power fuel cell mine trucks to cut its Scope 1 emissions.

“This is the work that we're busy with, starting off with the 68 MW of solar at Sishen, and working with the broader Anglo American renewable energy ecosystem, which will ultimately be a combination of especially solar but also wind.

“There’s also pumped hydro storage that would come in as well, but that’s the pathway for us. We are essentially serious about this journey and that’s why when we went out and spoke about our targets, we said these are targets, and not ambitions,” said upbeat Kumba Iron Ore CEO Mpumi Zikalala following the JSE-listed company’s presentation of results, which saw the payout of R14.5-billion worth of 2022 dividends, with the company’s empowerment partners receiving R4.7-billion for the year.

Pumped hydro storage involves the use of mines as big energy batteries.

“We’re absolutely excited by the green hydrogen haulage truck that we’re piloting at Mogalakwena and clearly that technology will continue maturing and as part of our long-term capital replacement schedule, that’s where we see ourselves converting our fleet into green hydrogen. It’s part of the broader scope of work. We’re looking at that coming in around 2026 but we’ll continue expanding on that,” said Zikalala.

“We’re absolutely committed when it comes to the reduction of carbon emissions. What we're looking at internally from a Scope 1 and 2 perspective is a 30% reduction by 2030 in so far as greenhouse gas emissions are concerned and the carbon neutrality goals that come in by 2040.

“We’ve got a clear pathway that gets us there. Then, from a Scope 3 perspective, we don’t just see ourselves as bystanders. It’s not just about the high quality of ore that we produce, but we see ourselves as being critical players in the decarbonisation journey,” said Zikalala.

Kumba has formed a number of partnerships with steelmaking customers to supply them with premium product suitable for direct reduction iron (DRI) steelmaking because some are pivoting away from blast furnace production.

“For DRI production, you need a very high-quality iron-ore. Our best quality, we believe, is good enough for DRI steelmaking, so we’ve formed partnerships with Salzgitter and ThyssenKrupp, in Germany, and with Nippon Steel, in Japan, to investigate the optimal green steelmaking processes," Kumba Iron Ore executive head marketing and seaborne logistics Timo Smit said in response to Mining Weekly.

“We’ve also formed partnerships with some blast-furnace steelmakers looking to improve the efficiency of blast furnaces; for example, a partnership with Hyundai Steel, looks at how our products can make a difference in their blast furnaces.

“I should caution that these are longer-term developments but certainly both for more efficient blast furnaces and for DRI steelmaking, the better the quality of the raw material, the lower the emissions, so Kumba is very well placed to play an important role in this green steel transition by virtue of the high quality of our product,” said Smit.

The number of steel mills with emission-reduction targets increased exponentially in 2021 to a quarter of global steel production. Europe leads with its top-five mills targeting emission reductions of 58%.

To achieve this, European steelmakers are expected to pivot more towards DRI, which offers a larger carbon dioxide reduction compared with the blast-furnaces route, especially when based on green renewable hydrogen.

More than 20 DRI projects have been announced in Europe, which is likely to bring 40-million to 50-million tonnes of c...

South Africa’s hydrogen corridor, which has been declared a strategic project, will create 14 000 jobs and consume 63 000 oz of platinum, Anglo American Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen told Mining Weekly on Monday.

Viljoen’s interview by Mining Weekly followed the JSE-listed company’s presentation of 2022 financial results, which reported a contribution of R131-billion to society in the 12 months to December 31. Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation totalled R74-billion in a year in which there the lowest-ever number of safety incidents.

“What's important for us as an economy is also the development that we see happening across the world,” said Viljoen, in reference to the global uptake of hydrogen as a future clean universal energy source.

This green energy source is dependent on the platinum group metals (PGMs) that South Africa hosts so overwhelmingly, with PGMs being needed to:

generate green hydrogen;

turn green hydrogen back into electricity;

create the green hydrogen for internal combustion engine (ICE) hydrogen vehicles; and

potentially also impressively lower the weight of batteries used by battery electric vehicles (BEVs), with research into doing so well under way. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Key is that the Inflation Reduction Act being promulgated by the US government effectively reduces the production of green hydrogen to negative cost, which Viljoen pointed out was spurring a big increase in investments in production of hydrogen infrastructure development, as well as the end-use of hydrogen.

Anglo Platinum displayed a slide overviewing South Africa’s own hydrogen 2023 corridor trials with 20 buses and three trucks. (See attached). By 2028, the third trial phase will likely involve 500 trucks and 300 buses.

The lower cost of green hydrogen through EU initiatives had, Viljoen pointed out, also prompted green hydrogen end use in Uber fleets in Germany, with all global advances of this nature pointing to South Africa's PGMs industry – which employs 500 000 people directly – being not only preserved but boosted as the world transitions away from fossil fuels as part of its decarbonisation imperative to mitigate against climate change.

Moreover, mining’s multiplier effect rockets those 500 000 jobs into indirect jobs totalling many times that number.

The hydrogen economy encourages the use of PGMs because platinum-based PEM electrolysis is ideally suited to the variability of renewable energy, and the uniqueness of PGMs take on both temperature and energy variance. This reduces overall cost and improves overall efficiencies, with the key word being overall.

“Important to note is that we only need to capture 10% of the future light vehicle market to have the same demand sector that we have for ICE vehicles today,” Viljoen pointed out.

The other point is that hydrogen generation – and the fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) that turn the hydrogen back into green electricity – are far less mineral intensive when adjudged from engine to wheel.

While FCEVs require marginal amounts of PGMs as their main mineral input, significant amounts of lithium, nickel and copper are required in batteries for BEVs.

From a recycling point of view, FCEVs also present a far friendlier recycling environment.

PGMs, which have been cleaning the air that we breathe for decades, are a young group of metals that are relatively just at the start of their huge journey to decarbonise the world.

Anglo Platinum CFO Craig Miller forecast that gasoline hybrid vehicles would continue to play a key role in the decarbonisation of transport and that there would be a role for FCEVs, both of which require PGMs, with several auto manufacturers resuming production in this space.

“An exciting demand segment for PGMs will come from the hydrogen economy,” Miller said, recalling how the building blocks of a hydrogen future were beginning to assemble as the company outlined in its interim results.

“Six months on, the pieces are ...

The contribution of platinum group metals (PGMs) company Anglo American Platinum to society in 2022 totalled R131-billion, made up mainly of taxes and royalties at R19-billion, salaries and wages at R15-billion, local procurement of R25-billion, capital investment of R17-billion and dividends of R55-billion, Mining Weekly can today report.

Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) totalled R74-billion and there were zero work-related fatal incidents at managed operations, with the JSE-listed company’s zero harm focus resulting in the lowest-ever number of safety incidents.

Return on capital employed remained at 111%.

Protecting the lives and livelihoods of employees moved to a broader focus on employee well-being to include mental health support, as well as the successful implementation of a new employee share ownership plan, or Esop, ‘Thobo’, meaning ‘Harvest’.

A delay in the completion of the rebuild of the Polokwane smelter because of substandard materials, as well as Eskom loadshedding, resulted in total refined production of 3.8-million PGM ounces, with sales in line with refined production.

Metal-in-concentrate production of four-million PGM ounces was helped by strong performances from Unki, in Zimbabwe, and Mototolo, in Limpopo, which was offset by lower volumes at Mogalakwena owing to grade, planned infrastructure closures at Amandelbult, and lower third-party receipts

Established Scope 1 and 2 reduction pathways to meet carbon neutrality targets by 2040 include a partnership with Envusa Energy, fast-tracking 30% of total energy required, a first major step towards energy independence.

Anglo Platinum continued to support communities through innovative partnerships, including the Olifants River Management Model, as well as the market development of the hydrogen at a time when policy in the US and Europe is accelerating the global hydrogen economy.

Total refined production of 3.8 million PGM ounces, impacted by the delay in the completion of the Polokwane smelter rebuild due to the delivery of sub-standard materials, partially offset by improved utilisation at Waterval and Mortimer smelters.

Year-end net build-up of work-in-progress inventory of was some 100 000 PGM ounces.

The second-highest dollar basket price on record averaged $2 551/PGM ounce, with palladium reaching a record first-quarter high and the price of platinum rising after being negatively affected by a higher dollar price for much of the year.

Unit cost performance increased to R15 300 per PGM ounce on above consumer price index and inflationary increases in utilities and consumables and lower production.

Refined production is expected to be between 3.6-million and four-million ounces this year, while unit costs are forecast between R16 800 and R17 800/PGM ounce. Total capital expenditure of between R22-billion and R23-billion is expected, which includes stay-in- business capital of between R10-billion and R11-billion and future growth investments of R4.4-billion.

In terms of market outlook, most analysts expect the dollar to weaken further in 2023, supporting PGM prices. A combination of pent-up demand, low inventories, strong labour markets and stimulus released into the Chinese economy should help the automotive recovery rally continue through the year.

The mining Ebitda margin of 57% was helped by the optimisation of the benefits of diversified metal prill splits.

MANAGEMENT CHANGES

With Anglo Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen serving a notice period of up to 12 months, management team structure has been strengthened.

Riaan Blignaut, currently executive head of asset reliability and safety, health, environment, and energy, has been appointed COO and will take full responsibility for operational delivery, including mining and processing from March 1.

Wade Bickley, currently head of underground mining at Anglo American, has been appointed as the executive head mining technical, tasked with transforming the operational environme...

Nuclear power is part of the green taxonomy in Europe, where South Africa places most of its aluminium products and where most of the price pressures on non-green aluminium are going to come in the coming years.

But, for some reason, nuclear energy is not part of the green taxonomy in South Africa.

“We’ve alerted Eskom to that, and government stakeholders as well – that there’s an opportunity to commercialise nuclear power’s greenness,” South32 COO Noel Pillay stated at a post-results media conference in which Mining Weekly took part.

Currently, South Africa’s nuclear power from Eskom’s Koeberg power station on the Western Cape is fed into the national power grid with all other power sources without attracting a premium tariff.

“We’re willing to look at a premium to add to nuclear power because nuclear is certainly accepted as a renewable energy source for green aluminium into Europe,” said South32 CEO Graham Kerr.

Eskom has not separated out the 1.8 GW of nuclear power that Koeberg generates and South32, which must produce green aluminium at its Hillside Aluminium smelter in KwaZulu-Natal or perish, is keen to take 50% while also taking steps on the renewable energy front for the Richards Bay operation.

Obtaining this nuclear would accelerate Hillside’s existential journey to sustainability, while continuing to closely monitor renewables market pick up to be able to contemplate additional options.

Hillside has that urgency and paying more for allocated nuclear is the conversation it is having with Eskom and the government as a short-term solution.

European Union (EU) taxonomy – a classification system, establishing a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities– is seen as a factor that could play an important role helping the EU scale up sustainable investment and implement the European green deal.

“We’ve been very clear to the South African government and Eskom that we’ll not own and run a brown aluminium smelter going forward because we think that the discount on the cost of aluminium will make it uncompetitive.

“We’re also conscious of the role that we play in terms of the number of people we employ, the downstream industry we create, but we should also understand that the downstream products are sold into to Europe.

“So, this is a real big issue for the South African government to address. Technically, it’s not an issue. Policies are moving, nuclear is a quick and easy solution.

“Maybe it’s long-term regarding renewables so the opportunity sits between us and them to make this happen by 2035. I think well find a way to arrive at a good outcome for everyone,” Kerr said in response to UBS mining research analyst Miles Allsop’s question on progress being made.

In response to Mining Weekly, Pillay described the question of nuclear energy supply as being “still early days”.

“I don’t think it will be funneling energy directly to us. It will still actually be distributed by the grid. What we’re trying to discuss with Eskom is trying to find a sweet spot where we can get access to those green attributes.

“Largely, it’s an accounting issue but again there’s no policy that guides that. So, there are quite a lot of stakeholders to engage to see to what extent this will be possible, but certainly, we believe there’s something there in terms of getting access to those green attributes, particularly for our industry where the question is going to be coming on significantly fast in the coming years, particularly from Europe.

“It accelerates our journey and gets a part of the business green as we contemplate other options to find solutions to green the rest of it.

Mining Weekly: Will the greening of the rest of Hillside be solar and wind?

Pillay: Yes, exactly, that’s what our studies are suggesting. But, again, to find an economical solution, whether that’s through independent power producers, partnering with Eskom, is still work under way. But we’ve got a dedicated team that’s on this now for a while and we’re working on ...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the need for South Africa Incorporated to go all out to turn energy headwinds into energy tailwinds; US and EU policies that have highlighted the need for critical raw materials; and Green hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell developments in China and India which spells good news for South Africa’s PGMs.

The new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States (US) has improved the business case for producing manganese in that country.

Well-established South African manganese mining group South32 has confirmed the opportunity for its manganese deposit in the US to supply battery-grade manganese into the growing US electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.

The US deposits of the Sydney-, Johannesburg- and London-listed South32 are part if its Hermosa land package in Arizona.

The key piece of IRA legislation will reportedly provide tax credits for US battery manufacturers who have a 40% share of their critical minerals coming from the US or countries with which it has free trade agreements. That rises every year until 2027, when the threshold will be 80%, terms described as providing a strong platform for South32’s push into North America.

“IRA is clearly supporting the use of EVs in the US around a 2030 timing. There is a desire for the development of domestic supply chains, of which South32 has two out of Taylor and Clark.

“If we go for manganese, which is the second one coming out after Clark, we’re looking at manganese in the context of batteries for cars. It’s about producing a high-purity battery sulphate anhydride,” South32 CEO Graham Kerr said in response to Mining Weekly during a media conference after the company posted one of its highest profits to date with half-year earnings of $1.36-billion, underpinned by production growth of 12%. Increased exposure to the metals critical to a low-carbon future, and continued focus on cost efficiencies enabled the Sydney-, Johannesburg- and London-listed company to pay an ordinary dividend of $224-million.

Manganese for batteries is seen as having the potential to rise from a tiny proportion of the end user demand to as much as 30% by 2030.

South Africa's manganese mines are mainly in the Kalahari Basin of the Northern Cape, which hosts most of the world’s known top-quality manganese resources

Moreover, South Africa’s Manganese Metal Company, situated in Mbombela, is reportedly the world’s only non-China based producer of high-grade electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) and the world’s largest refinery of 99.9% (selenium-free) EMM, with 95% of production exported.

Three key products are EMM, electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) and manganese sulphate monohydrate (MSM), with EMM being 97% pure metal, EMD containing 63% manganese in chemical form, and MSM containing 32% manganese, also in chemical form, with its pink crystals containing one molecule of water.

If given the go-ahead, South32's Clark operation would have its own decline access and be dewatered ahead of the lower-lying Taylor underground mine, on which a decision will be taken this year, ahead of a decision on Clark.

Zinc, which is also on the US critical minerals list, zinc is positioned to increase in demand significantly with the growth of wind turbines and silver in solar panels.

Diversified mining company South32 recorded one of its highest profits to date with half-year earnings of $1.36-billion, underpinned by production growth of 12%.

Increased exposure to the metals critical to a low-carbon future, and continued focus on cost efficiencies enabled the Sydney- and Johannesburg-listed company to pay an ordinary dividend of $224-million.

“Commodity markets have strengthened, leaving us well placed to capitalise on planned production growth and lower operating unit costs expected across the majority of our operations in the second half of the 2023 financial year,” South32 CEO Graham Kerr stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

“The long-term outlook for our business is positive as a result of our portfolio investments and high-quality development options in the metals critical for a low-carbon future,” Kerr added.

South Africa Manganese half-year production rose 4% to 1 093 000 wet metric tonnes (wmt), and production guidance for the full year to end June remains unchanged at 2 000 000 wmt.

Half-year earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) increased 32% to $25-million, with capital expenditure (capex) expected to be $15-million in the 2023 financial year as South Africa Manganese replaces mobile fleet and equipment. Accessing new mining areas and upgrading rail infrastructure will likely cost $18-million.

Hillside Aluminium Ebit fell 80% to $62-million on 1%-higher production to 362 000 t with elevated loadshedding not getting in the way of the smelter continuing to test its maximum technical capacity. Production guidance for the financial year is unchanged at 720 000 t.

Capex at Hillside for the financial year is expected to be at $30-million, with planned investment in a replacement trucking fleet for the transportation of liquid hot metal and the continued roll-out of the AP3XLE technology to improve energy efficiency. The technology has already been deployed at the company’s Mozal Aluminium smelter in Mozambique and reduces carbon intensity while providing volume and efficiency benefits.

Mozal’s half-year production rose 34% to 182 000 t with full-year production guidance remaining at 370 000 t.

Mozal’s half-year Ebit fell 41% to $65-million on a 10% decrease in the average realised price for aluminium and higher raw material input prices. Its pots were relined using AP3XLE.

Capex is expected to be $19-million for the year on plant refurbishment and continued AP3XLE implementation.

SOUTH32 LEAD TEAM CHANGES

Changes to South32’s lead team will take effect on 1 April.

Katie Tovich, after almost four years as South32’s CFO, will be appointed to the role of chief human resources and commercial officer.

With this change, finance VP Sandy Sibenaler will be appointed CFO.

South32 produces bauxite, alumina, aluminium, copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, metallurgical coal and manganese from operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America.

Recent government policies, such as the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act and the European Union’s proposed Green Deal Industrial Plan, demonstrate the growing need for critical raw materials through to the end of the decade and beyond, necessitating fresh investment in both primary supply and recycling, said Glencore CEO Gary Nagle on Wednesday, when the diversified mining and marketing company reported stunningly high record 2022 earnings.

“As we run down our coal business, we’ll continue to invest in our critical minerals and provide the minerals and metals needed for the decarbonisation of the world’s energy grid.

“There are significant growth prospects in our copper business in particular, but also potential growth prospects in nickel and cobalt and we’ll bring those materials into the market as the world need them to decarbonise and supply the minerals of tomorrow, while we supply the energy needed today,” said Nagle.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed company’s earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) were up 60% at $34.1-billion, with net income up 107 % at $18.9-billion. Shareholder returns totalled $7.1-billion or $0.56/share.

“It’s been a phenomenal year on the marketing side,” said Nagle, with marketing Ebit double the top end of the guided range. Equity-free cash flow was $24-billion and the year ended with virtual zero net debt.

“We’ve been able to provide our customers with the energy security they need, the minerals they require to be able to navigate a very volatile world,” Nagle added.

Glencore has made considerable climate mitigation progress, with Glencore industrial assets head Peter Freyberg and his team working extensively on what the company refers to as its marginal abatement cost curve (MACC), which reduces Scope 1 and 2 emissions through evaluating operating efficiency, fuel switching, renewable energy and technology options.

MACC provides the framework for Glencore to pursue the most cost-effective reductions and to stay one step ahead of any carbon price. In this way, it intends to decarbonise in a manner that is value accretive or free of charge.

All new mine projects have renewable energy as Glencore embarks on its journey to reduce emissions by 15% by 2026 and by at least 50% by 2035.

A carbon capture utilisation and storage pilot project is being advanced in Australia amid the International Energy Agency’s standpoint that the world needs all technologies to be able to meet its net zero ambition by 2050.

Continued capital investment is underway into recycling of minerals, which is seen as being a profitable was well as a responsible pursuit to close the supply gap and to decarbonise.

Ongoing Swiss and Dutch governance investigations into the company are being met with cooperation, following the resolution governance investigations in the US, UK and Brazil.

“We’ve unfortunately lost four of our colleagues this year and this is something that we take incredibly seriously. It is the single most important driver of our company. Peter Freyberg and his team work relentlessly to keep our people safe and that we target zero harm in this company. We haven’t achieved that objective, but it is the number one objective that we have in this company, and we will not rest until our people are all safe,” Nagle emphasised during the presentation of results covered by Mining Weekly.

INCREASED UTILISATION OF RENEWABLES

In response to UBS mining research analyst Miles Allsop, Nagle said the company had seen increased utilisation of renewable energy across the whole of Europe.

Glencore Alloys head Japie Fullard, who is driving Glencore’s energy strategy around alloys, said in response to Mining Weekly during a media call, that multiple solutions are being investigated, with Glencore Alloys’ decarbonisation commitments being on-site projects involving potential cogeneration, and off-site virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) pursuits.

The cogeneration opportunity involves turning ...

The firm embrace of the new green hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell future by China and India is a huge twin boost for Southern Africa’s great platinum group metals (PGMs) endowment, Mining Weekly can today report.

Hydrogen technologies have a special relevance for South Africa as most of the PGMs that are needed for the related technologies are hosted and mined in South Africa, which also offers for itself excellent sources of renewable energy through its superior sun and prime wind.

The renewable energy is used to produce green hydrogen, which is, in turn, clean electricity-in-waiting, ready to drive fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) sustainably, as well as turn steel, cement and so many manufacturing processes clean and green.

A big benefit of solar and wind energy is that it is replenished at a higher rate than it is consumed. Renewable energy sources are plentiful and all around us, which also opens the way for countries to achieve energy independence.

The correct focus needs to be on securing sufficient volumes of electrons and then to process excess electrons into molecules that can be converted back into electricity when needed for mobility in particular.

Recent World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) research indicates that it is just a matter of time before demand for platinum from FCEVs equals the current level of platinum automotive demand for platinum, which is forecast to be over 3-million ounces this year.

In China, a new trade and technology centre dedicated to the growth of the PGMs market is being developed along with Anglo American, Honeywell, WPIC and close to 70 organisations that have signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Lin-Gang Group, a State-owned developer of industrial parks.

WPIC’s Asia Pacific headquarters are destined for relocation to the Lin-Gang Special Area, where, from this year, the annual Shanghai Platinum Week will take place.

This comes amid green electron and green molecule production being poised to make the world a better place, with proton exchange membrane, or PEM, electrolysis in particular relying on the uplift that South Africa’s PGMs can provide, and hydrogen fuel cells offering zero-emission mobility through PGM catalysis.

In what is a major plus for PGMs demand and consequently South Africa’s local mining economy, China is poised to become a leading market for platinum-using FCEVs, which provide the emission-free mobility needed to combat climate change.

In addition, China’s plan to be a major generator of climate-friendly green hydrogen is also supportive of FCEV take-up, as well as giving rise to the production of green steel, green cement and a host of other environment-friendly pursuits.

India, meanwhile, is seizing the green hydrogen opportunity with both hands, along with the far-advanced European Union, a keen Australia, and a South Africa that has been producing green hydrogen at pilot plant level since 2012, and which has been talking fuel cell mobility for decades.

This is the strong standpoint of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi: “We have to make India a global hub for green hydrogen production and export. This will not only help India to make new progress in the field of energy self-reliance but will also become a new inspiration for clean energy transition all over the world.”

India’s Cabinet-approved National Green Hydrogen Mission is designed to transform the populous South Asian country into a global hub for the production and export of green hydrogen.

Following the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act into law by President Joe Biden, the US is in a stronger position than ever to uplift its domestic hydrogen market for the benefit of the environment and the economy. The energy tax provisions included in the new law signal a seriousness about hydrogen’s role in driving a clean energy transition, incentivising continued private sector investment, and taking hydrogen production to the next level.

Hydrogen is seen as providing the flexibility nee...