Tag Archives: BHP Ventures

BHP Ventures backs BluVein’s next gen trolley-charging project

Environmental, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

BHP has become the latest company to back BluVein’s “next generation trolley-charging technology” project, with its Ventures arm joining Northern Star Resources, Newcrest Mining, Vale, Glencore, Agnico Eagle, AngloGold Ashanti and OZ Minerals as project partners.

A BHP spokesperson said the collaboration was “part of our multi-faceted approach to reducing vehicle emissions at our operations”.

It is one of several decarbonisation collaborations BHP Ventures is involved with in pursuit of BHP’s decarbonisation goals. Others include partnering on supply chain traceability through Circulor and low emissions steelmaking through Boston Metals.

Back in August, BluVein announced that seven major mining companies had financially backed BluVein, with the industry collaboration project now moving forward with final system development and construction of a technology demonstration pilot site in Brisbane, Australia. This came on top of agreements with four major mining vehicle manufacturers to support BluVein controls and hardware integration into their vehicles.

BluVein, a joint venture between EVIAS and Australia-based Olitek, is developing technology that removes the need to employ battery swapping or acquire larger, heavier batteries customised to cope with the current requirements placed on the heaviest diesel-powered machinery operating in the mining sector.

It is doing this through adapting charging technology originally developed by Sweden-based EVIAS for electrified public highways. The application of this technology in mining could see operations employ smaller, lighter battery-electric vehicles that are connected to the mine site grid via its ingress protection-rated slotted Rail™ system. This system effectively eliminates all exposed high voltage conductors, providing significantly improved safety and ensures compliance with mine electrical regulations, according to BluVein. This is complemented with its Hammer™ technology and a sophisticated power distribution unit to effectively power electric motors and charge a vehicle’s on-board batteries.

BluVein has been specifically designed for harsh mining environments and is completely agnostic to vehicle manufacturer, according to the company. This standardisation is crucial, BluVein says, as it allows a mixed fleet of mining vehicles to use the same rail infrastructure.

BluVein says it plans on starting the trial install early works towards the end of this year for a mid- to late-2022 trial period in a simulated underground environment.

The BluVein project is being managed by the Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC).

Freeport-McMoRan and BHP Ventures jump aboard the Jetti Resources tech train

Base metals, Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining finance, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Jetti Resources’ plan to rapidly rollout its breakthrough copper extraction technology has been given a boost with the announcement of $50 million in funding from the likes of Mitsubishi Corp, Freeport-McMoRan, BHP Ventures, Orion Resource Partners, and funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price Associates Inc.

The Series C funding round was led by existing strategic investor, Mitsubishi Corporation, and included new investment from the other firms mentioned.

“Mitsubishi, an existing strategic shareholder of Jetti, has further deepened its involvement as an investor as part of a shared vision for transforming the copper industry,” Jetti said. “Mitsubishi’s extensive networks both upstream with copper mines and downstream with end users of copper are invaluable as Jetti enters the rapid growth phase of its development.”

Since the completion of its Series B capital raise in 2019, Jetti says it has commercially proven the effectiveness of its technology at Capstone Mining’s Pinto Valley Mine in Arizona. During the first year of Capstone’s partnership with Jetti, cathode production per area irrigated doubled, and discussions to expand this partnership are ongoing.

In addition, Jetti has significantly strengthened its Board and management team to support the next phase of its development, bringing on Chip Goodyear, the former CEO of BHP, and Trevor Reid, the former long-standing CFO of Xstrata PLC.

Jetti has a pipeline of 23 projects at various stages, including five active pilots and three opportunities transitioning to commercial status.

Following the close of its $50 million Series C financing, Jetti will have raised more than $100 million for the development and deployment of its technology.

Mike Outwin, CEO and Co-Founder of Jetti Resources, said: “Jetti’s financing round has been backed by two of the world’s largest copper mining companies, a leading global copper trader and mine owner, and a premier institutional investment fund and mining private equity group. These industry leaders recognise the potential for Jetti’s environmentally friendly technology to unlock vast untapped copper resources within their portfolios.”

Outwin said the funds raised will enable Jetti to further deploy its technology across large-scale copper mining operations.

“We look forward to working with all investors to accelerate the adoption of Jetti’s technology and deliver much needed ‘green copper’ to meet the world’s needs for a low-carbon electrified future,” he added.

Norikazu Tanaka, Group CEO, Mineral Resources Group, Mitsubishi Corporation, said: “Mitsubishi recognised the revolutionary nature of Jetti’s technology in 2019, and since then the team has not only proven its efficacy at scale but prudently identified a range of opportunities for its adoption at existing mines.

“They are naturally now expanding to create the critical mass required for the next stage of growth to meet the requirements of a low carbon global economy. We are thrilled to deepen our strategic partnership with Jetti through our increased investment and by leveraging Mitsubishi’s extensive networks both upstream with copper mines and downstream with end users of copper. We believe this partnership can make a significant contribution to more efficient development, conservation, and supply stability of the world’s limited copper resources.”

Josh Olmsted, Freeport-McMoRan’s President and Chief Operating Officer-Americas, said: “We are pleased to partner with Jetti, as we pursue technologies to improve copper production from leach stockpiles, reduce our carbon footprint, and supply responsibly produced copper to a global market with increasing demand. Freeport’s assets are well situated to test this technology, and we look forward to advancing opportunities to deploy the technology where appropriate at our operating locations.”

Laura Tyler, Chief Technical Officer, BHP said: “Jetti’s technology has the potential to unlock new copper production safely, productively and responsibly. To support renewable technologies and decarbonisation goals in limiting global warming to 1.5°C we expect global copper demand could double over the next 30 years, compared to the past 30 years.

Through our BHP Ventures team, we are delighted to invest in and partner with Jetti and help create opportunities for its innovative technology to progress a greener future.”

Jetti’s patented catalytic technology is designed to allow for the efficient and effective heap and stockpile leach extraction of copper. The company’s technology bolts onto existing solvent extraction/electrowinning leaching plants so it can be deployed rapidly with limited capital expenditure and, because it uses no heating or grinding, it has low operational costs. In addition, there are huge environmental benefits from using leaching over pyrometallurgy, according to Jetti.

Boston Metal secures funds to help accelerate emissions-free steel transition

Environmental, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining finance, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , ,

Boston Metal has raised $50 million in Series B funding to further accelerate industrial-scale deployments of its molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology towards emissions-free steel.

The financing was led by Piva Capital, BHP Ventures, and Devonshire Investors.

Boston Metal’s MOE technology uses electricity to transform metals from a raw oxide form into high-purity molten metal products, facilitating CO2 emissions-free steel production from a wide array of iron ores in a potentially more efficient, less costly and more sustainable approach, the company claims.

Last year, CBMM, a leading supplier of niobium products and technology, and Boston Metal signed a strategic partnership to trial Boston Metal’s MOE technology for the production of niobium products.

Tadeu Carneiro, Chairman and CEO of Boston Metal, said: “Boston Metal is ushering in a new era of metallurgy. Steel production has relied on the same basic formula for millennia, and revolutionising such an industry requires a rare combination of team, technology, and partners. With this new round of funding, Boston Metal has brought together all of these elements and is positioned to deliver a future where steel production is efficient, modular and clean.”

Building on the momentum of its Series A financing in 2018, this new funding round will allow Boston Metal to validate its patented inert anode technology at industrial-scale, further expand its team, and begin to deploy its MOE technology with customers, starting with high-value ferroalloy production as it advances toward steel applications, the company said.

“Innovation is at the heart of Boston Metal, but we also benefit greatly from MOE’s unique ability to leverage proven principles from both the steel and aluminium industries,” Carneiro added. “We are building a technology and a company that can scale to meet the immense challenge of decarbonising steelmaking, and that new era of metallurgy is coming soon.

“We intend to deploy pilot plants globally within a few years’ time.”