Tag Archives: critical minerals

Ideon

Ideon Technologies to join Stanford University’s Mineral-X program

Canadian subsurface intelligence company, Ideon Technologies, has been named an industrial affiliate of Stanford University’s Mineral-X program – an exclusive research community uniting the fields of geosciences, resource economics, data science and artificial intelligence (AI) to inform optimal decision making along the critical minerals supply chain.

As an affiliate, Ideon will engage with faculty and scientists at Stanford University in collaborative research on technological innovations needed to create a resilient mineral supply chain for the clean energy transition, it says. More specifically, research will focus on optimising exploration targeting and resource characterisation using advanced data analysis and stochastic modelling to maximise orebody knowledge and dramatically reduce the timeline from discovery of critical mineral and metal assets to production.

Ideon calls itself a world pioneer in muon tomography, using the energy from supernova explosions in space to provide X-ray-like visibility down to 1 km beneath the Earth’s surface. The company says it is addressing the worldwide shortage in critical mineral supply by helping major mining companies achieve greater certainty in their orebody knowledge to precisely target high-recovery, low-waste deposits of the critical minerals required to fuel the clean energy transition. The Ideon subsurface intelligence platform integrates proprietary detector hardware for downhole and in-mine deployment, imaging systems, multi-physics fusion and inversion technologies and artificial intelligence to provide high-resolution 3D visibility underground and generate geologic value, Ideon says.

“We are tackling the underlying problem of geological uncertainty in the mining industry,” Ideon CEO & co-Founder, Gary Agnew, said. “Mining companies in the critical minerals space rely on intensive drilling to understand the subsurface, using a hit-and-miss approach targeting poorly constrained geological anomalies. They make high-risk, high-cost decisions based on only fractional knowledge of what’s beneath the surface. This research collaboration with one of the world’s leading universities will yield better knowledge of orebody characteristics, better informed mine planning, extension of mine life, more compelling economic outcomes and greater efficiencies across the entire mining value chain.”

Dr Jef Caers, PhD, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford, will serve as liaison with the Ideon team, sharing his expertise on decision making under uncertainty in developing the critical mineral supply.

“Through Mineral-X, we aim to accelerate the transition to clean energy by increasing the volume and speed of critical mineral supply,” Caers said. “We are committed to achieving this by developing protocols that champion environmental stewardship and community representation.”

Dedicated post-doctoral scholars at Stanford will support the collaboration, developing advanced geophysical techniques to accelerate the exploration and discovery of energy transition minerals.

Ideon says it offers the only straight-line subsurface imaging technology available today, delivering the highest available resolution along with precise anomaly location information, at depths not supported by other subsurface geophysics methods.

Metso-Arizona

Metso expands Arizona service centre on copper mining demand

Metso is expanding its service centre in Mesa, Arizona, to, it says, support the growing needs of mining customers, primarily in the copper segment, which plays a crucial role in supporting a responsible energy transition.

In addition to expanding its service and repair capabilities, a cutting-edge training centre will be built to continue to improve competence development in the region, it says.

Giuseppe Campanelli, President, North and Central America, Metso, said: “We are proud to be able to further demonstrate our dedication to customer success, supporting the production of critical minerals. This investment will provide great benefit to the southwest USA and beyond, with comprehensive and reliable services. Our expanded facilities in Mesa will allow access to unmatched OEM-quality repairs and refurbishments, and the new advanced Metso Training Center will help ensure that the next generation of miners are well-equipped.”

The total investment value is approximately €14 million ($15 million), with expansions expected to be ready during the first half of 2025.

With further investments in the Mesa Service Center, Metso will optimise safety, sustainability and broaden its service capabilities. The expansion will increase the repair shop area by nearly 60% and add new high-capacity cranes, CNC machines, welding and assembly stations. This will increase the capacity and capability to perform heavy equipment repairs and service a wider range of equipment, spanning process steps such as crushing, screening, grinding, HPGRs, filtration, flotation and pumps, among others.

Annami Toukoniitty, Senior Vice President, Professional Services, Metso, said: “Metso is proud to invest and support this sustainable journey as increased repair capabilities have a direct positive impact on the circular economy. Skilled people are a core asset as well, and the new Metso Training Center at Mesa will add value to the industry.”

Aligned with customer demand, this is the second expansion of the Mesa Service Center since its opening in 2015. Numerous upgrades to the facility to improve energy efficiency are also being implemented. In addition to the service centre, since 2021, the Phoenix region is also home to one of Metso’s largest warehouse operations globally.

Within the same property, an advanced and fully-equipped training centre will also be built, to bridge the knowledge gap between people, equipment and operational goals, Metso says. The centre will support multiple ways of learning, outfitted with state-of-the-art simulators and digital training assets, in addition to classroom and hands-on learning areas. Comprehensive and tailored training programs will be designed and offered to support mining professionals’ technical knowledge, at the part, equipment and plant level.

Metso says it has an extensive service centre network with over 3,000 field services professionals, technical support and more than 40 service centres on six continents.

Resourcing Tomorrow

Resourcing Tomorrow to shine a light on critical minerals policy

On November 27, Resourcing Tomorrow will be holding its first Critical Minerals Ministerial Roundtable and Reception in London, in conjunction with the Critical Minerals Association and hosted by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG).

Government delegations from Australia, Armenia, Canada, Chad, Nigeria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Czech Republic, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States have confirmed their attendance.

The world is at a key juncture in the transition to greener energy and each resource-rich country is under unique pressure to attract lasting, meaningful investment into the development of their respective critical mineral resources.

Robust critical minerals policy is key in ensuring a stable landscape for investors, but also one that benefits the local population and country as a whole.

The Resourcing Tomorrow Conference taking place from November 28-30 recognises this importance and is working with governments who are featured on the conference program and will be delivering ministerial keynotes.

Geoffrey Pyatt, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Energy Resources, United States Government, will be in attendance at the event, alongside other minisers including:

• Nusrat Ghani, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, United Kingdom;
• H.E. Bandar Al Khorayef, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia;
• Dele Alake, Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Nigeria;
• Josie Osbourne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation of British Columbia, Canada;
• Hon. Ranj Pillai, Premier of Yukon, Canada;
• George Pirie, Minister of Mines, Ontario Government, Canada;
• Maïté Blanchette Vézina, Mining and Natural Resources Minister, Quebec Government, Canada;
• Nathalie Camden, Associate Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Quebec Government, Canada; and
• Hon. Abdelkerim Mahamat Abdelkerim, Minister of Mines and Geology, Chad

Peter Handley, Deputy to the Director, Head of Unit, DG GROW, European Commission, will also be welcomed to the event.

Resourcing Tomorrow, conference organisers say, represents an incomparable opportunity for all those seeking engagement in the mining sector. Global mining companies, government delegations, investors and suppliers will convene in London to benefit from informative and intelligent content and to grow valuable business relationships.

METS Ignited - IMARC 2022

Critical minerals discussion to continue at IMARC 2023

The announcement by Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to double the investment in the Critical Minerals Fund sets the scene for this year’s International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, New South Wales, next week.

The A$4 billion ($2.5 billion) plan is aimed at expanding the production and processing of critical minerals in Australia to secure the country’s position as a global critical minerals powerhouse.

Albanese said Australia is in a strong position to help the global shift to net-zero due to its large deposits of critical minerals.

He said: “Australia is committed to building sustainable and secure critical minerals supply chains with the United States. This is central to building a clean energy future and delivering economic growth. The expansion of the Critical Minerals Facility will help to build supply chains with the United States and support our shared clean energy, manufacturing and defence ambitions.”

Minister for Resources of Australia, Madeleine King, said the road to net-zero runs through Australia’s resources sector.

“The Critical Minerals Facility is a cornerstone of support, providing finance to strategically significant projects which can crowd in private investment,” King said.

“Coupled with our support for processing, we are well positioned to be a world leading provider of critical minerals, including rare earths elements, and to support global efforts on clean energy transformation.”

Australia is fortunate to be home to some of the largest recoverable critical mineral deposits on earth, with abundant reserves of rare minerals including lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel.

But unlike iron ore and coal, these critical minerals are also found in many other countries, meaning Australia’s traditional competitive advantage no longer comes so easily.

As the world scrambles to secure these resources of the future, this new competitive landscape has spurred an effort to unlock Australia’s potential as a critical mineral powerhouse given its large reserves of rare earth minerals.

Critical minerals are integral to the global clean energy economy and are key components for products such as solar panels, batteries, medical equipment and telecommunications technology. Thankfully, Australia is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for responsibly produced minerals.

Roland Hill from FYI Resources, a producer of critical minerals for the electric vehicle and high-tech appliance industry, notes that despite Australia’s leading position in the critical mineral market, there remains a lot of catching up to do to meet global demand pressures.

He said: “Australia is probably punching above its weight in terms of supply and is therefore boasting some of the largest production of lithium. However, much like the rest of the world, Australia has been caught short a little in terms of the preparedness to address the shortfall in critical minerals supply. We still have a long way to go before we can say we are global leaders in critical minerals, in the same we do for traditional resources.”

The global race to secure critical minerals

One of the biggest challenges facing the industry is the vulnerability of supply chains and the concentration of production facilities, particularly in China. As a result, Australia is looking to improve its trade partnerships with other nations such as India, Japan and South Korea to help diversify global supply chains.

Allison Britt, Director of Mineral Resources Advice and Promotion at Geoscience Australia, said nations around the world are looking to ensure stable supply chains for their economic and sovereign security.

“Developing the large-scale mineral supply chains needed for the new energy transition requires new partnerships among like-minded countries in addition to existing trade relationships,” Britt said.

“Australia’s international partnerships, trade agreements, extraordinary geological endowment and objectives to grow production, processing and manufacturing capacity should underpin our own energy transition.”

To help alleviate the supply chain constraint, the Australian Government penned a strategic cooperation agreement with South Korea during diplomatic visit by President, Moon Jae-in, in December 2022. South Korea is a major producer of technologies and materials that require Australian critical minerals, including products with batteries, semiconductors and electric vehicles. The nation is already Australia’s third-largest export destination.

The South Korea-Australia partnership further entrenches South Korea’s standing as an important energy and resources export partner. The agreement also aligns with a call made in October 2021 by the head of the South Korean Government’s new critical minerals planning team, which asked for greater engagement with Australia’s mining and processing capacity.

Australia’s role as a hydrogen gas producer has also not gone unnoticed and has been gaining traction, particularly with South Korean resource companies. Sun Metals, owned by Korea Zinc’s Australian business, Ark Energy, is building a green hydrogen plant in Townsville. Once at capacity, Korea Zinc hopes to ship more than 500,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year from Queensland to Korea to power their factories.

According to Joshua Dellios, Partner at MinterEllison, as the world looks for access to critical minerals, Australia is emerging as a preferred market given the country’s well-established regulatory framework that aims to ensure the sustainable development of its mineral resources while minimising their environmental impacts.

However, these safeguards also raise barriers to investment and exploration that could jeopardise Australia’s attractiveness in an increasingly competitive global market. Australia will have to overcome challenges such as, limited infrastructure, high capital costs, and the need for advanced technologies. This will require collaborative efforts among industry, government, and research institutions, as well as targeted investments in infrastructure development, technological advancements, and streamlined regulations to create a more conducive environment for the growth of the critical minerals sector.

Deliios said: “Navigating the barriers to critical mineral exploration and mining in Australia demands a united front, with industry, government, and research working hand in hand to unlock the potential of this vital sector and propel our nation towards a greener future.”

New technologies key to reaching targets

Given the relative scarcity of critical minerals, companies like Fleet Space Technologies are encouraging the mining and resource sector to reimagine how they search for minerals and embrace technologies from other industries. Hemant Chaurasia, Chief Product Officer at Fleet Space Technologies says there is a lot to learn from the latest advances in the space sector.

“It is clear that mineral exploration is getting harder, as we start to exhaust shallow discoveries and are forced to search deeper into the earth. This demands a much more data-driven approach to exploration,” Chaurasia said.

“Today, using satellites and sensors, geophysical exploration data can be transmitted to the cloud in near real-time from anywhere on earth, shortening the time it takes to create actionable 3D models of the subsurface from months to days.”

With uncertainty remaining around the supply chains of critical minerals, digital technologies are becoming increasingly important assets to mining and production companies. The solutions are allowing organisations to extract greater quantities of resources from existing materials whilst also lowering production and maintenance costs. IFS, a global leader in enterprise software solutions, is assisting the broader industry by helping them optimise supply chains and production and refining processes through its products.

Warren Zietsman, Managing Director of IFS Australia and New Zealand says embracing technology, software, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is not just a ‘take it or leave it’ for mining organisations; t’s a vital cog in the process to achieving business and sustainability goals.

“By leveraging technologies such as AI, Augmented Reality, Digital Twins and machine learning, mining organisations can effectively manage and maintain the mining of critical minerals, while extending the life of their assets and invariably reducing their carbon footprint,” Zietsman said.

“By taking advantage of the capabilities that intelligent operational planning and simulation tools can provide, organisations can foresee unexpected scenarios to protect a value chain that relies on minimal disruption.”

Critical minerals a key theme at IMARC 2023

The International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, October 31-November 2, will feature a major focus on the global issues facing the critical mineral sector, and the challenges Australia must overcome to realise the potential to be a global critical minerals powerhouse.

With over 380 technical talks, panel discussions, and strategic keynote presentations across seven concurrent streams, IMARC offers attendees the opportunity to hear from experts across the sector as they look to revolve the varying challenges facing the mining and resource industry as they pivot towards critical minerals. Sessions will include:

• Driving International Supply Chain Collaboration in Critical Minerals;

• Investing and Financing Australia’s Critical Minerals’ Independence;

• The EU’s Critical Raw Material Policy and Initiatives in Europe and with Third Countries; and

• Sustainable Mining for Green Technologies.

International Mining is a media sponsor of IMARC 2023 and will be on site in Sydney

Ontario launches strategy to encourage development of critical minerals

The Ontario Government says it is developing its first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy to help generate investment, increase the province’s competitiveness in the global market, and create jobs and opportunities in the mining sector.

It will also support Ontario’s transition to a low-carbon economy both at home and abroad, the government said.

“By developing this strategy, we will strengthen Ontario’s position as one of North America’s premier jurisdictions for responsibly-sourced critical minerals, including rare earth elements,” Greg Rickford (pictured), Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, said. “We are confident this will generate investment, reduce red tape, create jobs and advance Indigenous participation in the sector. Local and global markets, including Ontario-based industries, are looking for reliable, responsibly-sourced critical minerals and we are ready to capitalise on this growing market demand.”

Ontario is well positioned to become a global supplier, producer and manufacturer of choice for certain critical minerals, including, but not limited to nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements, the government said.

“Industries across Ontario and around the world need a steady supply of critical minerals to support new technologies and emerging industries, including electric vehicles,” Minister Rickford said. “With the development of a Critical Minerals Strategy, the province can showcase Ontario’s competitive advantage, high mineral development potential and world-class mining sector.”

New technologies and high-growth sectors that rely on critical minerals include information and communications technology, electronics, energy, aerospace and defence, health and life sciences and transportation.

Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said: “With an abundance of the critical minerals in Northern Ontario, along with a competitive business climate, innovation and talent, Ontario is well positioned to become a leader in the future of electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.

“In fact, recent proposed investments of almost C$6 billion ($4.7 billion) over the last several months in Ontario’s auto sector will make our province a global hub for EV manufacturing, making us stronger and more resilient as we continue to work towards economic recovery.”

To inform the Critical Minerals Strategy, the province is releasing a discussion paper for public consultation on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. A consultation with industry and Indigenous communities will also help guide the development of the strategy to be released this fall.

Critical minerals in focus in Australia Government’s National Resources Statement

Australia’s Coalition Government has released a “National Resources Statement” as it looks to, it says, attract investment, develop new resources and markets, and share the benefits of success with more regional communities.

The first such statement the government has released for more than 20 years, it includes an agreement to establish a new critical minerals work programme to boost exploration, develop a data strategy to de-risk investment decisions, and build community confidence in the sector, the government said.

“This week, the government announced priority status for funding applications related to critical minerals projects under the A$20 million ($14.2 million) Round 7 of the Cooperative Research Centres Project (CRC-P),” the government said.

The CRC programme supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community. It is a model for linking researchers with industry to focus on research and development towards use and commercialisation.

“There is a bright future for the resources sector given the economic growth occurring in our region,” the government said. “By 2030, Asia will produce more than half the world’s economic output, consume 40% of its energy and be home to a middle class of almost 3.5 billion people. Given this growth, and if Australia can maintain its global share of commodity production, at least 24,000 new direct mining jobs could be created, along with the broader prosperity those jobs will bring.”

The government’s vision is to have the world’s most advanced, innovative and successful resources sector, which delivers sustained prosperity and social development for all Australians, it said.

To achieve this outcome, the government will focus on five key priorities:

  • Attracting investment;
  • Developing new resources, industries and markets;
  • Investing in new technologies, especially to improve environmental outcomes;
  • Creating well paid secure jobs, and;
  • Ensuring local communities receive benefits from mining activities.

The government said: “Our work starts now. Some elements will be progressed in collaboration with the states and territories through the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council, given their responsibilities in regulating the resources sector.”

In addition to the critical minerals work, the government will also progress a number of initiatives under the statement including promoting a “national resources brand to market the advantages of Australia as a resources investment destination to the world”, and supporting the development of new resource basins through cooperation with state and territory jurisdictions – similar to the Memorandum of Understanding with the Northern Territory on the development of the Beetaloo Basin.

It will also continue to invest in the “most advanced seismic and aero-magnetic surveys to help discover the next major mineral find through the A$100 million Exploring for the Future programme”, it said, plus improve the consistency and scope of data across the resource sector.

“Our resources sector makes up 8% of our economy and exports are predicted to reach a record A$250 billion in 2018–19. It also employs around 1.1 million people directly and indirectly and is the largest employer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” the government said.

“These initiatives will help our resources industry deliver even more benefits to Australians.”

The National Resources Statement builds on the recommendations of the Resources 2030 Taskforce commissioned by the government last year, the government said.

The statement comes a day after the Australia Federal Opposition’s commitment to establish an Australian Future Mines Centre to co-ordinate exploration work and lead the scientific research and development necessary to explore under deep cover, funded by a A$23 million Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative.