Articles for tag: critical, fuelling, Global, Minerals, protectionism, scramble

December 19, 2024

Ron Finklestien

mining

The Race for Essential Minerals: A Surge in Global Protectionism

Rising Resource Nationalism: A Shift in Global Energy and Mining Policies Verisk Maplecroft’s Resource Nationalism Index (RNI) has revealed a significant spike in protectionist policies affecting the energy and mining sectors worldwide. Focused on 198 countries, the index shows that the trend is particularly strong in Europe and North America, driven by geopolitical tensions and a changing global economy. The situation in Europe is especially noteworthy, with major economies like Germany, Spain, the UK, and Poland experiencing considerable drops in the RNI rankings. Germany has seen the most dramatic decline, falling 122 places. This shift reflects an aggressive push to

December 6, 2024

Ron Finklestien

mining

“Grassroots Exploration Spending Hits Record Low, Reports S&P Global”

Exploration Budget Cuts: The Shift from New Discoveries to Established Deposits In recent years, the focus of exploration budgets has shifted significantly, with less money allocated to grassroots exploration. This change has negatively impacted the discovery rate of new mineral deposits. “Based on our discovery series, we have consistently observed a downward trend in both the number of discoveries and the amount of contained metal over the years for both copper and gold exploration,” stated Cesar Pastrana, a data analyst at S&P and author of the report. Growing Caution in Exploration This shift reflects a pattern that often happens as

May 23, 2024

Ron Finklestien

mining

Video: China’s dominance drives global battery trends, says Adamas Intelligence

“They produce more than they sell inside the country. So, if you want to look at trends, you must start in China,” Els, head of Adamas Inside, told The Northern Miner’s western editor, Henry Lazenby, last month during the Energy Transition Metals Summit in Washington, D.C. Els, who’s also editor-at-large with The Northern Miner’s sister publication MINING.COM, pointed out that battery chemistry is quickly evolving.  Following a shift toward lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that began in China in 2020, over half of the EVs sold there are LFP. The chemistry, which is cheaper than others, is also lower density.

May 22, 2024

Ron Finklestien

mining

Six new large mines need to come online annually by 2050 to meet global copper demand – study

This is particularly the case taking into account that the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, calls for 100% of cars manufactured to be electric vehicles by 2035. But an electric vehicle requires three to five times as much copper as an internal combustion engine vehicle — not to mention the copper required for upgrades to the electric grid. “A normal Honda Accord needs about 40 pounds of copper. The same battery electric Honda Accord needs almost 200 pounds of copper. Onshore wind turbines require about 10 tons of copper, and in offshore wind turbines, that amount can

February 25, 2024

Ron Finklestien

mining

The Glowing Future of Global Uranium Production

Recovery and Expansion Global uranium output. Credit: GlobalData In 2023, Kazakhstan held the torch for global uranium production, contributing 37.3% of the total supply. Despite a slight dip in output, mainly due to planned reductions by Kazatomprom, the country is poised for a resurgence. By 2024, their anticipated output will soar to 23.2kt, with production expected to surge further in 2025 without constraints. Adding to the global supply surge is the continued escalation of production from Canada’s McArthur River. The project sets its sights on a 2024 uranium yield of 6.9kt (equivalent to 8.2kt of U3O8). With licenses guaranteed until

January 21, 2024

Ron Finklestien

mining

Researchers Call for Global Inventory of World’s Mines Global Inventory of World’s Mines Needed – Researchers

“Mining, a necessary evil, has often been shrouded in mystery, its consequences unrevealed. But how can we address a problem we don’t fully comprehend? This is the lament of researchers, Maus and Werner, who argue that data scarcity conceals approximately half of the world’s mining impacts, leaving the global populace unaware of the full extent of environmental and social risks,” stated Maus in a recent press release. The lamentable scarcity of data is attributed to a myriad of factors, from inadequate corporate disclosure to abandoned, informal, or illicit mining sites, leaving a significant portion of mining impacts unaccounted for. Maus