The company reported that in recent discussions, the bank confirmed its intention to approve a $295 million debt facility, which would cover 60% of the project’s projected costs.

Dasa is the highest-grade uranium deposit in Africa, surpassed only by grades found in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, and is scheduled to achieve commercial production in early 2026.

“The approval timelines outlined by the bank support yellowcake deliveries in 2026 as anticipated in the four off-take agreements we have in place with American and European nuclear power utilities,” said President and CEO of Global Atomic, Stephen G. Roman.

“To help fund the continuing development of Dasa until the bank funds are available, earlier this month we raised C$40 million ($29 million) in an oversubscribed public offering,”

Global Atomic shares traded at C$1.15 apiece on Tuesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at C$304 million ($218 million). 

In addition to the development bank, Global Atomic is in discussions with parties regarding potential joint venture investment in the Dasa Project and other financing solutions.

Processing plant

According to Global Atomic, earthworks and civil engineering are progressing in preparation for the installation of plant equipment, components of which are now arriving at the site. More than 1,200 metres of mine development finished at Dasa.

The main fresh air raise is complete, and the return air raise is underway.  Once the fans have been installed, the expansion to the underground ventilation system will allow mining activity to advance beyond the first-level development.

Construction of a 400-person facility is expected to be completed in early Q1 2025.

Earlier this month, the company said 10,000 tonnes of development ore had been brought to the surface.

Niger coup

A military coup in July last year led the US to suspend government funding for Dasa. Still, the company managed to raise C$15 million ($11 million) in January and C$20 million ($14 million) in July by selling stock.

The Nigerien government has pledged its full support for the project, but other uranium developers in Niger faced major setbacks this past summer.

In June, the government withdrew a mining permit for Orano’s Imourare project, and in July, it revoked the mining licence for GoviEx Uranium’s (TSXV: GXU) Madaouela project.

According to the feasibility study, Dasa hosts 73 million lb. in probable reserves of uranium oxide in 8 million tonnes, grading 4,113 parts per million uranium oxide. Global Atomic has signed offtake agreements for 1.3 million lb. of uranium a year.

The move, Blue Evolution said, creates a combined entity that will leverage enhanced R&D capabilities to drive innovation and commercialize new seaweed-based products across multiple sectors – agriculture, biomaterials – and critical minerals.

In December of last year, the US Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) first announced its selection of scientific teams to explore the feasibility of extracting critical minerals from ocean macroalgae.

In July this year, Blue Evolution announced a groundbreaking advancement in sustainable biomining after it partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Virginia Tech to develop a revolutionary method for sustainably extracting critical minerals and rare earth elements from seaweed.

The company operates seaweed farms in California and Alaska, and this month finalized a joint venture with the Māori Iwi Tribe to scale regenerative seaweed farming in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

From biofuels to rare earths

Blue Evolution CEO Beau Perry has been working with ARPA-E since 2017, first on large-scale systems for cultivation of seaweed for biofuels in Kodiak, Alaska, testing new hardware to grow seaweed in abundance, sustainably and economically.

Alaska is unparalleled in the US in terms of seaweed farming because of its size, environmental conditions and infrastructure. Perry noted both the state and the public are much more receptive to seaweed farming than to mining projects.

“It’s a relatively new industry. In post-war Japan, the coastal seaweed the Japanese had harvested for a long time was kind of destroyed…A British woman had closed the life cycle on nori in the early 50s. Seaweed farming was fairly new as a major agricultural sector, but now we grow, globally, 30 million tons of it,” Perry told MINING.com in an interview.

More than half of it is grown in China, but also Japan, Korea, Philippines and Indonesia.

The United States only entered the market ten years ago, and Perry said the US has grown a couple thousand tons so far.

Of over 10,000 species of seaweed worldwide, 300 species have been commercialized. Blue Evolution is working with six different species – four that they are growing in Alaska. Perry said seaweed has the potential to enter multiple markets because of its sustainability.

“It soaks up a lot more carbon than any terrestrial biomass per area, and it really only needs sunlight and seawater,” he said.

“We were looking [at] how to render biofuels from seaweed. PNNL was doing very in-depth content analyses of different samples of different species from different locations in our farmer network. We worked with different farmers that we’ve helped set up in Alaska, including the first ever commercial farm in Kodiak.”

The team started to find some unusual levels of minerals designated as in the strategic interest of US economic development and national security, but Perry said what got the Department of Energy’s attention was the rare earths.

The discovery is a positive development for a nascent North American rare earths market and taps into the broader issue of the glaring lack of domestic production. China has a near monopoly on mining and refining the group of 17 metals that are crucial to the development of smart electronic devices and wind turbines, and which are notoriously difficult to extract and expensive to process.

“This was sort of a beautiful accident, and it’s all a function of what’s in the water where the seaweed is growing,” Perry said.

“They’re a prolific sponge – they soak up nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and a lot of minerals, and so in this first pass at the content analysis, we got a certain set of signals around REEs and precious metals, like rhodium, palladium and scandium.”

Each species of seaweed is metabolically prone to take up a certain set of minerals, and Perry noted some are really fascinating.

“We’ve seen sort of peaks and flat lines from different locations around the globe, and now we’re starting to fill in the puzzle of which seaweed could grow where to get what minerals,” he said.

“It’s clear that each one is taking up some combination of precious minerals, REEs and these other strategic minerals.”

The team has preliminary data and is working to understand which species, where, how they are grown, and determining scalable extraction methods.

“There’s kind of this matrix of ‘what am I growing the seaweed for?’ I think critical minerals past a certain scale will always be part of that based on what we’re seeing,” Perry said. “ In certain locations, that might be the primary one if we find a species that really soaks this stuff up. We’re talking parts per million, and even parts per billion as a baseline. It’s perfectly standard in mining.”

Doubling seaweed value

Perry said the company is forging ahead with a “very critical mineral centric expedition” to find if there are places to focus on critical minerals and develop farms that are primarily oriented towards producing them.

“It’s possible that the critical minerals are disruptive to seaweed farming economics generally. They could double the value of the biomass,” he said.

“If I were to grow at a level where … at a significant scale relative to that market, the amount of critical minerals that will be running through our supply chain will be significant. In some cases, maybe fundamentally changing the supply picture for specific critical minerals.”

“There are some tricks that we’re going to explore to really enhance the amount of rare earths per ton of biomass. It’s taking these things up all the time.

There are ways to coax maybe orders of magnitude more than we’re finding by accident, not really trying. We can do things at the genetic level, selecting for strains that are going to bioaccumulate more of a given target critical mineral.”

The goal, Perry said, is to really understand what’s possible from an extraction standpoint.

“There’s a certain amount of critical minerals that are economically recoverable from a site, but around it are a million years of sediment that the seaweed will be sort of steeped in, like a sponge. And that yield should actually increase over time, given that the baseline of those minerals should stay the same pretty much over a long period of time. And we’re going to get better at getting the seaweed to accumulate them and getting them out.”

When you think about a seaweed farm as a mine, it’s unlikely to run out anytime soon,” Perry said. “It will be replenished constantly by the ocean. So that, I think, from a mining perspective is pretty radical – I don’t need to spend $100 million to maybe break ground on a mine in 20 years.”

The projects, led by small-and medium-businesses in communities with de-commissioned coal facilities, were selected by DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) to address critical energy supply chain vulnerabilities.

Five of the projects will be in, or adjacent to, disadvantaged communities, the DOE said, adding that every project will include a community benefits plan developed to maximize economic, health and environmental impacts.

The projects aim to strengthen US national security by building supply chains for existing and emerging technologies built by American workers with American materials. The projects will leverage over $500 million in private sector investment into small- and medium-manufacturers and create over 1,900 good-paying, high quality jobs, the DOE said.
 
“The transition to America’s clean energy future is being shaped by communities filled with the valuable talent and experience that comes from powering our country for decades,” US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in the statement.

“By leveraging the know-how and skillset of the former coal workforce, we are…helping advance forward-facing technologies and revitalize communities across the nation.”
 
White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said the initiative is leading “an unprecedented expansion of American energy production, a manufacturing renaissance and the essential work of rebuilding our middle class.”

Zaidi said former coal communities are mounting a clean energy comeback by harnessing the urgent climate challenge.

The global market for clean energy and carbon reduction technologies is anticipated to reach a minimum of $23 trillion by 2030.  As demand grows for clean energy technology, the projects will help prepare the manufacturing industry for what lies ahead, the DOE noted.

The 14 projects selected for negotiation of award focus on manufacturing products and materials that address multiple needs in the domestic clean energy supply chain. The selections will address five key supply chains – grid components, batteries, low-carbon materials, clean power generation and energy efficiency products.

The lead organizations and proposed project locations are:

Anthro Energy – Louisville, KY

A $24.9 million selection to retrofit a facility to enable the domestic production of advanced electrolyte for use in Lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells in electric vehicles (EV), defense applications, and consumer electronics. The project will create an estimated 115 permanent  jobs.

CleanFiber – Chehalis, WA and Ennis, TX

CleanFiber’s locations in Washington and Texas are selected to receive $10 million each to establish two separate 60,000 square-foot production facilities produce an advanced form of cellulose insulation from recycled cardboard.  The facilities, once operational, will produce enough advanced insulation to weatherize more than 20,000 homes a year and support 80 full time employees.

TS Conductor – Erie, MI

A $28.2 million selection to establish US-based manufacturing of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) conductors and other advanced conductors that enable a secure and resilient clean grid. The new factory will create 425 construction jobs and 162 operating jobs with wages above the local prevailing rate.

Furno Materials Inc – Chicago, IL

A $20 million selection to construct a new circular, low carbon cement production facility. The facility will use recycled industrial waste materials as feedstock to make low-carbon Ordinary Portland Cement, reducing carbon intensity by 47%, and creating 80 total jobs with above average wages and benefits.

Hempitecture Inc – Rogersville, TN

An $8.42 million selection to create an industrial fiber hemp processing and manufacturing facility produce high performing products, with a 60-80% reduced carbon intensity, for the building materials, packaging, and automotive industry. When completed, the facility will create 25 full time jobs 15% above prevailing hourly rate.

Infinitum – Rockdale, TX

A $34 million selection to establish a manufacturing facility to produce heavy copper, high-powered printed circuit board (HP-PCB) stators, the key component of Infinitum’s high-efficiency axil-flux motors. The Rockdale facility is expected to create 170 operating jobs and 125 construction jobs.

MetOx International – Southeast, US

An $80 million selection to establish Project Arch, an advanced superconductor manufacturing facility, critical to expanding grid capacity to enable accelerated deployment of renewable energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, hyperscale AI data centers, and large manufacturing loads. Project Arch will create 230 jobs, supporting economic revitalization in a coal community to be determined in the Southeast.

Moment Energy Inc – Taylor, TX

A $20.3 million selection to establish the first UL1974 Certified manufacturing facility in the US to repurpose EV batteries to produce safe, reliable, and affordable battery energy storage systems. The project will create 50 construction jobs and a total of 200 new jobs within their facility, which will produce an annual output of 1 GWh once fully operational.

Mainspring Energy Inc – Coraopolis, PA

An $87 million selection to establish a state- of-the-art manufacturing facility near Pittsburgh to produce 1,000 linear generators that can run on any gaseous fuel, and change fuels without any hardware changes. The project will create 291 construction-related jobs, at least 80% of which will seek to be unionized. The facility will create 600 operations positions, offering above-average pay, benefits, and growth opportunities.

RG Resource Technologies Inc – Lansing, MI

A $5 million selection to retrofit a manufacturing facility in Lansing to produce 120,000 units/yr production of their solar photovoltaic + thermal capture (PVT) system. Through this project, RG Resource Technologies plans to hire 160 workers in new full-time positions, with a goal that 64 of those positions will be filled from workers living in disadvantaged communities.

Sparkz Inc – Bridgeport, WV

A $9.8 million selection to create a first-of-its-kind battery-grade iron phosphate (FePO4) plant in the United States. As part of this project, Sparkz will be creating and retaining 75 high quality jobs, and has signed a neutrality agreement with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Labor Union and will work with UMWA on providing training to coal workers.

Terra CO2 Holdings – Magna, UT

A $52.6 million selection to establish a new manufacturing facility to produce an innovative high-performing Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM), a 70% lower emission and cost-effective replacement for traditional Ordinary Portland Cement. This project will create 61 new jobs with wages and benefits above the 75th percentile compared to national wages, and will train and upskill up to 144 people from underrepresented populations.

Urban Mining Industries – Indiantown, FL and Baltimore, MD

A $37 million selection to develop manufacturing plants that will convert recycled glass, most of which would have otherwise gone to landfill, into a ground glass pozzolan, which is used to replace up to 50% of carbon-intensive cement in concrete mixes, which can drastically reduce embodied emissions while increasing resistance to road salts and increasing reflective properties. The project will create 20 new skilled jobs.

Learn more about the projects selected here.
 

The JV will include 10 projects in the eastern Athabasca Basin: IsoEnergy’s Geiger, Thorburn Lake, Full Moon, Edge, Collins Bay Extension, North Thorburn, 2Z Lake, and Madison projects, along with Purepoint’s Turnor Lake and Red Willow projects.

Both parties have the option to adjust ownership to a 50/50 split within six months.

As part of the agreement, IsoEnergy will invest C$1 million in Purepoint through a concurrent equity financing. The funding will give IsoEnergy exposure to Purepoint’s other exploration projects in the Athabasca Basin, including Hook Lake, where drilling previously cut 10 metres of uranium at 10.3% U₃O₈.

IsoEnergy also holds more advanced projects, including past producing uranium mines in the United States. Earlier this month, it said it would acquire Anfield Energy (TSXV: AEC) in C$126.8 million, all-stock deal for its Shootaring Canyon conventional mill in Utah.

“This collaboration underscores the confidence our partners—Cameco, Orano, Foran Mining, and now IsoEnergy—have in the potential of these projects,” Chris Frostad, president and CEO of Purepoint said in a release. “It further solidifies Purepoint’s position as a leader in uranium exploration in the Athabasca Basin.”

Prospective trend

The deal consolidates a large land position immediately east of IsoEnergy’s Larocque East project, covering several kilometres of the prospective Larocque trend. The trend hosts the company’s Hurricane and Full Moon projects, as well as Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) and Orano’s Dawn Lake joint venture, where drilling is under way.

“While small, we like this transaction for ISO,” Canaccord Genuity mining analyst Katie Lachapelle wrote in a note to clients today. “Through this transaction, ISO will gain access to the Turnor Lake property, which sits on trend between the Hurricane discovery and ISO’s Full Moon property… We believe there is good discovery potential throughout the entire Larocque Trend.”

The Athabasca Basin is home to some of the world’s largest and most profitable uranium mines, including the McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines, and it produces roughly 20% of the world’s uranium supply.

Turnor Lake is geologically connected to Cameco’s high-grade La Rocque showings and IsoEnergy’s Hurricane deposit. It is located on the eastern edge of the Athabasca Basin, near several uranium deposits, including Orano’s mined-out JEB deposit (10 km southwest) and Cameco’s Eagle Point deposit (about 10 km south).

Purepoint will operate the exploration phase of the joint venture, and IsoEnergy will take over as the operator during the pre-development phase.

Shares in IsoEnergy fell nearly 3% on Tuesday morning in Toronto to C$3.75 apiece, valuing the company at C$671 million. Purepoint shares jumped 16%, valuing the company at C$17.5 million.

The rare earths company has agreed to purchase an 80% interest in these three projects by investing A$3 million ($2m) over three years, Havilah said. This investment includes a minimum of A$1 million in the first year for exploration and development activities.

The three assets, located in the uranium-rich Curnamona province, are situated near two operating in-situ leach (ISL) mines at Honeymoon, owned by Boss Energy (ASX: BOE), and Four Mile, owned by the private company Heathgate Resources.

“These agreements with HRE provide a way for Havilah to monetize a portion of its remaining uranium assets, for which it is currently receiving neither market recognition nor value,” said the company’s technical director, Chris Giles.

Havilah will retain 100% ownership of its exploration licenses and mineral rights, excluding rare earth elements and scandium at the Radium Hill extensions. Heavy Rare Earths will assume responsibility for further exploration expenditures and fieldwork.

Demand for uranium has surged after more than 20 nations committed to tripling nuclear capacity by 2050 at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai late last year.

Canada, Australia, and the United States have led the sector’s revival this year, with companies announcing production increases and the restart of previously halted projects.

The Irigaray processing plant is central to the company’s hub-and-spoke production strategy in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, supporting four fully permitted uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) satellite projects in the area.

Uranium Energy’s Powder River Basin portfolio has an estimated aggregate resource of 62.3 million lb. of U₃O₈ in the measured and indicated category, with an additional 10.7 million lb. in the inferred category.

“The extraordinary growth in nuclear power in the US is creating a new demand paradigm for uranium supply from stable domestic sources,” Uranium Energy CEO Amir Adnani said in a news release.

“Big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle are making significant financial commitments to nuclear energy to provide the electricity needed to power data centers. This approach, investing directly in nuclear generation infrastructure, reflects the realization that nuclear energy offers safe, highly reliable, economic and clean energy,” Adnani added.

By 12 pm EDT, shares of Uranium Energy were up 6% in New York, giving the company a market cap of $3.47 billion.

In September, Uranium Energy reached a $175 million deal to buy Rio Tinto’s (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) assets in Wyoming, which include the fully licensed Sweetwater plant and a portfolio of uranium mining projects.

The Sweetwater plant is a 3,000-tonne-per-day conventional processing mill with a licensed capacity of 4.1 million lb. of U₃O₈. The company estimates the transaction will add about 175 million lb. of historic resources.

In addition to the two hub-and-spoke platforms in Wyoming, the company also operates an ISR production platform in South Texas centered around the Hobson central processing plant, with a licensed capacity of 4 million lb. of U₃O₈ annually.

The property consists of 454 claims covering 241.82 square kilometres in the Angliers and Belleterre townships, within the Temiscamingue region near the Ontario border.

The company said it is investigating the potential for discovery of natural hydrogen (also known as white hydrogen) accumulations.

Recent soil gas sample data released by adjacent claim owner Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. illustrates the potential for hydrogen accumulations to occur within the Lake Timiskaming basin, which intersects with various parts of the Baby greenstone belt on the Angliers claim block.

White hydrogen is a naturally occurring, geologically created type of hydrogen that is gaining prominence as a low-cost, low emission, and renewable clean energy source. Alaska Energy’s claims cover source rocks, possible gas migration pathways, and potential reservoir rocks that can trap accumulations of hydrogen gas.

The accumulation of hydrogen in the basin is likely to occur from the serpentinization of iron-rich basement rocks of the Baby greenstone belt, which consist of serpentinite, komatiite, basalt, peridotite, and iron formation, the company said.

The company, which is also developing the Nikolai project in Alaska, said it will continue to advance the nickel-copper targets identified at Angliers.

“Natural hydrogen has gained prominence as a potential contributor to the low carbon energy landscape. Both the industry and governments worldwide have shown a growing interest in natural hydrogen exploration, which may form an important part of the future energy mix,” Alaska Energy Metals chief geoscientist Gabe Graf said in a news release.

With the clean energy transition well underway and demand for critical minerals skyrocketing, mining companies are facing an astounding $1 trillion funding gap as tough financing and economic conditions make it more difficult to deliver the metals needed. 

EY published a recent report on the top risks and opportunities for the mining industry – topping the list: access to capital. Last year access to capital came in number 2 in EY’s report, after environmental social and governance (ESG).  

“Raising capital for new mines and raising capital to expand existing mines in a brownfield environment, or even access to capital to streamline portfolios, has become front and center for mining executives,” Theo Yameogo, EY’s Mining and metals Leader for the Americas and Canada, said in an interview.  

Yameogo pointed out that to help address this gap, pension funds need to become bigger players in the mining sector, because there will be no energy transition without metals and minerals.  

Watch the full interview with MINING.com’s Devan Murugan:  

The Takeovers Panel’s decision ends a long-running dispute over whether Rio Tinto or its majority owned uranium producer Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA) would assume the site restoration’s costs.

It also clears the way for Rio to assume full control of the uranium producer via the company’s capital raising, announced in August.

ERA halted activities at Ranger in 2021, after 40 years of operations. The initial goal was to finish the site cleanup by 2026. Rehabilitation costs for the site have surged to A$2.2bn ($1.4bn) and ERA warned in August it would run out of money by December. It said at the time it would launch a capital rising, with Rio as the most likely buyer of shares.

Willy Packer’s Packer&Co and Richard Magides’ Zentree, who collectively own around 12% of ERA, filed an objection with the Takeovers Panel, saying the move would unfairly allow Rio to increase its stake in the company from 86.3% to 99.2%, clearing the way for the mining giant to buy out ERA.

The Takeovers Panel upheld on Tuesday its previous decision to reject the objections from the two minority ERA shareholders.

“ERA now intends to proceed with the [A$880 million] entitlement offer as soon as possible,” the company said on Tuesday.

Jabiluka

ERA still seeks to have its mining permit for Jabiluka, a vast uranium deposit surrounded by the Kakadu National Park, restored. The licence, which has been under the same company’s control since 1991, expired in August.

The Australian government, led by prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has pledged that Jabiluka will “never be mined” and instead will be integrated into the adjacent Kakadu National Park.

ERA filed the petition to have the mining licence back, despite Rio Tinto’s stating that it had no plans to develop the mine site and that it was pleased to see the traditional owners’ wishes respected. 

The Mirarr people have long opposed to mining activities in the region, organizing protests in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Rio Tinto has backed the traditional owners’ position in recent years as it works to repair its ties with indigenous groups after destroying sacred rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia in 2020 for an iron ore mine expansion.

Australia is home to almost one-third of the world’s identified uranium reserves, yet the mining of this resource is permitted in only two of its six states and two territories — South Australia and the Northern Territory. 

The country’s only operating uranium mines are BHP’s Olympic Dam, which generates uranium as a secondary product of its copper mining activities and Boss Energy’s Honeywell mine. Together, they account for around 9% of the global reported production.

Indian steel producers are collectively the world’s second largest, and therefore will likely have a critical role in achieving the country’s target of net zero by 2070. With the increasing commissioning of blast furnaces in India with decades of life ahead of them, supporting longer-term decarbonization routes is essential.

Under a joint study agreement agreement, JSW and BHP will assess the feasibility of Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC modular technology to capture up to 100,000 tonnes per year of CO2 emissions – the largest scale CycloneCC deployment to date in steelmaking.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies like CycloneCC are anticipated to be a critical abatement to support a near zero CO2 emissions intensity for this process route, as well as potentially for other hard-to-abate industrial sectors.

However, there are several challenges with the adoption of carbon capture technology in the steel industry, including capital expenditure and ongoing operating costs, as well as the integration of new equipment into an existing site.

The CycloneCC rotating packed bed (RPB) technology, in combination with Carbon Clean’s proprietary APBS-CDRMax solvent, aims to address these challenges through reducing total installed cost and the unit footprint by up to 50%, and equipment that is ten times smaller in size than conventional carbon capture technologies.

This project, says BHP, is an important step towards supporting the scale-up of carbon capture, including understanding the potential performance, costs and carbon abatement outcomes. It is anticipated that the joint studies will be completed during 2026, at which time the parties will consider installing CycloneCC at JSW’s Vijayanagar site in Karnataka, India.

Utilization – the ‘U’ in CCUS – is a key component of the project. If the project is successful, JSW Steel intends to liquefy captured CO2 so that it can be sold locally, it adds.

“We are actively studying multiple pathways for steel decarbonization, including through use of hydrogen and renewable power, but we recognize that the blast furnace route will likely remain a pathway for the production of steel, particularly within India,” BHP’s chief commercial officer Rag Udd said in a statement.

“We believe CCUS could be a financially viable decarbonization lever which would be crucial to achieve near zero emissions in the steel sector and this collaboration for a scale-up application would help pave the way forward,” said Jayant Acharya, joint managing director and CEO of JSW Steel.

Acharya also noted that JSW, as India’s leading private sector steel company, has already achieved a reduction of carbon emissions intensity by 30% against its 2005 baseline, and is aiming to further reduce its steelmaking intensity to 1.95 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel by 2030 and achieving net neutral carbon emissions by 2050.

The data, reported in the journal Nature Communications, are among the first to show that such rock can form fractures that connect and make it more permeable. Until now, geologists were divided as to whether this was possible.

Such fractures are important because water passing through them can become supercritical, a steam-like phase that most people aren’t familiar with. (Familiar phases are liquid water, ice, and the vapor that makes clouds.) Supercritical water, in turn, “can penetrate fractures faster and more easily and can carry far more energy per well to the surface—roughly five to ten times the energy produced by today’s commercial geothermal wells”, according to “Superhot Rock Geothermal, A Vision for Zero-Carbon Energy ‘Everywhere,’” a 2021 report by the Clean Air Task Force.

The data also show that rock that fractures at superhot conditions can be ten times more permeable than rock that fractures at conditions closer to the Earth’s surface, and can also deform more readily.

Those factors could make this geothermal resource “much more economic,” says Geoffrey Garrison, vice president of operations for Quaise Energy, one of the funders for the work. Quaise is working on a novel drilling technique for accessing superdeep, superhot rock.

A geological debate

Until now, geologists had been divided as to whether this superdeep, superhot resource can be tapped. Rock under such high pressures and temperatures — more than 375^oC, or 707 ^oF — is ductile, or gooey, as opposed to a smashable stone from your backyard. As a result, some have argued that fractures can’t be created. And if they can, will they stay open?

The current work, led by a team at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (EPFL), confirms that fractures can indeed form in superhot, superdeep rock located near the brittle-to-ductile transition in the crust. The latter is where hard, brittle rock begins to transition into a material that’s ductile, or more pliable.

“There are also lots of other data coming out of this work that will inform our approach to tapping the resource,” Garrison says. For example, “how strong is the rock? How far do the fractures go? How many fractures can we create?”

“All of this will help us derisk the drilling involved, which is very expensive. You don’t get a lot of chances. You don’t get to drill a hole then, like hanging a picture, move it over if you’ve missed the best location.”

“Exciting finding”

Peter Massie is director of the Geothermal Energy Office at the Cascade Institute, which recently released a report with the Clean Air Task Force about drilling for superhot geothermal energy. Massie, who was not involved in the Nature Communications work, made the following comment about it on X:

“Exciting finding: extreme heat & pressure can help create better enhanced geothermal systems [EGS]. At very high temps, rocks become ductile (plasticky), which was expected to impede EGS. This supports [the] prospect of ultradeep, ‘supercritical’ geothermal with major boost in output.”

The research was led by Associate Professor Marie Violay, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Rock Mechanics at EPFL.

“This work is exciting because it presents the first permeability measurements conducted during deformation at pressure and temperature conditions characteristic of deep supercritical geothermal reservoirs near the brittle-to-ductile transition in the crust,” Violay says.

“We have shown that the brittle-to-ductile transition is not a cutoff for fluid circulation in the crust, which is promising for the exploitation of deep geothermal reservoirs. There are very few in situ data available, and these are among the first experimental results that shed light on such extreme conditions.”

Violay’s coauthors of the Nature Communications paper are first author Gabriel G. Meyer and Ghassan Shahin, both of EPFL, and Benoit Cordonnier of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

What’s happening?

The consistency of superhot, superdeep rock is similar to that of Silly Putty. “If you pull it slowly, it stretches out and becomes elastic. But if you pull a chunk of Silly Putty really quickly, it snaps. And that is brittle behavior,” says Garrison.

“If you stress the rock slowly enough under these extreme conditions, it may stretch and not fracture. This work shows that rock will shatter under these conditions, but it needs to be stressed quickly to do so,” he says.

The research confirms theoretical work reported earlier this year in Geothermal Energy showing that the cracks that form create a dense “cloud of permeability” throughout the affected rock. This is in contrast to the much larger and fewer macroscopic fractures induced by the engineered geothermal systems (EGS) in use today, which operate closer to the surface and at much lower temperatures.

As a result, the simulations involved in the Geothermal Energy work predict that a superhot system can deliver five to ten times more power than typically produced today from EGS, and do so for up to two decades.

Unique experimental machine

Garrison notes that there are very few facilities in the world capable of making the measurements conducted at EPFL.

“The best part [of this research] was the development of a unique experimental machine capable of reproducing the pressure, temperature, and deformation conditions of deep supercritical reservoirs near the brittle-to-ductile transition. Additionally, we were able to combine these experimental results with in situ X-ray images obtained the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility), offering a comprehensive view of the processes involved,” Violay says.

In addition to Quaise Energy, this work was funded by the European Research Council, the Swiss National Science Foundation, The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, and Alta Rock Energy.

The company holds 16 early-stage properties on a combined total of 924 sq. km. that sit in and around the Athabasca basin, as well as one in Newfoundland, which it acquired in September.

“It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” CEO Sean Wade told The Northern Miner in a Zoom interview. “You don’t get many deals like this with a £20-million market cap and below (company). It’s a great validation of our model.”

Power Metal shares traded for 16 pence apiece on Monday after markets closed in London, valuing the company at £18.3 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of 10 pence to 25.68 pence.

The tie-up follows the spot price for uranium oxide rising to $82 per lb. this week from $78.50 per lb. at the end of August. It’s among various tailwinds for the uranium market, including a deal last month between Microsoft and Constellation on a 20-year power purchase from the restarted Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

Cash for spring drilling

Under the yet-to-be named JV, UCAM is to hold a 70% interest, according to a Power Metal news release. London-based private investment firm JCAM LP owns UCAM, which also has investments in Greenland-focused Amaroq Minerals (TSXV: AMRQ; LSE: AMRQ).

The GCAM investors formed the JV because they recognized the rising demand for clean energy sources such as nuclear and uranium, Wade said.

“These are the things that have driven that,” he said. “We were there in the right place at the right time, with a fantastic set of projects. But there is also incredible value and returns to be made the earlier stage you are.”

The £10 million investment in the JV will finance exploration and drilling in northern Saskatchewan, such as at its Perch River, Tait Hill and Reitenbach projects, where the company has already done surveys and geochemistry work. Power Metal could also receive another investment of up to £4 million depending on UCAM achieving returns of three times the initial investment.

Results from the surveys are to define an upcoming drill program, which Power Metal is planning now and could start next spring.

“All the exploration costs are going to be borne by the investor,” Wade said. “We can really go after the discoveries. We’ve got the firepower to do it that perhaps we wouldn’t have had before.”

The JV will also focus on Power Metal’s Drake Lake-Silas project in Newfoundland, which cover 12.5 sq. km. and 5 sq. km., respectively. It hosts 5 million indicated lb. of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) and 5.8 million inferred lb. U₃O₈, as well as 15.8 million inferred lb. of vanadium grading 0.088% V₂O₅, according to a resource from 2008.

The all-cash transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, is a part of Chevron’s strategy to divest $10 billion to $15 billion of assets by 2028. 

The deal includes Chevron’s 20% interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, including 20% of the Muskeg River and Jackpine mines, the Scotford Upgrader and the Quest Carbon Capture and Storage facility. 

These properties and operation contributed 84,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production to the oild giant last year.

The deal will bring Canadian Natural’s (CNRL) total current working interest in the operations to 90%.

“These assets are a great fit for Canadian Natural and will allow us to further implement our strong operating culture and drive significant value for shareholders,” president Scott Stauth said in the statement.

CNRL, a senior Canadian oil and natural gas provider, operates primarily in the Western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. It has offshore operations in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea, Côte de Ivore and Gabon.

The firm also raised its quarterly dividend by 7% to 56.25 Canadian cents per share, effective with the next regular payment in January 2025.

At the end of the third quarter of 2024, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners had a combined market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, up just under $76 billion from end-June, largely on the back of gold and royalty stocks.

The total stock market valuation of the world’s biggest mining companies is up a fairly modest 8% year to end-September and despite the good run is still $240 billion below the peak hit in the second quarter of 2022.  

Ranks, value of gold stocks swell

The value of precious metals and royalty companies climbed by a combined $42 billion or 16% during the quarter and gold counters dominate the best performing ranks. 

Were it not for the limited tradability of stock in Russia’s Polyus, which lost some ground over the three months despite gold’s stellar performance, bullion’s effect on the Top 50 would have been even more pronounced. 

Canada’s Alamos Gold joins the top 50 for the first time with a  more than 31% jump in value lifting it six places to number 48 with a valuation of $8.2 billion at the end of the quarter while the second quarter’s newcomer Pan American Silver (following its absorption of Yamana Gold) hangs on at no 50.

Alamos Gold last month raised its production guidance by over 20% for 2025-2026 with the inclusion of the Magino mine and its integration with its Island Gold operation in Ontario. The Toronto based miner has long term ambitions to grow its production base to 900,000 ounces per year.

Uzbekistan is readying an IPO for Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat – the world’s fourth largest gold mining company and significant uranium producer in 2025. NMMC debuted a $1 billion bond offering last week, marking the first global debt market issuance from a gold mining company since June 2023.

Navoi should easily join the ranks of gold producers in the top 50 thanks to ownership of the world’s largest gold mine, Muruntau, and annual production of 2.9 million ounces at grades and per ounce extraction costs the envy of the sector.  

The Muruntau open pit mine southwest of the Kyzylkum desert, originally developed during the Soviet era as a source of uranium, has estimated reserves of around 130 million ounces of gold. 

Goldilocks copper

Copper specialists, and those with fat gold credits, have gained a combined 36% year to date as the copper price continues to flirt with the $10,000 a tonne level but momentum slowed dramatically during Q3 with the group contributing only $7.2 billion in added market worth during the quarter. 

Amman Mineral’s fierce rally also came to an abrupt halt during the quarter with the counter losing 18% over the three months and coming close to falling out of the top 10.

Investors who bought Amman, owner of the world’s third largest mine worldwide in terms of copper equivalent, at the IPO price in Jakarta a year ago, are still enjoying 400% gains since then however. 

Southern Copper’s position as the world’s third most valuable mining stock seems entrenched after a double digit percentage gain in Q3 compared to a much more sedate performance by Freeport-McMoRan which now has to gain a full $20 billion in market cap to haul in its Mexico City-based rival.

Light on lithium 

Rio Tinto’s vote of confidence in the long term future of the lithium sector (and its own ability to make M&A work) dominated the news at the start of the December-quarter but it’s worth noting that Arcadium’s more than 90% surge since the all-cash offer was first announced are not enough for the stock to enter the rankings.

Three lithium counters exited the rankings this year, Australia’s  Pilbara Minerals and Mineral Resources and China’s Tianqi Lithium as the deep slump in prices for the battery metal continues to take its toll.  

Last quarter’s no 50, Ganfeng Lithium jumps six places after being swept up in the stimulus-induced rally on Chinese stock markets at the end of the quarter while Tianqi’s performance so far in October should see it reenter the Top 50 in due course. 

Ganfeng was barely holding on at position 50 at end-June and with gold price momentum continuing and two gold mining companies waiting in the winds – Yintai and Alamos – only three lithium counters in the top 50 may be a reality for some time to come. 

After peaking in the second quarter of 2022 with a combined value of nearly $120 billion, the remaining lithium stocks’ market value has now shrunk to $34 billion.  

Iron ore ground down

Despite a modest improvement during the quarter, the mining industry’s traditional big 5 – BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Vale and Anglo American – remain in the red for 2024, losing $24 billion since the start of the year. 

The big 5 diversifieds now make up 29% of the total index, down from a height of 38% at the end of 2022.  

Iron ore’s less than rosy outlook – the late boost China’s recent stimulus package notwithstanding – saw Fortescue once again feature on the biggest losers list and Cleveland Cliffs exit the ranking with the US iron ore miner’s 37% decline this year exacerbated by its inability to capitalize on the blocking of the Nippon-US Steel tie up. 

Iron ore’s representation in the top 50 have diminished in the last couple of years – Brazil’s CSN Mineração dropped out during Q1 this year while Anglo-controlled and separately-listed Kumba Iron Ore has lost touch with the top tier after a 40% fall year to date.

Click on image for full size table.

NOTES:

Source: MINING.COM, stock exchange data, company reports. Share data from primary-listed exchange at close Oct 4, 2024 close of trading converted to US$ where applicable. Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.  

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining (the gold and uranium giant may list later this year), Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec. 

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialised financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like China’s CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining will continue to represent a small portion of its valuation.  

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology.

With more than 1,200 metres of mine development finished at Dasa, the mineralized ore is being segregated into different grades ahead of commissioning at the end of 2025, Global Atomic said in a progress update on Thursday. The company has paved a ramp into the proposed $425 million capex underground mine now developed to 1,200 metres deep.

“We continue to make excellent progress at the Dasa project site as we complete site preparation for civil works to begin and installation of the acid plant as the first major component of the Dasa processing plant,” Stephen Roman, Global Atomic president and CEO, said in a release.

“A committee with representatives from several key government ministries is being formed to expedite the resolution of any outstanding issues that may arise relating to mining, finance, transportation and labour within Niger.”

Global Atomic shares traded at C$1.47 apiece on Friday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at C$333.7 million. Despite the stock uptick, its shares remain in a slump, having lost 53% of their value almost six months after the Niger military government ordered United States troops to leave the Sahel nation. The stock traded between C$1.13 and C$3.91 this year.

Progress at Dasa comes almost two months after the Nigerien government pledged its full support for the project, but other uranium developers in Niger faced major setbacks this past summer. In June, he government withdrew a mining permit for Orano’s Imourare project, and in July, it revoked the mining licence for GoviEx Uranium‘s (TSXV: GXU) Madaouela project.

Meanwhile, the spot price for uranium oxide rose to $82 per lb. this week from $78.50 per lb. at the end of August. And a deal last month between Microsoft and Constellation on a 20-year power purchase from the restarted Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, is just one example of how a resurgent nuclear industry is buoying the uranium market.

Processing plant progress

Earthworks for the acid plant at Dasa are finishing up, with the contractor next preparing the site for the crusher, and the SAG mill location to follow.

Equipment for the plant is arriving at the site, as well as components for the acid plant, shipped through Nigeria to the south.

The camp is expanding in phases to support the roughly 450 employees and contractors now at Dasa, and the workforce expansion to 900 during the peak of construction next year.

The mine plan, announced in March, put output at 68.1 million lb. of yellowcake over a 23-year period starting in 2026, based on a throughput of 1,000 tonnes per day. The company expects the plant to produce up to 1,200 tonnes per day. It plans to update the flow chart this quarter.

Financing

An unnamed U.S. development bank is pledging to approve a $295 million loan covering 60% of Dasa’s costs, Global Atomic said. For the remaining 40% of the funding, the company has already invested about $120 million. Global Atomic expects confirmation of the approval schedule with the bank is this month.

It’s also seeking possible joint ventures in talks with other groups it declined to name.

The military coup in July last year led the US to suspend government funding for Dasa, but the company managed to raise C$15 million in January and C$20 million in July by selling stock.

American troops had been in Niger to fight regional Islamic insurgents since a 2012 agreement. The West African country supplies about 5% of global uranium demand making it the seventh-largest producer, including about 20% of the European Union’s needs. Numerous junior and large companies are exploring in Niger. French-state owned Orano said in February it was restarting production that was suspended after the coup.

Dasa hosts 73 million lb. in probable reserves of uranium oxide in 8 million tonnes grading 4,113 parts per million uranium oxide, according to the feasibility study. Global Atomic has signed offtake agreements for 1.3 million lb. of uranium a year.

The mining industry will require $2.1 trillion in new investments by 2050 to meet the raw material demands of a net-zero emissions world, according to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) annual Transition Metals Outlook.

Despite a decade of growth in metals supply, BNEF reports that current raw material availability remains insufficient to meet the rising demand.

The report highlights that critical energy transition metals, including aluminum, copper and lithium, could face supply deficits this decade — some as early as this year.

According to BNEF’s Economic Transition Scenario (ETS), which assumes no new policy support and is driven by the cost competitiveness of technologies, the world may need 3 billion tonnes of metals between 2024 and 2050 to support low-carbon solutions such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and electrolyzers. That figure could rise to 6 billion tonnes to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Recycling could help alleviate some of the pressure, with BNEF predicting that output from secondary sources will become an integral part of the energy transition metals supply chain.

“Good government policies are crucial to the industry’s success. For batteries and stationary storage, governments need to establish collection networks, set recovery rate requirements, develop frameworks to trace individual cells, and provide guidelines for second-life battery management,” BNEF metals and mining associate Allan Ray Restauro said.

The pace of demand growth will vary across regions.

In China, for instance, consumption outpaced the global average between 2020 and 2023, but the country’s demand for energy transition metals is expected to peak in 2030. Southeast Asia is projected to become the fastest-growing market for these metals during the 2030s, according to BNEF’s ETS.

Read More: Lack of capital rises to top risk in EY mining survey

Hole AK24-118 cut 8.5 metres grading 0.59% uranium oxide (U₃O₈) from 153 metres depth, including 1.5 metres of 1.25% U₃O_8, the company reported Thursday. Hole AK24-119 cut 21 metres grading 0.28% U₃O₈ from 141 metres depth, including 1.5 metres grading 1.55% U₃O₈. Both holes were drilled at Ackio’s easterly Pod 6 target.

“We are highly encouraged by the results from holes AK24-118 and AK24-119, as they are the best intersections in Pod 6 and rank among the top 20 drill holes at Ackio,” James Sykes, Baselode CEO and president said in a release. “These results strengthen our confidence in Ackio. It’s remarkable that, just over three years after discovering Ackio, we’re still achieving better-than-expected grades and widths.”

Baselode shares gained C$0.01 to C$0.13 apiece on Thursday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at C$17.3 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of C$0.10 to C$0.61.

The results are part of a 12,000-metre drill program at Ackio, where mineralization starts at 25 metres depth. Ackio is made of up nine targets, or pods, inside Baselode’s Hook project, 40 km southeast of the McArthur River mine and 60 km northeast of the Key Lake uranium mill, jointly owned by Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) and Orano in a 70-30 split.

Hook is hosted within the basement rocks of the Wollaston domain, which hosts some of the highest-grade uranium deposits in the world.

Increasingly higher grades

Hole AK24-119 was drilled to test the northern extent of Pod 6 and cut twice the grade and more thickness than AK22-039, which was 25 metres downdip of AK24-119 and was drilled in November 2022.

A third noteworthy hole, AK24-117, returned 7.5 metres grading 0.07% U₃O₈ from 128.5 metres depth. It was drilled to test the mid-lower reaches of Pod 6, 15 metres updip of hole AK22-020, drilled in August 2022.

Assays are pending from another 40 drill holes at Ackio and Hook.

In an interview with CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe,” Forrest urged business leaders and politicians reluctant to take decisive action on the climate crisis to make way for those prepared to lead the push toward decarbonization.

“We know the world can reach real zero by 2040. I’m reaching out to business people and politicians across the globe to say it’s time to abandon the proven fantasy of net zero 2050 and adopt real zero 2040,” Forrest said.

“We can, we must, and we should do it now.”

Fortescue has already set plans to eliminate fossil fuels from its Australian iron ore operations by 2030.

Last week, the company, in collaboration with German-Swiss manufacturer Liebherr, secured orders for 100 battery-powered autonomous mining trucks for other mining and transport companies. These trucks were developed as part of Forrest’s broader strategy to cut both direct and indirect emissions.

“Real zero means using the technology we have now—technology that’s rapidly improving—to stop burning fossil fuels by 2040,” Forrest said.

“Achieving this by 2030 gives us a 50:50 chance of avoiding the worst impacts of global warming,” he added.

Fortescue has been exploring various strategies to produce green iron metal, which, according to Forrest, could see strong demand from steel plants in China, Japan, South Korea and Europe.

The agreement values Anfield shares at C$0.103 apiece, a 32% premium to Anfield’s closing price on Monday, IsoEnergy said in a release. The purchase gives IsoEnergy 84% and Anfield 16% of the company.

IsoEnergy also gains several conventional uranium and vanadium projects in Utah, Colorado, Nex Mexico and Arizona. Shootaring is rare in the US for being a licensed, permitted and built conventional uranium mill. It will help the company “substantially” expand output potential as it advances the past-producing and permitted Tony M and Daneros projects near Shootaring in Utah. The company aims to become one of the country’s largest uranium producers as nuclear power gains traction to fight climate change.

“Today’s acquisition of Anfield strengthens both our resource base and near-term production potential,” CEO Philip Williams said. “The combined uranium mineral endowment will rank as one of the largest in the U.S., supported by a 100% owned processing facility, multiple fully permitted mines ready for rapid restart, and a strong pipeline of longer-term development projects.”

Shares fall

Shares in IsoEnergy fell nearly 6% on Tuesday morning in Toronto to C$3.14 apiece, valuing the company at C$566.7million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of C$2.37 to C$4.40. Anfield stock rose nearly 30% to C$0.09 for a market capitalization of C$91.7 million. Their range has been C$0.055 to C$0.11.

The company has applied to increase Shootaring’s throughput to 1,000 tonnes a day from 750 tonnes per day, allowing IsoEnergy to triple output capacity to 3 million lb. U₃O₈ (uranium oxide or yellowcake) from 1 million lb. U₃O₈. IsoEnergy has toll-milling agreements with Energy Fuels’ (TSX: EFR; NYSE: UUUU) White Mesa mill in Utah for additional processing flexibility.

The acquisition more than doubles IsoEnergy’s uranium resources for a total of 17 million measured and indicated lb. and 10.6 million inferred lb. to rank it among the largest in the US, the company said. The consolidation of assets in Utah and Colorado offer cost savings in transportation and administration, it said.

M&A path

The deal comes exactly a year after IsoEnergy took over Consolidated Uranium in an all-stock deal including Tony M and Daneros, among others. Tony M is 6 km from Shootaring. IsoEnergy also holds Hurricane, the world’s highest grade indicated uranium resource, in northern Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. It has other projects in Quebec, Nunvaut and Australia.

IsoEnergy plans to use the Shootaring mill to process ore from Anfield’s Velvet-Wood and Slick Rock projects. The two projects together have 811 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.29% U₃O₈ for 4.6 million lb. yellowcake, according to an April 2023 resource.

The Anfield acquisition gives IsoEnergy larger scale for access to capital and even more M&A, CEO Williams said.

“IsoEnergy is committed to becoming a globally significant, multi-asset uranium producer in the world’s top uranium mining jurisdictions,” he said. “With the global shift towards nuclear power, we believe the outlook for uranium has never been stronger.

The Australian miner entered in June into an agreement with Fission Uranium to acquire it for C$1.14 billion ($846m), as strong prices for the fuel used in nuclear reactors has lit fire under market consolidations and deals.

Paladin, which would have become the third-largest publicly traded uranium producer with the planned acquisition, said it was considering the notice sent by Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, François-Philippe Champagne.

Ottawa has turned particularly strict on Chinese investment in natural resources over the past four years, and while Paladin’s acquisition of Fission is a deal between Australian and Canadian companies, there are Chinese state-owned entities involved on both sides of the transaction.

CGN Mining Company, a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power, owns a 11.26% stake in Fission. It formally opposed the deal in late September, but its efforts to block the deal were unsuccessful.

A second Chinese state-owned entity, China National Nuclear Corporation, holds a 25% interest in Paladin’s flagship Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia, and is one of the company’s major lenders.

Paladin said it is exploring its available options and evaluating the prospects of obtaining an Investment Canada Act (ICA) clearance.

The matter is also before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, which is expected to issue a final ruling on the acquisition.

“There can be no certainty that the court will grant the final order, or that ICA clearance will be forthcoming, or that the arrangement will be successfully completed,” Paladin noted.

Foreign acquisitions of Canadian companies may be subject to a national security review, but investments from China have faced the most government scrutiny to date.

In 2020, the federal government blocked Shandong Gold’s bid for TMAC Resources due to the strategic Arctic location of its project. More recently, smaller investments by Chinese mining companies in critical mineral juniors, such as Solaris Resources (TSX: SLS) (NYSE: SLSR) and Falcon Energy Materials (TSX: SRG), were cancelled following national security review delays.

Closer to the US

Paladin Energy chief executive officer Ian Purdy has said the acquisition of Fission would provide investors an alternative in an industry dominated by two major players — Canada’s Cameco and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom. 

Fission’s asset is also attractive because of its proximity to Paladin’s major customer, the United States, offering the chance to create a hub with Paladin’s existing tenement in Canada — Michelin.

The combined group would be worth $3.5 billion, hold dual listings in Australia and Canada, and churn out 10% of global uranium output. This would be the result of combining the output of its recently restarted Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia with Fission’s Patterson Lake South project in Saskatchewan, once completed.

Paladin has been hunting for growth options outside the home country, as Western Australia and Queensland ban uranium mining. The company believes there’s a shortage of primary production coming out of the ground and that the trend is set to continue.

“We’ve seen very strong demand for our Langer Heinrich product. And we expect that when we’re ready to bring our customers to underpin PLS later this decade, that demand (will) be extremely strong,” Purdy said during a July visit to Toronto.

Paladin shares dropped after the announcement, but climbed later in the day, closing up 0.51% at A$11.83 each, leaving the company with a market capitalization of A$3.54 billion ($2.44bn).

The partnership falls under Vale’s ambitious “Mega Hubs” initiative, which aims to produce hot briquetted iron (HBI) and other steel products with significantly lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than conventional methods.

Vale has been actively seeking partners to help position Brazil among the first countries to develop a green hydrogen industry. The government sees green hydrogen, a clean energy source that only emits water vapour and leaves no residue in the air, as a “real possibility” to expand the country’s role in renewable energy sectors.

For Vale, this partnership aligns with its broader decarbonization goals. The company is focusing on low-carbon innovations for the steel industry, with a target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Vale and GEP said their first goal is to jointly assess the feasibility of establishing a green hydrogen plant in Brazil. The facility would eventually supply one of the mega hubs that Vale plans to develop in the home country.

“This is a win-win partnership for Brazil and Europe”, Ludmila Nascimento, Vale’s director of energy and decarbonization, said in the statement. 

“We are leveraging Brazil’s competitive advantages, such as high-quality iron ore and abundant renewable energy, to potentially develop green hydrogen supply, which will enable the offer of a “green” iron with high added value to European steelmakers”.

Bart Biebuyck, chief executive officer of GEP, noted the tie-up was a major milestone on the company’s journey. “We are proud to work with the largest producer of direct reduction pellets in the world to help decarbonize the steel sector,” he said.

Coal out of the equation

The iron and steel sector is responsible for around 8% of global carbon emissions, largely due to the use of coal in blast furnaces. 

For every tonne of steel produced in blast furnaces about two tonnes of CO2 equivalent are released into the atmosphere. In contrast, the companies said, the HBI produced with green hydrogen as the reducing agent when supplied to Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs), reduces carbon emissions to approximately 0.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per ton of steel produced, accounting for all emissions along the value chain. This process results in an 80% reduction in emissions, enabling “green steel” production.

Vale and GEP, supported by Europe’s Global Gateway program, said they would collaborate on various aspects of the hydrogen value chain, including the deployment of electrolyers, the design of industrial plants for green hydrogen and its derivatives, as well as other industrial decarbonization applications of renewable hydrogen.

GEP had previously collaborated with Brazil’s Eletrobras to explore green energy prospects, while Vale has set up comparable partnerships with H2GS and Hydnum Steel as it considers establishing “mega hubs” in various nations.

S&P Global estimates that demand for copper will double by 2035, and warns the looming supply gap could short-circuit the green energy transition.

Schneider Electric is an existing partner in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries, working with Glencore and their portfolio company, Li-Cycle. It is also working towards a copper and electronic waste take-back program and shifting its supply chain by directly acquiring raw materials from Glencore and distributing them through its network of sub-suppliers to its European factories.

The partnership entails developing high-efficiency, low-carbon procurement specifications for capital equipment supporting ‘best practices’ aligned to Schneider Electric’s Zero Carbon project.

Schneider said it is designing and deploying power and energy management systems with measurement and analytics features, helping Glencore to monitor and report on energy consumption more accurately.

To support Glencore in lowering the carbon intensity of its raw material supply, Schneider said it is also providing industrial digital transformation services and process electrification consulting services.

“The relationship between Schneider Electric and Glencore is built on the joint aim of decarbonizing copper production and building resilience in its supply,” Schneider Electric president of mining, minerals & metals Rob Moffitt said in a news release.

“In the past, lowering emissions has been a challenge due to the complexity of supply chains, however, by leveraging digitization we are able to close the material loop and boost our circularity. This, together with integration of power and process all along the asset life cycle, is a critical component in our race towards net zero,” Moffit said.

Glencore’s head of copper and cobalt marketing Jyothish George said the company plans to use Schneider’s tools and solutions to digitize and decarbonize its raw material supply chains and operations.

“This collaboration will enable both companies to establish circular supply chains, lowering their respective carbon footprints, George said.

The funding round was led by ArcTern Ventures and supported by BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, Hitachi Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, Climate Investment and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. Existing investors Fifth Wall, BMW i Ventures, Energy Impact Partners and Planetary Technologies also participated in the round.

The funding brings total equity raised to over $83 million and will enable it to fast-track its international growth, the company said in a news release.

Established in 2021, Cyclic Materials said its proprietary technologies are capable of economically and sustainably recovering critical raw materials from end-of-life electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines and data center electronic waste.

Over the past year, the company has forged partnerships with industry players Solvay, Vattenfall, Synetiq and VACUUMSCHMELZE to recycle magnets containing REEs and establish a circular supply chain.

Cyclic will deploy the capital to build rare earth recycling infrastructure in the US and Europe, and grow its team to support its operations. The company said its process of recycling these rare earth materials from magnets achieves significant environmental benefits in comparison to traditional mining processes, including a reduced carbon footprint and water efficiency.

“This funding underscores the confidence in our ability to create the circular economy for rare earths needed for the clean energy transition,” CEO Ahmad Ghahreman said in a news release.

“Not only is our technology essential for supporting sustainable domestic production of rare earths, but it will also play a critical role in re-establishing North American and European leadership in the rare earths industry.”

The Series B funding follows a $3.6 million grant award from Natural Resources Canada that supports the continued operation of Cyclic Materials’ commercial demonstration facility (Hub100) for producing high-purity REEs from recycled magnet material and preparing for scaling to larger operations.

Foremost Lithium Resource & Technology (CSE: FAT; NASDAQ: FMST), a junior with early-stage projects in Quebec and Manitoba, is pivoting into uranium through a cash and shares earn-in deal with Denison Mines (TSX: DML; NYSE: DNN).

Foremost could acquire up to 70% in 10 of Denison’s northern Saskatchewan uranium projects after incurring C$12 million in exploration costs and paying about C$10.3 million in shares over six years, Foremost said on Tuesday. The projects cover some 1,350 sq. km in the Athabasca Basin uranium hotspot.

The deal and how Foremost is dropping lithium from its name show how poor prices for the light metal have quashed near-term development projects. Prices for battery grade lithium and for spodumene concentrate have tanked in the past year. Uranium producers continue to grow with a resurgent nuclear energy industry even as the heavy metal’s spot price has eased from a 17-year record high in January. Global moves away from fossil fuels are propelling the sector.

“This collaboration will advance significant near-term exploration and development efforts across numerous high-quality exploration projects to maximize the properties’ potential,” Foremost president and CEO Jason Barnard said in a release. “The Athabasca Basin is recognized as one of the world’s leading uranium jurisdictions.”

Shares in Denison Mines gained 2.3% to C$2.42 apiece by mid-Tuesday in Toronto, valuing the company at C$2.2 billion. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of C$1.91 to C$3.37. Shares in Foremost Lithium fell 1.2% to C$4.20 apiece, valuing the company at C$23.1 million. Their range has been C$2.60 to C$5.79.

Board member

The deal puts Denison president and CEO David Cates on the board of Foremost Clean Energy, as it will be known. Cates said his new partner’s exploration work concerns properties that would otherwise receive little attention from Denison. It’s focused on development and mining-stage projects. These include its main feasibility-stage Wheeler River, as well as Midwest, a joint venture with France’s Orano.

Seven of the deal’s properties are in the east part of the basin near existing infrastructure, and several of those have uranium mineralization in geology similar to regional discoveries, Foremost said.

One, Hatchet Lake, has been drilled this summer, while others contain drill-ready targets from previous exploration programs, the company said. Another, Torwalt Lake, is beside Orano’s McClean Lake operation, within 5 km of several uranium deposits and has potential to be similar in geology to Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) Key Lake or Collins Bay, Foremost said.

Three of the 10 properties are virtually unexplored and lie in the basin’s northwest. These so-called Blue Sky properties are Blackwing, GR and CLK, which encompass 1,016 sq. km. Holes drilled at CLK have intersected uranium mineralization, and regional geological surveys compiled by the Saskatchewan government indicate potential, the company said.

It isn’t Denison’s first venture with a lithium company. In January, it signed a deal with lithium explorer Grounded Lithium (TSXV: GRD) to earn up to three quarters of its Kindersley lithium brine project in western Saskatchewan.

The uranium producer and explorer said the $175 million cash deal would give it key assets that will allow it to boost production, providing opportunities for synergy with its other projects in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin. 

Uranium Energy estimates the transaction, to be closed in the fourth-quarter of 2024 calendar year, would add about 175 million pounds of historic resources.

“These assets will unlock tremendous value by establishing our third hub-and-spoke production platform and cement [Uranium Energy] as the leading uranium developer in Wyoming and the US,” chief executive Amir Adnani said in the statement.

The Sweetwater plant is a 3,000 tonne per day conventional processing mill with a licensed capacity of 4.1 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8), a compound of uranium.

Uranium Energy will also add Red Desert, a development-stage uranium project, encompassing approximately 20,005 acres of exploration and mining rights, and the Green Mountain project, located 35km (22 miles) north of the Sweetwater plant. 

The Texas-based company said the move was a response to “unprecedented” demand for uranium and nuclear energy. This spike, it said, is being fuelled by ongoing geopolitical events, the escalating need for reliable clean energy, and the rapid adoption of AI technologies.

Shares in Uranium Energy jumped on the news, up 2.7% to $5.69 in pre-market trading on the NYSE American exchange, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange, and more recently as NYSE MKT. This leaves the company’s market capitalization at $2.26 billion.

Nevertheless, says McKinsey, the industry is in healthier financial shape compared to historical averages. 

From 2000 to 2023, metals and mining revenues grew by $1.7 trillion, a jump of roughly 75% and affording the industry a 70% slice of the overall materials business which also includes plastics, pulp, and building materials. As a whole, materials represent some 7% of the global GDP.  

Profits in the industry have also been robust with mining, refining and metal fabrication EBITDA nearly doubling over the almost quarter century going from $500 billion to $900 billion. 

Moreover, Mckinsey points out, mining and metal companies’ debt burden has decreased with net debt over EBITDA ratios of 1.3 times, well below the through-cycle average of 1.8 times. 

“However, 2024 has already proven to be a more challenging year for the industry as overall economic growth slows down and the shift toward low-carbon technologies unfolds more slowly than expected, both of which are putting downward pressure on price levels, especially for battery materials, such as nickel and lithium,” McKinsey says.

Not only are battery and other metals associated with decarbonisation facing headwinds, the sector – even when lumping in bellwether copper – hardly makes up 15% of global metals and mining revenues. Until such time the copper price reaches the levels predicted by more outlandish scenarios, the share is not likely to grow much.  

For instance, the market size of rare earths mining, and metal and alloy production (included in the other section of the graph) which is used in defence applications and many energy transition applications including wind turbines and motors for electric vehicles, is below $20 billion.

Thermal coal and steel account for around 60%–70% of revenues and production volumes of 7 billion tonnes and 2 billion tonnes respectively are more than 30 times higher than all other metals and minerals combined. Output by the largest among the latter, aluminum, at roughly 100 million tonnes, does not make much of a dent in the overall total.

The bulk of mining and metals activity and revenues remains subjected to the ups and downs of the global economy, particularly the outlook for China where the signs are not great.  

While the green energy transition may rightfully represent a new dawn for mining, it’s still very early in the morning.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s (TSX) latest ranking of the top 30 performing companies in Canada for 2024 is out, and the resources industry has made a splash.  

Hammond Power Solutions Inc (TSX: HPS.A) topped the list, followed by Celestica Inc. (TSX: CLS) and Athabasca Oil Corporation (TSX: ATH). Canada’s biggest diversified miner Teck Resources, (TSX: TECK.B) uranium miner Cameco (TSX: CCO) and Alamos Gold (TSX: AGI) also featured high in the ranking.

Mining companies’ appearance on the list makes evident the crucial role the industry plays in the country’s shift toward adopting green energies. 

The vice president of the TSX, Chris Birkett, says the miners’ presence on the ranking reflects trends towards the green energy transition — the industry’s role in supporting electric vehicle infrastructure, and the world’s energy security.  

Birkett says with all the geopolitical tensions around the world, Canada, as a stable jurisdiction, is an attractive target for investors looking to secure energy sources.   

Watch the full interview with MINING.COM’s Devan Murugan:

The study uses 2023 as the base year, with estimates and forecasts from 2024 to 2029. It covers green mining technologies currently used in industry, excluding experimental ones still in the lab. The market size reflects the revenue generated by mining companies adopting these eco-friendly technologies, BCC notes.

Green mining focuses on sustainable practices that minimize environmental impacts across mining operations. The market is segmented by surface and underground mining, technologies such as power, fuel, maintenance, emission and water reduction, and region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa).

Factors contributing to the projected growth include growing environmental legislation and regulatory pressures, the report notes.

“Stricter environmental laws are forcing industries, including mining, to adopt more sustainable practices,” the researcher says. “Governments and international bodies are setting higher standards to protect the environment, pushing mining companies to reduce their impact, use cleaner technologies and manage resources responsibly. This pressure to comply with new regulations is driving innovation in greener practices within the mining industry.”

Rising “green finance”

Rising green finance means more funding and investment are directed toward environmentally friendly projects. For the mining industry, this includes financial support for adopting sustainable practices and technologies, often through green bonds and incentives, helping to drive eco-friendly innovations.

Mining companies are quickly adopting renewable energy sources like solar and wind to power their operations, BCC points out, adding that this shift helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels, lowers carbon emissions, and promotes more sustainable and cost-effective energy use in the industry.

There is increasing demand for mining companies to ensure their materials are sourced responsibly,” the report reads. “This means ensuring ethical practices, minimizing environmental impact, and supporting social welfare throughout the supply chain to meet higher standards set by consumers and regulators.

The full report is here.

The $450 million program, said NMMC, is in line with efforts by the government of Uzbekistan to boost the share of renewable energy to 40% of the country’s total power generation by the year 2030.

NMMC is currently the largest enterprise in the country and the fourth-largest gold producer globally, with nearly 3 million oz. of the metal produced annually.

In the first half of 2024, the NMMC installed photovoltaic panels across 21 major industrial sites with a total capacity of 5,750 kW, enabling the annual generation of up to 9.7m million kWh.

The company is further advancing its renewable energy program through the construction of a 500 MW solar power facility near its operations in the Tomdi district of Navoi region, set to be completed in two phases.

Phase 1, with a capacity of 220 MW and annual power generation of 374 million kWh, is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year. Phase 2, with a 280 MW capacity and annual generation of 476 million kWh, will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

The renewable energy investment program, including the launch of the solar power station, will enable total generation of about 1 billion kWh of per year, or 21.4% of the company’s annual consumption, NMMC estimates.

This year’s progress follows the installation of 1,200 kW of solar panels in 2023, including 1,000 kW at the Navoi Machine-Building Plant, 100 kW at the Kyzylkum mining department and 100 kW at corporate headquarters. These solar arrays can produce a total of 2.465 million kWh per annum.

In addition to power generation, NMMC is harnessing the sun’s energy to heat water, thereby reducing consumption from other energy sources. With the aid of 4,993 solar water heaters, the company can fully supply its hot water needs during the summer months, conserving an estimated 1.7 million cubic meters of natural gas per year.

“NMMC is committed to sustainable development and to doing its part to contribute to the global transition to renewable sources of energy,” Eugeny Antonov, first deputy CEO for transformation at NMMC, said in a news release.

“By investing in renewable energy now, we have an opportunity to lower operating costs over the long term and to reduce pollution, while also ensuring a greener future for our communities.”

The Western Australia-based miner revealed on Monday that CGN Mining Company, a subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power with a 11.26% stake in Fission, is opposing the tie-up.

Paladin moved in June to buy the Canadian miner for C$1.14 billion ($845 million), contingent on at least two-thirds of Fission shareholders voting in favour of the transaction by Aug. 26. 

The bid came amid the global shift towards nuclear energy that took off a year ago, when a supply crisis unfolded and utilities sought to secure long-term contracts, driving the spot price to a 16-year high in January.

The company, which would have become the third-largest publicly traded uranium producer with the planned acquisition, failed to reach that threshold as nearly half of eligible shareholders did not submit their proxies by the deadline. A special general meeting was postponed to Sept. 9, in which 67.9% of Fission’s shareholders voted in favour of the deal.

The matter is now before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, which will issue a final ruling on the acquisition. The court proceedings began on September 13 and are scheduled to resume on September 26.

Paladin chief executive, Ian Purdy, says that Fission’s Patterson Lake South project in Saskatchewan, Canada, is a natural fit for the company. It provides medium-term development potential to complement production from the recently restarted Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia, he says.

Closer to the US

Fission’s asset is also attractive because of its proximity to Paladin’s major customer, the United States, offering the chance to create a hub with Paladin’s existing tenement in Canada — Michelin.

The combined group would be worth $3.5 billion, hold dual listings in Australia and Canada, and churn out 10% of global uranium output.

Paladin has been hunting for growth options outside the home country, as Western Australia and Queensland ban uranium mining. The company believes there’s a shortage of primary production coming out of the ground and that the trend is set to continue.

“We’ve seen very strong demand for our Langer Heinrich product. And we expect that when we’re ready to bring our customers to underpin PLS later this decade, that demand (will) be extremely strong,” Purdy said during a July visit to Toronto.

Paladin shares dropped on the news Monday, reaching an intra-day low of $8.97 on the ASX. The stock closed 1.81% down at A$9.20 per share, leaving the company with a market capitalization of A$2.75 billion ($1.86bn).

According to Yussupov, sanctions caused by the war in Ukraine have created obstacles to supplying Western utilities.

“It is much easier for us to sell most, if not all, of our production to our Asian partners — I wouldn’t call [out] the specific country . . . They can eat up almost all of our production or our partners to the north,” he told the FT.

“It’s much easier to sell to them, but we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket.”

The world’s largest uranium producer wants to keep selling to US and European utilities, even though shipping material on the traditional, cheaper route via St Petersburg is no longer an option because of the risk of sanctions.

The Kazakh state miner has sought to establish a more expensive alternative route to ship material through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Black Sea.

Kazakhstan produces 43% of the world’s uranium. Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear monopoly, holds a stake in five of Kazatomprom’s 14 deposits and receives 20% of the country’s output, according to Yussupov.

In 2023, Kazatomprom sent 49% of its uranium production to Asia, 32% to Europe and 19% to America.

On Tuesday, the company announced that it had obtained a six-year subsoil use licence for uranium exploration at block 5 of Budenovskoye deposit, located in the Suzak district of the Turkestan region. The licence is exclusive to Kazatomprom.

“The new block, Budenovskoye 5, holds promise for further development and is an important step of Kazatomprom’s strategy on replenishment of uranium resources,” said Yussupov.

The uranium resources at the site are estimated to be more than 18,000 tonnes, according to the miner.

Shares of Kazatomprom were trading up 0.14% in London at 15:30 BST, with the company having a market cap of $7.62 billion.

The reopening of activities happened on Sep. 5 and it follows the province’s authorization to restart operations at a portion of the mine, located 20 kilometres south of Tumbler Ridge. 

“We were very excited to receive it,” chief executive Brian Sullivan told CBC News. “We’re going to spend upwards of $500 million bringing it back into production. It will have a permanent workforce of more than 400 permanent good paying jobs.”

Conuma, which now operates four mines in the province — Brule, Wolverine, Willow Creek, and Quintette — acquired the latter in 2022 from Teck Resources for $120 million. 

In June, the company was fined for over 400 environmental protection violations at its Brule mine site, committed between 2020 and 2023. These infractions included failing to monitor mine waste discharge into fish-bearing waters and neglecting to limit airborne particulate emissions.

In partnership with Tetra Resources, the JV last year entered into a sales and marketing agreement with Vitol, a major global commodities trader, for all production from the site.

The mine, situated in the Hunter Valley region, was placed on care and maintenance in late 2006 because of operational difficulties and lower coal prices.

Dartbrook was owned by Anglo American until its 83.33% interest was sold to Australian Pacific for A$50 million ($36 million) in 2015.

Coal was successfully produced to surface on Wednesday following the completion and testing of the newly installed 4 km conveyor system, the company said, adding that it is designed to transport coal produced from the Kayuga seam to surface, via the Hunter Tunnel.

Miners have cut quantities of coal since taking the bulk sample for lab testing in mid-July 2024. With the conveyor operational, the conveyor and mining systems will now enter a commissioning period before commercial production commences.

Initially, Dartbrook will only produce unwashed thermal coal for sale to domestic or export customers, Australian Pacific said. Once refurbishment of the coal handling and preparation plant is completed in early 2025, the wet plant will be fully operational allowing coal to be graded for export markets.

“This is another major milestone for Dartbrook. For the first time since the mine entered care and maintenance in 2006, Dartbrook is once again producing high quality coal,” Australian Pacific CEO Ayten Saridas, said in a news release.

“Commissioning is underway and the team on the ground is working hard to bring the mine safely into commercial production in the coming weeks,” Saridas said.

“In just 18 months, we have simplified the joint venture, secured $60 million in restart capex, finalized land and water access agreements, dewatered and refurbished the Hunter Tunnel, sourced and commissioned mining equipment, and installed a brand new 4 km conveyor system,” she continued.

Saridas added that there is still work to be done to achieve commercial production, and the company remains focused on its goal of making Dartbrook a world-class underground mine and cementing its place as the Hunter Valley’s newest coal producer.

Australia Pacific’s shares rose over 5% in Thursday trading. The company has an approximate A$96 million ($64 million) market capitalization.

As the World Nuclear Association Symposium begins in London, the market is dealing with mixed signals—supply issues and logistical delays are affecting the mood, analyst Alexander Pearce said in a market comment. BMO expects uranium demand to grow by 2.9% yearly through 2035, driven by China’s push to build new reactors and the potential for reactor restarts in North America.

“Despite the recent price drop, we see the potential for increased demand over the medium to long term,” Pearce said.

Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) sticks out as a top stock pick, BMO recommends, while it expects over 30% growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization from 2024 to 2026.

On the supply side, BMO notes that 2024 could see the first significant growth in uranium supply in years as older projects catch up with demand. However, Pearce warns that “permitting delays, logistical issues, and political interference” could make it hard to achieve that growth.

The spot price for uranium oxide in July closed at $84.75 per lb., according to averaged UxC and TradeTech month-end prices, with longer-term contracts settling at $80.50.

Brian Gitt, who leads business development at California-based Oklo, a small modular reactor (SMR) specialist, emphasized the role of advanced nuclear technologies in meeting growing energy needs. Speaking on an Aug. 20 Sprott Radio Podcast, Gitt highlighted the urgent need for reliable, clean energy in the United States, especially for data centres and manufacturing.

“We’re seeing two big trends: rising power demand and the need for clean energy,” Gitt said.

“Immoral” carbon caps

Traditional energy sources like natural gas and coal face increasing challenges, making advanced nuclear an appealing solution, Gitt said.

Oklo positions its emerging SMR capabilities as a flexible, efficient way to meet this demand, especially by being placed close to energy-hungry facilities, avoiding long waits for grid expansion. While SMRs show great promise, they are still in development and not yet widely commercially adopted, making their impact more theoretical at this stage.

Gitt also stressed the importance of nuclear energy for global development. “Energy is freedom,” he said, arguing that advanced atomic technologies could play a key role in improving living standards in developing countries, where energy access is often limited.

He also strongly criticized the restrictions on energy development in developing countries, calling it “immoral” to limit their access to affordable energy sources like coal in the name of reducing carbon emissions. He underlined the critical role energy plays in improving living standards worldwide, even if it does initially come from fossil fuels.

“When you choke off energy, you’re choking off freedom and economic opportunity,” Gitt said.

This milestone includes thorough geotechnical drilling for essential infrastructure such as tailings management facilities, decline shafts and ventilation systems, and transitions the project into the detailed design phase.

“Fission’s expert engineering team continues to make excellent progress at PLS. The completion of FEED significantly de-risks the project and is a critical step towards production. It advances the engineering to the level necessary to support our application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for site preparation and construction of the mine or mill,” stated CEO Ross McElroy.

The PLS project, renowned for its high-grade uranium deposits, includes key components such as the Triple R deposit and the newly identified R1515W zone. Updated designs leverage the latest advancements in uranium mining and processing technologies, incorporating innovative methods like tunnel boring and diaphragm wall technology for ventilation shafts.

Fission has also addressed all feedback from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment regarding its initial environmental impact statement (EIS). The revised draft, now submitted, includes comprehensive responses to the ministry’s requests.

The EIS permitting process, including a ministerial decision, is anticipated to conclude in the fourth quarter 2024.

As Fission prepares to submit its application to the CNSC, the company remains optimistic that ongoing drilling and resource upgrades, particularly at the R1515W zone, will lead to increased mine reserves and further enhance the project’s value.

The project includes 22.4 million tonnes of measured resources with a grade of 1.70% U₃O₈, 62.1 million tonnes of indicated resources at a grade of 1.30% U₃O₈, and 28.6 million tonnes of inferred resources with a grade of 1.10% U₃O₈.

Exploration at PLS continues to reveal promising potential along the Patterson Lake corridor, with mineralization trends extending in both western and eastern directions.

Aggreko further advanced the mine’s power system in 2019 by adding 7.7 MWp solar and 2 MW/1 MWh BESS of renewable generation. Now in 2024, Aggreko is set to expand the solar farm and BESS, further reducing the carbon intensity of Granny Smith mine and the overall power cost for Gold Fields.

The company won the original contract to build, own and operate the power station in 2016. Since then, Aggreko has worked with Gold Fields to expand and decarbonize the mine’s power system adding increased gas engine capacity along with a solar farm and BESS.

Once expanded, the gold mine will have a total of 19 MW of solar capacity and 9 MW/4.5 MWh of BESS capacity installed. This will result in a renewable energy fraction of approximately 21%, saving 443,304 gigajoules of gas and 22,843 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.

“Aggreko’s focus is on efficiency and reliability in line with the power demand over the life of the mine, as well as contributing to the decarbonization of the region,” Aggreko APAC managing director George Whyte said in a news release.

Aggreko’s ESG strategy is underpinned by two goals: Net zero emissions from facilities and operations by 2035 and a 30% reduction in the emissions intensity of energy solutions by 2030. These environmental commitments sit alongside the company’s social and governance commitments: investing in its own skills and communities and being an ethical and transparent business.

The solar farm expansion comes ahead of Gold Fields conducting a pre-feasibility study, investigating how it could go on to generate 75% of Granny Smith’s energy requirements from renewable sources, including increased solar, a larger battery, and a wind farm later in the decade.

Granny Smith general manager Mark Glazebrook, said the expansion of the solar farm and battery storage system marked a significant milestone for the site.

“The expanded hybrid power station not only makes our operation more cost efficient and improves energy reliability, but it also demonstrates our commitment to accelerate renewable usage across all Gold Fields sites,” he said. “This is a great step forward in Granny Smith’s decarbonization journey as we seek to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and deliver on our ESG commitments.”

In 2019, Granny Smith was one of the first mines in Australia to add renewable generation, establishing Aggreko as a market leader in microgrid hybridization. Since operational, the solar farm and BESS has produced approximately 48 GWh of clean energy, preventing 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.