Mining News and Discussions

[wjfox]

Major source of lithium found in UK

6th September 2021

Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL), a UK-based developer and operator of geothermal projects, has announced the discovery of record levels of lithium in its geothermal waters.

Independent, third-party tests have revealed more than 250 milligrams per litre (mg/L) in the fluid, which is the highest concentration ever discovered in geothermal fluids anywhere in the world.

GEL and other partners have also been trialling sustainable, zero carbon methods of removing the lithium from the fluid, so far managing to achieve a 95% extraction rate. Testing also showed that the concentration of magnesium, a metal that can make processing more difficult and expensive, is extremely low.

Based on these findings, GEL estimates the potential for up to 4,400 tons of lithium per year produced from the sites it is planning by 2026. Only a handful of countries currently have lithium mines, and this new discovery would propel the UK into the world's top five producers.

Read more: https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/202 ... energy.htm

[weatheriscool]

New, environmentally friendly method to extract and separate rare earth elements
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-environme ... earth.html
by Pennsylvania State University

A new method improves the extraction and separation of rare earth elements—a group of 17 elements critical for technologies such as smart phones and electric car batteries—from unconventional sources. New research led by scientists at Penn State and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) demonstrates how a protein isolated from bacteria can provide a more environmentally friendly way to extract these metals and to separate them from other metals and from each other. The method could eventually be scaled up to help develop a domestic supply of rare earth metals from industrial waste and electronics due to be recycled.

"In order to meet the increasing demand for rare earth elements for use in emerging clean energy technologies, we need to address several challenges in the supply chain," said Joseph Cotruvo Jr., assistant professor and Louis Martarano Career Development Professor of Chemistry at Penn State, a member of Penn State's Center for Critical Minerals, and co-corresponding authors of the study. "This includes improving the efficiency and alleviating the environmental burden of the extraction and separation processes for these metals. In this study, we demonstrate a promising new method using a natural protein that could be scaled up to extract and separate rare earth elements from low-grade sources, including industrial wastes."

[wjfox]

Plans to mine Ecuador forest violate rights of nature, court rules

Thu 2 Dec 2021 17.40 GMT

Ecuador’s highest court has ruled that plans to mine for copper and gold in a protected cloud forest are unconstitutional and violate the rights of nature.

In a landmark ruling, the constitutional court of Ecuador decided that mining permits issued in Los Cedros, a protected area in the north-west of the country, would harm the biodiversity of the forest, which is home to spectacled bears, endangered frogs, dozens of rare orchid species and the brown-headed spider monkey, one of the world’s rarest primates.

Enami EP, Ecuador’s national mining company, held rights for mining concessions that had been granted in two-thirds of the reserve. The decision means that mining concessions, environmental and water permits in the forest must be cancelled after the court upheld a lawsuit brought by communities near Los Cedros that was successful in a lower court.

The ruling by Ecuador’s highest court, published on Wednesday, upheld the rights of nature, which are enshrined in the country’s constitution, and said they applied across the whole country, not just to protected areas.

Los Cedros is in the Chocó region of South America that includes parts of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It is one of the most biodiverse parts of the planet, home to flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -rules-aoe

[wjfox]

Mining robot can bore through "previously impenetrable geologies"

10th December 2021

A startup company, Petra, emerged from stealth yesterday with funding of $33 million and a promising new technology for the mining industry.

"We've invented a completely new way to excavate rock, and this will have profound implications on the future of tunnelling," said Kim Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Petra.

https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/202 ... nology.htm

[caltrek]

^^^I wonder how this entity will perform in comparison to Musk's Boring Company.

[wjfox]

Not strictly "mining", but it belongs here I guess.

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Next-generation geothermal tech will drill deeper than ever before

28th February 2022

A new drilling technology able to reach depths of 20 km could enable geothermal power to be accessed almost anywhere in the world.

https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/202 ... nology.htm

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Study Argues That Shallow-water Mining is Not a Sustainable Alternative to Deep-water Mining
September 13, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Shallow-water mining projects are already underway in Namibia and Indonesia, and projects have been proposed in Mexico, New Zealand, and Sweden, but the effects of these projects haven’t been fully investigated. Scientists publishing on September 13 in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution argue that shallow-water mining needs more rigorous environmental evaluation before it can be declared safe and sustainable.

The mining, which takes place at depths less than 200 meters, has been touted as less destructive than terrestrial mining and less risky than mining in poorly understood deep-water ecosystems, but the authors cast doubt on this assertion. “Claims of reduced environmental impacts of shallow-water mining are not backed by credible evaluations but by hopes and assumptions that support a pro-mining narrative,” write the authors.
Extracting valuable materials such as gold, cobalt, copper, and phosphorites from the shallow-water ocean floor requires dredging large amounts of sediment. Removing this sediment, which takes thousands of years to accumulate, means removing the organisms that call it home. The authors caution that this removal of habitat and inhabitants will result in biodiversity loss.

“In the absence of impartial comparisons of the ecological effects of different types of mining practices, there are no environmental or socioeconomic justifications in favor of shallow-water mining,” write the authors.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/963484

Extract:

(Trends in Ecology and Evolution) One of the most iconic examples of shallow-water mining is the offshore diamond mining initiated in Namibia in 2002, in water depths up to 130 m. Comparable placer deposits are also dredged off the coast of Indonesia to 70 m depth, where dredging of tin placers is the largest marine metal mining operation in the world. In New Zealand, extraction of iron-rich sand has been proposed from 20–70 m, and in Mexico mining marine phosphorites has been proposed in water depths of 50–100 m. While both initiatives have raised considerable environmental concerns, the iron-sand mining permit in New Zealand was rejected, yet the phosphorite mining interests in Mexico continue to seek approval from the environmental authorities. The most recent addition to large-scale shallow-water mining comes from the northern Baltic Sea. In November 2021, a Swedish seabed mining company applied for a research permit to explore the seabed in the Bothnian Sea. If approved, the aim of the exploration is to test-mine polymetallic nodules and eventually to commercially exploit them at depths of 60–150 m. Similar iron-manganese deposits have previously been extracted in an exploratory setting in 2007 by a Russian mining company in the eastern parts of the Baltic Sea.

As shallow-water mining has not been previously considered in many areas, its environmental regulation is inadequately reflected in national legislations. This regulatory grey area may be seen as an opportunity to circumvent stringent rules, or as a bottleneck to potential mining operations, depending on the existing regulation in place in each region. Despite regulatory uncertainties, concerns about environmental impacts, and strong civil resistance towards coastal mining operations…the regulatory and technical complexity of operating in deep international waters is likely to encourage further initiatives for shallow-water mining.

Read more here: https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-ev ... 22)00196-3

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

‘Develop Batteries for Electric Vehicles Here’: Zimbabwe Bans Export of Raw Lithium

December 23, 2022, 16:35 IST

Zimbabwe earlier this week stopped the export of raw lithium from its mines and said that it wants cash in on the value addition and also stop losing billions to foreign companies via mineral proceeds, news agencies reported.

On December 20, Zimbabwe’s ministry of Mines and Mining Development in a directive published under the nation’s Base Minerals Export Control Act said that the move was made to “ensure that the vision of the president to see the country becoming an upper-middle income economy has been realized.”

Winston Chitando following the export ban said: “No lithium-bearing ores, or unbeneficiated lithium whatsoever, shall be exported from Zimbabwe to another country except under the written permit of the minister.”

The directive excludes mining companies which build processing plants, deputy mining minister Polite Kambamura said. He told Quartz that if Zimbabwe continues to export raw lithium then it shall go nowhere.

https://www.news18.com/news/world/devel ... 79645.html

[ººº]

‘Develop Batteries for Electric Vehicles Here’: Zimbabwe Bans Export of Raw Lithium

December 23, 2022, 16:35 IST

Zimbabwe earlier this week stopped the export of raw lithium from its mines and said that it wants cash in on the value addition and also stop losing billions to foreign companies via mineral proceeds, news agencies reported.

On December 20, Zimbabwe’s ministry of Mines and Mining Development in a directive published under the nation’s Base Minerals Export Control Act said that the move was made to “ensure that the vision of the president to see the country becoming an upper-middle income economy has been realized.”

Winston Chitando following the export ban said: “No lithium-bearing ores, or unbeneficiated lithium whatsoever, shall be exported from Zimbabwe to another country except under the written permit of the minister.”

The directive excludes mining companies which build processing plants, deputy mining minister Polite Kambamura said. He told Quartz that if Zimbabwe continues to export raw lithium then it shall go nowhere.

https://www.news18.com/news/world/devel ... 79645.html

Interesting approach.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Huge rare earth metals discovery in Arctic Sweden

2 hours ago

Europe's largest deposit of rare earths - which are used from mobile phones to missiles - has been found in Sweden.

No rare earths are mined in Europe at the moment and a Swedish minister hailed the find as a way of reducing the EU's dependence on China.

The discovery is also being seen as "decisive" for the green transition, given the expected rise in demand for electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Some 98% of rare earths used in the EU in 2021 were imported from China.

Over one million tonnes are reported to have now been found in Sweden's far north.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64253708

[caltrek]

Study: Enough Rare Earth Minerals to Fuel Green Energy Shift
January 27, 2023

Introduction:

(AP via Courthouse News) — The world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to produce electricity and limit global warming, according to a new study that counters concerns about the supply of such minerals.

With a push to get more electricity from solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants, some people have worried that there won’t be enough key minerals to make the decarbonization switch.

Rare earth minerals, also called rare earth elements, actually aren't that rare. The U.S. Geological Survey describes them as a “relatively abundant.” They're essential for the strong magnets necessary for wind turbines; they also show up in smartphones, computer displays and LED light bulbs. This new study looks at not only those elements but 17 different raw materials required to make electricity that include some downright common resources such as steel, cement and glass.

A team of scientists looked at the materials — many not often mined heavily in the past — and 20 different power sources. They calculated supplies and pollution from mining if green power surged to meet global goals to cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from fossil fuel.

Much more mining is needed, but there are enough minerals to go around and drilling for them will not significantly worsen warming, the study in Friday’s scientific journal Joule concluded.

Read more of the AP Courthouse News article here: https://www.courthousenews.com/study-e ... gy-shift/

Read an article in Joule on the subject of future demand for electricity generation materials here: https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S25 ... 23)00001-6

[wjfox]

India strikes 'White Gold', 5.9 mn tonnes lithium deposits found in Jammu and Kashmir

10 Feb 2023, 11:26 PM IST

The Union Government on Thursday said that 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves have been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries.

"Geological Survey of India for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir," the Ministry of Mines said on Thursday.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... s?from=mdr

[wjfox]

Iran discovered to have 10% of World’s Lithium Deposits, in Good News for China’s EV Industry

Juan Cole 03/07/2023

The Indian Express reports from Iran’s PressTV that the country has discovered a deposit of 8.5 million tons of lithium in the Qahavand Plain of western Hamedan province. There are only 89 million tons of lithium in the world in known deposits so far, with the bulk of them in Latin America. If the report is true, Iran has about ten percent of the currently known world supply.

Lithium has emerged as crucial to the green energy transformation because it forms the basis for the leading battery technology, the lithium ion battery. Lithium powers electric cars and large lithium ion batteries have come to serve as back up power for the grid in states like California. It is emerging as the world’s most strategically important mineral, given the likely rapid decline of oil, gas and coal.

The International Energy Agency has worried about the world running out of lithium if all cars go electric. One estimate is that under the latter conditions, the world would only have a 70-year supply.

These concerns are legitimate but premature. It is likely that geologists will find a lot more lithium once they start looking for it in earnest. The Metal Mining Agency of Japan is said to believe there are enormous deposits in Pakistan. Lithium recycling will become a big business, too. In addition, battery technology is changing quickly and new discoveries may allow magnesium– a common metal — to be used for battery-making.

The Indian Express explains, “According to the US Geological Survey, the world’s largest identified lithium resources (not counting Iran) are as follows: Bolivia, 21 million tons; Argentina, 20 million tons; Chile, 11 million tons; Australia, 7.9 million tons; China, 6.8 million tons. India recently established inferred lithium resources of 5.9 million tons in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.”

https://www.juancole.com/2023/03/discov ... ustry.html

[wjfox]

Deep-sea mining for rare metals will destroy ecosystems, say scientists

Sun 26 Mar 2023 09.00 BST

An investigation by conservationists has found evidence that deep-seabed mining of rare minerals could cause “extensive and irreversible” damage to the planet.

The report, to be published on Monday by the international wildlife charity Fauna & Flora, adds to the growing controversy that surrounds proposals to sweep the ocean floor of rare minerals that include cobalt, manganese and nickel. Mining companies want to exploit these deposits – which are crucial to the alternative energy sector – because land supplies are running low, they say.

However, oceanographers, biologists and other researchers have warned that these plans would cause widespread pollution, destroy global fish stocks and obliterate marine ecosystems.

“The ocean plays a critical role in the basic functioning of our planet, and protecting its delicate ecosystem is not just critical for marine biodiversity but for all life on Earth,” said Sophie Benbow, the organisation’s marine director.

Fauna & Flora first raised concerns about ocean mining in a 2020 report. Since then, scientists have intensified their study of deep-sea zones and highlighted further dangers posed by mining there. These form the focus of the organisation’s report. “It has become increasingly clear in the last couple of years that, apart from other dangers, deep-sea mining poses a particular threat to the climate,” said Catherine Weller, Fauna & Flora’s director of global policy.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... scientists



Credit: GSR/Reuters

[wjfox]