India, U.S. sign critical mineral supply chain pact

The Commerce and Trade Minister of India, Piyush Goyal, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo signed their names to an agreement last week promising to cooperate on strengthening supply chains in the two countries for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals. The Commerce Department said in a statement October 3 that the now-inked memorandum of understanding aims to build resilience…

Read More

Metso expands VSF lineup with modular plant

Metso has expanded its solvent extraction offering with a wider capacity range and improved features, and is now also introducing the VSF X solvent extraction plant with extended scope. The modular VSF X plant, part of Metso’s Planet Positive offering, allows copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese producers, among others, to purify desired metals from the leach solution in a safe,…

Read More

Metso upgrades Finland research facility

Metso said it has modernized its pilot facility at the Metso Research Center in Pori, Finland, with expanded capabilities for lithium hydroxide (LiOH) and other battery chemicals process testing. The unique pilot line serves mining and battery industry customers processing battery minerals. In connection with the expansion, Metso has also opened a battery materials precursor (pCAM) pilot plant, available now…

Read More

Saudi Arabia to invest in mining assets

State-owned Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden) has agreed to form a joint venture with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund to invest in mining assets globally, reported Reuters. Ma’aden will own 51% in the venture while the Public Investment Fund will own 49%, the company said in a regulatory filing. The miner said the new venture’s strategy “will initially be to…

Read More

Copper Mark adds moly, zinc, nickel to framework

The Copper Mark assurance framework is no longer only about copper: the responsible production initiative is collaborating with the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA), the International Zinc Association (IZA) and the Nickel Institute (NI) to promote cross-commodity best practices to make the program also available to molybdenum, nickel and zinc producers.

Read More

Horizonte buys ferronickel processing equipment for Araguaia

As part of a plan to fast-track the movement of its project, UK-based producer Horizonte Minerals said its Araguaia Niquel Metais (ANM) arm is acquiring both new and used ferronickel processing equipment for its Araguaia project in Brazil. The deal with seller Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA), part of investment group Votorantim SA, was made for US$600,000 cash up front,…

Read More