Category: Industrial

Orica says it has achieved a decarbonisation milestone by eliminating 1.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) from its Kooragang Island site, the equivalent of taking 600,000 cars off the road. The emissions reduction is the result of deployment of tertiary abatement technology on three nitric acid plants, in a project co-financed by the New South Wales Government’s Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program and the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The Clean Energy Regulator also approved the project as eligible to generate Australian carbon credit units.

Topsoe has been selected by Guangxi Free Trade Zone Chuangui Lingang New Energy Co., Ltd to deliver technology and services to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and renewable diesel.

Anglo American and Codelco have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the aim of jointly developing their neigh-bouring Los Bronces and Andina copper mines in central Chile.

BHP has awarded a significant engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contract to a joint venture between Fluor Australia Pty Ltd and Hatch Pty Ltd. The A$40 million contract is for the first phase of the proposed expansion of BHP's copper smelter and refinery facilities in South Australia, as the company moves towards a final investment decision on the smelter and refinery expansion, currently anticipated in the first half of FY27. The initial stage focuses on strategic planning and development during the project's study phases. Subsequent stages will cover detailed engineering, procurement, and construction management as the project advances.

LKAB has begun construction of its new demonstration plant for processing phosphorus and rare earth elements at Luleå. The facility is the first in a planned industrial park and, says LKAB, marks an important step in the company's ambition to diversify its business with new minerals. The supply of phosphorus for mineral fertilizers is essential for food security in Sweden and the EU, while rare earth elements are critical for the electrification and digitalisation of society, such as the production of permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines. The $75 million demonstrator plant is planned to become operational in 2026. The aim is to further develop and verify the process for utilizing material flows from iron ore production in Gällivare, where apatite concentrate is produced for further refinement and production of critical minerals in Luleå. Through a stepwise expansion, the operations can then be scaled up with additional processing facilities over time, aiming for full operation during the 2030s. Once fully operational, the industrial park’s production will be approximately seven times Sweden’s needs and 6% of the EU’s demand for phosphorus in agriculture. Currently, there is no mining of rare earth elements in Europe.

Lithium sulphur battery manufacturer Lyten has signed agreements with California Sulphur Company, at the Port of Los Angeles, and a Port of Stockton company to supply US domestically sourced, industrial-grade sulphur to Lyten’s manufacturing facilities in San Jose, CA, San Leandro, CA, and its recently announced Reno, NV, “gigafactory”.

Aurubis AG has reported operating earnings before taxes of euro130 million ($134.8 million) for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2024/25, up around 17% on the figure for the equivalent period of last year (€111 million or $115.1 million). The company’s Custom Smelting & Products (CSP) segment posted €125 million ($129.7 million) in EBT compared with €107 million ($111 million) in the previous year. CSP comprises production facilities for processing copper concentrates as well as for manufacturing and marketing standard and specialty products, such as cathodes, wire rod, continuous cast shapes, strip products, sulphuric acid and iron silicate, via smelters in Hamburg and Pirdop, Bulgaria. The company attributes the higher EBT to higher metal prices, considerably increased sulphuric acid revenues, and robust earnings from copper product sales and lower costs, which more than compensated for a year-over-year decline in treatment and refining charges with lower concentrate throughput.

MOL Group has produced a diesel fuel containing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava. The HVO was produced using oil from cashew nut shells and the biocomponent produced this way was processed together with crude oil. MOL has already been using co-processing at its Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta for some years, mixing plant residues, as the bio and fossil fuel components are processed simultaneously during production. The SAF at Bratislava was also produced via co-processing, using partially refined cooking oil together with more traditional raw materials.

Glencore says it is working with the Queensland government to secure the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter. The company had previously indicated that it would close the smelter in 2030, but recent media reports suggest that the government is looking at assistance to keep the smelter operational, which currently treats more than 1 million t/a of copper concentrate and supplies sulphuric acid to other industries locally, including phosphate production.

Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining (PASAR) has put its plant on Leyte Island into care and maintenance to evaluate the operation amid what it termed as increasingly challenging market conditions.