Magazine: 412 May-Jun 2024

Desmond Long has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd effective April 1, 2024. In his new role, Desmond will lead the business management of the company.

Sulphur benchmarks firmed around the globe in April. Although availability remains ample, downstream production is expected to rise in the weeks ahead and further upside for prices is expected, at least in the short term. Prices increased the Middle East, Indonesia, India, Brazil, and the Mediterranean. The Middle East spot price was assessed up an average $3/t at $83-88/t f.o.b. The previous low end of the range was no longer considered achievable. The price has climbed 27% since mid-February this year. The benchmark is down 53% from early December 2022, but had climbed 47% from the end of July 2023 to its mid-October average of $110/t f.o.b. before declines set in once again. Chinese buyers returned to the international spot market in late April following weeks of inactivity, lifting c.fr prices.

Though production, particularly from sour gas in Alberta, has declined, Canada remains the world’s second largest exporter of sulphur.

Dundee Precious Metals says that it has sold the Tsumeb smelter, including all associated assets and liabilities, to China’s Sinomine Resources Group for $49 million. Sinomine Resources Group is a Chinese company founded in 1999. Its main business and operations cover four segments: EV-lithium material development and utilisation, rare and light minerals (caesium and rubidium) development and application, geo-tech services and mining property development. Dundee Precious Metals will transfer all assets debt-free and cash-free, subject to normal working capital adjustments. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval under the Namibia Competition Act and approvals required from Chinese regulatory authorities for overseas investments, and is expected to close in Q3 2024.

The Aecometric 3rd generation burner was developed, installed and commissioned for an SRU incinerator with increased stringent demands to reduce NOx emission and lower energy consumption. Mason Lee of Aecometric Corporation reports on the new burner design and performance. The emission test results show a significant improvement in addressing these environmental concerns to achieve low NOx (<50 mg/m3 ) combustion and minimise CO (<200 mg/m3 ) emissions.

At the end of April, Australian mining giant BHP made waves in the business world by offering US$39 billion to take over its London-based rival Anglo-American, creating the world’s largest diversified mining company. For its part, Anglo’s board announced that it was rejecting the offer, saying that it was “opportunistic” and that it “significantly undervalued” their company. A revised bid was said to be in preparation at time of writing.

Downstream phosphate production is expected to climb, with further sulphur price recovery expected. Overall, global demand remains lacklustre as downstream demand has yet to increase substantially in key markets and sulphur availability from most origins is ample.

Over the last six months, climate and geopolitical events have disrupted seaborne trade. A record drought in Panama and the unprecedented intensity of attacks on commercial ships by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea are straining the freight market. Almost 150 ships have been targeted along the latter trade route since the first attack was registered to a non-commercial ship last year.

As refiners adapt to the transition to a lower carbon economy, different strategies are likely to impact upon sulphur output.

In today’s dynamic business landscape, digitalisation has become a powerful tool for companies seeking to enhance operations. By leveraging real-time plant data, organisations can create more meaningful interactions between operations teams, technical experts within the industry and the power of machine learning. David Dericotte and Linda Colby of Elessent Clean Technologies introduce the MECS® digital advisor, a web-based dashboard for plant performance assessment, troubleshooting and a supplemental mentoring tool for less experienced engineers and operators.