Section: Industry News

Metso has completed the expansion of its service centre in Antofagasta, Chile, adding an additional 1,200 m² of operational capacity, totalling 4,800 m² of technical workspace. Strategically located in the La Negra industrial district, at the heart of northern Chile’s mining area, the service centre has tripled its technical-commercial agreements in recent years, becoming a key strategic partner for major mining companies in the country. Following the expansion, the centre can now repair and refurbish large-scale equipment including HRC™ and high pressure grinding roll units, Vertimill® grinding technology, and mills for mining customers. It also supports beneficiation and dewatering technologies, such as filter plate pack service offerings. In addition, the centre provides service capabilities for mining crushers, grinding mills, screens, and car dumpers.

ADNOC has received bids for its Ruwais Sulphur Terminal expansion. The project aims to expand the existing sulphur handling terminal facilities, SHT-1 and SHT-2, located in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The purpose of the expansion is to increase the capacity of the Ruwais sulphur handling terminal to accommodate an additional 10,600 t/d of liquid sulphur from the Hail and Ghasha offshore sour gas field development.

Austrlai’s Northern Territories Government has approved a mining licence for Verdant Minerals’ Ammaroo phosphate project. The approval follows the granting of two mineral leases in March and represents a critical step towards construction and mining operations at one of the world’s largest phosphate resources. Verdant estimates the value of production over the life of the mine to exceed $15 billion. Verdant says that securing the mining licence puts the project firmly on track to reach a final investment decision and commence construction as early as mid-2027. Located 200 kilometres south-east of Tennant Creek, the Ammaroo phosphate deposit contains more than one billion tonnes of phosphate ore.

Aurubis says that it is in discussions with the US government about possible financial support for the construction of a new copper smelter. Reuters reports comments from Aurubis CEO Toralf Haag during LME Week that there had been a positive response from the Trump administration. The US is currently only able to supply about half of its refined copper demand of 1.7 million t/a from domestic production, and the gap may widen as demand increases.

Verdant Minerals has secured a mining license for its Ammaroo phosphate project in Australia's Northern Territory.

ATOME has signed a definitive offtake agreement with Yara International for its Villeta project in Paraguay.

Irish MEPs have urged the European Commission to rethink its introduction of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).

Anglo American and Teck Resources jointly announced a merger agreement on 9th September.

The Indonesian government has moved to limit new licenses for nickel projects in an attempt to correct overdevelopment of the industry and the subsequent crash in global nickel prices. The permit restriction applies to new nickel processing companies that produce intermediate products, both with pyrometallurgical (RKEF) and hydrometallurgical (HPAL) technologies. Currently, Indonesia already has 54 nickel processing plants operating, 38 in the construction stage, and 45 are still under planning.

Ardea Resources says that its Kalgoorlie Nickel Project in Western Australia has secured a crucial renewal of its major project status from the federal government for another three years, underscoring the project’s strategic importance, granting it streamlined approvals and direct access to the country’s major project facilitation agency. Located 80 km from Kalgoorlie, the project hosts what Ardea says is the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt resource, containing 854 million tonnes averaging 0.71% (6.1 million tonnes) of nickel and 0.045% (386,000 tonnes) of cobalt.