Tag: BHP

Hanwha Corporation and INEOS Nitriles have announced their intention to collaborate in a study for a new low-carbon ammonia facility with carbon sequestration in the USA, with a capacity of more than 1 million tonnes per annum. The location of the plant is yet to be determined. The two companies have agreed heads of terms, under which Hanwha and INEOS will jointly explore the feasibility of a facility to meet the growing global demand for ammonia with low-carbon emissions. A final investment decision is planned for 2026 with planned commercial operation in 2030.

Some 1,265 delegates from 552 companies and 72 countries gathered in Singapore for the 9Ist International Fertilizer Association (IFA) Annual Conference, 20-22 May 2024. Claire Newell, IFA’s Director of Communications & Marketing, reports on the main highlights of this three-day flagship event.

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.

We review potash mining and mineral processing methods. Advances in equipment technology and major project investments are highlighted.

Waste heat recovery in the potash industry is now possible thanks to the availability or robust and reliable heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHEs). Igor Makarenko , Solex Thermal Science, explains how HPHE technology can help potash producers reduce their primary energy consumption and cut their CO 2 emissions.

In January, Kazakh uranium producer Kazatomprom warned of potential adjustments to its 2024 uranium production due to challenges with sulphuric acid availability and construction delays at new uranium mining operations. In a statement the company said that its projected uranium output for 2024 will be between 21,000 t/a and 22,500 t/d U3 O8 , around 20% lower than the amount it had been expecting to be able to mine. Kazatomprom’s uranium output was 21,100 t/a U3O8 in 2023, down 1% on 2022 figures, with output flat during 4Q 2023. While it said it had sufficient inventory in stock to cover contracted deliveries in 2024, there could be problems for 2025 deliveries.

Incitec Pivot says that Mauro Neves de Moraes has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director from 22 January 2024. De Moraes has leadership experience in the mining and logistics sectors including as Asset President for BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) in Queensland, Australia and Asset President at BHP’s Escondida operations in Chile, the world’s largest copper mine.

BHP has approved an investment of $4.9 billion (CAD 6.4 billion) in stage two of its Jansen potash project (Jansen Stage 2) in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Volatility in sulphur prices has been reduced in the past year following the large price spike and subsequent drop in the summer of 2022. This price volatility has been due to various disrupted seasonal trends from the global pandemic, uneven recovery, geopolitical shifts and demand destruction for fertilizers.

Occidental Petroleum has appointed Sunil Mathew as its new chief financial officer for the next three years. He succeeds Robert Peterson , who served as Senior Vice President and CFO. As EVP, Peterson will now oversee the company’s chemical segment. Mathew joined Occidental in 2004 and has been Vice President of Strategic Planning and Analysis since 2014, in which role he was instrumental in the company’s large-scale divestiture effort of around $10 billion following the Anadarko acquisition. He has also worked for Schlumberger in the Middle East and Asia. Peterson, who has been CFO since 2020, will become executive vice president of essential chemistry at Occidental Chemical Corporation (Oxy-Chem), a wholly-owned subsidiary.