Sulphuric Acid News

Sulphuric Acid News

INDONESIA

Copper smelter expansion inaugurated

Freeport Indonesia has inaugurated the $250 million expansion at its PT Smelting copper smelter in Gresik, East Java, in a ceremony attended by Indonesian president Joko Widodo. Smelting, a joint venture between Freeport McMoRan and Mitsubishi Materials, has increased copper concentrate processing capacity to 1.3 million t/a, up from the previous figure of 1.0 million t/a, with copper cathode production of 300,000 t/a.

Freeport’s expansion of Indonesian smelter capacity was part of a deal to extend its copper concentrates export and mining permits. The company operates one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines in Grasberg, Central Papua. The Indonesian government has been pushing for greater downstream processing of domestically produced ores to capture more of the value chain, and is looking at a ban on exports of copper concentrate in June 2024.

Freeport Indonesia has requested it be allowed to continue shipping copper concentrate beyond the date of the ban, as the company’s other new smelter will not reach full capacity before December. Freeport is building a new, larger smelter at the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate, also in Gresik. The smelter, called Manyar, will be able to process 1.7 million t/a of copper concentrate at an estimate cost of $3 billion.

The government owns 51.2% of Freeport Indonesia and Freeport-McMoRan the remaining 48.8%, but talks are reportedly ongoing to increase the government’s stake in Freeport Indonesia to 61% in exchange for a 20-year extension to Freeport’s mining rights in Grasberg after the expiration of its current contract in 2041. n

HPAL project moving forward

China-based Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend (CBL), a subsidiary of the huge battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), has signed an agreement with Indonesian state owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and battery maker PT Industri Baterai Indonesia (IBI) to develop a nickel and electric vehicle battery project in Indonesia. CBL will invest $420 million as part of the project, which has six segments: nickel mining; a rotary kiln electric furnace for the production of ferronickel from nickel laterite ore; a nickel high pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant to extract nickel and cobalt from laterite ore; and a battery materials, battery recycling and battery manufacturing plant. The Indonesian government had asked CBT to begin work on the project by the end of 2023, once a feasibility study was completed. The facility will have capacity to process 6-7 million t/a of low grade limonite nickel ore, and will be based on land owned by Antam on Obi Island, North Maluku.

Nickel Industries signs contract with Glencore

Nickel Industries Ltd has entered into a nickel matte sales contract with Glencore AG. The contract, commencing January 2024 and running for an initial 6-month term, will see nickel matte from the company’s Hengjaya Nickel Project (HNI) sold to Glencore. Nickel Industries says that it represents the company’s first direct sale to western customers. Volume and pricing terms were not disclosed.

Commenting on the Company’s maiden nickel matte sales contract with Glencore, Nickel Industries’ Managing Director Justin Werner said: “We are delighted to have entered into this initial nickel matte sales contract with Glencore, with this contract signalling a maturing of our nickel matte business and an important diversification of our customer base into western markets closely linked with the global EV supply chain. Very pleasingly we have seen strong interest from global battery and EV makers for our matte product and welcome this first contract with Glencore as we continue to broaden of our customer base.

Hengjaya operates four rotary kiln electric furnaces producing nickel matte and nickel pig iron (NPI). Indonesia produced 127,000 tonnes Ni in NPI in November 2023, bringing annual production to 1.25 million tonnes nickel content. But Nickel Industries is moving towards producing more nickel matte for the battery sector, as well as mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) via its 10% stake in the Huayou nickel cobalt high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) project, and its decision to move ahead with its Excelsior nickel cobalt HPAL project in the Morowali Industrial Park in Sulawesi. This project, due on stream in October-December 2025, is expected to produce 72,000 t/a of nickel as MHP, nickel sulphate and nickel cathode.

Asiamet reports progress on nickel project

In its end of year assessment of the status of its BKM copper heap leach project on Kalimantan, Asiamet said that the consortium of banks it is negotiating with expects to appoint a lead arrange early in 2024. The company says that it “expects that the BKM Copper Project will be strongly supported by Indonesian banks.” The company has also advanced negotiations with Indonesian and Chinese engineering, procurement and construction firms to deliver the next phase of engineering for the required project infrastructure. Commercial proposals have been received with reviews and negotiations well advanced. Subject to internal approvals, letters of intent will be issued and agreements sought to be entered to commence early engineering works in Q1, 2024. Permitting is almost complete, with finalisation of commercial terms for shared use of the forestry access road to the BKM site expected soon. Asiamet also sees “encouraging” costings for producing a pyrite and copper concentrate from the BKM primary resource which sits immediately beneath the leachable copper resources, with the pyrite offering “the potential to be a supplementary source of sulphur for producing the large volumes of sulphuric acid needed in the acid leach process (HPAL) in Indonesia’s nickel industry. There is a significant opportunity to increase the overall copper recovered from the BKM resource and deliver pyrite to an external facility for processing.”

FINLAND

Metso launches high efficiency scrubber optimiser for gas cleaning plants

Using its technical knowledge base on wet gas cleaning, enabling continuous improvement of the operation and performance of gas cleaning equipment and entire plants, Metso has launched the high efficiency scrubber (HES) optimiser, a digital tool that combines internal process calculations with measurements available at site to enable energy savings in the operation of Venturi-type scrubbers in wet gas cleaning plants. The scrubber captures impurity particles in wet gas cleaning plants. However, a significant pressure drop is required to achieve this. Precise adaptation of the pressure drop to the process conditions – the capacity and duty of the wet gas cleaning in general – can enable substantial energy savings while meeting performance targets. The scrubber and wet electrostatic precipitator (WESP sections can also be jointly optimised, and the program supplements WESP low load optimisation, ensuring that performance targets are met while the WESP equipment protection sequence is running. Commissioning and online support services are available as part of the HES Optimiser license.

CANADA

First Phosphate closes second tranche of financing

First Phosphate says that it has successfully completed an oversubscribed financing round, which has brought in a substantial influx of capital. Ther first two share sales tranches brought in C$7.5 million.

“We are pleased by this large vote of confidence placed in First Phosphate by existing and new shareholders including a number of institutional investors,” said company CEO, John Passalacqua. “We are now in position to be able to drill this winter and begin uncovering the full extent of the Bégin-Lamarche high-purity igneous rock phosphate horizon at only 70 km from the deep-sea port of Saguenay. In our experience, proximity to port and access to infrastructure and workforce are the single largest determinants for the economic viability of any phosphate project. Bégin-Lamarche has all these strong requisites. We feel that it will become the first phosphate mine to see production in Quebec. We are now in a position to accelerate its development.”

CHILE

Commissioning begins at copper project

Capstone Copper Corp. says that commissioning activities are underway at its Mantoverde Development Project (MVDP) in Chile. The project is expected to increase the company’s consolidated copper production by over 40% with a significant decease in unit operating costs.

“The project is on-time and we reaffirm our $870 million total capital cost guidance,” said Capstone CEO John MacKenzie. “This marks an exciting time for Capstone, MVDP is transformational four our business and provides the based for incredible growth in the Mantoverde-Santo Domingo District.”

First ore was introduced to the new concentrator on November 29th, 2023. The sulphide copper project is on track to reach nameplate capacity of 32,000 t/d by mid-2024. Mantoverde is expected to produce total copper (concentrates plus cathode) of 98,000 t/a at a cash cost of $2.41/lb in 2024.

Following the ramp up at Mantoverde, the company’s next phase of growth will be a construction decision and integration of Santo Domingo. The Santo Domingo project includes upgrades to the existing water and power infrastructure as well as development of the Santo Domingo port, approximately 65 km away by road from Mantoverde. The company says that its future growth plan includes Mantoverde Phase 2, an expansion of the sulphide concentrator to process part of the 77% of resources not included in Phase 1, processing Santo Domingo oxides at the underutilised 60,000 t/a SX-EW cathode plant at Mantoverde, as well as Mantoverde-Santo Domingo cobalt production. Part of the plan is a sulphuric acid plant at Mantoverde to process cobalt-containing iron pyrite produced by both Mantoverde and Santo Domingo, lifting cobalt production from 1,500-2,000 t/a to a total of 6,000-6,500 t/a. The acid generated from pyrite processing will then be fed to the SX/EW and other leaching facilities.

Codelco and SQM to cooperate on lithium project

SQM says that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Copper Corporation of Chile (Codelco) for the operation and development of the Salar de Atacama lithium deposit during the period 2025–2060. A new joint venture operating company owned 51-49 by Codelco will be responsible for the production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide on the properties that SQM currently leases from the Chilean Production Development Company (Corfo) in the Salar de Atacama.

Ricardo Ramos, CEO of SQM, commented, “I believe that with Codelco we are achieving the objectives that we had set forth at the beginning of the negotiation process to create a positive partnership for Chile, for the Antofagasta region, for the communities and for both companies. We are moving forward. There is a significant amount of work which needs to be done on this great project and we are deeply committed to making it happen.”

Chile is the world’s second largest lithium producer but has only two mines operational, in the Atacama desert, operated by SQM and US-based Albermarle. SQM sold 156,800 t/a of lithium globally in 2022 which represented around 20% of the global market. Under the deal, SQM will be able to increase its production quota in the Atacama by up to 300,000 t/a of lithium carbonate equivalent between now and 2031. Production after 2031 will be split between the companies according to their stake in the new partnership.

UNITED STATES

Metso building new training centre

Metso is expanding its service centre in Mesa, Arizona to support the growing needs of mining customers, primarily in the copper segment. In addition to expanding its service and repair capabilities, a cutting-edge training centre will be built to continue to improve competence development in the region. The total investment value is around $15.3 million, with the expansion expected to be completed during the first half of 2025. The expansion will increase the repair shop area by nearly 60% and add new high-capacity cranes, CNC machines, welding, and assembly stations. This will increase the capacity and capability to perform heavy equipment repairs and service a wider range of equipment, spanning process steps such as crushing, screening, grinding, HPGRs, filtration, flotation, and pumps, among others. Within the same property, a fully-equipped training centre will also be built, to bridge the knowledge gap between people, equipment, and operational goals. The centre will support multiple ways of learning, outfitted with state-of-the-art simulators and digital training assets, in addition to classroom and hands-on learning areas. Comprehensive and tailored training programs will be designed and offered to support mining professionals’ technical knowledge, at the part, equipment, and plant level.

WORLD

Electric vehicle policy updates

European countries rushed to update their EV subsidy programmes in December. In Germany, the last-minute 2024 budget has put the brakes on the country’s subsidy scheme, with the decision to end it as of 17 December 2023. The programme, which started in 2016 and has since paid out euro10 billion, was prematurely scrapped in the new slimmed down budget. EVs comprised 18% of light vehicle sales in Germany for the year to November in 2023 but were almost a quarter of the total in 3Q before fleet subsidies expired. Previously, subsidies for EVs between euro 40,000-65,000 were set to expire at end-2023, whereas the policy for EVs below euro 40,000 was expected to extend end-2024. When EV subsidies for businesses expired in September 2023, sales contracted by 29% year on year. Given the private market is significantly larger than fleet sales to businesses, the sales contraction following the 17 December change is expected to be particularly strong.

Meanwhile, in France, consumer cash incentive rules have been revamped to favour vehicles made in France and Europe over China. Some 32% of EV sales in France in 2023 were imported; 20% from China alone. Over 65% of EVs made in France are anticipated to be eligible for the incentives, providing up to euro 5,000 per vehicle. The new criteria include a carbon emissions limit when manufacturing the EV, causing many Chinese vehicles to be excluded.

In China, the Shanghai government extended the free license plate policy through to 31 December 2024, which was previously set to expire at the end of 2023. The city will continue to offer this for EV and fuel cell vehicles; however, the criteria for receiving them has been tightened.

In North America, new guidance has been released on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) regarding the production and sale of certain products, including some battery components and critical minerals. The Biden administration is reportedly discussing increasing the 25% tariff on importing specific goods from China, including EVs. The import tariff and subsidies are designed to protect domestic production and avoid a slew of cheaper Chinese vehicle imports. This may be unnecessary as the tariff is already punitively high, and the handful of Polestar, Volvo, and BMW vehicles imported from China will soon have their tariffs offset by a provision allowing manufacturers to earn credits by domestically producing vehicles.

EUROPEAN UNION

Anti-dumping investigation on titanium dioxide

The European Commission has initiated an anti-dumping proceeding to investigate whether imports of titanium dioxide from China have been ‘dumped’ on the EU market and caused material injury to the EU industry. This investigation was triggered by a complaint lodged by the European Titanium Dioxide Ad Hoc Coalition in September 2023, representing EU titanium dioxide producers. The Coalition in its evidence noted that EU imports of TiO2 from China have sharply increased over the past few years, and alleges that this is due to dumping margins estimated at between 45 and 65%, forcing the shutdown of some EU producers.

GERMANY

BASF collaboration on lithium-ion batteries

BASF has entered into an agreement with Korean firm SK On, a leading electric vehicle battery cell manufacturer, to jointly evaluate collaboration opportunities in the global lithium-ion battery market focused on North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The collaboration brings together strong business and product development capabilities to develop industry-leading battery materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Initially, the companies will focus on evaluating collaboration options for cathode active materials (CAM) production. Further details on the collaboration will be revealed at a later stage. Additional collaboration opportunities along the battery materials value chain will be evaluated subsequently, including battery recycling. By leveraging their respective expertise, BASF and SK On aim to develop innovative solutions to support their strong growth ambitions.

“With the collaboration with SK On, we are further strengthening our market position to serve battery manufacturers and electric vehicle producers around the world.” said Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President of BASF’s Catalysts division, who is also responsible for the company’s battery materials and battery recycling business. “We want to address the need for more sustainable solutions for the electric vehicle industry. And we are ready to work with our customers and partners in all regions to make this a reality.”

ZAMBIA

Cash injection for Mopani

Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding (IRH) will invest more than $1 billion in the Mopani copper mine, according to Zambia’s majority state-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc. IRH will pay $620 million for a 51% stake in the business, with the government owning the rest, and has also agreed to make up to $400 million in shareholder loans. ZCCM said it’s also in talks with Glencore about restructuring its $1.5 billion of debt to the company, which previously owned the copper and cobalt mines until ZCCM bought Glencore’s 90% stake in 2021 for a nominal sum.

Mopani reportedly needs $300 million to complete projects started by Glencore and boost annual production 200,000 t/a. Mopani made a loss of $196 million in the first half of 2023, according to ZCCM-IH.

INDIA

Copper smelter to start up in March

Adani Group’s new copper smelter at Mundra on India’s west cost is due to begin production in March this year, according to the company. Phase 1 has a capacity of 500,000 t/a of copper production, boosting India’s domestic output by 80%. India has been a net importer of refined copper since the closure of the Vedanta smelter in 2018. International Copper Association India (ICAI) said that Indian copper production was down to 560,000 t/a in March 2023, against annual demand of around 1.5 million t/a. Copper consumption is rising rapidly in India, forecast to increase by around 11% this year due to new infrastructure projects and the green energy transition. Adani is planning a second phase at Mundra which will bring output to 1.0 million t/a, but all of this is expected to be absorbed by rising domestic demand.

The plant will require 1 million t/a of copper concentrate in its first year of operation. However, over 90% of ore for India’s copper production is imported, mainly from South America, and there are some concerns that the forthcoming Indonesian export ban and continuing strong demand for concentrate in China could lead to a tight copper concentrate market by 2025.

In addition to its copper output, the new smelter will generate 1.5 million t/a of sulphuric acid and 250,000 t/a of phosphoric acid, as well as 250 t/a of silver and 25 t/a of gold.

BRAZIL

Eurochem to begin phosphate production in Q1

The EuroChem group says that it plans to begin producing phosphates at the Serra do Salitre Mining Industrial Complex in Minas Gerais state in the first quarter of 2024, the group’s first mining project outside Europe, following the successful award of an operating license for its sulphuric and phosphoric acid plants. Production is expected to reach about 1 million t/a of phosphate fertilizers per year, which represents 15% of Brazilian demand. Brazil currently imports around 85% of its fertilizer requirements.

“The operating license is a crucial step for the complex that will make EuroChem a significant player in the fertilizer production industry in Brazil and South America,” said Gustavo Horbach, CEO of EuroChem in South America. “The sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid plants, which have received the necessary licenses, are essential to produce fertilizers.”

CHINA

  Zijin acid output up in 2023

China’s Zijin Mining Group Company Ltd has announced production results for the fiscal year 2023. For the year, the company reported zinc/lead production of 467,000 t/a, compared to 454,000 t/a for the previous year. Refined copper production was 720,000 t/a against 690,000 t/a a year ago. Sulphuric acid produced as by-product was 3.27 million t/a against 3.02 million t/a a year ago.

Sumitomo Metal Mining reported that Chinese copper cathode output in November was 960,800 tonnes, down 3.3% month-on-month, but up 10.9% year-on-year at 10.4 million t/a to November. Smelter maintenance contributed to the fall, as well as tight supply of blister copper. In addition, the output of newly-commissioned smelters was slower than expected, limiting new production. However, production was expected to be higher in December and January, with full year production at 11.5 million t/a, up 11.3% on 2022. Primary lead output also increased by 14.0% year-on-year with a total capacity of 5.84 million t/a in 2023. Secondary lead output was up 14.9% year on year in spite of significant declines in lead prices, while refined zinc output was up 10.6%, year on year, totalling 6.0 million t/a from January to November 2023. Nickel sulphate production was down 14.8% year on year, with year-end inventory reductions and weak demand.

SAUDI ARABIA

Ma’aden and partners develop unique phosphogypsum recycling process

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has entered into a partnership with Metso and thyssenkrupp Uhde to develop and license an integrated process to reduce carbon emissions and recycle phosphogypsum in Saudi Arabia. A framework agreement between the three partners was jointly announced on 10th January.

The innovative new process, which will form the centrepiece of a new complex in Ras Al Khair, is designed to reduce CO2 emissions across Ma’aden’s phosphate business. Ma’aden has already been granted a US patent for this integrated CO2 and phosphogypsum recycling technology.

The partners plan to incorporate the patented technology at the greenfield Ras Al Khair complex. It will capture CO2 with lime generated from the calcination of phosphogypsum using sulphur. The new process is designed to reduce CO2 emissions across Ma’aden’s phosphate business, making it more sustainable in the long-term. It will also recycle phosphogypsum waste and transform this into a useful resource.

Ma’aden says the patented approach is dual-purpose and addresses two of the phosphate industry’s most pressing environmental challenges – first, the decarbonisation of production to prevent atmospheric CO2 pollution and, second, the effective reuse of phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphate production that is generated in very large quantities. Overall, the new process offers global warming mitigation via sustainable carbon capture as well as providing a viable solution for phosphogypsum recycling.

Hasan Ali, executive vice president, Ma’aden Phosphate, said, “This pioneering patent, combined with our new CO2 capturing complex, underscores Ma’aden’s commitment to sustainability. We look forward to working with Metso and thyssenkrupp Uhde to develop this important project that will truly change and reduce the carbon footprint of our phosphate business. It puts us at the forefront of innovation, turning what was once leftover material into a valuable resource, while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. It’s a giant leap towards a sustainable future.”

Hannes Storch, vice president for metals and chemicals processing at Metso, added: “We are excited to see this unique project moving forward. The new concept for phosphogypsum processing will be a major step forward in the fertilizer industry, contributing to sustainability targets, such as waste recovery and limiting global warming. Metso contributes to the project with our extensive know-how and experience in the field of fluid bed, gas cleaning and sulfuric acid solutions.”

“We are honored to be chosen from our esteemed customer to provide our technology and expertise,” stated Lucretia Löscher, COO thyssenkrupp Uhde. “We are providing the innovative process to turn the phosphate industry into a circular economy. This project will be another important milestone for thyssenkrupp Uhde in enabling the green transformation for our customers.”

Ma’aden is the Middle East’s largest commodity mining and metals company and one of the fastest-growing mining companies in the world, generating revenues of $10.7 billion in 2022. The Saudi mining giant operates 17 mines and production sites in the Kingdom, has more than 6,500 direct employees, and exports products to over 30 countries.

The company has huge growth plans for phosphate, aluminium, gold and copper mining over the next 18 years, together with the extraction of new minerals – under plans to capture a greater share of Saudi Arabia’s $1.3 trillion endowment in mineral resources and turn these into commercial opportunities.

Ma’aden also wants to be a role model in responsible and sustainable mining in keeping with the government’s Vision 2030 strategy for the Saudi economy.