Tag: BHP

Although 2019 had been a volatile year for acid markets, with shutdowns disrupting supply, the coronavirus outbreak wrought even more havoc in 2020, across both supply and demand.

Metal markets are used to ups and downs, and, as we discuss elsewhere in this issue, this year has seen more than most, mainly thanks to the virus that is still keeping us indoors – as I write this, the UK has just moved back into a second national ‘lockdown’. However, this year has seen the fortunes of one metal in particular simply rise and rise – nickel.

Nelson Silva was appointed to Nutrien’s board of directors in the second week of August. His appointment coincided with the retirement of David C Everitt from Nutrien’s board, where he has been a director since 2013.

Recent protests in Belarus have triggered a wave of share price volatility, London’s Financial Times reported on 18th August.

Johnson Matthey (JM) has been selected by China’s Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group as licensor for a third methanol synthesis plant at their coal to olefins complex near Yinchuan in Ningxia province. With a planned capacity of 7,200 t/d (2.4 million t/a), the unit will be the largest single train methanol plant in the world once completed.

There was a rapid increase in sulphuric acid demand for copper, uranium and nickel leaching from 1995-2015, but over the past few years growth in this sector has slowed dramatically. Now however there are signs that demand is starting to pick up again with several new projects under development.

Sulphur demand in Australia has been boosted by the restart of the nickel leaching plant at Ravensthorpe, and new HPAL projects are under development, but a slew of new phosphate projects are not scheduled to consume more acid domestically.

How the macro market responds to the coronavirus pandemic over the months ahead and governmental response in different parts of the globe will likely have a lasting impact on the outlook for the sulphur market.

Meena Chauhan, Head of Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.

We look at state-of-the-art technology used in phosphate and potash mining, including equipment and systems for excavation, tailings thickening, transport, tunnelling and processing.