Consulting analysts in tomorrow’s commodities and technologies

News

PGM PROJECTS: Mining industry hopes NEPA rules net faster permits

President Trump yesterday took his biggest step yet to fix priority No. 1 for the mining industry. The White House Council on Environmental Quality issued proposed rules that would dramatically accelerate National Environmental Policy Act reviews for mines and land leases, like the Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota and applications for hundreds of millions of tons of coal in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana (Greenwire, Jan. 9).

View full story

EMISSIONS: Air pollution from brake dust may have same harmful effects on immune cells as diesel exhaust

  • Date: 09-01-20
  • Category: EMISSIONS
  • Source: King's College London

Metal particles from the abrasion of brake pads may cause inflammation and reduce the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria a new study has found, similarly to particles derived from diesel exhaust.

View full story

NICKEL: Indonesia approves environmental study for battery-grade nickel plants: minister

  • Date: 08-01-20
  • Category: NICKEL
  • Source: Reuters

Indonesia has approved environmental impact studies for factories to produce battery-grade nickel chemicals in Morowali, Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said on Wednesday.

View full story

HYDROGEN: Western Australia invests in hydrogen studies

  • Date: 08-01-20
  • Category: HYDROGEN
  • Source: Mining Weekly

The Western Australian government has announced a A$1.68-million investment to support feasibility studies across seven proposed renewable hydrogen projects to support development of the fledgling industry.

View full story

POTASH: Anglo bids to take over mine in Yorkshire

  • Date: 08-01-20
  • Category: POTASH
  • Source: Financial Times

Anglo American has made a takeover bid for Sirius Minerals, the UK-listed miner struggling to build a giant potash mine on the North York Moors. In a statement, Anglo said it was in advanced discussions with Sirius over a 5.5p a share offer that would value the company at almost £386m.

View full story

CARBONYLATION: Evonik and LIKAT achieve breakthrough in carbonylation chemistry

A research team with leading participation of Evonik has achieved a breakthrough in the field of carbonylation chemistry. Carbonylation is one of the most important types of reaction in the chemical industry. It involves the catalyzed introduction of a CO group (carbonyl group) into organic compounds. For more than 60 years, science and industry had been looking for a way to implement the now successful reaction step.

View full story

BATTERIES: BMW joins IRMA, highlights efforts to source ethically mined resources

  • Date: 08-01-20
  • Category: BATTERIES
  • Source: BMW Blog

BMW has been making a point lately, highlighting the fact that electric cars are not eco-friendly as many people might think. A lot goes into making an EV that could be considered harmful and that’s something all car makers need to address. For instance, the mining of rare-Earth materials used in batteries is often even more damaging to the environment than internal combustion cars. 

View full story

FUEL CELLS: Joint white paper says FCEVs will be cheaper to run in ten years time

  • Date: 08-01-20
  • Category: FUEL CELLS
  • Source: H2 View

The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for commercial hydrogen vehicles will fall by more than 50% in the next ten years as manufacturing technology matures, economies of scale improve, hydrogen fuel costs decline, and infrastructure develops.

View full story

Categories