The Pacific island nation of Kiribati is tiny, with just 120,000 residents scattered across 32 tropical atolls, but it’s playing an outsize role in an election that will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals. Leticia Carvalho, a Brazilian ocean scientist, says Kiribati’s ambassador tried to bribe her to drop […]
Battery Metals
Oxygen-generating ‘battery rock’ discovery challenges understanding of life on Earth
Scientists have discovered oxygen-generating ‘battery rocks’ on the ocean floor that could challenge long-held beliefs about the origins of life on Earth — and make a strong case against deep-sea mining. A team led by Professor Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) made the discovery while on fieldwork in the Pacific […]
Tianqi appeals Chile ruling on SQM-Codelco lithium deal
Chinese lithium miner Tianqi has appealed a ruling by Chilean financial regulator CMF that shareholder approval is not needed to proceed with a major tie-up set to boost state control over the country’s lithium sector, it said on Saturday. Tianqi has repeatedly called for the planned partnership between state miner Codelco and SQM, the world’s […]
Deep-sea mining may be inevitable, says UN regulator
Deep-sea mining is likely just a matter of time, according to the head of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). “Clearly now, we are reaching a very high level of interest so I would say that yes it seems to be inevitable,” said Michael Lodge, the secretary-general of the ISA, in an interview with CNBC. Sign […]
Copper price sinks below $9,000 threshold as metals selloff deepens
Copper tumbled — falling below the $9,000-a-ton threshold for the first time since early April — on the back of a selloff in global stock markets and rising pessimism about the outlook for demand in China and elsewhere. The industrial metal is down by about a fifth since reaching a record in mid-May, with bold, […]
Creating loops of liquid lithium for fusion temperature control
Fusion vessels have a Goldilocks problem: The plasma within needs to be hot enough to generate net power, but if it’s too hot, it can damage the vessel’s interior. Researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are exploring ways to draw away excess heat, including several methods that use liquid metal. One possibility, say […]
Million-Mile EV Battery Bet Pays Off For Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz put up a 3% stake in the EV battery cell manufacturer Farasis Energy all the way back in 2020, working the sustainability angle as well as performance. Now all that hard work is beginning to pay off. Farasis has just announced the results of an accelerated testing schedule, leading the company to claim that […]
Copper hits new three-month low with Chinese demand in focus
Copper dropped as base metals extended the worst weekly slump in almost two years, with a modest rate cut in China doing little to offset worries about demand in the world’s top commodities consumer. Prices for the metal viewed as an economic bellwether fell for a sixth day, even after China increased support for the […]
Saudi Arabia to visit Brazil and Chile as seeks to diversify mining
Saudi Arabia’s mining minister will visit Brazil and Chile over the coming two weeks, the ministry said on Sunday, as the world’s leading oil exporter seeks to expand its international presence in mining. In Brazil, talks will cover mining, food processing, and aviation, while in Chile the focus is on lithium, needed for electric vehicle […]
Hedge funds’ bullish bets on gold jump to four-year high
Money managers’ wagers in gold jumped to the highest level in four years, signaling investor concerns surrounding the US presidential election campaign as well as renewed focus on the timing of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted their net-long position in gold, often used as a hedge against rising political […]
