BHP to use blockchain at operations; Posco to build US$136M plant in Mexico

TOP NEWS IN METALS & MINING

* BHP Group Ltd. signed a commercial agreement to use Minehub Technologies Inc.'s blockchain platform at the mining giant's operations and business network.

* South Korean steelmaker Posco Holdings Inc. will invest US$136 million by 2030 in a new plant in the city of Ramos Arizpe in Coahuila, Mexico, according to a statement by Mexico's foreign ministry.

➤ Lithium costs up in 2021, continuing to surge in 2022

Raw material and logistics drove lithium cost increases in 2021, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights' Metals and Mining Research team. In 2022, soaring lithium prices will boost royalties, almost doubling the total cash costs of Chilean operations.

➤ Ganfeng Lithium faces insider trading probe over M&A deal with domestic rival

The insider trading investigation by China's top securities watchdog would affect Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd.'s financing activities in the coming months and would likely delay M&A.

➤ High prices, supply concerns will slow natural gas demand growth – IEA

Global demand for natural gas will decline 0.5% in 2022 as high prices and supply uncertainty following Russia's invasion of Ukraine crimp growth through 2025, the Paris-based International Energy Agency forecast.

DIVERSIFIED

* The Russian government said the potential merger between PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel and UC Rusal IPJSC was a "corporate matter," Reuters reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Meanwhile, two unnamed sources told Reuters that a deal was unlikely as long as Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin remained as Norilsk Nickel's CEO and top shareholder.

BASE METALS

* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. achieved record second-quarter production of 87,314 tonnes of copper in concentrate at its Kamoa-Kakula operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

* Ramp-up activities at Nexa Resources SA's Aripuana zinc project in Brazil have started, with full production expected by the second quarter of 2023.

* An updated estimate for Canada Nickel Co. Inc.'s Crawford nickel sulfide project in Ontario doubled the measured and indicated resources to 1.43 billion tonnes grading 0.24% nickel for 3.5 million tonnes of contained nickel.

PRECIOUS METALS

* Barrick Gold Corp. has filed a C$120 million claim over Red Lake Gold Inc.'s alleged breach of an earn-in and joint venture agreement for the Whirlwind Jack gold project in Ontario.

* SilverCrest Metals Inc. has achieved the first pour of silver and gold at its Las Chispas mine in Mexico.

* Rio2 Ltd. will evaluate its options after Chilean authorities rejected the company's environmental impact assessment for the Fenix gold project.

BULK COMMODITIES

* Executives from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Molson Coors Beverage Co., Constellation Brands Inc. and Heineken USA Inc. have sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden asking for an end to the 10% aluminum tariff on imports from many metal-producing countries, arguing that the tariff has cost the domestic beer industry billions of dollars since 2018, S&P Global Platts Dimensions Pro reported, citing a spokesperson from trade group the Beer Institute.

* Voestalpine AG signed a joint venture agreement with Egyptian National Railways for the production of rail infrastructure, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

* More than 400 abandoned coal mines in South Africa pose a toxicity risk, with the potential to pollute rivers and land by leaching acidic water, Bloomberg News reported, citing Human Rights Watch.

SPECIALTY

* Battery producer Statevolt is working to attract key players from across the lithium and battery supply chains to set up operations near California's Imperial Valley, where it is proposing to build a 54-GWh gigafactory, to achieve a "hyperlocal" battery industry in the southwestern U.S., according to CEO Lars Carlstrom.

* Tianqi Lithium Corp. has priced its planned Hong Kong IPO at HK$82 per share, at the high end of its indicative price range of between HK$69 and HK$82 apiece, to raise $1.71 billion in the largest listing in Hong Kong so far in 2022, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources.

* Savannah Resources PLC flagged a possible delay to the approval timeline for its Barroso lithium project after a Portuguese regulator moved the project's environmental impact assessment into a further phase.

* Piedmont Lithium Inc. has been added to the U.S. Russell 2000 Index and the Russell Microcap Index.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* South African state-owned logistics company Transnet Freight Rail (Pty) Ltd. has lifted force majeure on nine coal exporters and will begin this July talks over new medium- to long-term contracts that will replace the current agreements.

READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our Issue in Focus.

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